After managing to find two decently sturdy sticks, i tossed them next to Kai and dumped my backpack on the floor. He cocked an eyebrow at me but sat quietly while i dug through the mess.

  "Homework, books, pencils, no not that either. Ah! I found it." I grabbed a spool of rope from my mess and held it up triumphantly.

  Kai gave me a thumbs up before questioning me. "Okay it's great that you have rope but why is it in your school backpack? Are you secretly Dora the explorer?"

  Katherine managed a short chuckle at that before going quiet again, still wallowing in the situation.

  "Maybe i am." I said sarcastically before walking in front of his girlfriend and crouching down to inspect her ankle. Thankfully it didn't seem to be broken on closer investigation, just bruised and probably overextended.

  "I actually went and bought climbing supplies last week for my first real cliff climbing lesson. They were going to go over the basics of safety and how to hook line properly in rocks."

  I reached down and lined the sticks up with her foot. "It was supposed to happen two weeks from now, but knowing myself i went and grabbed them early. Just so happens I'm lazy and kept them in my backpack because I figured I'd forget them otherwise."

  He nodded in understanding, watching me carefully maneuver Katherine's foot around. "Okay, but what about the splint? You know first aid?"

  I began wrapping Katherine's foot with the rope starting from the top of the branches and working my way down.

  "Nah, but the most important part is making sure the foot doesn't move and that it isnt so tight that it loses blood flow. It wont be perfect, but definitely better than nothing. Youtube shorts came in clutch for once." I replied before using her shoe and a metal ruler I had to finish the wrap and stop it moving as best as i could.

  Dusting my hands, i stood up and nodded to her. "Alright, now comes the real test. Ready to stand up?"

  She takes a moment before nodding back and muttering a quiet thank you. I smiled at her and helped Kai lift her up carefully under her arms. With a little effort she was up and standing. We slowly tested the makeshift splint which seemed to do okay much to our relief.

  I cleaned up my bag and slung it over my shoulder before hooking my arm under Katherine's. Together Kai and I became human crutches as we slowly limped our way into the forest.

  "Damn, didn't realize how dark it gets in forests..." Kai said, trailing off while studying the environment.

  "You've never been camping, have you babe?" Katherine asked quietly. She seemed okay talking to him at least, which was good. It was better if she was at least willing to cooperate.

  He nodded in reply, stepping carefully over a branch. "Nope. My parents never were big on nature and tree hugging. I've always wanted to go camping. Never expected this to be how it went my first time."

  She laughed lightly at that, and i smiled to myself keeping an eye on the forest looking for anything potentially useful or dangerous. So far, it seemed pretty quiet. My mind drifted to the ring and the voices i heard occasionally. I contemplated telling them everything i knew but didn't want to freak them out. After a moment, i decided in this situation honesty was probably the best policy.

  "Hey, guys." I started, grabbing their attention. "I need to tell you something. I'm gonna sound crazy, regardless of everything that's happened so... Just hear me out okay?"

  They looked at eachother, before Kai caught my eye again and nodded to me. He seemed apprehensive but receptive to what i was going to say. It was better than nothing, and the nod made me feel a bit more confident.

  "Kai, you remember those stories my grandpa used to tell me? The ones i told you about sometimes?"

  He nodded again and replied "Vaguely. What about it?"

  I thought for a moment, chosing my words carefully. "I think... We're here. We're at his world."

  He gave me a crazy look, while Katherine just kept walking keeping her head down.

  "So you're telling me you think that you're grandpa really was from a different world, and somehow we magically went through a portal and ended up there?"

  "Pretty much, yeah." I shrugged adjusting my grip on Katherine. "Thing is, everything happened as soon as i put on this ring."

  I held it up for us all to look at, the orange gem in the middle seemed to be shining even brighter than before.

  "When i put it on, i heard a voice call my name. One I've never met before or recognized. Then i felt the pull towards the portal for the first time." I said, mulling over the events. "After that it asked me to touch it."

  Looking up as we walked, the sky slowly getting darker i continued. "Also, this place gives me a familiar feeling. I dont know how to explain it, but it reminds me of him. The energy in the air, the way it makes me feel. It's almost exactly the same."

  Katherine finally looked up at me with mixed expressions, clearly thinking i was insane or losing it. She also was conflicted though because we did end up going through a portal that she couldn't even see. She was clearly trying to justify and rationalize in her mind, although she lacked the full story on my grandfather.

  Kai followed my gaze and watched the sky, humming to himself in deep thought. "Are you sure Max? If you tell me that you are, I'll believe you. I've got no one better to trust right now anyways."

