Chapter 1
Thirty Years Ago
Is the camera on?
Perfect, it’s functional. Ahem, hello watchers of America. I’m Bobert Doyle, veteran researcher of Area 51’s Laboratory Beta. I’ve gotten news. Unfortunate news. The head director, Mr. Hopkins, has officially shut down Project Dimensional. Just before I discovered my theory’s hypothesis to be correct.
For a refresher, Project Dimensional was my crew’s only successful program. We gathered scraps from found UFOs and built a gateway. See the silver rectangular door frame behind me? It’s the machine we’ve made. Then Mr. Hopkins thought the project would spell absolute doom to all humanity. I don’t believe it. Not one bit!
My theory is right, and I can prove it to him. The upside to this is… complicated. If I test the gateway on myself, I’ll never return to our dimension in one piece. There are thousands, if not millions, of dimensions we don’t know about. Most influenced our entertainment, tv shows, movies, and novels.
I want to see them all. Once I do, I’ll put my scientific urges to rest. Go back to my family. Speaking about my family, I’m sorry.
Tabitha? Scott, my newborn.
If you come across this tape, please assure yourselves. I apologize. This project has been my pride and joy. Because of all the hours I’d put into perfecting it, I lost the definition of fatherhood.
Dr. Doyle! This is the military!
Crap, they’d found me! There’s no time to mourn. Please, watch this tape. Here are the coordinates I’ll be using. Start the adventure there and follow my tracks. Again, I apologize. When we’re a family again, I’ll reconcile. Catch up to all the events I’d missed.
Dr. Doyle! Don’t start that machine! You’ll be arrested if you do!
Screw you! I’m not letting you ruin my biggest achievement! Alright! Scott, be proud of what your father’s accomplishing! I’ll see you soon!
WHOOSH!
AHHHHHHHH!
BOOM!
Thump-Thump-Thump-Thump
Where the hell is he!?
The portal’s on. Oh, wait, it’s malfunctioning.
It doesn’t matter. Shut down Laboratory Beta. Have no one come here. We’ll work this out.
Affirmative, sir.
Present Day (2026)
Area 51, Laboratory Beta
A man wearing an orange hazmat suit typed quick notes on the computer’s unlocked software. Bulky gloved fingertips kept messing his writing up. Yet he pushed. He’d came this far. ‘Just a little further.’
In the thick rubber suit, heat increased to excruciating levels. His forehead, coated with sweat, shined under the helmet’s clear visor. ‘Dad said the portal is a one-way trip. It’s like going from Point A to Point B to Point A again. A full circle plot, as I would like to say.’
One last formula, which took him a while to memorize, and finished!
Whirls blared from behind. He turned over his shoulder and widened eyes faced a rectangular door frame. Four flashing red lights on each corner beeped. The gateway doesn’t have soot, tethered wires, or cracks. It was all shiny and untouched. Until now, that is.
‘Area 51 is a perplexing place. I can see why Dad worked so hard to join this society. Let alone a secretive one. Okay, the portal’s open, meaning…’
He fetched a folded slip of paper from the suit’s pocket. Unfolded, the paper showed a straight line of numbers and capitalized letters. This sequence was a coordinate, last shown on the tape he watched. ‘I should input the coordinates on the control panel.’
The podium stood beside the gateway, only a keypad and a huge red button laid on its tilted top. ‘How simple can this facility get?’
It wasn’t simple sneaking into this facility. He gained a lot of experience with his performing arts major at Roswell University to get here. ‘Changed my name to someone completely different. Serigo Davis sounds like a name anyone can believe and I was right. Got in without a problem.’
He walked to the panel, coordinates in his gloved hands and about to save Bob Doyle. Then the door opened. Clacks of high heels approached his direction. A gasp vibrated his throat. ‘Damn, a soldier found out! I made sure no one would notice!’
“Hello, science dude. Where’s the bathroom?”
The voice made his anxiety worse. He knew who had entered Laboratory Beta. Someone he didn’t know could come to a secretive facility. Though, her family was rich, and she had no problem getting everything she asked.
“Uh…”
“This room looks like the other laboratories this shitty factory has. Ugh, don’t know why Kayden brought me here. Oh, that’s right; he’ll give me a promotional bonus, if I catch the intruder.”
