text: George? He stood over the gas stove with the kettle warming pulling it off seconds before the whistle as not to startle his friend in the next room. “Hey Dom, do you care what kind of tea?” Leo asked from the kitchen. Dom didn’t answer but gave a slight head nod. Leo entered carrying a tray with two mugs filled with hot water, a string hanging over the side, and bowls of sugar and milk. He set it down on the small table between the couch and chair where they sat. Dom continued to stare off at the wall, but his eyes stayed unfocused. Leo knew he would have to speak first to pull Dom out of the shock of what had just happened. He didn’t know how to approach the situation other than a cup of tea to calm his nerves. Dom’s clothes were in bad shape, with rips and stains covering them. One of his pant legs had almost been ripped all the way around as it hung off his knee. Leo inspected him closer to see that the stains took a faint color of red. He wondered if he needed to know what happened or call the cops. Leo was not the type that liked trouble and avoided it at all costs, but Dom was his oldest friend. He wanted to be there for him. “Dom, um... what happened?” He whispered, afraid of scaring him anymore. Dom’s head slowly turned to focus on Leo, who sat up straighter. “A fight.” “With who?” Leo questioned a little too loudly as Dom jumped back on the couch. “I’m sorry, with who Dom?” Leo corrected quietly. “Remi,” Dom mumbled “What? Remi? She wouldn’t do that.” “WELL, SHE DID!” Dom yelled back at him. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry, please tell me the whole story,” Leo begged. It all started yesterday. Remi and I went to eat lunch together and catch up at this new place called ‘The eatery.’ At the restaurant, the waitress took our drink order. She then didn’t come back. We asked another waitress to take our order. “Excuse me, can we get some help?” Remi asked. “You aren’t one of my tables.” She barked and walked away. Remi’s face turned red from anger. “I’m not taking this.” She got up. “I’m going to find the manager.” She stomped off, not going to let anybody treat her that way. After ten minutes, a man stopped at my table, “Are you here with Remi?” I hesitated to answer, afraid of the trouble she had gotten into. “um... yes.” He just walked away. After several steps, he turned back, “Are you coming?” I jumped up from my seat on his heels as we went through the kitchen to the back door. “Hey, what happened? What’s wrong?” The guy wouldn’t answer me, just kept walking. He kicked open the door, “THERE!” He turned, going back inside. Remi laid on the paved ground, sprawled out with blood smeared across her face and arms. I dropped to her side, trying to get her up. She didn’t move. I couldn’t believe they would leave her like this without calling an ambulance. My anger began to grow. Out of the corner of my eye, somebody stepped out from behind the dumpster. I froze. I was next, and nobody would help. “You good?” She asked. I couldn’t believe it. “Piper! Where have you been? It’s been almost a year since I saw you last.” I yelled. She shrugged. “Wait, did you do this to Remi?” She moved out from the shadows. “No! why would you think that. Why would I hurt her?” She snapped back. “Then who did? Why won’t anybody help her?” Piper took a step back into the shadows. “Just go. Grab her and go. Don’t ask any more questions.” I reached down to pick up Remi. Maybe Piper knew what she was talking about. One thing I knew was that I needed to get Remi to the hospital right away. I had her arm over my shoulder as I walked down the alley to the parking lot. “HEY! YOU!” A guy yelled from behind me. I didn’t want to turn around. I wanted to get Remi to the car. I glanced back and stopped as he held a gun at my head. “Drop her!” He barked. “No!” I took another step towards my car. “Drop her now, or I’ll shoot you. She is mine!” “What? You can’t have her. She is a person, not a possession.” I snapped back at him. What was wrong with him thinking he could take her. It’s not like finder’s keepers. I sat Remi down softly on the ground, leaning against the side of my car. I turned to face him, ready to fight for her. I would not let him take her. I bent my knees with my hands up, ready to take him on. A head popped out from behind the alley not too far away. It was Piper! She was sneaking up behind this crazy guy. I had to distract him for just a minute to allow her to get a better advantage point. “Why don’t you put down the gun, and let’s do this the old fashion style. Hand to hand, man against man.” He took a minute to answer, “Or I could just shoot you, and it would be over.” He tightened his grip on the gun. “Wait, wait. That wouldn’t be fair. I was with her first. You can’t take her from me then expect me not to fight for her?” I