The Cursed Dimension
Josh Thomas, Year 8
Most things were pretty normal in Salem. Things rarely went wrong. Travellers and tourists sometimes reported a faint buzzing sound – it was soft, like just background noise – but none of the locals had ever heard it. Some people wondered if the locals had evolved so that the ringing was imperceptible to them. Sometimes, returning tourists reported that the buzz was getting quieter…
Kai never had many friends. His town was too small and isolated for most residents to have connection with the outside world. There were barely any other kids his age. His only real friend was Ben, but he had disappeared along with many others only a few days after his birthday.
The disappearances were a mystery. With no evidence and no eyewitnesses, the Police had concluded that the townspeople had simply got lost in the forest. Ben knew his way around town, and Kai was sure he wouldn’t have got lost. He knew there was something else going on.
One night, Kai began to delve deeper into the mystery. It was a night where his hands tingled, often burning from a cold sensation. He slowly opened his door and gingerly crept down the stairs, each one groaning as they desperately tried to hold his weight. Deafening snores jumped out of his brother’s room. After what felt like an eternity, Kai finally made it down the stairs. The front door creaked, screeching in pain, and a gust of frigid air woke him up again.
The carpet of stars dazzled and danced in the night, stretching as far as he could see. The jet-black to navy gradient of the sky presented itself as the perfect canvas for the countless galaxies. The full moon shone brightly, displaying every crater in an ethereal glow. The lack of light pollution from the tiny town left the heavens untouched, with stars sprinkled across it like glitter. It was beautiful, but the arctic grip of the night strangled him. The cold seeped through his clothing, bathing him in a world of frost. His steamy breath twirled and danced through the air. Soon after, sinister clouds began to clash and rumble, and forks of lightning viciously lashed to the earth. The shadows ominously drifted through the dense trees and shrubbery. Kai could have sworn he saw a pair of gleaming red eyes staring back at him. He began to feel a huge weight on his shoulders from all of Salem. He was the chosen one to wander through the forest and unveil the stretching mystery taunting his town for days. He had to find Ben, and all the other missing townspeople to cease the waves of pain and grief washing through his community.
Leaves crunched like bones beneath his feet as he trudged through the greenery. Owls and birds cried like missing children and twigs snapped like the hopes of suffering parents. With nothing found, Kai began to feel disoriented and started to head back, until a faint ringing knocked on his eardrums. He paused, ears ready for any noise. There it was again, from right in front of him. He lifted his pace, boosted by his newfound motivation. Were the theories true? Was there something supernatural buzzing and protecting Salem? As Kai scanned his surroundings, ruffling his dirty blond hair, a glimmering ray of gold caught his eye. He sprinted as fast as he could, and suddenly before him stood a huge, majestic oak tree. The bark vibrated, emitting a noise that had been caught up in so many rumours. Kai lifted his hand to touch the bark, and golden ripples pulsated through the trunk and branches. He shone his tiny torch upwards. It was vacant of wildlife, but home to an array of mesmerising colours. Crimson red leaves to lime green softly floated to the ground. Kai spotted a small hole in the base of the tree and crawled inside. A rush of black invaded his eyes.
In a daze, Kai opened his eyes, fatigued from his adventurous journey. He crawled slowly out of his bed, and with a shock realised he wasn’t in his room, or at home. He was in a vast valley of natural beauty, with lush green grass carpeting the landscape, splattered with flourishing flowers. Outside of the valley stood countless sky-stretching mountains, painted in greenery, and capped off with thick, chalky white snow. It was the prettiest place he had ever seen.
The sky told a different story. Gargantuan, threatening clouds slowly marched towards a gaping hole in the blood-red sky. The fractured rift foggily depicted the images of the glowing tree back in Salem. It only felt like a few hours ago he was there, hypnotised by the tree. Now, it felt so far away, taunting him from above. The surreal environment had successfully distracted him from one thing sitting in the valley. A castle, armed with giant walls of stone, sat patiently. Inside, a deafening growl hit him like a shockwave.
His heartbeat skyrocketed. The place, which was once picture-perfect, dropped severely in temperature. The mood darkened. Kai knew his quest wasn’t finished until the source of the growl had been muted. After a brief walk, the world grew darker again. Looming over him were metres of polished stone, thick and tall enough to keep most things out for hours. Soon enough, he found a cavernous hole at the top of the wall. Cracks shot out like spiderwebs in all directions and powdered rubble covered the ground. Kai stretched for the gap, arms extending like rubber bands. He finally managed to pull himself up, gasping for air. He noticed a mysterious ring of water surrounded the castle. It was crystal clear, but bottomless. The banks next to the moat were demolished, suggesting the monster didn’t enjoy it. Kai jumped off the wall, wincing from the drop, and leaped into the water.
He resurfaced and his lungs were craving air. The temperature of the water paralysed him, freezing his limbs and stopping his brain from working properly. He desperately grasped for land and managed to gingerly pull himself to the grass. Luckily, the beast had made its own entry to the castle, smashing the wall open. Kai laid his eyes on the interior of the castle. His skin prickled as a soft breath of air wafted onto his neck. He quickly spun around, but saw nothing. Ominous shadows crept towards the second floor. Climbing up, Kai realised the winding staircase had led him to his ultimate battle. His fate. The beast turned, snarling in disgust. “Kai…,” the monster growled.
It was a cluster of many different animals formed into one malicious being. Razor-sharp claws scratched at the ground. Its back was dotted with shiny shards and spikes, poorly hidden by a dense fur coat. His slimy mouth was full of colossal teeth, stained in a red-brown paint. But worst of all were the eyes. They were blood-red pools of anger. Madness. Revenge. Was it the same pair of eyes Kai swore he spotted in the forest? It sensed Kai was distracted and lunged at him. Kai was too late to escape unscathed, but he still threw himself to the side. He groaned in pain, holding his hand up to the side of his face. His whole hand was covered in blood, and his face was in excruciating pain. The gash felt corrosive, like a bucket of acid had been poured on his skin. He groggily got up and searched for something that could help him. He picked up a sharp rock and a blunt handle. Closing his eyes, he vaguely thought of the monster’s reaction to crossing the water. Suddenly, it clicked. The beast hated the cold. Kai’s hands began to tingle and drop in temperature. Icy particles began to frost over his makeshift spear, the top steaming from sub-zero temperatures. The monster snarled and lunged at him again, but Kai was ready. He swiftly dodged to the side and thrusted the spear into the monster’s neck. A shriek of pain was followed by a booming thud as the monster’s legs collapsed. Kai thought of all the missing people, and the pain in Salem. Eyes closed, he drove the spear deep into the beast and the whimpers simmered down to silence.
The buzz from the tree was now deafening. Kai was back in Salem. He blindly sprinted through the forest, guided by the faint murmurs coming from the town. He began to realise how loud the town was. It was chaos. As he exited the forest and turned onto the main road, he saw tears of joy streaming down parents’ faces, and best of all, he saw Ben. The missing townspeople had been reunited with their families. The danger had been eliminated from his town. The buzz from the protecting tree was as loud as it had ever been. Salem was finally whole again.