This was his worst nightmare gotten sour. He can’t let her catch him in the act. The portal, thankfully, hadn’t activated. He had time to distract. “Excuse me?”
“Right, I need the bathroom. Where is it?”
He paused after she rudely questioned. “There is no bathroom, ma’am.”
Thank the heavens the helmet was masking his voice.
“Good to know. Thanks for telling me.”
She flicked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. He forgot how gorgeous she looked. Luscious blonde hair, bright pink eyes, and hourglass figure, she could’ve been a model. It was a shame, as she preferred everything the world offered. Money, attention, makeup, she craved it all.
“You’re welcome, miss.”
“Pardon me,” She scoffed, her cheeks growing rosy. “Call me Melissa Monroe.”
“Oh, you’re…”
He doesn’t need to finish. Melissa strode quick to him, a shoulder pressing against his chest. “Yes, I am! I’m the daughter of Charles Monroe, the president of Monroe Incorporation. His company aids a lot of smaller, insignificant companies, while pleasing the President of the United States. It’s him who’ve employed me to be his right-hand woman.”
Sickness filled his heart. He regretted ever believing Melissa would drop her spoiled behavior. Their childhood was nothing but torturous hell for him. He only had his mother to support their household. The students throughout elementary and middle school joked him for not having or meeting his father. Melissa expressed pure joy in mocking his life. ‘Movie Nerd’ and ‘Fatherless’ were names he hated.
“I’ve heard of Charles Monroe. Roswell’s savior, as most people proclaimed.”
He stepped back for space, hands facing Melissa as she gloated.
“Why, of course he saved Roswell. The millennium arrived, and he guided the city to greater things. You should thank him.”
“Yes, your father has done a lot of good for Roswell.”
Melissa’s giggles were like scratching a chalkboard with long, untreated fingernails. He hated it, too. “What brings you to Area 51?”
“Hmph, as much as I love bragging about my family’s wealth, I loathe this objective. Kayden Ryans, our president, has passed an order onto me. He theorizes an intruder has infiltrated Area 51, this creepy facility we’re living in,” she spread her arms, twirling a little. “And is activating a long forgotten project it had.”
“Is that right?”
Panic scrambled within his mind. What should he do? The portal had five minutes to complete its warmup section. Melissa smiled after she posed in front of him. “Of course. He said the portal will spell unadulterated doom upon Earth, so he sent me here. I disagreed, not wanting to visit a stinky, fictional place book nerds use in their fanfics. However, he mentioned a promotional bonus on my paychecks as his right-hand woman. I couldn’t say no!”
He rolled his eyes, his throat signalled a gruff, but he refused. “So, this project is dangerous to America?”
“More like the world. I want to live and prosper the future. My future, that is.” She placed a hand above her bosom. “A world without Monroe will be ugly.”
That quote! He hated that more!
He shook his head and faced the portal. A black hole expanded in the frame’s middle. It was opening its passageway.
‘Have to shove Melissa out the room.’
“Now that you know who I am, what’s your name?”
A lock of blonde hair curled around her finger. It was a gesture Melissa loved to use when she met a guy. He wasn’t a supermodel, escort, or firefighter. More like a college student who still lived with his mother. Embarrassing, yes. His mother became clingy after losing her husband thirty years ago. As to hide his real identity, he used the alias.
“Serigo Davis, Ms. Monroe.”
“Davis? Love the surname! When should we date?”
“Excuse me?”
Nerves flared, he backed away as Melissa leaned forward, fluttering her eyelids and pursing her thick red lips. “Our conversation has sparked something between us. It’s like we’re a match.”
No, we’re not a match, he thought.
The door thudded from outside. Both he and Melissa stared at the bulging entrance, its door knob twisting and jangling.
“Mr. Doyle! This is the military!”
“Doyle?”
Melissa furrowed her brows at the door. He had to think! Somehow, the military knew where he was. Whirls from the portal grew louder. That meant one thing.
WHOOSH!
Crackles from lightning bolts jolted him and Melissa. The portal’s inner frame presented a swirling sapphire blue vortex. It had a gaping black hole, the same image he saw earlier.
“It’s activated!”
“Wait, this is Laboratory Beta? The nametag said ‘L-B,’ not Laboratory Beta!”
“This facility likes to use acronyms.”
