Two Page Shorts by Nick Venom (top reads .txt) 📕

“Morning, sis. You slept well?”

Skye nodded. “Yeah, I definitely needed that sleep.” She quickly glanced at her phone, finding the time to be 6:39. “I’m going to take a shower. Don’t be late for school.”

Alainey nodded. “I won’t.” She looked back at her cereal. “How was your date yesterday?” She teased.

Skye scowled at her. “It wasn’t a date. We were… just hanging out. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever you say, future wife.” She said, smiling.

Skye simply shook her head, turning around. “I can’t wait for the day I catch you with a boy. Believe me, you’re going to get teased so much.” It was Alainey’s time to scowl. 

“Ha! You think you’ll ever catch me with one.”

Skye glanced over her shoulder. “Believe me, I will.” She headed away from Alainey and into her room. She grabbed a new set of clothing before heading into the bathroom. The shower turned on a few moments later.

Alainey, meanwhile, waited until she was sure that Skye was away before she took out a note from her pocket. She unfolded the crumpled-up note and revealed its contents - which weren’t bright. “Dirty girl! Go kill yourself! Nobody likes you! We all hate you, especially Michael. Do you really think he likes you? He doesn't!” The words were bolded as if somebody went over them with a pencil several times. “Keep to yourself or else I’ll make the rest of your high school life a miserable mess!” 

Alainey stifled tears, biting her lip. She stuffed the note into her pocket, looking around. There was nobody else in the room except for her. 

She heard a notification go off from her phone. She took her phone out and stared at the home screen, where a notification from a social media app informed her of a message from somebody named “Holly”. She cringed at the name. What will she tell me today? Hopefully, it’s not something too bad. She unlocked her phone and went to the message from Holly.

As she thought, the message was nowhere as nice as she would’ve liked. “You think you’re all that because you’re pretty? Because you’re not! Michael only likes you for your dirty looks, he doesn’t care about you. He’s my boyfriend, not yours. Stay away or else I’ll reveal your secret!” 

Alainey deleted the message from her phone before closing the app. She threw her phone onto the table, causing a loud sound that could be heard from the bathroom. “Are you okay?” Skye shouted from the shower.

Alainey calmed herself down, breathing in and out quickly. “Everything’s good, sis!” She shouted back. “Everything’s perfect!”

Nothing was.

***

An hour later, Skye had gotten out of the shower and dressed in her work clothes. She now sat on the couch, taking the Journal out from its hiding place and opening it. Guider jumped out of the Journal and floated slightly above it. 

Ready to visit?” Guider asked. 

Skye nodded. “Do you know if today’s location will be better than yesterday or are you dropping me in another forest?”

“You will need to upgrade your Location ability. The basic version is set at random.” Guider repeated an earlier line. 

Skye nodded, thinking to herself. Hopefully, I go somewhere better than the Black Forest. Somewhere I can get more valuables. Hospital, house, and school bills were piling up and the money gathered through her daily trips to other universes would help lessen her financial burden. It wouldn’t solve it unless she gathered a million dollars, but, at the very least, she could live more comfortably and even escape the neighborhood she was in. The high-paying job Alec referred her to would also help.

“Let’s go.” Skye told Guider, who responded by flipping to a random page and pressing the ‘Visit’ button. As soon as the button was pressed, Skye’s vision turned off on her, but she didn’t panic any longer. She was slowly getting used to her vision turning black and the lessening headaches. It wasn’t surprising her anymore.

After twenty-five seconds, she awoke in her third new universe. However, it had many similarities with the second world. She found herself in a forest again, a sea of trees awaiting her arrival. She looked around her surroundings, not seeing anything. “Where am I? I’m not in the Black Forest, right?”

Guider manifested in front of her. “In the world of Hell’s Gates, You are in the Forest of the Past.”

“Why is it called the ‘Forest of the Past’?” She asked.

“This forest is the burial ground for great warriors, leaders, and anybody deserving of a spot on this holy land.”

“So it’s a cemetery. Perfect. Just perfect.” She muttered. She turned around, facing the sea of trees behind her. She took a step forward, glancing around her. She heard the galloping of horses echoing around her, partially where she now faced. Through the sea of trees were demon horses effortlessly swerving around the trees with a human-shaped fire riding the undead beasts. The fire seemed sentient, controlling the demon horses with ease.

“What are those?’ Skye shouted, taking a step backward. “Monsters?”

“Fire Runners, demonic fire spirits taking the shape of a human and riding a demon horse - known for their lightning speed and ferocity. Take caution and avoid fighting with them.”

“Well… that looks impossible,” Skye remarked, watching as the horses sped towards her. They had their sights on her; fighting would be inevitable. However, she had a large problem to deal with. She couldn’t fight without a weapon.

“Do you have a weapon for me?” She asked, turning around to face Guider. She sprinted in the opposite direction of the Fire Runners with Guider easily keeping up with her.

“No. Weapons can be gathered by Writers while visiting other universes or through the Multiverse Shop. ”

“Okay, I’m going to regret asking this… Can I use the Multiverse Shop?”

“Impossible. The ability is not unlocked.”

