Shirley couldn't be sure if they had everything they would need, but at the same time, there wasn't anything they could do about it if they didn't. Time had run out for their preparations. Her team consisted of herself, Emily, Cassie, Nick, Rick, and Lily.
Maybe they could have had more people, but she agreed that it would be simpler to have fewer people, for one thing, there would be less to keep track of and it would be easier to hide from anything hostile. Especially since they wouldn't know what kind of situation they'd be walking into during any point of the expedition.
They'd also worked out with Charlie Rivers' friends which entrance to Petals' forest, or exit in this case, their respective expeditions would go through. Shirley's would take the one on the other side of Arachii's world while Charlie's would take the one on the other side of the one leading to Earth.
There wasn't any indication of what they would be walking into, but each had an item created by Heathcliff that would help detect any gates within about a hundred miles of where they would enter the world form. That way they could see a little of each world as they travelled along. Although, the magic used in it wasn't expected to be completely reliable.
Heathcliff had also dropped something through the gate at Berthoud Pass that connected to something else that he'd given Shirley so they could find what world Charlie Rivers' expedition was primarily looking for.
Shirley's expedition goal was to mostly map out the various worlds they entered and mark where the gates were. Although, they didn't have to stick to just one the entire time, but Heathcliff had told her that he would at least like them to have mapped out a small portion that would allow him to have other expeditions pick up from there.
Maybe she would have felt better about what supplies had been packed for their expedition if it was her brother Rick who had been in charge of that rather than Nick, but it wasn't something that could be helped. Especially since Heathcliff was the one who assigned Nick that task.
"Ready to go?" Rick asked Shirley as he picked up his pack and not only put it on his back, but secured a strap across his chest to keep it from falling off his back.
"As ready as I can be," Shirley groused, partly because of the early time they were heading out. Especially since she'd been up late before enjoying Christmas with her parents and brother.
While her parents were aware of what they were doing, Shirley still wasn't sure when she'd be able to see them again. Even though Heathcliff had used magic to make it so that they wouldn't age physically until they returned to this world and would use a more forbidden kind of magic when they returned so they could essentially return to Earth at the time they left on their expedition, she knew that she still would miss her parents while she was gone.
Part of her idly wondered how Charlie Rivers and her friends were handling the knowledge they would be gone for a long time and wouldn't be able to see their parents again. Especially since their parents didn't know about the expedition or even magic for that matter. She couldn't help but wonder if things would be different with her going on this expedition if her parents weren't aware of her going or even the danger that was involved.
Shirley glanced at Emily as she got her pack secured on her. Why they had her along, Shirley couldn't understand, but accepted that Heathcliff had selected her. Just as he had selected each of them for this task.
Although, to be fair, Emily did have a way with enchantments that allowed her to do things with even thought mages that Shirley herself couldn't do, so she could at least be confident that Emily could have potential use in the even they encountered other creatures.
In addition, they had learned a little of the centaur's language. What little Heathcliff had been able to figure out at least. There was still a long way to go and since they wouldn't be able to translate what they said into just any language, Shirley knew that it would be best for their group to avoid other creatures if they could help it.
"Everyone ready?" Nick asked, as he secured his pack, which also included a tent. Shirley had a tent with her pack as well. A little larger than Nick's since there were more girls than boys.
"Not really, but would that matter anyway?" Shirley replied, feeling like they really needed to take more time with this, even though they knew the sooner they started, the easier it would be for everyone following behind them.
"Fair point," Nick replied as he texted Heathcliff that they were heading out before setting his phone down on a table next to the gate that led to Arachii's world.
The decision to leave their phones and other electronic devices had been a unanimous decision for their group. It was incredibly unlikely that they'd find a gate that led back to Earth and so their devices would be useless. Not to mention the other hazards that could befall their phones.
In all, it was agreed that the phones would be better left behind, no matter how much they'd rather have them along, if only for the pictures of their families and other loved ones. For one thing, if the phones were broken, then those pictures would be lost for good. There would be no way to transfer them to a new phone until they returned.
One assumption Shirley was making was that the worlds in which they were going to travel through likely didn't have the technology of Earth. And on the off chance they did, chances were that the technology there probably wasn't going to be compatible with their phones.
As the others of their party went through the gate, Shirley couldn't help but look around the room. All the preparations had been accomplished as best as possible, Heathcliff had put the enchantment on them so they wouldn't age until they returned to Earth, and the time had come for them to travel on.