He can’t let the military ruin his rescue mission. One aspect of his life got ruined, because of his father’s desperation to complete a goal. Losing another part would devastated him to endless misery. As fast as his legs carried him, he pushed a bookshelf to the door. Once it was blocked, he pushed a heavy set desk next to the shelf. He jogged to the panel with the coordinates. Melissa, meanwhile, got confused in what was happening. The military shouldn’t know where the intruder was. She should’ve notified them first. Unless, the guy—Serigo Davis—was the intruder they were looking for. Her mouth made an O shape, and she glanced at him pinching the numbers in the panel.
“You’re the intruder?”
“Don’t have time to explain. There! It’s in!”
“Why are you reactivating a lethal project!?”
Melissa speed-walked to Sergio, grabbed his arm, then pulled on it. “You must be a spy or something!”
“I’m not a spy!”
The vocal crack at the sentence’s end paused them. She widened her eyes, jaw dropped further down. “Wait a second. Don’t tell me…”
Swiftly, she removed the hazmat suit’s helmet. He had locks of charcoal black hair, its ends reaching his neck. Purple eyes gazed at Melissa’s pink ones. The sweat from wearing the suit glistened his cheeks and forehead. “Scott Doyle!?”
“Aw crap.”
“Don’t ‘aw crap’ me! You’re the intruder! I should’ve known your creepy ass would sneak into this place! How!?”
“Well…”
He twiddled his thumbs.
“Ah, I don’t want to hear your shit, Fatherless! I’m arresting you and getting that sweet, sweet bonus.”
Scott, running out of options and time, grunted. He had enough of Melissa’s bullying. They were adults, yet she still acted like a thirteen-year-old. She viewed herself as the most important person in America. The rouse was over; he doesn’t need to hold back.
“No, I have to save my dad!”
“That’s why you’re invading Area fifty-whatever? To save your pathetically insane father?”
“He wasn’t insane!”
Scott’s face turned beet red. He shook his clenched fists side by side. Melissa was taken back by his reaction. “Yes, he took his goals too seriously, but he mattered. It just that this project drove him too close to the damn sun.”
“Mr. Doyle! Don’t you dare turn on that portal!”
Alice Hopkins, head director of the facility, shouted beyond the closed door. “This is your last warning!”
“Don’t worry, Ms. Hopkins! Fatherless will suffer the consequences.”
“I’d told you I’m not going!”
Melissa growled through her teeth. “And I’m not losing that bonus! You’re coming with me! For being a freak, you deserve jail time!”
Scott shut his eyes tight, mouth drawing a line and thoughts roaming like crazy. Memories of Melissa and her posse bothering him during lunch. Unintentionally spilling their milk on him and calling him ‘Fatherless.’ Shouting across the playground about how poor his family was. They were all painful. It was a horrible coincidence he would meet Melissa, one of many people to torture his existence.
Those memories, frustrating and traumatizing, faded. Images of Tabitha, his beloved mother, caressing his chin and smiling. Her smile brought sunshine and happiness to his already tired lifestyle. She said their father will return. All those promises were lies. While growing up, Scott realized how false his mother’s words were. On his tenth birthday, he entered their attic and found a box of dusty VHS tapes.
One long search inside the box and he discovered a specific tape. ‘June 1996’ was written on its white description box. The attic had a television box and VHS recorder, so he injected it, playing a video of his father testing the dimensional portal.
‘My life will recover! I promise! No way am I allowing Melissa to ruin it again! But how to get her off my back? Hm… Oh, I got it!’
Melissa dragged him close to the barricaded door, but he shook his arm off her hand. “I wouldn’t hand me over to the military, Melissa.”
Gone was his frown of stress. He smirked at Melissa, who scowled. “What the hell are you saying, Fatherless?”
“I mean, if I get caught and the military interrogate me, I’ll be forced to share everything. My past, present, and more. That includes my childhood.”
She hummed, but wasn’t buying anything Scott said.
“That also means I’ll reveal your involvement.”
Now that got her attention. She hyperventilated, her manicured hand hovering over her pulsating chest. “Your bullying, how much verbal abuse I’d heard and experienced. They’ll know all of it. Since they want to save the world, they’ll take drastic measures.”
The portal’s whirls grew a higher tone. Its blue swirls quickened the pace. The black hole got bigger. He needed to end it.