  "Yeah, I'm sure." I replied firmly.

  "Okay, i believe you then." He said simply, much to Katherine's annoyance. She was understandably weary of me at this point and unsure what was going on, but she also trusted her boyfriend completely so stayed quiet.

  He then looked at me and asked "So has the ring said anything else since we got here?"

  "No. It's been completely quiet. Not a word or idea pulling me anywhere." I say in defeat.

  He sighed heavily and grunted in acknowledgement. "So basically we're on our own. That's what I'm getting from this. Reassuring."

  His girlfriend leaned more into him in response and he adjusted his hold pulling her from me to snuggle with her while walking. It was impressive to watch someone limp but also be babied and half carried at the same time. I shrugged to myself and let him play the part of doting boyfriend while i pushed ahead of them a bit to give them space.

  Raising my ring to the light i watched it sparkle almost the same color as the fading sun above. The orange was a beautiful twinkle burning into my retinas.

  "Come on, say something." I muttered, willing the ring to respond to my calls. There should be no reason I couldn't communicate back through it the same way. At least, i thought so.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Sadly, the beast on the ring just seemed to sneer at me and mock me for trying. I groaned in annoyance at that and gave up for the time being, opting to check my surroundings again. The forest was darker, more dense and slowly getting more unwelcoming as the sky continued to darken. We'd been traveling for about 6 hours at that point, taking breaks and scouting in-between.

  So far, there was occasionally trash that still popped in the forest but not nearly as much as out in that field we had landed in. I had a good idea that all the trash had been coming through the portals somehow, but was unsure if they did the same in the forest. Could have been the wind or animals pulling it through.

  On the topic of animals, we've yet to get a look at any so far. We were unsure if they were avoiding us or for some reason they just weren't in this forest. The first idea was my favorite, because the second chilled me a bit to think about. If there's no animals, that usually means they are scared of a bigger predator in the area.

  I shook my thoughts out of that trap and decided to focus on what we knew for sure. Turning to the two lovebirds I waited for them to catch up before addressing them properly.

  "It's getting late, and we don't know the situation in the forest when it gets dark. We should find somewhere to bunker down. I doubt we'll be able to get a fire going, so it's going to be a cold and probably damp night. Keep an eye out for something we can use as shelter." I announced getting only a nod from Katherine and a thumbs up from her partner.

  Turning around again, we continued for a few minutes before Katherine spoke up saying "Is that what i think it is?"

  Kai saw it next and grinned "Nice find babe! That's a shelter if I've ever seen one."

  I followed their gazes before whistling in amazement. In front of us past a few trees in a clearing lay a Subway car covered in overgrown weeds and bushes. It stood reflecting the last of the evening light, a safe haven for our tired feet. The small piece of home in an unfamiliar land felt like a sign from god themselves.

  "Yeah, Good eye Katherine. I think you found our home for the night." I say, smiling in approval at her.

  She huffed at me and began walking forward slowly, leaning on Kai. I laughed awkwardly and followed them. It seemed it was still soon to try and be friendly again. Nothing against her though, i understood that it would take time to go back to being on okay-ish grounds. At least she wasn't yelling again.

  As we neared the subway, Kai was the first to give it a once over after dropping Katherine in one of the benches. The inside had dirt caking the floor, and grass growing up to our shins. It had clearly been there for a while. The seats were in rough condition, dirty but still had some plush to them. Way better than the floor at least was the common sentiment. The windows unfortunately had long been broken though, probably from the impact of hitting the floor. It would be a cold night still.

  "Hey man. This train is Japanese." He said, pointing up at the ceiling above the doors.

  There lay out Japanese clearly and in bold letters. "So it's not just one country that's got portals." I say thoughtfully.

  Katherine chipped in mostly to her boyfriend. "Well, if something this big can be transported, we need to be careful. What if something falls on our heads randomly?"

  Kai held his chin thoughtfully and sat next to her before answering her concerns. "I dont think we need to be that worried about it. Most of the stuff we've seen has been pretty small. Especially since we got into the forest, trash has been way less common. Of course we should stay vigilant but I doubt it'll be an issue."

  She leaned on him again and opted to silently agree with him, huddling closer for warmth. I leaned against a pole watching them both and felt mild happiness that my friend at least had someone during this hard time to rest on. I was still regretting bringing them both here, but at least they were together. Quietly I began to move towards the other end of the car, giving them peace and alone time. I sat at one of the seats near the end, thankful they were at least dry.

  I leaned forward and rested my arms on my legs, clasping my hands together and staring at the floor. Exhaustion was finally hitting me after such a long day. The sun finally set behind us, leaving the cart in mostly darkness except a few rays of light still peeking through. I glanced across the seats and saw the two of them preparing to fall asleep, leaning on eachother and hugging to stay warm.