Skye scowled at Guider before turning her attention back to what was in front of her. She sneaked glances behind her at the chasing Fire Runners who were quickly closing the distance. Given a few minutes, they would be on top of Skye and there she would sign her death certificate.

“Is t-there anything… Anything y-you can do to help me?” She was out of breath. “Like… kill them or something?”

“Impossible. There are no weapons equipped on my body and I have been banned from interfering with Fate.”

“Well… then let’s le-” She was interrupted by somebody jumping into the fray, landing behind her. The person jumped off the treetops to confront the Fire Runners.

Skye glanced behind her, seeing the back of a seven-foot-tall man with crimson-red skin; there were several small patches of black on him. The person brandished twin katanas, pointing them at the Fire Runners who stopped chasing and now stood still, glaring at the man.

Skye turned back to face her front and noticed that five Fire Runners appeared in front of her, sprinting towards her but stopped after the man glanced at them, his eyes intimidating them. They were charcoal-black.

Skye stopped in her tracks, looking around. Five Fire Runners in front of her and two of them behind her along with a mysterious man. She was outnumbered. 

“Who is he?” She whispered, keeping an eye on all monsters near her.

“Haz, a demon warrior known as the Blood Dragon for his violent methods. He wields twin katanas and works under Demon King Altar. Be cautious of him.”

“I can see that,” She looked around, seeing that the fighting had stopped and grown into a stalemate. Neither the Fire Runners of Haz moved, both sides cautious of each other.

Haz took a few steps back towards Skye, his eyes lingering on the Fire Runners in front of him. He slowly grabbed a curved dagger out of his belt, throwing it towards Skye. It landed a few feet from her, hitting the ground with a small ‘thud’ sound. 

Is he arming me? Why? She thought as she approached the dagger, hesitant to pick it up. “What should I do?”

“Recommendation is to collect the dagger and defend yourselves until the ten minutes are over. Another recommendation is to leave the dagger alone and return without using up your ten minutes.”

Skye nodded. She could leave before her ten minutes were up or she could help Haz defeat the Fire Runners. Either option seemed good. 

After a few tensed moments of hesitation, she grabbed the dagger, bringing it to her chest. The curved dagger was silver along the top of the blade, but the teeth were green. It was curved and not straight like the kitchen knives she used, but it felt more natural than any knife on Earth felt. It molded into her palm as she gripped it tightly.

“Good, now fight.” He barked, surprising Skye. She didn’t account that he had a speaking voice, even one that sounded like a human’s. 

“One minute remaining,” Guider informed her. 

“One minute?” She muttered to Guider. “I only have one minute?”

“Correct, it has been nine minutes so far.” 

Skye nodded, slightly irritated. She gripped the dagger tighter, her hand reddening. Haz stood behind her, some distance away. He had a devilish grin on as he glared at the Fire Runners in front of him. 

As the stalemate bled into her last minute on Hell’s Gate, Haz charged forward. His katanas glowed a cool blue as he sliced at the Fire Runners. Something was emitted from his swords, freezing one Fire Runner while the other retreated. Ice and water were Fire Runners’ main weaknesses. 

With his front cleared, Haz swiftly turned around and attacked the Fire Runners in front of Skye, easily defeating two without resistance. The other three backed away, hesitant to attack as three of their Fire Runners were slaughtered within seconds.

Skye, meanwhile, heard the sound of the wind being cut in half. She looked around, noticing an archer not far from her. The Demon Archer had missed his first arrow at Haz, but quickly changed targets to an easier one - Skye. 

Skye took a step back as the Demon Archer drew another arrow, releasing it at her. The arrow crackled through the air, headed towards Skye with ferocity. As it neared, Skye raised the dagger in front of her. By mere luck, the arrow made contact with the dagger instead of her flesh. It bounced off, landing on the ground with a pathetic sigh.

She had escaped death within a few seconds, her mind unable to completely figure out what happened. However, her mind didn’t need to. Her last-minute was up, evident by her vision turning black and the now minor headache. She returned to Earth in twenty-four seconds. 

She “awoke” back on her couch, still dressed in her work clothes. She faced the Journal with Guider floating above it. “I’m back?”

“Correct, your mind, soul, and body are on Earth-Prime.”

She nodded, before looking down. She still gripped the dagger Haz gave her. It was nearly embedded in her palm. “I still… No, it makes sense why I have this.” She lessened her grip on the dagger. She then raised it into the air, examining it. “I feel bad for taking this without his permission.”

She glanced to her right at the front door. Only one minute had passed in Earth’s time, but she had gone through a horrifying ten minutes in Hell’s Gate. The entire event was scarring, to say the least. 

“Well… I nearly died, but I’m still no richer. Also... Why didn’t you tell me you couldn’t help me?” She furrowed her brows at Guider.

“It was not necessary at the time.”

Skye shook her head disapprovingly, standing up from the couch with the dagger still in her grip. “I did get something valuable, though.” She said, staring at the dagger. 

“If you grab one Istrafic Crystal, you can unlock the Multiverse Shop. From there, you could sell the dagger.” Guider informed her.

Skye shook her head. “I don’t think I will.” She brought the dagger up to her eyes, careful to not poke her eyes out with the sharp dagger. “Next time, I go in… I’ll bring this with me. It will protect me from dying in the future.”