Charlie and the Ethereal Plane

A boisterous knocking jolted Charlie from her sleep. Her heart dropped into her stomach as she struggled to orient herself. She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. The dimly lit room was still spinning when a loud but muffled voice came from the other side of the door. “Hello! Anyone home? It's UPEX, delivering a package for a Ms. Gary.” Charlie groaned as she pushed her fuzzy blanket aside and rose from her mustard couch. She dragged her feet along the carpeted floor, staggering slowly towards the door and rubbing encrusted sleep from her dry eyes. The delivery person knocked aggressively once more, causing Charlie to jump and shout “I'm comin'! Gimme a minute!”

Charlie looked through the peephole of her cherry-red door and saw a lanky figure pacing back and forth. He held a clipboard in one hand and a soggy, very nearly crushed package in the other. The hall was strangely quiet for this time of day. There was no one walking their pets or watering the plants that lined the walls. Maybe everyone else had a rough night too. Charlie closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she swung the door open. She had planned on simply grabbing the package and retreating quickly back into her home, so she could continue to nurse her hangover from the night before. The UPEX deliveryman was taller than she had expected. Cartoonishly tall. He was covered in pale skin that can best be described as that belonging to a frog or some other amphibious creature. Charlie averted her eyes to avoid staring awkwardly at the man. She looked everywhere but directly at him. The man asked, “Are you Charlie Gary?” Charlie nodded her head and focused on her neighbor's garishly orange door. Had it always been this horrid orange color? The deliveryman was talking, but she didn't hear anything. She was too busy assessing her surroundings. Something felt off. She had almost forgotten about why she opened the door in the first place, when her thoughts were abruptly disrupted. “MA'AM! Sign this!”, said the deliveryman as he thrust the ill-traveled package and clipboard into Charlie's hands. She signed for the package and closed the door without a second thought about the deliveryman.

Back inside, Charlie took the brown, crumbling package and set it on her side table. Whatever it was, it could wait until her head wasn't screaming at her. She walked past her kitchen and towards her bathroom to gather some ibuprofen. Her shiny black stove top twitched and moaned. Charlie froze and took a few steps back. Now the carpet under her feet began to creak like an old wooden floor. Charlie began to slowly look around her apartment. The multicolored walls began to melt away, revealing mold and overgrowth. Her mustard couch had begun to show tufts of dirty, black stuffing. An acrid scent permeated the air. As her home transformed around her, Charlie heard the awful sound of wood splitting and glass breaking. Panic filled her chest and she took off for her room, the only place that seemed untouched by this madness. The floor softened and gave way under her feet as she raced through the apartment, grabbing for her keys, the soggy package, and emergency bag. Charlie clambered towards her door. “Shit, Shit, Shit! Not Again!” Charlie rushed to her closet and located her scarab mirror. She shook the copper and jade inlaid mirror, hoping that it wouldn't be in a foul mood. The mirror's reflective surface quivered in her hands for a moment and then went completely blank. Surely a problem to deal with later, as whatever came crashing through her front door had started to breakdown the one to her bedroom. Charlie muttered under her breath as she pulled a fantastic piece of chalk from her emergency bag. She quickly drew out a few symbols and a small opening appeared. Just as the door gave way, Charlie slipped through the sliver and out into a dark, abandoned alley.

Charlie leaned up against the damp wall, took a huge breath and gathered her senses. The scarab mirror was obviously useless right now, so she'd have to contact her best friend, Astrid, by ring. It was the only other way to get a message to her. She positioned herself behind the rubbish and wooden pallets, ensuring that no one could see her if they looked down the alleyway. Charlie rubbed the amber center of the ring and a matronly head appeared. A flat, nonplussed voice filled the alleyway. “State your business.” Charlie looked around once more and started “Um. Yes, I-Uh.. This is an emergency! I need Astrid Mune to meet me at the cafe! They came crashing through my home and everything came crumbling down! Do not go to my home! Meet me at the cafe!”

The matronly head twitched. “Message received and sent to processing, but there was no need to yell. We can hear just fine you know!” Before Charlie had a chance to ask any questions or apologize, the head had disappeared and the light went out of the amber center. There was nothing left to do but head to McSheep's and wait. Hopefully, Astrid would receive the message and meet her before the creatures caught up with her.

