[00] The Teleporter

[DA 2009]

Ashe snuggled up further against the warm blankets. At first glance, it would appear as thought there was simply a lump of linen bunched along a hospital bed, but upon closer inspection, one would find a tiny teenager hiding beneath the pile. An annoying alarm blared through the comfortable quiet, and Ashe instinctively—and very grumpily—reached out to silence the infernal device that dared interrupt her beauty sleep. Her slender fingers wrapped around the familiar shape of her cell phone, and muscle memory allowed her to process the correct key in order to banish the alarm setting to ‘Snooze.’

“Five more minutes, Grandpa,” she mumbled sleepily as she rolled over. She sucked in a deep breath, filling her lungs with air. Her chest froze before exhaling as realization hit her like a thunderbolt. Panicked, she thrashed through the tangled heap of blankets as she bolted upright, her hair practically sticking on end from the way her head impressed upon the pillow. Becoming conscious of the fact that she had been neglecting to breathe, she let out the pent up oxygen in a sighing groan and then resignedly flopped back on the bed. Ashe had been right all along, though: she was alive and feeling great, if only a little tired.

She reached for her cell phone, and curiously realized that the cracked screen had somehow magically been fixed. The student scrolled through the options; everything was as she left it, so it definitely was her phone. Ashe sat up once more, noticing that the cell phone had been covering a slip of paper. She picked it up, and deduced it to be a hand-written letter. It read:

Dear Ashe,

I must admit: you made it a lot farther than I expected you to, and such a shame that your tournament had to end by Kristanna’s gun. Going into this Abyss, you had absolutely no control over your powers, and you emerge with a small grasp upon it. You needn’t depend on others so; confidence comes from within. Take the lessons you have learned here and apply them until you are satisfied and have fully absorbed their wisdom. For your exit, simply enter the location of your choice into the keypad of the teleporter, and it will take you anywhere you desire. I do believe that I indeed promised something that you have not yet received. If you notice, there is a curtain that separates a section of the room. You’ll find what it is you seek behind it. Bon appetite.

Regards, Your Humble Host,
Damon Dukes”

P.S. I think u r kewl. Signed, Audric

She couldn’t help but laugh. Who the heck was Audric? The girl whisked herself out of bed, nearly stumbling over her book bag that had been placed at the edge of the furniture, and could barely contain her excitement as she pulled back the curtain. Behind it sat a large refrigerator, a collapsible table with a microwave, and a cafeteria-style bench with place settings for one. She jerked open the fridge door, and to her glorious delight, it was filled with rows upon rows of many flavored pies and cakes, and set in the racks on the door were jugs of several different brands of punch. It most certainly wasn’t the prize she wanted, the ability to help Sage find Sol, but nonetheless, Ashe let out an excited squeal and reached into the fridge to grab her first of many slices.