“If you wish to keep your family wealth, right-hand woman position at the White House, and not end up in jail, I suggest you follow my lead.”
“W-What does that mean!?”
“It means,” Scott pointed at Melissa, his smirk shifting into a disappointed frown. “You’re coming with me to a new dimension.”
“What!?”
“There’s no exit but the portal. I already typed the sequence.”
“Are you sure there’s no exit!?”
Scott sighed finally. “Yes, I’m sure. FYI, this portal is a one-way trip.”
“One-way!?”
Her face, oval-shaped and petite, turned blue. Realization of losing all she’d worked for shocked her very core. She can’t erase it. Even if it meant working with a fatherless nerd, she needed her perfect life. A growl erupted through her throat and gritting teeth. Thumps from the military’s battering ram exploded.
“Crap, they’re breaking through! What’s it gonna be!?”
“Agh, can’t believe I’m saying this! I’m going!”
She had no other choice to pick. Either wasting away in a cell or go with a total loser. Apparently, the loser choice was safer, whether Melissa appreciated it. Scott, though surprised, kept his focus on the portal. “Grab a hazmat suit and meet me at the platform.”
Three minutes in and Melissa, wearing a bulky red-orange hazmat suit, stood beside Scott. Heavier thuds from the battering ram blared across the laboratory. ‘They’re enacting the final scene from Dad’s tape. Not this time.’
“Where is this portal-whatever taking us!?”
“The coordinates, ‘HW-001’ is the first dimension we’re entering. Are you ready?”
“If it means escaping custody, then yes!”
Boom, the door, book shelf, and desk flew, skidding across the white-tiled floor. Manly voices muttered, followed by loud stomps. Scott grasped Melissa’s hand, and they ran towards the portal. “Here we go!”
WHOOSH!
They both screamed to the top of their longs. The portal’s vortex stretched their bodies like taffy. It contorted their limbs to thin strands. Seven armored soldiers witnessed the surreal effects of dimensional travel. A woman in dark gray business attire stormed inside, yelling at the men to stop staring. But when she saw Scott and Melissa, still swirling from the portal’s gravitational pull, it was too late to complain.
A thirty-second bind of light flashed. It blinded them for milliseconds. Screams from Scott and Melissa faded, as well as the portal’s gears. Cracklings popped the vacant air. Their eyes recovered its sight. Alice Hopkins noticed the portal was unbroken from the reactivation.
“God, help us all.”
Ten Minutes Later
“Mr. President?”
Alice returned to her director’s office. Her sole job was keeping all of Area 51’s secrets at bay. No standard human should know of their experiments, discovery of aliens, or alternate universes. This facility was made to ensure protection between the ordinary and extraordinary. Her grandfather knew how vital this place was. Taking the mantle sounded like the strangest responsibility he’d passed.
“Yes, Ms. Hopkins?”
“There has been a slight hiccup. Your right-hand woman, Melissa Monroe, has been kidnapped by the intruder.”
Kayden Ryans sighed through the phone call. “This is dire, Alice. What to do?”
“There is hope, sir.”
“Please, Alice. Let’s use our first names. We’ve known each other for years.”
Alice knew to drop the formal conversations. Kayden, an important figure in their country, held that laid-back manner she adored. “Apologies, Kayden. The portal isn’t destroyed. We can still use it, if we gather the scientists who’ve worked on it.”
Kayden moaned, then clicked his tongue. “That’s quite difficult. Four out of the six scientists who’ve worked on Project Dimensional have left Roswell. Dr. Doyle, who’ve gone missing after using the portal thirty years prior, won’t be much help to us.”
She hated to bring up the obvious scientist. Out of the six, he was the most boastful. A close second was Dr. Doyle, but he appreciated his determination. Him? Let’s say science and intellect meant success to him. “Kayden, I’m not sure Dr. Monroe is operational. He quit Area 51 in 1996, after hearing the news of my father dismissing Project Dimensional.”
“There is his son, Charles.”
Widened eyes and dropped jaw, Alice became stunned. “No, not him! I refuse to work with his immature son!”
“I know what you’re feeling, Alice. Charles Monroe and his business have kept Roswell safe. You appreciate that.”
“I do, but the problem is that ego.”
She leaned her back against the armchair’s cushion. “His father passed all responsibilities and inheritance to him. Sure, he made a successful company, but that made his ego worse. To make this situation troublesome for us, his daughter is the same.”