Miss Eely and her three children were rushing along the sidewalk. They had to get to Murray's before they were caught again. The small family of four had narrowly escaped The Bureaux the night before. Miss Eely had just wanted a better life for her children. One without the burdens of destiny or war, but coming to this earthly plane was clearly a mistake. They had to get back home and quickly. “Hold tight to me and to each other. Keep your heads down, your mouths shut, and move it along. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves.” She whispered these instructions to her children as they pushed through the throngs of people going in and out of the shops. Miss Eely saw the silly, lopsided sheep eyes up ahead. Just a few feet and they'd be just as good as free. To her horror and dismay, a large, menacing creature loomed over the cafe. Its black wings cast a shadow over the whole corner. Smoke and acidic drool loosened itself from the creature's lips as it lowered itself down onto the shoulders of a young woman sitting and looking over the menu. Miss Eely stopped in her tracks and held her children at bay with one arm, while muttering an incantation and pointing a ringed finger in the direction of the cafe.

Before the full incantation left her, an awful screeching filled the air and the creature recoiled in pain.

Miss Eely roared at her children to run and they all took off in the direction of the woman. McSheep's was now out of the question. She'd have to come up with the materials or the money a different way.

Charlie was looking over the menu, struggling between the greyish pea soup and the even greyer haggis on rye, when she remembered that she had yet to look at the package she received earlier.

The brown, soggy packaging had given way during all the excitement and it pooled at the bottom of her bag. Charlie tossed the brown mush from her bag to unearth a small, black notebook. As she was about to open it, droplets of foul drool dribbled onto the pristine cover of the notebook, eating away at the black finish. She felt the hot breath of the creature on her neck. Afraid to look up, Charlie pretended that she couldn't feel the weight of the horrid thing as it descended upon her shoulder. She tried not to wince as it dug its claws into her right shoulder. Charlie slowly lifted her hand to flip a switch on the amber ring. A piercing and reverberating shriek filled the air and the beast recoiled in pain. Charlie looked up to see a stout woman and three smallish figures running towards her. She took off towards Murray's, not wanting to stick around and find out if these figures were friend or foe.

Charlie was almost out of breath when she rounded the corner and made to the ill-lit entrance of the tavern. She could still hear the footsteps inching closer and closer behind her. She shoved a precariously piled stack of pallets from the wall to reveal a rusted, crumbling door. There was no time to be subtle. She had to get out of the alley and into the tavern. She knocked three times and screamed “Murray! Open this feckin' doar right now!! MUR--” Charlie's screaming was cut short as the wind was knocked from her lungs and she found herself in a disheveled pile of limbs and flesh.

Miss Eely and the children were hot on the trail of the young woman. Miss Eely realized that they were headed in the same direction. Murray's! Was he in danger next? Miss Eely picked up the pace as the young woman disappeared from view for a few moments. She could hear a crash and muffled screams from behind the candy shop. Miss Eely tugged her children along and rounded the corner, only to trip over the pallets, strewn about the dimly lit alley. They tumbled and rolled, bowling over the young woman, becoming an entangled mess. Before anything or anyone could right itself, the door swung open and a flurry of hands yanked them all inside.

Murray was a brutish man, shaped like a barrel and covered in enough coarse hair to resemble a wild animal. He let out a great, thunderous laugh as he untangled everyone and their belongings. “ 'bout time that yer showed up! We cannae wait fer youse lot all night!” Murray placed their bags in their laps and offered them drinks. “We need ta get ye lot to the other side!” Miss Eely and Charlie were both baffled, but Murray had little time to set them straight. He handed them their things and a few provisions. He winked at them both and sent them down through the cellars. “The gatekeepers will be waitin' on ye. Don't tarry and find me brother when you get there! He can explain everything!”

Murray lowered the cellar door, leaving the five travelers to wander along the torch-lit path. Miss Eely began wringing her hands more and more as they neared the end of the path. There was no way that they'd be let through the gate. They didn't have the money to pay the corrupt guards that kept them out.

Charlie was thinking the same thing. As they moved along silently, fear crept up in their hearts. Finally, they reached the gatekeepers. The little black notebook, once forgotten began to hum and shine a bright light. The gatekeepers screeched and pulled the doors aside. No fee would be necessary this time. Miss Eely asked no questions, but simply rushed through the gate and into the forest. They traveled along the path, lit by bug-filled lanterns, and kept going until they saw a wooden door. As they reached the door, it swung open to reveal a tavern matching Murray's. His brother was lean, but just as hairy as he was. He chuckled and led them inside. “You look half-frightened! Don't be! Get some rest and everything will be explained tomorrow.” He led the five travelers to their lodgings for the night and wished them well.

Charlie sat alone in her room, trying to make heads or tails of the day, while Miss Eely put her children to bed and fretted over how she was going to take care of her family. As she put her head on her pillow, she felt a hard lump. She reached her hand inside her pillow to discover twenty-thousand dollars and note attached: Don't Worry. Sleep Tight. Signed Murray.