begged. He seemed to understand that as he put his gun in the back waistband of his pants. “Alright, let’s do this the old fashion way then.” He agreed. Oh, I wasn’t expecting him to take the bait that quickly. It worked, though. Piper flew out from behind a car slamming into the side of this guy sending him down to the pavement. His face slid across the loose rocks ripping the skin off and blood streaming down his cheek. He pushed himself up and Piper off him in one swift movement. She didn’t let him have a second’s rest as her fist connected with the side of his head, sending him stumbling backward. I couldn’t believe it. She was going to end this quickly. The guy stood up, looking me straight in the eye even though I hadn’t done anything. He charged at me like an angry bull, slamming me against the car. I fell forward on the ground. The guy picked me up, throwing me across the parking lot, ripping my pants. He headed for Remi, sitting against the car. I jumped, running towards the guy, ready to tackle him to the ground to protect her. Sirens sounded from down the street, stopping me in my tracks. Somebody had called it in. We were finally going to get some help--the police speed past us. My heart sank. We were going to have to handle this on our own. My hesitation allowed him to have time to start trying to pick Remi up. She had woken up some but didn’t seem like enough to defend herself against this big guy. The next thing I knew, she stood up on her own, and the guy fell to the ground shaking, eyes wide open. She turned to me with a small smile holding up her tazer. “I don’t leave the house without it.” “Okay, then hurry up get in the car before he wakes up.” I snapped. She crawled in, laying down in the back seat. Piper kneeled next to the guy checking his pulse. “Um... Dom. His heart isn’t beating.” She whispered. “What? Seriously? Now we are going to jail for murder.” “Oh, too dramatic. Let’s make it go away then. Come on, help me put him in the trunk, and we can go dump him out in a field. “ “Geez... Piper. That is a bit extreme. Can’t we just leave him here?” I asked, afraid of doing anything more with him. “Fine, I guess. Well, I’m not sticking around. Later!” She slid back into the shadows. I jumped in the car, dropped Remi off at the hospital, letting them know we were attacked. They asked me to leave, not allowing me in due to protocols. “Then I came here not sure of what to do next.” “Um... that is a lot,” Leo said, unsure how to handle all of this. “Yep.” “You can take a shower and borrow some clothes. Then we can check on Remi in the morning.” Leo suggested. Dom stood up, heading towards the bathroom. “Knock. Knock.” Leo turned to Dom, “Somebody is at the door.” Dom’s eyes were wide. There was no way he would get away with all of this. Leo made his way to the door; it flew open on its own. “FREEZE!” Both stuck their hands straight up in the air. Eyes squinted, trying to see through the flashlights. “Dom Hernandez, you are under arrest for crossing into the outer dimension and murder of George Happy.” A deep voice boomed through the room. “Wait, we didn’t go to the outer dimension. That is where the prisoners are held. Why would we go there? Plus, I can’t do that.” Dom argued back. The officer stepped into the room, “You weren’t alone, were you?” “Well, no. My sister Remi was with me, but she can’t cross dimensions either.” “Either way, you are the one that crossed over and committed murder. However, you made it happen. You are still under arrest.” He grabbed Dom’s arm, spinning him around slapping the handcuffs on him. He practically drug him out of the room. “Leo, help me. Fix this, please!” Dom called back to him. Something clicked, “Wait! You saw Piper in the outer dimension!” Then they were gone, and Leo was left to find his sister and prove his friend’s innocents, with no leads on where to start. He didn’t have the ability to cross dimensions. There were only a handful of people like that. A bright light flashed, temporarily blinding him. “Leo! Let’s go!” Her voice yelled as a hand grabbed Leo’s arm, pulling him into the light. Once the light faded, darkness surrounded them, making it just as hard to figure out where he had landed. “You alright?” Leo recognized the voice. After all, it was his sister Piper. He would never forget her voice. “Yeah, what is going on? How did you do that?” He questioned. Piper turned on a small lamp illuminating the room with two wooden chairs. “Have a seat, little brother. Take a minute to gather your thoughts.” He grabbed a chair, knowing that he would never calm after everything that happened tonight. He let the questions fly. “What happened? Why are you here? Why didn’t you come home? What’s wrong? How do we fix this?” “Wow, Leo. Chill out. Look, I’ve always been able to do this. I hid it so I wouldn’t be taken away from you. Last year, somebody found out, and I’ve been on the run ever since.” Piper explained. “Okay, then why did you show up now?” “Well, it has all been a setup to pull me out of hiding.” “What has been a setup?” Leo questioned, confused by this whole thing. “Look, there are some very bad people out to get me because of what I can do. Since I have not been bound like the other ‘Pushers,’ I can reach more than one dimension. I would be able to do many things for them that would allow them to get away with anything.” She explained. “Piper, then you need to turn yourself in and stop all this.” “No! You don’t understand what they do to the ‘Pushers.’ They torture them and use them as tools and weapons.” She snapped back at him. “Then you are going to let Dom and Remi take the wrap for this?” Leo argued. “Leo, of course not. That is why I was there helping them and why I came to get you. We have to put a stop to all of this. I’m tired of hiding from them.” Piper stood up with a hand out towards Leo. “Let’s go. We don’t have much time to set this straight.” “I’m just supposed to go with you after a year, without you telling me a plan of any kind? How can I trust you?” Leo questioned. “I’m your sister. Know that you can always trust me and that I have your best interest at heart.” Leo stood slowly, allowing Piper to pull him into a tight bear hug that they both have missed. “Okay, let’s do this.” He spoke enthusiastically. A bright light flashed as they disappeared through the portal. They reappeared in a dark alley. Piper pulled Leo against a hard cold wall. “Shh... they are just around the corner.” “How do you know?” Leo questioned. “Shh.... I’ve been watching. Now let’s go, quietly.” Piper insisted. They slide alongside the wall to the metal door. Piper placed her hand on the door with a small flash of light, and the lock and handle disappeared. “I didn’t know Pushers could do that?” Leo spoke too loudly. Piper spun around, slapping her hand on his mouth. “You have to be quiet. The sensors detect sound, not light.” The overhead lights flashed on, the sirens blaring. “Too late, now we have to move fast. Stay on my heels, or you will be in jail like Remi and Dom.” Leo grabbed on the back of her shirt like he did when they were kids in a big crowd. He always knew that his big sister would take care of him and never get lost. They zigged-zagged through the corridors. Leo lost track of how many turns they made, but Piper knew exactly where to go. Piper stopped suddenly, with Leo slamming into her back, sending her past the wall. The guards saw her and opened fire in their direction. Piper turned back to Leo, grabbing his hand. “Stay here. I will be right back.” She disappeared in a flash of light. BANG! Leo kept his back to the wall as he waited, not breathing, afraid that she wouldn’t come back. The hallways were silent, raising his heart rate. He gasped for air, debating to run back through the maze. “Leo,” Piper whispered. “Leo!” He poked his head around the corner. “Oh, Piper, I thought they got you.” “Yeah, right, they wish. Let’s go.” Leo attached to Piper’s shirt again, and they were off weaving through the corridors. He had a stitch in his side as he tried to slow Piper down some. “I can’t.... Please... Just a minute.” Leo begged. “No, we have to keep moving if we stand any chance of getting them out. The alarms already went off. We are almost there.” Piper explained. They both knew what they had to do. They ran with everything they had straight into a large metal door. “Piper, can you do your light thing again?” Leo asked. She hesitated a minute, “Not sure if I can on this door. Hold on. I’ll blast it with everything I have.” A bright light flashed, and the door turned bright red from the heat. Piper waited and pushed in the middle of the door. It fell to the ground with a bang. The room on the other side stayed dark. A whisper came from the shadows, “Piper? Leo? Is that you?” Remi and Dom came running out of the room, jumping on them in big bear hugs. Piper grabbed Dom’s shoulders, holding him back to get a better view of his face as he had a black eye and a cut on his cheek. “Dom, what did they do? I thought the cops came and got you?” Piper questioned. “They did. By the time we reached the car, some other guys had charged us. Knocking the officer out instantly while they punched and beat me a bit before shoving me in their car and bringing me here with Remi.” “Well... I’m glad they put you two together. It is going to make this next step simple.” A flash of bright light appeared, and Piper led them all through to a new dimension. There were beautiful tall trees and green rolling hills. The sun shined bright. The wind blew fresh air across their faces. “Where are we?” Remi asked. “Home,” Piper answered.