Arjun's stomach twisted as the purple light faded, leaving him dizzy. His lab was gone. He stood on soft, glowing ground that pulsed like a heartbeat under his shoes. Strange trees stretched high, their branches twisting like liquid glass, flashing red, gold, and blue in the dim light. The air felt warm and heavy, carrying a sweet smell, like ripe fruit mixed with the sharp tang of metal. Veyra stood beside him, their silver skin shimmering like a mirror. Their wide, glowing eyes scanned the trees, tense and alert.
"Where are we?" Arjun asked, his voice trembling. He clutched his notebook, its pages full of time machine plans—his only link to saving Maya. This place felt wrong, like a dream he couldn't wake from. His heart pounded, and memories of Maya flooded in—her laugh, her face before the lab explosion took her.
"Elyndra," Veyra said, stepping close. Their voice was soft but urgent. "My home. Be careful, Arjun. Your thoughts change this place. If you're scared, bad things happen."
"Thoughts? That doesn't make sense," Arjun said, but fear gripped him. He pictured Maya's last moment, the fire swallowing her. The ground shook hard, making him stumble. A loud crack echoed, and a nearby tree bent toward him. Its branches sharpened into claws, reaching out like they wanted to grab him.
"Stop!" Veyra grabbed his arm, their grip tight. "Think of something calm. Hurry!"
Arjun's breath caught. He forced himself to picture Maya's smile, her hand warm in his during late nights in the lab. The tree froze, its claws melting back into branches. The ground steadied. Arjun wiped sweat from his face, his head spinning. "What was that?"
"In Elyndra, thoughts are real," Veyra said, their eyes locked on his. "Fear makes danger. Happiness makes beauty. The Council controls what we think to keep things stable, but I ran from them." They looked away, their face tight with worry. "We can't stay here. They're coming."
"Who's coming?" Arjun asked, but a loud buzz cut him off. The air shimmered a few steps away, rippling like water. A smaller purple rift opened, like the one in his lab. Three tall figures stepped out, wearing dark robes that moved like smoke. Their faces were hidden, but their eyes glowed red, like burning coals in the dim forest.
"Trackers," Veyra whispered, pulling Arjun behind a tree. Its trunk felt warm, almost alive. "The Council sent them to catch me."
Arjun peeked out, his heart racing. The trackers raised their hands, and the air twisted. A wave of heat slammed into their tree, and it started to melt, dripping like hot wax. Arjun's mouth went dry. "What are they doing?"
"Mind-weaves," Veyra said. "They shape reality with thoughts, like weapons. Run!"
Veyra yanked Arjun's arm, and they sprinted through the forest. The ground shifted under them—soft like mud, then hard like stone. The trees hummed, their colors flashing faster as Arjun's mind raced. He thought of Maya, her scream in the explosion. The branches above twisted, reaching down like hands. His notebook slipped from his sweaty grip and fell.
"No!" Arjun stopped, staring at it. Those pages held years of work, his only hope to save Maya. He reached for it, but the ground cracked open, a black gap swallowing the notebook like a hungry mouth.
"Move!" Veyra shouted. A tracker sent a blast of light their way. Veyra shoved Arjun aside, and the light hit a tree, turning it to gray dust. "They'll kill us!"
Arjun ran, his legs burning. The trackers fired more blasts, burning holes in the ground. One mind-weave turned the path ahead into quicksand, sucking at Arjun's shoes. Veyra raised a hand, and the air thickened into a shiny wall. A tracker's blast hit it and fizzled out, sparks flying. Arjun stared, amazed. "How did you do that?"
"Focus," Veyra said, flashing a quick grin despite the danger. "Think hard, and the world listens. You'll learn, if we don't die first."
They burst into a clearing where the ground glowed blue, like a frozen lake. Strange shapes swam under it, like fish in deep water. Veyra stopped, breathing hard. "We're safe here. Trackers don't cross open spaces—they're too easy to spot."
Arjun's chest heaved. He felt naked without his notebook. "Why are they after you? What did you do?"
Veyra's grin faded. "I thought for myself. The Council hates that. I stole something—a secret that could help your time machine." They looked at Arjun, their eyes serious. "Your mind is different, Arjun. Strong. You opened the rift. That makes you dangerous to them."
"Me?" Arjun shook his head. "I'm just a scientist."
"No," Veyra said. "You're more. They'll want you, too."
A loud growl came from the trees. A huge shape moved in the shadows, its eyes glowing like the trackers'. Veyra's face paled. "That's no tracker," they whispered. "Run!"