Chapter 15: Day 9 - Henry's Unexpected Journey
782 Words
After returning from the strange world, everyone quickly checked the time again.
It was already 3:00 p.m.
The group sat silently inside the hut after lunch, trying to understand everything carefully. After discussing for a long time, they finally realized the truth.
One full day in the new world was equal to only five hours in their world.
The discovery shocked everyone.
After a few moments of silence, Stacy and Samhitha finally asked curiously, “What exactly is going on?”
The boys explained everything from the beginning — Viscous, the hidden gate behind the school, the strange rooms, the gravity, and the worlds connected through the gates.
Instead of becoming scared, the twins became excited after hearing the full story. The way the boys described their adventures made everything feel unbelievable and thrilling.
Finally, everyone stretched their hands together proudly. “Let’s go, Gate Seekers!”
The rest of the day passed happily with chatting, laughter, and excitement. After dinner, everyone went to sleep peacefully.
Morning arrived.
Day 9 on Twin 1 Island began quietly.
At exactly 5:00 a.m., Henry woke up for his usual morning jog. Carrying his tape recorder and listening to downloaded songs, he jogged carelessly across the island without paying attention to the ground.
Suddenly—
he fell straight into the deep hole where the children had discovered the gate. “AAAH!”
Henry crashed to the bottom painfully.
As he stood up, he noticed the ancient hammer resting on the closed gate. Curious, he tried lifting it.
But the hammer was unbelievably heavy.
The first attempt barely moved it.
The second attempt failed again.
On the third attempt, Henry managed to lift it slightly higher before it suddenly slipped from his hands.
THUD!
The loud sound echoed across the island.
Inside the hut, Rickey briefly woke up after hearing the noise, looked around sleepily, and then ignored it before falling asleep again.
But something strange happened.
The moment the hammer hit the ground for the third time—the gate opened.
Before Henry could react, he suddenly lost balance and fell through the opening.
His head hit the floor hard, and he lost consciousness.
After some time, Henry slowly woke up. Confused and dizzy, he looked around and realized he was inside the strange maze of rooms. When he turned back, the gate had disappeared and looked like nothing more than a normal wall.
Terrified, Henry wandered through the broken rooms until he finally escaped outside.
The moment he stepped out, he froze in shock.
The world outside looked enormous.
Huge buildings.
Huge horse carts.
Even the people looked much larger than him.
Henry became frightened and confused. He tried asking people where he was, but everyone simply stared at him in fear before running away.
Completely lost, Henry somehow returned to the strange building where he had arrived. He carefully touched the wall where the gate should have been.
Suddenly his hand passed through.
Before he could understand anything, Henry fell back into his own world again.
Dizzy and exhausted, he slowly walked back toward the shore.
Meanwhile, the children were busy catching fish, crabs, and playing in the water when they suddenly saw Henry collapsing onto the sand.
Everyone rushed toward him in panic. “Henry Uncle!”, “Father”, “Henry”
They tried waking him up, but he remained unconscious. Finally, they sprinkled water on his face.
Henry slowly opened his eyes, grabbed the water bottle immediately, and drank desperately. “I’m hungry…” he said weakly.
Since breakfast wasn’t prepared yet, the children quickly roasted fish over the fire and gave it to him. After eating, Henry finally relaxed a little.
Then everyone asked nervously, “What happened?”
Henry took a deep breath. “I fell into the hole you kids dug…”
The children froze in shock.
They never expected this to happen.
Henry then explained everything he had experienced in the strange world.
After listening carefully, the boys immediately understood how the gate had opened.
The children then explained everything about the gates and the strange worlds properly to Henry and Tracy from the beginning.
Henry and Tracy listened silently in complete disbelief.
But Tracy looked confused. “The position he came back doesn’t match what you children explained.”
Rickey nodded and calmly replied, “It does.”
Everyone looked at him. “Henry Uncle spent almost one full day in that world,” Rickey explained. “One day in the other world is just 5 hours in our world.”
Silence filled the island.
Henry and Tracy stared at the children in complete shock after finally understanding the terrifying truth about the gates.
- Writer
