“That is a car,” Kari said proudly, pointing at something that looked for all the world like a large, green, metal cage with windows.
They had walked for about two hours, at which point they reached a large dirt track and followed it for several miles. The car was sitting by the side of the track, covered in pine needles and leaves, and its giant black wheels were splattered with mud. Sarah couldn’t help thinking that it looked like a giant wolf’s head with glass eyes, and feeling rather nervous as a result, but on closer inspection she could see spots of rust and scratches in the shiny metal. Its slightly beaten-up appearance made it seem rather less threatening.
“It’s a van, actually,” Julia said. “It’s mine. Old as hell, but still runs okay.” She nudged Sarah, and pointed at one side of it. “You can ride up front, if you like.”
“Alright?” she said, bewildered. Julia walked around to the back of the thing and did something with a few slivers of metal in her hand. The entire side of the contraption suddenly swung upwards, opening like a box lid and propped up on thin metal bars. She and her brother jumped, much to Kari’s amusement.
They put the large packs into the back, and the side swung down again just as easily. Then Julia grabbed a small handle on the side of it and pulled, and a whole section opened outwards, revealing a comfortable-looking chair. “You get in here, and Sylar and the twins can ride in the back.”
She sat up on the chair. Julia showed her the odd belt thing, supposedly there for safety, although what could warrant such a restraint, she had no idea. Sylar climbed into the row of seats behind her, and was duly strapped in as well with Leo and Kari on either side of him.
It was bizarre, and more than a little frightening, but they seemed completely at ease. Sarah tried to ignore the anxiety that was quickly growing in her stomach.
Julia climbed in beside her, and sat in front of a large, oddly shaped wheel that stuck out of the front of the van. She fumbled at the side of it for a moment – and Sarah yelped in fear as a loud growl erupted from the nose of the thing, and the entire contraption began to shake.
“It’s okay! It’s okay – that’s the engine, alright? It’s a device in the front here that makes the van move. It’s just very loud, alright? Trust me, it’s okay!” Julia said over the roar. “Just watch, you’ll see – I can control it just fine.”
The van began to move, and as Julia turned the wheel and moved her feet, the thing followed her directions and turned according to her commands. Sarah stared in amazement and then delight as the van carried them down the track faster than any horse, bumping along over rocks and hollows as nimbly as a cat. Julia piloted it deftly and with easy familiarity.
“This is incredible!” she said, watching the forest roll away behind them. “Do all humans have one of these things?”
“Not all of them, no. They’re expensive,” Julia said, then laughed. “Hah, wait until we get to the highway – then you’ll see some different ones.”
She turned back to Sylar. “Just look at this – can you imagine if we had one of these at the freehold?” she said excitedly. “We wouldn’t need the horses anymore! We could go through the Darkenwood in just a few hours, or something!”
He was looking decidedly pale. “Are you okay?” Sarah asked.
“Is it normal to feel sick when you’re riding in one of these things?” he said weakly.
“It’s travel sickness,” Kari said. “Looks like elves can get it too. Try not to think about it, and tell us if you feel like throwing up.”
He nodded, and Sarah returned to looking out the front window. She felt completely fine. It seemed that this sickness didn’t affect everyone, or else no humans would be able to use these things.
The forest gave way to scrub and fields, and the track improved considerably. It became a proper road, smooth as black silk and covered in markings. When she first saw another car in the distance, she was instantly afraid of a collision – but Julia was unconcerned, and it passed them by. They moved at truly astonishing speed, but some mutual agreement kept them on the other side of the road in carefully delimited sections.
She had been so absorbed in watching the other cars that she barely heard the sound of a bell dinging somewhere behind her, but Julia immediately called back to the twins. “That your mom or your dad?”
Sarah looked back curiously, and Leo pulled out a small flat device and looked at it for a few seconds, then groaned. “It’s Mom. She says I have to call her as soon as I have reception again.”
“Forget it – we’ll be home soon enough, she can wait.”
