Prologue
I remember it like it was yesterday, even though I was only eight years old at the time. The announcement broke out over the radio waves letting us all know the nuclear war had started, it was the end of the world as we knew it. I held my father's hand and we sobbed together hopelessly. I old enough to understand we were all going to die, but young enough to believe that at least we were going to see my mother once more. She'd passed away due to pancreatic cancer three years before. I couldn't wait to see her face again; I just didn't want to have to end my life so young for that to happen.
Very soon, the bombs got closer to us and the planet was slowly destroyed, piece by piece as the wealthy men killed as all because of their dumb pride. I tried to prepare myself, but there was no way get ready for that. I hid under the table with my dad, where we just waited.
Waited for the gruesome death to come.
There was an ear piercing boom and everything turned blinding white. Instead of feeling my body shut down like I was expecting to, I felt a deep pull. One so powerful I couldn't resist it, even if I tried. I was sucked, pulled, torn away from my home, my life, everything I knew...
Including my father.
The next time I woke up I was somewhere new. I knew I wasn't on Earth anymore because I found myself surrounded by the sorts of creatures I'd only read about in books. I assumed I was dead and this was some sort of afterlife, but then I looked across and saw the creatures eating another child, one that they'd killed, and they were coming for me next. My survivalist instinct kicked in and I ran.
I didn't stop running, adrenaline pushing me forward, until I staggered, stumbled and fell down a hole. That familiar sucking feeling consumed me again and after a few seconds I found myself on yet another planet.
It took me a long time to work out what was going on, to unravel this bizarre mystery. The nuclear war tore open a hole in reality, in time and space. Now we're able to travel through other dimensions, to other planets, with ease. The only problem is a lot of the worlds are hostile and they hate humans. I've seen the odd few mostly confused humans like myself, but they all seem to end up dead.
It's like I'm the only one cursed to keep on living.
I'm used to it now though, I don't get attached anymore. All I want to do is find my father, I believe we got separated as the blast went off, so he could be anywhere. One of the last humans I ran into told me that a few of us have gone back home, and they've found a surprisingly habitable planet. If that were true, it would be amazing. We could restart and revamp the human race. I don't know if it is though, it can't be. The fallout after a nuclear war can last for generations.
Plus, we can't control where we go anyway, so returning isn't a simple process. We just have to find the 'exit hole' at each place and it moves us onto the next. I'm sure some people have found permanent homes along the way, there must be some good places out there, but I can't settle until I've found him.
I will keep looking until I know the truth about what happened to the one remaining person I have in my family...
One
"Oh, hell!"
The explosion from the Taser-like gun irritated Raegan, she knew she couldn't fight it however hard she tried, which wound her up. There wasn't much that made her lose her cool these days, but the idea that she couldn't defeat someone, or something as was often the case, wound her up.
She hadn't survived the last ten years just to be taken down now.
"You alien scum!"
She dived behind a boulder, panting ragged breaths while she tried her hardest to plan her next move. The exit hole on this planet wasn't a simple one to find, made worse by the raging war going on around her. She didn't know much about it, but her months here had taught her that no one liked anyone else, each creature despised the next equally, and their main priority was death.
What a way to live!
"Why did you have to die, Toma?" She shook her head sadly. "I could handle this better with you by my side."
Raegan never got attached, that was her one rule. Emotional involvement always led the heartache because no one survived. Everyone she traveled with always ended up dead somehow, as if she was cursed or something.
But she assumed Toma was different, strong like her. Until he was blown to smithereens right in front of her face, just for standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. Every time her eyes slid closed she could see him flying around her all in bits, making her sick.
Another one bites the dust.
Traveling with people wad okay, it helped to ward of the loneliness for a while, as long as she always kept them at arm's length.
Raegan's red, curly hair tumbled across her pale white face. Her green eyes sparkled with anger while she waited until that creature either did or didn't fight her. If it came down to it, she was going to have to fight hand-to-hand combat. Her petite figure left her often underestimated, but there was a reason she had survived this far alone.
She knew what she was doing.
"I need to get out her already," she muttered to her bunched-up fists. "I won't die here, no way."
If only she could carry the weapons between worlds to protect herself in the next place, that would make things so much easier. But, of course, each place worked in a different way on its own unique frequency, making it impossible. Just another annoyance in Raegan's life.
"H...help."
Her heart stopped dead in her chest, was that...?
"P...please, help me!"
Yep, that was for sure a voice. Now Raegan just needed to work out who it belonged to. The person sounded human, but she'd been tricked by that before.
The growling of the beast intensified, drowning everything else out, forcing Raegan to move from her hiding space to see who it was.
Chaos surrounded her, lasers fired everywhere, but Raegan kept low, underneath it all, just looking for the body attached to the voice. She didn't care to admit it, but she desperately hoped it was another person. It had been far too long since she'd had a friend.
How long ago was Toma? Too long now...
"P...please, I'm scared."
A greenish shadow loomed, peering down at something beneath her. Instinct rushed through Raegan telling her this was the voice, the fellow human.
That was something she couldn't ignore.
"Hey!" She waved her hands above her head. "Hey, you!"
The beast turned, giving Raegan only a glimpse of a shuddering ball of fear beneath his feet.
"Hey, come here. Come and get me instead."
Stupidly, the creature did as she commanded, lumbering clumsily towards her. This wasn't one of the more intelligent monsters on the planet which would make him easier to take down.
"Run!" she called to the person behind. "Now's your chance, get away."
Raegan put her head down and ran. She used all the power in her body to charge at the creature, then once she was near enough she lifted her black Bovver boot high into the air, kicking the creature hard. It wasn't enough to knock it more than a few steps backwards, but she stunned him enough to take off herself.
Raegan ran in the direction of the other human, needing a friend again.
"Oi!" she cried out once he was in sight. "Wait. It's okay, it's safe now."
He staggered forwards a couple more steps before collapsing into a heap on the ground. Raegan soon caught up to him, and once she did she took a second to drink every inch of him in.
Much as she didn't get emotionally attached, she liked to remember each and every human she came across, just in case there wasn't anyone else to recall the human race.
He had olive-colored skin and wide brown eyes. Deep brunette hair too. She imagined him to be roughly the same age as herself, only where she wore bravery he was consumed by fear.
"Are you okay?"
"Th...thank you for saving me." He completely avoided her question. "Sorry about that."
"S'okay. It is what it is."
Raegan grabbed onto her knees and panted as her lungs attempted to refill.
"I'm Miguel, by the way."
"Well, Miguel." She stuck out her hand for him to shake. "I'm glad you're still alive, and if you know where the exit hole is on this hell hole then I'll be even more pleased! Oh, and my name is Raegan."
His eyes widened in shock. "Raegan? That's an unusual name."
"That's why my father gave it to me! It's an old one that apparently died out years ago, but he likes to drag up the past like that."
"I know." Miguel nodded slowly. "I've heard that story before."
"What are you talking about?"
If things were about to get crazy, then Raegan didn't have the time to entertain it. She still needed to escape, that was her top priority over everything else.
"I know...because you're Raegan Stevens, aren't you?"
"Huh?" Raegan narrowed her eyes at him, the suspicion that he wasn't a human after all slowly growing. "Yes, I am..."
"Oh, wow, this is so weird. I know your father!"
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