Take Ten to Write 2025 [IN PROGRESS]
the beginning.
Chapter I · Part I
I can See into other Dimensions.
Some of them are like our own, with people and cities and animals of all shapes and sizes. Some of them are like something you would pull out of a fantasy novel, with fantastic beasts and medieval buildings. And some of them are simply so unique that they are incomparable to anything we know.
At first, I didn’t realize that I was Seeing. I thought that I’d just gotten really good at daydreaming when I was bored.
But then, I met Walker, and the Dimensions opened up to me.
walker.
Chapter I · Part II
I met Walker in the very last place you would ever think to meet a guy: in the women’s washroom.
The first thing that I remarked about Walker was the fact that he was swinging a baseball bat at thin air. And sure, you see all sorts of strange things in public washrooms, but this one was new for me.
I don’t think he saw me at first, he was much too focused on batting his invisible baseball. It was when he almost whacked me in the face when I finally spoke up.
“Hey!” I yelled. “Watch it!”
He jerked as if my words had physically shoved him, but he didn’t stop swinging in a seemingly random pattern. Eventually, he turned to look at me and his eyes widened. Between each swing, he grunted, “How – can – you – see – me?”
“What do you mean?” I scoffed. “You’re right in front of me. Now seriously, man, get out, before I call security.”
“I–” He yelped as he was knocked backward. His head slammed against the wall and he slumped to the ground, the baseball bat rolling from his fingers and stopping at my foot.
A low growl echoed around the washroom. And that’s when I saw a yorrowick for the very first time.
monster.
Chapter I · Part III
In short, the yorrowick has absolutely no importance in this story other than to say that it was a monster. A large, scary, otherworldly monster with shaggy white fur and two horns atop its head.
But enough about the yorrowick. What’s important here is the baseball bat.
Because when I reached down to grab it, I couldn’t. My hand passed right through it as though nothing was there at all.
And when the yorrowick (I lied, I suppose, about the importance of the yorrowick) charged straight towards me, and I squeezed my eyes shut, absolutely nothing happened.
I opened my eyes again and the creature was gone. So was the baseball bat. And the boy.
My heart still pounding, I burst from the washroom and barrelled straight into the very same boy who had been unconscious behind me just moments ago.
His hand snaked out to cover my mouth before I could scream and he dragged me back into the washroom.
“To answer your questions,” he said, his fingers still digging into my cheek, “that creature that you just saw is called a yorrowick, which is a creature that exists in another Dimension, and yes, alternate Dimensions exist. You, somehow, have the ability to See into these other Dimensions, just like me. Now, I’m going to let you go. Please don’t scream; I have sensitive ears.”
Of course, as soon as he let me go, my immediate reaction was to scream just to spite him, because seriously, he expects me to believe this nonsense? But I didn’t scream. Instead, I asked, in a voice of socially appropriate volume for an echoey indoor space, “Who exactly do you think you are?”
He smirked and held out his hand to shake. “You can call me Walker.”
secrets.
Chapter I · Part IV
Walker then proceeded to provide me with a long explanation of these Dimensions. Honestly, I wasn’t really listening at that point; my mind was having a hard time wrapping itself around the idea that I had just Seen into an alternate Dimension.
Thankfully, Walker noticed my glazed-over eyes and offered to meet me again the next day to answer any additional questions I might have after I’d had a chance to process what had happened.
I walked home in a daze, and even by the time I arrived, I hadn’t yet made up my mind about if I was going to meet him the next day. So, I turned to the one person with whom I shared literally everything: Blake, my brother. My twin brother to be exact, although it’s important to note that I’m the older one. (Don’t believe anything he might say otherwise.)
Of course, Blake could immediately tell that something was wrong when I walked in.
“Do I need to beat someone up?” he asked, jumping to his feet.
“Maybe? I don’t know.” I took a deep breath and the rest spilled out. By the time I finished, he’d sat back down and a frown had settled onto his face.
He was silent for a few moments before whispering, “I think we should go meet him.”
“‘We’? Why do you want to meet him?”
Blake hesitated for a moment before answering. “Because I think I’ve Seen these alternate Dimensions before too.”
no answers.
Chapter I · Part V
Blake and I met with Walker the next day at a coffee shop downtown. He didn’t seem at all surprised by my brother’s presence; in fact, it almost looked like he expected it.
After we had finished all the introductions, Walker clasped his hands in front of him on the table and said, “So, what questions do you have for me?”
Blake and I exchanged a glance. We had prepared a list of questions the night before.
“First of all,” Blake said, turning to Walker, “how is it possible that Bailey and I can see these alternate Dimensions?”
Walker shrugged. “I don’t know.”
Blake blinked. “What do you mean, you don’t know? Isn’t the whole point of this conversation for you to answer our questions?”