“I’m aware, Alice.”
“Huh?”
“I’m fully aware of Melissa’s attitude. Ever since she became my right-hand woman, the assistants, bodyguards, and receptionists complained about her positional abuse. Always using her title to keep them in line, as I’ve heard.”
She could imagine Kayden pinching his nose bridge. “So, why haven’t you fire her?”
“Me and Charles promised to secure Roswell and America’s well-being. I promised to check Area 51 for intruders. He promised to use his business to keep the city busy.”
“It’s making sense.”
“Charles can be a pain, but he’s our last resort. I’ll contact him. You keep the portal untouched, Alice.”
Before she can ask, Kayden hung up. She bent over the desk, her forehead pressed against its polished surface.
‘It has come to this.’
Elling Meadows
A tiny dot popped over patches of dried dirt. Scott and Melissa launched out of that dot, skidding across the ground. It vanished before any of them stood up.
“Uh, what a rush.”
Scott stood up, brushed dirt off his hazmat suit, then paused. The suit was gone. In its place was a customized attire made of leaves, twigs, and egg shells as shoulder and knee pads. Melissa followed his example, brushing her customized gown with brown sprig wrapped around her waist and an acorn shell as a helmet. “You dumbass! Pulling my arm without warning! I’ll—whoa! W-Where are we?”
Her trembling eyes stared at the surrounding environment. Scott left his gaze off the attire and gasped when Melissa mentioned their new location. Trees as tall as skyscrapers, grass blades acting as said trees, and birds larger than airplanes zooming above. Chirps sounded like explosions from a cannon. They cupped their ears to null the noise. Once it died down, Scott laughed with widened eyes.
“It worked! The portal transported us to a dimension! A completely different world from our own!”
He jumped out of joy, so close in saving his father and finally getting the normal life he wanted. Melissa, however, groaned, cheeks shifting red and fists clenching. She walked to Scott then landed a powerful slap across his face.
“This isn’t the time to celebrate! What happened to our suits!? Why is everything huge!? And what dimension are you referring to?!”
It was idiotic for her, a super gorgeous daughter of Charles Monroe, to tag along with a fatherless loser. But she hated prison. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, waiting for Scott’s answers.
“Oh, the clothing change. Dad never mentioned the portal converting our hazmat suits into alternate clothes. Then again, he said each dimension differs from others. Someone entering it means the spatial matter changes their attire to match that dimension’s atmosphere.”
Melissa rolled her eyes. “Who cares!? I’m not the scientist, your pathetic father is! Oh, I forgot! I’ve never seen your father, Fatherless!”
The irritation from earlier returned, only more potent and done with Melissa’s bossy attitude. Scott, too, regretted his decision in dragging her along. The interrogation before jumping through the portal worked, but at what cost? Hearing Melissa complain, thus hindering his mission to save his father? He sighed loud and frowned at Melissa.
“Let me remind you, Melissa. Who saved you from getting arrested from the military? I did,” He jabbed a thumb to his bare chest. “I saved you, yet here you are, acting high and mighty. Tough luck for you, because I know how to get us home.”
“Hmph, without a father figure, I’m sure that brain of yours won’t help.”
Scott growled, but kept his composure. He checked a tri-colored bracelet with a miniature touchscreen device.
“Allow me to show you where we are.”
A single tap on the screen and a holographic image of a village appeared. Leaf-made huts, wooden spears, and people with pointy ears and nature-based armor. Melissa, still irritated, watched the screen with little interest. “What is that?”
“Flexi, describe this dimension’s movie plot for us, please.”
“Affirmative, Mr. Doyle.”
A feminine, robotic tone spoke. It startled Melissa out of her irritated state. She almost asked who Flexi was, but Scott held up a hand to silence her. One gruff through her gritted teeth, and she hunched forward, pouting like a toddler.
“HW-001, aka ‘The Hidden World,’ follows Abbie Stewart, a college student living in Lakespire, New Jersey. Her hook begins with the campus notifying her of the tuition she’d paid through a loan. She just began her first semester and worried she won’t continue without paying the loan. The first choice she picked was her parents, Joe and Carley. Both refused to give her any money, but she wasn’t too shocked.”
