The Wrong Ones
Chapter 1: Stuck
"I'm coming, I'm coming! I'll be there in ten minutes. Okay, bye!"
Timofey ended the call and looked in the mirror. He was a normal seventeen-year-old Alles. He wore jeans and a shirt over a t-shirt. His red hair fell over his left eye. He had brown wolf ears on top of his head.
He was late.
"Tim, take a sweater!" his mother, Violetta, said. she stood at the door with clothes in her hands.
Timofey sighed. "Mom, it's August. It's hot. Besides, we will be back in a few hours."
His mother pressed her wolf ears against her head. She looked worried. "Son, are you going to-"
"We are just going to watch the sunrise in the park!"
"Fine," she gave up. "Are you sure? It gets cold at night."
"I'm sure!" Tim's ears flattened. "Bye, mom!"
He ran out the door. His mother always tried to control him, and it was annoying.
Outside, the air smelled like flowers. Tim walked quickly toward the edge of town. He lived in a quiet area with small houses and red roofs. His friends lived in taller buildings near a pine forest. They usually met at school to practice with their band, but not tonight. Tonight, they were meeting at the edge of the city.
He saw five figures against the pink sunset sky. Edward waved at him. Edward was the drummer. He loved science and could talk about it for hours.
"Hi, Tim!" Edward smiled. His black fox ears pointed up happily.
Timofey nodded. He looked at Alicia. She had blue hair and blue spaniel ears. She looked angry because she hated when people were late-especially her boyfriend.
"Oh, come on, Alicia," Timofey laughed. "I'm not even the last one here."
"Nick should be here any minute," said Elina. She had neat deer ears. She played the keyboard.
"Where is he?" Maryana sighed. She was Edward's younger sister. "He told us to meet here, but he isn't here."
Suddenly, Elina's phone vibrated. She read a message and looked sad. "Guys... Nick says he can't come."
The group looked at each other.
"Are we going or not?" asked Liel. She was Alicia's thirteen-year-old sister. Alicia didn't want to bring her, but their parents made her.
"Okay," Timofey said. "Nick isn't coming, so let's move."
Elina hesitated. "Actually, I think I'll go home," she whispered. "I have things to finish."
She said goodbye and walked away. The others started walking up the mountain. It was a difficult path between rocks. The sky was purple and pink, and a full moon was rising.
"Where are we going?" Liel asked excitedly.
Edward adjusted his glasses. "Let me explain. We are going to a portal to another world. The portal is a lake. It only opens when the moon is in the right place. Usually, this happens during a full moon."
Liel listened with wide eyes. Edward continued. "Long ago, scientists from our world and the human world found this portal. They wrote letters to each other for years. That is why our technology is similar. For example, humans learned about electricity, and we-"
"Ed, stop!" Maryana interrupted. "You told us this three times already!"
"I told you, but I didn't tell Liel!"
"We're here!" Timofey shouted.
The sky was now dark blue. They were at a small lake hidden by trees. The moonlight danced on the water. For a second, Timofey thought he saw a different forest inside the lake. It looked thicker and greener.
Alicia touched his shoulder. "We have to dive now," she whispered. "Edward says the portal closes at 2:20 AM. We have four hours."
Timofey took off his bag.
"In your clothes?" Liel asked. "You'll get wet!"
"Liel," Edward started again, "we don't know what is on the other side. Maybe when we dive-"
Timofey didn't wait. He stepped into the lake. His heart beat fast. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and went under.
At first, it was just cold water. But the deeper he went, the warmer it felt. Suddenly, he felt his feet push out into the air. He turned around and swam to the surface.
He opened his eyes. He was in a forest. It was green and beautiful. There were no rocks here. Instead, he saw very tall buildings-maybe twenty floors high.
He climbed out of the water. He looked at his hand. It was see-through (transparent)! He could see the buildings through his own skin. Edward said this would happen, but it was still scary.
Timofey went back into the water to get the others. Soon, they all arrived.
"Maryana, I can see a trash can through your stomach," Edward joked. Maryana tried to hit him, but her hand went right through his head.
"Being a ghost is cool!" the drummer laughed.
They walked up a hill. They saw other transparent Alleses walking around. They weren't the only ones visiting the human world tonight.
"Let's go!" Liel said. "We only have four hours!"
"Actually, three," Timofey said, looking at his watch. "It is 9:40 PM. We must be back at the lake one hour before it closes. If not, we will be stuck here."
They walked through the streets. Humans walked past them but could not see them. The Alleses looked into windows and at store signs. Everything smelled different here.
"Guys... look at that," Edward said.
He pointed to a boy in a purple hoodie.
"He looks like a normal Alles," Maryana said.
"He is not see-through," Edward said quietly. "Everyone who comes through the lake is see-through while the portal is open."
Timofey frowned. Was that possible?
"Quiet!" Alicia whispered. They followed the boy, but he turned a corner and disappeared.
"Ed, are you sure?" Maryana asked. "Alleses don't live here."
"I'm sure!" Edward insisted.
"Okay, okay, calm down," Timofey said. "It's 12:30 AM. We should go back now."
"12:30?!" Liel screamed. "Thirty minutes ago you said it was 12:20!"
"Look for yourself!" Timofey showed her his watch.
"Look at it! The hand isn't moving!" Liel shouted.
Timofey looked. The small hand of the watch was stuck. Maybe water got inside, he thought. He felt a wave of panic.
"Run back. Fast!"
They ran. Timofey led the way through the strange streets. Alicia pulled her sister. Maryana and Edward stopped arguing and just ran. Finally, they saw the forest.
"There it is!" Alicia cried.
They reached the lake. "Everyone into the water, now!" Timofey ordered.
They jumped. Splash! Timofey felt the cold water. He waited for the feeling of moving between worlds. He swam to the surface and looked around.
He saw trees. He saw the tall buildings on the hill. He was still in the same lake. In the human world.
The others swam up, too. They looked confused. Timofey dived again. And again. Nothing happened. The magic was gone.
Alicia touched his arm. Her eyes were full of tears. "Tim... the portal... it's closed."
Timofey's heart sank. He couldn't speak. He looked at his friends. Maryana was staring into the distance. Edward was whispering to himself. Liel was crying quietly.
Timofey took a deep breath. He had to be strong.
"Okay," he said. His voice was dry. "We will stay here tonight. In the morning, we will decide what to do. Let's sleep. We can't do anything now."
The Alleses were no longer see-through. They were solid and real. They lay down on the grass under a tree. Timofey did not close his eyes, even when the sun began to rise.
They were stuck in a world that was not their home. And they might be there for a long time.