“Sure,” Walker said, taking a sip of his coffee, “and I answered your question, didn’t I? I just didn’t give you the answer you wanted to hear.”
Blake frowned but pressed on. “Alright, then what about you? How were you able to be in that other Dimension?”
“I Walked there.”
Now, Blake was fully scowling. “Are you trying to be funny?”
“No. I’m trying to answer your questions.”
I could see that Blake’s temper was quickly rising, so I stepped in. “What exactly is it that you can tell us?”
Walker shrugged once again. “Honestly? I can’t tell you much. Not with it making sense, at least.” Then his eyes widened, as if he had just had a great discovery, and when he met my eyes, his infuriating smirk had returned. “You know what? It would be much easier if I just showed you.”
life decisions.
Chapter I · Part VI
“What exactly are you wanting to show us?” I asked.
Walker still wore that mischievous grin as he led us down the streets. “You’ll see.”
I slowed to match Blake’s pace. He’d taken to scowling at the back of Walker’s head.
“I don’t like him,” he whispered. “I don’t trust him either. He hasn’t given us any answers at all, even though he promised he would.”
Walker turned a corner and Blake stopped. “Great, and now he’s leading us down a dark alley.”
“Come on!” Walker called over his shoulder.
Logically, I know that it’s not a good idea to follow a stranger into a dark alley in the middle of downtown during the late evening. But still, my curiosity got the better of me. Plus, I wasn’t alone; I had my brother with me. Although, come to think of it, Blake’s presence wasn’t very reassuring; it was more of an excuse I would’ve given my parents to reason out my bad life decisions.
And trust me, this was one of them.
“I need to know,” I said to Blake, taking his arm and pulling him along after Walker. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
Still, I held my breath and clutched Blake’s arm until we reappeared into the light of the streetlamps. Walker glanced back at us with amusement.
“Come on, do you really not trust me?”
I released Blake’s arm and was about to step toward him with an answer when I felt something press against the back of my neck.
Walker’s grin sharpened, his teeth glinting in the lights. “Well, you shouldn’t.”
idiots.
Chapter I · Part VII
A low chuckle echoed in my ear.
“Who do we have here?”
I exchanged a glance with Blake. In the edge of my vision, I saw something being held against the back of his neck as well. I blinked and saw that it was… a stick?
I spun around, ignoring Blake’s shout, and saw a similar stick being knocked aside. A boy looked back at me with a grin.
“She’s a smart one,” he said, looking over my head at Walker.
I could practically see Walker’s smirk still plastered on his face.
“Hey!” Blake hissed, pushing his own stick away. “Who are you?”
The boy spread his hands, a stick still in each one, and, nodding at Walker, said, “I’m that idiot’s best friend. My name is Nate.”
“Nate.” I scowled at him. “And why exactly were you threatening–” I paused to correct myself, “pretending to threaten us?”
Once again, he exchanged a glance with Walker. “Well, we agreed that we shouldn’t be too quick with trusting the two of you. After all, you can never be too careful nowadays.”
“You don’t trust us?” Blake spluttered. “How do you think we feel about you?”
Nate’s expression darkened. “Look, we–”
Walker cut in, “just wanted to play a little joke on the two of you. Honestly, you should’ve seen your faces. It was hilarious.”
There was movement in the corner of my eye, and I watched with sneaking satisfaction as my brother punched Walker in the face.
reconciliation.
Chapter I · Part VIII
Boys really are interesting creatures.
It turned out that Walker and Nate were telling the truth about playing a joke on us. Blake apologized, Walker waved him off, and Nate rolled his eyes as if it was a common occurrence to watch his best friend be punched in the face.
On the other hand, I, being a rational, normal human being, was still on edge from that whole ordeal. My heart was pounding as we decided on a park bench to continue our discussion.
“As I was saying,” Walker said, casually lounging beside Blake as if nothing had happened between them, “it would be easier if I just showed you the answers to your questions.”
“And just like before,” Blake interjected, “that doesn’t make sense.”
I nudged him. “Let him talk.” I paused, before amending, “No, actually, I want to hear what you have to say about all of this.” I turned my attention to Nate, who raised an eyebrow back at me.
In stark contrast from about two minutes earlier, Nate was completely serious. “I agree with Theo; the Dimensions are something you need to see firsthand.”
I held up a hand to stop him. “Wait, who’s Theo?”
Nate blinked at me. “What do you mean, ‘Who’s Theo?’” He glanced at Walker. “What exactly did you tell them?”
Walker shrugged. “I said that they could call me Walker.”
Nate rolled his eyes. “Of course you did.”
“So your real name is Theo?” Blake said, staring at Walker. “Then why did you tell us it was Walker?”
“Because that’s what I do,” Walker–or, rather, Theo–said. “I Walk to other Dimensions.” The corners of his mouth tugged up. “And that’s also exactly what I want to show you.”
time out.
