Chapter 1 - Nails and things

When the shopping mall opened that day, little did Jill and Alexis suspect anything had changed since the previous day.

The two fourth formers were in Penelope's Nail Boutique at the mall. They sat side by side and chatted about the upcoming school prom as they waited for their manicure to begin.

Afterwards they were to meet Holden and Vincent, two brothers who were not only the girls' boyfriends, but also the reason Jill and Alexis had got to know each other (after Jill had met Holden six months earlier).

Alexis finished a text while she was listening to Jill and pressed 'send'.

"I've asked Vince to meet us here as soon as he can." she said as she replaced her mobile phone into her shoulder bag. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Whatever." answered Jill with a shrug.

*

"Will these two be suitable?"

"Eminently so."

"Action the virtual shop window then."

As the two employee manicurists beckoned them to take their places at the counter Jill and Alexis had no idea that they had become completely invisible from outside the boutique.

*

Although still quite young, Jill and Alexis had each been to Penelope's to have fingernail decoration applied several times. This time, however, something felt different about the touch of the manicurists as they started work on their fingernails. Both girls noticed how cold the manicurist's hands seemed, even through the latex gloves they were wearing.

When their nails were finished Jill and Alexis were still the only customers in the boutique.

"Cold hands, warm heart, eh?" whispered Jill to Alexis as they got down from their stools and prepared to cross over, as they normally would, to the shop's pay point. "I think those two could maybe do with a blood transfusion." replied Alexis.

Their mildly mocking banter was curtailed however as they suddenly found themselves severely impeded in their ability to move. It was as if their feet and arms were being held by invisible forces.

They turned their faces alarmedly back towards the counter. There was nothing there. No counter. No manicurists. Instead all they could see was what looked like the inside of a lunar landing module equipped with just two seats.

"Please take a seat." spoke a not unpleasant voice that appeared to originate simultaneously inside each of the girls' heads. There was no option but to obey.

For a few seconds, Jill and Alexis distinctly saw Vincent peering into the boutique's window. They called out to him. He momentarily appeared to pause as if he had heard them.

The next instant nothing was visible to the girls of Vincent or anything else. There was only blackness. Total blackness.

*

"Quick!" shouted Jill. "See if you can call someone on your mobile phone! Call nine-one-one!"

"Alright," Alexis replied taking the device from her handbag. "But if I call the police, what do I say? ... that we think we're being abducted by space aliens?"

"You're right. They'd think it's a hoax call - or a crackpot. Do you remember the time I had to call 911 because you'd got your head stuck in the school railings? It was hard enough to convince them anyone could be that stupid when that happened."

"Thanks for reminding me about the railings, Jill. But you and everybody else laughing and giggling in the background when you were reporting the incident didn't help." pouted Alexis.

"Whatever." Jill replied. (Jill was fond of the 'whatever' word - especially when challenged over something she'd just said.)

"OK. Call Vincent then. He has to believe us," Jill continued, adding thoughtfully, "but if he doesn't, don't for heaven's sake say anything about dumping him. Something tells me we might need his help sooner or later."

*

"Ladies, ladies. Can I have your attention please."

It was the voice in their heads again. (At 14 years of age Jill and Alexis weren't yet accustomed to being addressed as 'ladies'.)

Alex decided the grown up thing to do might be to ask the voice for a few answers.

"Look whoever you are, what we want ... what we'd really appreciate ... is an explanation of what's happening and where the flagnod you're taking us?!"

"Flagnod? Hmm? Where have I heard that word recently?" responded the voice.

"Monsters versus Aliens?" Alex suggested.

"It's a new film." added Jill.

"Yes. Now I remember. I went to see it last week while awaiting new orders." the voice continued. "Good film. But you know, normally it's the aliens who win."

"Whatever." groaned Jill with a yawn. (She really couldn't care less which were stronger - aliens or monsters.) "Now, can we please have our explanation?"

"Very well." continued the voice. "But first put your mobile phone away."

"No!" protested Alex. "I was just about to call my boyfriend."

"How thoughtful of you." the voice said with feigned sincerity. "But there's really no point your trying to call anyone."

"Why not?" both girls said simultaneously.

"Because my dears ... mobile phones are useless from inside a wormhole."

"Did she just say 'wormhole'?" gasped Jill turning to Alex. "Eeeww!!"

"Gross!!" exclaimed Alex.

"Ha! Ha! Ha!" laughed the voice. "Not a wormhole an earthworm would make ... a wormhole through space and time."

The voice smiled (though of course the girls couldn't see that since to them the voice was an invisible 'presence').

"Whatever." muttered Jill feeling another yawn coming on.

"What the heck!" added Alex starting to get in one of her huffs. "It's still a wormhole. And I say wormholes are very gross indeed!"

*

"OK. If you're not happy with calling it a wormhole, perhaps you'd prefer to call it by its technical name?" said the voice.

"And what might that be ...?" asked Alex not in the least phased by the voice's change in tone.

The voice cleared its invisible throat.

"For your information, where I come from the apparatus is known as a 'molecular-space-time-vector-transportation device' ... or 'mstvtd' for short."

"Cool!" said Jill.

"Far less gross than wormhole!" added Alex.

"Whatever!" said the voice realising further explanation was pointless. (Jill gaped momentarily on hearing the voice use the word 'whatever'.)

"It is time for your passage through the mst... er ... through the device. You must be induced to sleep."

Jill and Alex were about to congratulate themselves at having won the wormhole debate, when gentle sounds started to fill their heads. As they did so they felt the seats they were sitting on began to recline.

In a matter of seconds sleep had overcome them.

*

Alex and Jill were simultaneously having the same dream. They were on holiday together but things had gone distinctly pear shaped.

In the dream they were being arrested for sending illegal text messages (or maybe it was for having their fingernails decorated with subversive body art!)

"Alex! Wake up!" Vincent's voice sounded excited.

"Jill! Wake up!" so did Holden's.

Their first thoughts were that Vincent and Holden were on holiday with them and that they had been arrested too. However, it soon became apparent that where they were was no holiday destination.

But the four of them were certainly being held captive by someone ... or something!

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