“Maybe you can, but she’ll give me hell if I don’t check in,” he said, grumbling. He began to tap at the surface of the device distractedly.
“It’s just something that lets us communicate over long distances,” Julia said, having noticed Sarah staring. “You got any magic that does that?”
“Yeah, it’s called a sending,” she replied. “We can send messages and talk to anyone as long as we’ve met them once. It doesn’t work between realms, apparently.”
Julia laughed. “Shame your folks don’t have a phone, but I can’t imagine the charges for calling another dimension or something.”
Leo laughed too, but the joke was lost on Sarah.
Sylar suddenly groaned, and tapped Julia on the shoulder. “I’m gonna be sick,” he said indistinctly.
“Oh no – just hold it a minute, I’ll pull over!” She directed the van to the side of the road, and quickly slowed to a halt. Leo jumped out and helped Sylar to the nearby bushes, where he doubled over and vomited noisily.
“Is he going to be okay?” Sarah asked anxiously. The other cars sped by them, apparently unconcerned.
“Yeah, he’ll be fine. Some people just get sick when they travel. It’s not contagious or anything,” Kari said. “Give him a while to sleep it off once we’re back.”
They waited for ten minutes, until Leo helped Sylar back to the van and bundled him into the middle seat again. He seemed groggy and very sick, and Sarah was immediately scared for him. “He should be okay now,” he said. “He’s got nothing else to throw up. I’ll keep an eye on him, don’t worry.”
They drove on, with Sylar leaning on Leo’s shoulder and half asleep. Sarah returned to watching the road. There were so many different kinds of cars – big and small, with many windows or none, traveling at high speed or so slow that Julia sped around them easily. Houses and buildings started to appear as well, and Sarah gazed at them in wonder as they flew by. The architecture was completely alien to her – it was too smooth, too clean, and far too open. No sign of fortifications or battlements anywhere, which begged the question of how they protected themselves.
The human realm was a bizarre and unsafe place, Sarah decided. And there were so many humans, around, and the whole realm seemed to be enormous if the speed at which they were traveling through it was any indication. How would they find a nexus in the middle of all this? More importantly, how would scrying work in a realm this large?
Eventually they joined a much bigger road, with many rows of cars and vans, that swept up and over another giant road on enormous stone columns. Sarah still watched, marveling at the sight and the effort that must have gone into building such a thing. The van began to speed up, if such a thing were possible, until it seemed that they were flying.
What a way to travel, she thought. Mallow would be envious indeed.
“How long until we get to your home?” she asked over the din of the engine and the roar of the other cars.
Julia made a rocking motion with her hand. “Another few hours. We’ll have to stop for lunch. You’ll like our home town, it’s a nice friendly place – lots of trees and stuff.”
The landscape seemed to flash away before her, and Sarah felt herself getting drowsy. The noise of the engine settled into a drone that seemed to lull her to sleep, probably because she had not had enough rest the night before. She began to drift, half-sleeping and half-waking as the van sped on along the road. She couldn’t have been dreaming, but Sarah still fancied she could hear her mother’s voice calling out to her, begging her to answer. She didn’t make a sound. It wasn’t real.
She awoke with a jump when someone gripped her shoulder. Julia had leaned over to shake her. They were stationary again, in a giant open space with other cars dotted around in neat rows. Ahead, she could see a huge, squat building with lights inside.
“What? Where are we?” she said, feeling the stiff pain in her neck where she had leaned over to one side too much.
Julia pointed out at the building. “We need to get some food. This is just a pitstop – we’ll need to drive on soon enough. Your brother’s still not awake, though. Kari and Leo can stay here with him if you’ll come and help me pick up some eats.”
“Sure…” she said slowly. “Is it safe?”
She looked at the building, then at Sarah. “Yeah, I think so. You just need to stick with me. Leo, pass your jacket out here.”
She handed the jacket to her, and Sarah climbed out of the car and faced this huge, new mystery.
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