Chapter I · Part IX
“So you’re telling me that I could actually go to one of those alternate Dimensions?”
Theo nodded. “Yep.”
“Time out,” Blake said. He grabbed my hand and pulled me off the bench. “I need to talk to Bailey for a moment.”
He dragged me a good distance away to ensure that we were out of earshot before speaking.
“Please tell me you aren’t actually thinking about doing it.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. He let out a sigh of exasperation. “Of course you’re thinking about doing it.”
“Look, as secretive as he’s being, Theo is living proof that what I’ve been seeing is real.” I paused, and added, “What we’ve been seeing is real. I need to know, Blake. Don’t you?”
His jaw worked as he glared at me. Finally, he rolled his eyes. “Fine, but I’m coming with you.”
I rolled my eyes right back at him. “I figured you would be.”
I turned to leave, but Blake grabbed my arm once more.
“What now?” I sighed.
“Promise me you’ll be careful.”
Blake sometimes forgets that I’m the older one.
“Of course I will be,” I said. “Now come on, we should get back.”
Excitement was starting to overtake my fear and nerves. I was going to visit another Dimension!
Nate and Theo were speaking in hushed voices as we approached, and abruptly stopped when we came within earshot. Even though I hadn’t heard anything, Nate’s pointed glare at Theo told me that we’d interrupted an argument.
“So?” Theo asked, all smiles despite his friend’s scowl.
I exchanged a look with Blake and he nodded.
“Let’s go for a Walk.”
meeting.
Chapter I · Part X
We ended up waiting a week before meeting again. I thought about the Walk every day. I wasn’t sure if I was more nervous or excited; either way, my heart was racing the entire week.
When Saturday finally came, we met at Nate’s house, which happened to be only a few blocks away from Blake and me.
Nate invited us in with a tight smile. Theo hovered behind him, practically bouncing off the walls.
“What’s gotten into him?” I murmured to Nate as I passed.
Nate glanced at Theo and rolled his eyes. “He’s had four cups of coffee already this morning.”
“It’s not even nine o’clock yet.”
“I know.”
Theo grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him. “Come on, let’s go!”
It turned out he was pulling me to the basement, which was Nate’s room. We passed a woman on the way down, who called, “Nathaniel, are you going to introduce me to your new friends?”
Nate paused. “Sorry, mom. This is Bailey and Blake.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs…” I realized I didn’t know Nate’s last name.
“Just Kerri,” she replied with a warm smile. “You must be the girl that Nate was telling me about.”
I turned to look at Nate with a raised eyebrow. “Oh really?”
“Mom,” Nate hissed, his cheeks reddening.
Kerri just patted his shoulder. “Have fun on your double date,” she said before turning away. “I’ll be in the kitchen if you kids need anything.”
“Thanks, mom!” Nate called before yanking us down into the basement and closing the door.
Once we were downstairs, I crossed my arms and stared at Nate. I was about to interrogate him, but Blake beat me to it.
“A double date?”
Nate shook his head. “My mom just saw four of us and assumed. It’s not a big deal, really.”
Blake opened his mouth to yell some more, but I interjected, “Nate’s right; it’s not a big deal. Now, can we please do this before I change my mind?”
the first step.
Chapter I · Part XI
“Alright, here’s what you need to know,” Theo said, his voice twice the speed it usually was. “First of all, there are tons of Dimensions. Nate and I keep finding more of them, so we’re not actually sure how many there are in total.
“Secondly, not all of the Dimensions are friendly. You saw that firsthand, Bailey, when we first met.”
I nodded, a shiver running through me at the memory of the yorrowick.
“So,” Theo paused to give Blake a… weapon?
“What exactly am I supposed to do with this?” Blake scowled, waving the wrench he’d been handed back in Theo’s face.
“Hit stuff,” Theo said with a shrug. “Look, if you have something better then be my guest.”
I weighed the crowbar Nate had tossed to me in my hand. At least I had a bit of range with my makeshift hitting stick. More than Blake, anyway.
Before Blake ould protest again, I asked, “Alright, what’s next?”
“Next, we Walk,” Theo said as if it was obvious.
“Yeah, but how?”
“You…” Theo trailed off with a frown. “You know what? I’m not actually sure how to describe it.” He turned to Nate. “How did you explain it to me again?”
I turned to Nate. “Wait, you were the first one to Walk?”
Nate nodded, a darkness passing in his eyes. “Yeah, I discovered the Dimensions first. Theo and I met about a year later.”
“So how did you teach him?”
Nate came to stand behind me. “Look straight in front of you and close your eyes.”
I took a trembling breath and followed his directions. “Okay, now what?”
“Picture a blank sheet of paper. Now let that image expand in your mind. Let the nothingness surround you completely.”
My senses seemed to dull as I did as he said. For a moment, the only thing I could hear was my own shaking breathing.
