By Elizabeth Jane Shelton
A school is as good a place as any to hide from an interdimensional bounty hunter.
I sprinted down one side of a crumbling hallway while Zeke took the other, looking for somewhere secluded to try to fix the transporter.
Zeke’s dimension had been a lot like this one—similar to mine, but a little… off. We’d only been in this new dimension a couple of days, but hadn’t seen any signs of life, just abandoned buildings.
We thought we were safe.
Near the end of the hallway, Zeke called out, “Odyssa, in here!” I found him in a room littered with bits of electronics. “Maybe we can use these.”
“Maybe,” I said skeptically. It was hard to be hopeful that we could troubleshoot our interdimensional transporter with parts from a kids’ technology class.
“Beggars can’t be choosers,” Zeke reminded me.
“We’ve been doing too much begging recently,” I muttered, snapping off the transporter’s outer plate to reveal the combination of technology and arcana inside.
I summoned a sphere of light to get a better look, which made Zeke stare. His dimension didn’t have magic, so even little manifestations like this fascinated him.
The light revealed a dull arcane core. “Oh, fates.”
“That bad?”
“It’s out of energy.” I replaced the outer plate. “We’ll need to charge it.”
“That doesn’t sound terrible.” Zeke picked up the transporter. It reminded me of an intricately carved cannonball. “What powers it? Some sort of magic?”
I bit my lip. “It runs on souls.”
His eyes widened. “It what?” He gingerly set the transporter back on the table and inched away.
Here we go. “Interdimensional travel is a fusion of science and magic. It’s guided and channeled by technology, but it’s powered by raw magical potential. And in any dimension, at its core, life is the essence of magic. The Grieves’ interdimensional transporters need whole souls, separated from living beings, to power them. That’s why it’s forbidden.”
Zeke held up a hand. “The Grieves family is murdering people to power interdimensional crime?”
I shifted uncomfortably. “Yes.”
His face paled. “How many people have they killed chasing you?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “A soul is powerful, but… it varies.”
“And whose soul is powering this transporter?” Accusation sharpened his tone.
I lifted my chin. “Mine.”
He blinked. “What?”
“After I stole it, I modified it. My transporter doesn’t need whole souls to work. Just pieces. And pieces can heal.”
“Then how do you charge it?”
“Confessions.”
Zeke stared at me for a long moment, then dropped into a nearby chair. “Let me get this straight. Your soul-powered interdimensional transporter is charged by confessions?”
I held out the transporter. “When I was seven, I broke my mother’s favorite vase and blamed it on my brother.” A thin wisp of white light escaped my mouth and funneled into the transporter. Its indicator light flickered yellow.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Zeke muttered.
“The greater the confession, the more life in it, the more power,” I explained.
For a tense moment, we stared at each other.
Finally, he broke eye contact to stare at the ceiling as if the rotting tiles held the answers he was looking for. He ran a hand through his blond hair, making it stick out in every direction, and sighed. “Fine.”
My eyes widened. “Really? You’re okay with—”
A loud beep startled me, and Zeke jumped to his feet. The old intercom system crackled to life with the raspy voice of a young woman. “Fitting to make your last stand in a school. I’m more than ready to teach you a lesson.”
I froze.
Ethel Grieves, heiress to the Grieves interdimensional crime empire, had arrived.
“How long will it take to charge the transporter?” Zeke whispered.
“Too long.”
Beep. “The campus is surrounded, and your power and your luck have run out. I’ll offer you a deal. Odyssa, I only need you. Surrender, and I will send your companion home. You have approximately fifty-eight seconds to decide.”
I looked over at Zeke, who was shaking his head. “Absolutely not,” he hissed.
“Zeke, we can’t do this forever,” I said, feeling a sense of finality. “You know I can’t take you home.” My voice broke. “And I don’t want anyone else to die.”
“No.” He grabbed my shoulders. “Odyssa, I will not lose you again!”
I shook my head, bewildered. “What do you mean, again?”
Zeke hesitated. “I know you,” he whispered, grief etched into his features. As he spoke, a silvery thread, much stronger than the first, flowed from his lips. “The Odyssa from my dimension. You were an artist. You died in a car accident.” He swallowed. “You were also my wife.”
“What?” I staggered, suddenly lightheaded, and Zeke gripped my shoulder tighter to steady me.
The classroom door slammed open, and there, in all her five-foot pinstriped glory, was Ethel Grieves. She grinned. “Checkmate.”
I grimaced. She always had the worst timing, but this…
The transporter buzzed. The indicator light now glowed steadily, although it hadn’t turned green.
Hope flared in my chest, although my heart was still unsteady. Zeke’s confession had been powerful.
Maybe…
Ethel continued. “Your decision, Odyssa? Will you come quietly and spare your… friend?” She looked at Zeke as if he were an interesting but irritating science experiment.
“No,” Zeke growled.
I took his hand, smiling reassuringly. “It’s okay.” Then I turned to face Ethel. “It’s been an adventure. Pity it had to end.”
Ethel pushed her thick glasses up her nose. “I might even miss the thrill of the chase,” she confessed.
Such a small confession. I held my breath.
The transporter hummed to life.
Relief flooded my body, and I squeezed Zeke’s hand tighter. “Well, we can’t have that.”
I pressed the button.
A deep thrum resonated outward, knocking Ethel back, before we were enveloped in a brilliant white light.
For a moment, I saw Ethel Grieves’ face, enraged. And… afraid?
And then, we were elsewhere.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Cool idea, Elizabeth! Love in the end, how Ethel’s small confession was the last bit they needed.
Thanks so much! I liked the irony of Ethel’s confidence being her own downfall.
Great story! Really had me hooked all the way through.
Thank you!! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks everyone for stopping by and reading Confessions! I hope you enjoy!
A teleported that runs on confessions. Jesus is like: “I Can’t get this thing to work”
Maybe not with his own, but I’d say with the number of prayer confessions Jesus hears regularly, he could probably power that transporter for the rest of time haha
Whoaaa I loved the worldbuilding in this story, this was so cool!!! And the symbolism with the confessions and a piece of a person’s soul, that’s really clever (definitely something I’m going to be thinking about today haha!)!
Thank you so much! It’s definitely something I think about— how we give little pieces of ourselves to those around us!
Awww I love that!!
Love the world you created in so few words! Feels both like a complete story, and part of something much bigger!
Well that was thrilling! Kept me on the edge of my seat there at the end. Loved it!
Ooooh, nice. So much tension, on so many levels, and it’s nice to see Ethel as a side character (who gets thwarted).
I was hooked from the first line! I love how you made Ethel the villian of this story, and also made her confession central to Zeke and Odyssa’s getaway.
I love Ethel even more for making that threat a pun! I thought the Grieves family was terrifying enough without needing souls for interdimensional travel; this put them on a whole ‘nother level. And the twist at the end–gold!
I love this!! I agree with an earlier comment that this feels like a whole story while also could be apart of something much bigger. The pacing was excellent. Everything felt intense and urgent. Amazing job!
Fantastic story!