Yet, she couldn't help but feel wistful at the time she'd spent on some of the preparations. It was almost like she was a little girl again getting ready to move to a new house. Even though she knew she'd be back, she couldn't help but feel a wistful at the time spent getting ready.
Maybe that was part of the reason she felt so unprepared for this. Because she wanted to delay going for the sake of delaying their departure. Even when she returned, Shirley had a feeling that it wouldn't be the same. That nothing on this world would ever be the same again.
With that last thought, she walked through the gate, starting the first expedition into other worlds through the gates.
_
Charlie couldn't be more miserable. Not only was she having to leave behind her parents, sister, and creature comforts, but she had to worry about Beth accompanying her, in addition to all her friends.
It wasn't that she didn't like that her friends were joining her on the expedition, but it was more that if Beth didn't join them, then Charlie's dream where Beth died couldn't become a reality. Something her friends were keenly aware of, since Charlie had made it a point to bring up pretty much each week since Thanksgiving until now.
Then there was the fact that she hadn't mentioned this trip, for obvious reasons, to her girlfriend and couldn't escape the feelings of guilt on the matter. Especially since while she wanted to be able to let Alex do what she wanted to Charlie, she hadn't been able to bring herself to do that. The closest they'd ever come to that had been before Charlie established boundaries for them in regards of where Alex could touch Charlie and when Alex had convinced Charlie to do a handstand.
She couldn't help but feel like she wasn't ever going to be able to return here. Even if she did return.
"Cheer up, Charlie," Beth admonished her. "You'll never be able to appreciate what beauty other worlds will hold if you wallow in what's keeping you down."
Charlie sighed. "It's just…" Charlie trailed off, but continued after being quiet for a minute. "It's just that I can't help but feeling like I'm not coming back, even if I do." Charlie stopped walking and looked up at the summer sky on Arachii's world as she stood in the middle of the bridge. "Does that make any sense?"
Beth put her arm around Charlie's shoulders companionably. "Actually, yeah, it does. I kinda feel the same way. Mostly I worry about what'll happen if something happens and Heathcliff can't send us back to this time when we do get back," Beth said as Charlie started walking with her.
Heathcliff had already enchanted them so they wouldn't age until they returned to Earth, even if they were gone a hundred years. Although, if they were gone that long, Heathcliff probably wouldn't be around to bring them back to this time, so they knew they really needed to be back well before then.
"Yeah, that would make it difficult to explain to our parents," Charlie said, unable to keep a smile from her face at that.
"Well, we could tell them that it was something like from 'Flight of the Navigator' or another movie like that," Beth suggested.
"Not sure if they'd buy that though," Charlie commented, feeling a lot more relaxed as she talked with Beth, even though she knew her worries still hadn't actually gone anywhere.
"Probably not, but you never know," Beth replied. "At least it would be an explanation that would at least sound plausible. I mean, how else would they explain how we remained the same age when we're at least a few years into the future."
"Maybe I should have just started out without telling you guys," Charlie murmured to herself.
Beth laughed. "Hey, if you did that, you have to know we'd be coming after you as soon as we realized what you did. After all, I don't think Petals would keep it secret since you'd have to go through her forest, unless you think you'd be able to sneak through the gate in Denver. I mean, it'd be difficult, but I'm sure if someone was determined to get through it, they'd be able to no matter how many people the state government puts in place," Beth replied. "I mean, it's not like it's hard to get close without raising suspicion, especially if you look like you're passing through."
"Anyway," Charlie said, really wanting to change the subject altogether, "any guesses on what the time of day will be on the world we go to and also what season?"
"Oooooh," Beth laughed. "Good idea for a bet."
Beth let go of Charlie and moved around to the rest of their group to collect guesses on the bet. When Beth got back to Charlie, she reported, "Okay, Ralph says it'll be high noon in the summer, Amelia says dawn in the spring, Tim said sunset or twilight into night in the summer, Hannah says after dark in the winter, Wes said dawn in autumn, I think it'll be sunset or evening in spring. What time and season are you going with"
"What's the bet about?" Charlie asked. "I mean, we can't exactly watch movies while traveling, now can we?"
"Actually, we brought a bunch of books for all of us to read. Each of us decided we'd take turns reading to everyone and whoever gets closest to the actual time and season will get to pick which book we start with," Beth answered.
"What books are you guys bringing?" Charlie asked, not sure she really wanted to know, but couldn't think of anything else to ask.