“Now,” Nate whispered into my ear, his hand slipping into mine, “step forward.”
the middle.
Chapter I · Part XII
Walking sucks.
I immediately felt nauseous, both my brain and stomach feeling like they just went through a particularly rough cycle of laundry. Beside me, Nate was bent over, clutching his own stomach.
“It doesn’t get easier,” he admitted, his voice hoarse. “Sorry, I should’ve warned you.”
The recovery, however, appeared to get easier with time; Nate looked alert and ready to go after about thirty seconds, whereas I took several minutes to regain my bearings. Blake and Theo had also arrived during that time and seemed to be in a similar state of sickness.
When I finally felt well enough to look around, my mouth dropped.
“Where are we?” I whispered.
“Welcome to the Middle,” Theo said, spreading his arms.
The best word to describe the Middle was, quite literally, nothing. There was nothing in sight in any direction other than the boys and a big, swirling portal-looking thing.
“Okay, and what is that?” I demanded, staring at the portal.
“We call that the Dimension Door,” Nate said, nodding at it. “That’s what we go through to travel to different Dimensions.”
I took a step closer and the Door shifted; not in location, but in appearance. It turned a dark orange, with what looked like mini lightning bolts jumped across the surface.
“Oh yeah,” Theo said, joining me to look at the Door, “the Door will change to how you’re feeling. Remember when Nate said to feel nothingness? That’s how we got here, right? Now you’re probably feeling,” he trailed off to examine the Door more closely. “Nervous, right?”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “I guess I’m feeling a little bit nervous now.”
“Why don’t we try thinking of something a bit calmer,” Nate said, coming to stand on my other side.
I turned and held a hand out to Blake. “Remember the field?”
Blake took my hand and nodded, his face still a bit pale. “Yeah, I do. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful before.”
“It was a field of tiny pink flowers that covered the ground and looked like a warm, fuzzy blanket,” I explained to Nate and Theo. “We visited once with our parents to have a picnic. I don’t think I’d ever felt calmer before in my life.”
Theo grinned and pointed behind me. “Well, whatever you’re thinking of, it’s working!”
I spun around to see that the Door was now a clear green and the lightning bolts had disappeared, replaced by gentle swirls.
“Ready?” Nate asked, holding out his hand to me once again.
This time, I took it without hesitation and nodded. “Let’s go.”
new world.
Chapter I · Part XIII
Thinking back, I never really took a moment to truly recognize that I was in a different Dimension. Sure, I was shocked and awed by it, but it had been a whirlwind of changes and novelty that I didn’t have the time to absorb.
“Welcome to Dimension Fifteen,” Nate said.
Nate and Theo had named the Dimensions in the order that they discovered them; Dimension Fifteen was, therefore, the fifteenth Dimension that they had discovered. Apparently, it was also among the safest ones that they’d found, although they constantly warned us about the potential dangers of all of the Dimensions.
Still, I found it hard to believe that this beautiful, peaceful Dimension could be dangerous in any way.
We were surrounded by trees – not trees that were native to Earth, it seemed, at least not the Earth I was familiar with. The colour palette of nature in Dimension Fifteen was composed of pinks and blues instead of greens, and the sky was a pale shade of yellow.
And yet, with all these unfamiliar colours and sensations around me, I’d never felt calmer before in my life.
“So?” Nate murmured, still beside me, “What do you think?”
Immediately, I grabbed his hand. “Show me more.”
lies.
Chapter I · Part XIV
Blake looked like he was going to pass out by the time he and Theo joined us in Dimension Fifteen.
“I’m fine,” he said immediately when he saw my expression, and waved me off. “Just a little nauseous, that’s all.”
There was something more there, I could tell, but I left it; Blake had a habit of telling me things only when I absolutely needed to know them.
“Alright, who’s ready to go exploring?” Theo asked, popping out from behind Blake.
My hand shot into the air and Theo laughed. “Perfect, let’s go.”
The four of us walked through the pink forest, with Theo in front chatting about everything he could think about, and Nate bringing up the rear.
“So?” I whispered to Blake. “What do you think?”
He was apparently lost in his own thoughts and completely ignored me.
“Blake!” I elbowed him and he almost toppled over.
His arms waved wildly as he struggled to keep his balance. “Wh-what?”
“I said, what do you think?”
“What do I think about what?”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. “Of this place! Of this Dimension!”
“Oh, right.” He cleared his throat and looked around. “It’s nice.”
“It’s nice?” I stared at him. “What’s the matter with you?”
“Nothing.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Blake Benjamin Bradley, you tell me right this instant.”
Blake stopped in his tracks to glare at me. “Shut up.”
“I will when you tell me.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“No.”
“Ye-”
“STOP!”
I flinched at Nate’s voice. Spinning around to face him, I was about to demand why he yelled when I saw the tip of a spear pointed at his chest.
To be continued…