  I zipped my jacket up and pulled my arms into my sleeves laying sideways on the bench and closing my eyes. Eventually i began zoning out slowly into my own world of imagination. The sounds of the forest disappeared and before i knew it, sleep graciously overcame me.

  My dreams came wild and jumbled. I had ideas of home and college, food and family. My grandfather flashed into my mind again, giving me that same warm smile i always remembered. Then something shifted, he began to speak. At least, he was trying to. My ears strained and i fought to focus on his image, his vision threatening to slip away at any moment. I willed myself to him reaching a hand out desperately. Then finally like fixing a staticky TV signal I was there, sitting on his lap looking at him clear as day.

  "Hey champ. You made it." He said, smiling gently as his multi colored eyes sparkled.

  I stared at him in awe, trying but failing to speak.

  "You can't talk here buddy, not to me at least. This is a memory engraved into the ring, only able to reach you when you're at your deepest moments of sleep. Think of it as a pager, if you remember those things." He said running his fingers through my hair.

  "Unfortunately though, it's a one time use. I won't be able to reach out like this again. We don't have much time, so I'll keep this quick. If you're getting this message, you've put on the ring and ended up in my homeland. It's set to only activate when it detects a dense concentration of magic in the air." He explained, still stroking my head slowly.

  "I wish i could see it with you, but i know I'm long gone by the time you see this. I don't have much time left afterall." He smiled sadly at me before continuing. "You're gonna hear a lot of people that know my name, even my face when you arrive. Most of them will know who you are as soon as you arrive. You come from a strong bloodline after all."

  His face lit up with a bit of pride when he said that. "That being said, unfortunately most of them will not trust you at first. You're going to have to work hard to change that. I have done a lot of things in that world, and made a name for myself but not in the way i told you about. It's part of why I never told you why I left."

  He sighed before looking down at me wearily. "I'm sorry I lied to you, but i promise there's a good reason i did the things people will say i did. I won't beg for your forgiveness, but i will tell you every action I took had an intention even if it's hard to see in the moment."

  "Just know that no matter what, i have and always will treasure you. I love you dearly, never question that. Whatever path you choose won't change my love for you, my wonderful boy." Unconsciously, i could feel tears start to fall from my eyes, staining my cheeks.

  He smiled and kissed my forehead gently before continuing. "You've probably noticed a change in the air already and your body. You're my grandson after all. I've been slowly pushing mana into your body since you were young to make you sensitive to magic. My magic is dense and pure, so you'll have a higher sensitivity than most people even though you've only been there for a few days."

  He tapped my lungs and finished saying "Magic is absorbed through the lungs and pushed into the rest of the bloodstream. The longer you stay and absorb it, the stronger your sensitivity and stamina will increase. Still, you need to harness your core and practice how to move mana through you more efficiently. To help you with that, i created the rings you're wearing now."

  "Those rings are your training wheels, for a lack of a better word, and are what heightened your sensitivity to magic in the air. Most likely its how you activated the rift in the first place that brought you here. The gem will help you compress and store mana until you can learn to do it properly yourself." He explained manifesting the ring to show me clearly.

  He gave me a wide smile and a thumbs up. "Isn't your grandpa the best? You're welcome kiddo, just don't lose them. There's only one set of those in the world, i made it myself with help from a friend. They'll be useful to you even after you learn mana storage." He rubbed his chin and continued.

  "Speaking of, I've asked them to help you out while you're here for a while. The rings will act as a radio for contact between you. You may have heard them speak to you already, but the connection is weak. I'm going to strengthen it now, dial you in to the right signal you could say."

  He reached down and touched my forehead with his finger and i felt something inside my head twist and then click into place. He nodded, satisfied with his own work and smiled at me again.

  "Perfect, you should have a good connection now. Remember to show respect, they are an old friend of mine after all. Also, don't make unreasonable demands of them. They may be doing me a favor but that doesn't mean they'll instantly like you. You have to earn their favor yourself. Though I'm not too worried, my grandson is a good boy!" He said laughing heartily before calming down and looking me in the eyes again with a wistful expression.

  "It's time, Max. Times up. Remember kiddo, no matter what you hear and learn about me I have and always will love you. Now go, explore this new world and make your own story. I'll be watching over you always." He kissed my head one final time before slowly letting me go, letting me drift back into black.

  I fought against the pull of darkness as hard as i could, trying to swim through the sludge and reach out to him again. The current was too strong though, and his image distorted until nothing but milky black darkness was left.