"Mostly a few series. Though, there's a few other smaller stand alone books. Like 'The Sword of Truth' series by Terry Goodkind, 'The Wheel of Time' series by Robert Jordan and later with Brandon Sanderson, 1984, Animal Farm, Fahrenheit 451, Les Miserables, some books by Charles Dickens and some other books," Beth answered.
Charlie could only sigh. She already wished that she was dealing with something else. "Okay, my guess is afternoon in winter," Charlie said, wondering how close she might actually be and what book she might pick if she actually won. Again.
"Okay, let's go then!" Beth cheered as they neared Petals' forest.
_
Charlie wished that standing in front of the edge of Petals' forest would help her anxiety on starting the expedition with her friends. Yet, staring at the edge only seemed to heighten her worries. Yet, all her friends insisted that she be the first one through this time.
She didn't mind being first, but she still wished that she could be on her own rather than with her friends. Maybe she needed her friends, but that didn't change how she felt about it.
Taking a deep breath as she stepped forward, she stepped through the exit of Petals' forest into another world. She tried to ignore the sensation of walking through a waterfall that didn't leave her wet, but couldn't help but shiver as she finished crossing through.
She looked around as she breathed in the air of the world. She couldn't really tell what season it was right away, but it at least was warm at the moment. It was also either early in the morning or late in the day. They'd be able to figure that out soon enough when it either continued to get darker or the sun would eventually rise high enough for them to see it.
The area she was in looked like a mountainous area with a river rushing by downhill maybe a few hundred feet from where she stood. She walked aimlessly forward, vaguely aware of her friends coming through behind her. There were pine and fir trees scattered around them.
"Any idea of which way to go for the nearest gate?" Amelia asked.
"I'll check in a minute," Tim replied. "Let's first look around the area a little first."
"Sounds good," Beth remarked. "Should we walk towards the river first or somewhere we can see more of what's around us?"
"Let's see what else might be around," Wes suggested. "Maybe we'll see a better place to go by the river. It seems a little rough from where we can see it right now."
"Sounds good to me," Hannah chimed in. "Any objections?"
No one said anything, so Hannah immediately started walking towards the nearest rise, which was partly uphill of them, partly along the side of the slope of the mountain they were on.
"You know, it almost feels like we're deep in the Rockies," Ralph remarked as they walked along the slope.
"Maybe, but it's not like we've ever been in any other mountain ranges," Tim said. "I mean, we live by the Rockies and if unless we travel to somewhere, like California or Tennessee, we're not likely to go in any other mountains."
"Hey, it look like there's a fire over there," Amelia said suddenly.
"Looks like it recently started," Beth said. "It looks close and I don't see that much smoke right now."
"It looks like we might be heading in that direction," Charlie said. "Should we really be heading in towards it?"
"If we don't go towards it, it might head in our direction," Wes answered. "Unless we see it for ourselves, we can't be sure. Plus, it's near us, so it should be easy to get around it if it's heading towards us."
Charlie shook her head, not happy about either idea. She'd rather go back in Petals' forest and wait it out so it wouldn't be a danger for them, regardless of which direction it went in.
As they reached the rise, they could see for several miles over a valley that had either the same river that went by them at the base of the mountain or could be a tributary to it. They couldn't really say because it went behind a patch of trees that they could see in the distance before that patch of trees went behind another mountain.
"Hey, I think I see where the smoke it coming from," Hannah said. "I think it's just past that rise on that mountain over there." Hannah pointed in the direction that she was looking. It was the same mountain that had the river moving behind it, but it was a rise on the other side of the mountain.
"You know, I have a bad feeling about this," Charlie said. She really did, but not from the fire itself. It was something else that she couldn't quite figure out.
Maybe it was the fact she'd seen too many movies that her friends seemed to like that seemed oddly reminiscent of this, but somehow she'd be willing to put money that it was a village or something that was being torched and whoever was attacking were violent and should be avoided.
Of course it could also just be her imagination. Possibly even combined with her trepidation with the journey to recover the crystal she'd dropped in the griffin canyon having started after so long of preparing.
Or maybe she was just overthinking things. She would admit that she did do that from time to time. Though, maybe not to all her friends. Maybe just Beth, but even then that might be pushing it.
So, grudgingly Charlie followed her friends as they started walking downhill in the direction of the rise that hid the source of the smoke. Largely because she couldn't think of a convincing argument of why they should go a different direction.