“Wait a sec,” Melissa’s interest increased.
“Ryder, Abbie’s older brother, has a successful basketball career, because of his height and handsome looks.”
The hologram showed Abbie and her family. A young woman with short, choppy brown hair and dark brown eyes stood before two middle-aged parents and a six-foot-five dude wearing a basketball jersey shirt. Melissa felt a swoon when she witnessed Ryder’s appearance. Heart thumped twice in her chest. Scott rolled his eyes hard and continued watching the scene unfold.
“Joe and Carley preferred Ryder over Abbie, who’ve been nothing but a mistake to them. Because of their decisions, Abbie got kicked out of the house again and moved in with her grandparents. Hans, her grandpa, felt sorry to hear the news from Abbie. As a gift of apology for letting his daughter marry a selfish man, Hans provides a job offer to Abbie. Joining the smallings, a species of halflings who search for ancient artifacts in Elling Meadows, Lakespire’s local park.”
“No way.”
Scott had to smirk after hearing Melissa’s reaction. The hologram transcended from one scene to another, showing them a small group of smallings. Melissa wouldn’t know what halflings were. She wasn’t into fantasy than Scott.
“Abbie thanked her grandpa, Hans crafted a magical gateway to the smalling village, and she began her journey. The focus of this movie plot is Abbie and two smalling forgers finding a rare artifact. ‘Bug Amulet’ is its name and whoever possesses it will transverse into the hidden world, a realm where tiny creatures communicate with smallings, without the need of a ritual. Omar Maxkins, owner of the neighborhood Abbie’s family lives, wishes to use the amulet to expand his business.”
“Aw, crap!”
Melissa stepped back, sweat coated her forehead and panic etched on her mind.
Flexi finished the description by instructing them to help Abbie get the bug amulet and end Omar’s plan. The hologram dispersed and Scott chuckled to himself, staring his confident glance at Melissa’s startled reaction. “As for your questions, we’re in the Hidden World dimension.”
“Don’t tell me… w-we’re in a movie!?”
“Of course, that’s what Dad theorized,” Scott nodded, eyes closed and fingers rubbing his chin. “Each dimension inspired our world’s movies, novels, and entertainment. This world, HW-001, was the inspiration to ‘The Hidden World.’ Remember our assembly?”
Their elementary held an annual movie assembly for grades one through four. Melissa grunted, a snarl facing Scott and squinted pink eyes shooting daggers. “Yes, I remembered that stupid movie. Forgot most parts.”
“Dad focused all his attention in discovering where those inspirations came from. When Project Dimensional began and Dad researched alternate universes, the theory popped inside his mind. The release of his favorite movies motivated him to uncover the secrets behind their success.”
Now, she was getting bored. She drooped her eyes and her arms grew limp. “So, the reason behind his disappearance was because he wanted to learn where his favorite movies’ plots originated?”
“Yes.”
His awkward smile doesn’t solve Melissa’s question.
“Great, I’m stuck in a dimension where we’re tiny and must help some broke college student find an old artifact? This is the worst decision of my life.”
A blue shade covered Melissa’s upper body. She loathed her lack of foresight. If only she let the military hear her side of the story.
“Enough moping around. In this part, Abbie is aided by Quyn Wrenstone and Ryl Mossbridge. Flexi’s screen says I’m Quyn and you’re Ryl.”
“Then why doesn’t my outfit match his? I’m a girl, Fatherless.”
“One, don’t call me Fatherless! It’s Scott Doyle. Two, Abbie won’t tell the difference. The portal converted our appearance to her. Except for us, the characters in this dimension see us as Quyn and Ryl.”
Melissa had an ‘aha’ moment, mouth making an O and eyes widening.
“I suggest you stop complaining. You’re stuck with a fatherless nobody until we get back home. I’ll say this again, Melissa. What’s it gonna be?”
She growled. Out of all people, Scott—a thirty-year-old man who can’t let go of living without a father—giving her orders. This was beneath her, but she had no choice. When she agreed to join Scott, it sealed her fate. Besides, the leaf gown wasn’t too bad. She could get used to it.
“Agh, fine! I’ll go along, Scott.”
Saying his name left a terrible aftertaste in her mouth.
“Alright, we both agree.”
With that, Scott and Melissa followed a path to the smalling village, beginning the Hidden World’s movie plot.
