Mid-Week Flash Challenge - Week 289

This week's picture prompt was created by William Eubank, an American film director, screenwriter and cinematographer. He shard it on twitter with the words: 'Eyes open, heart braced ...' 

Another Tricky tale. She's definitely on my mind as I begin to work out the next book. This one goes on for much longer than this and I plan to use it in new collection I am working on, so I have only included the first part of it. I wrote about Tricky last week in Week 288. 
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Master of Time

It was huge and itwas bright, and everyone could see it, Tricky was sure, but she was alsofascinated. How had he managed to create something like this? It wasmesmerising.

She stood on the edge of the woods, keepingherself cloaked by the trees, not daring to step out onto the road, staring atwhat looked like a giant open portal in the middle of the sky. It moved too, ina slow circular motion. She could see different skies from different dimensions,and lines of different coloured energy wrapping round all of it like roots of atree.

It was a trap, it had to be. It’s how hewould lure her in and convince her of his powers. Tricky knew tricky when shesaw it. It could be a projection of some kind. She knew there were people onthe landmass busy trying to bring back that kind of technology and some of theold machines from before the shift still worked if they could generate a powersource.

But this was big, and even though she’dbeen standing here a while with the sunsetting on this strange phenomenon, shehadn’t seen any movement – even the trees were still, probably admiring it too.

She sent her energy out to it, andimmediately felt immense amounts of energy swirling in and around it, as shesuspected. She even took some of it in, only heightening her interest more.

Should she attempt to enter? She was amaster of time after all, and this was definitely her thing. But she worriedshe wouldn’t be able to handle such power. She was just one tiny piece next tothe realms of that. Oh how she wanted to go in there, and discover what was init. Oh yes, this was her thing alright, and he knew that.

Did he really have that much power to createsuch a thing? One man – a pompous bloated one at that? She scoffed at the ideathis could be a natural occurrence. Something this big? No, this was aman-sized anomaly.

Nature had a way of knowing how to createand sustain boundaries. It didn’t split and part things without good reason,like when a species gets too big for its boots and destroys things on an epicscale. Then nature has to step in and do something to correct the balance, likeshifting landmasses to release pressure and correct the bio rhythms of theplanet.

But rents in space and time? No, thatwasn’t nature’s thing at all. It was manmade - one particular man in thisinstance. Tricky was impressed. Maybe he did earn his nickname, Gandalf. Maybehe was a mighty wizard … just not a likeable one.

What to do? Go in or stay out? This wasTricky’s weakness. It piqued her curiosity and her paranoia at the same time.Curiosity killed the cat they said – but it had nine lives, so it didn’t matterif it cost one or two. She’d done alright for herself so far; come close todeath a couple of times, but she could hold her own.

And this? She needed a piece of this. Ohyes she did.

She turned back into the woods andtravelled through the trees, moving closer until she could feel energy pulsingright through her. Her body tingled from top to toe – it was marvellous!

She approached it from the side. It had asound now like rushing wind. There were other sounds within it, but shecouldn’t define them. They could be animals or birds, or even other humans. Or thesound of so much concentrated energy.

When she was right up against it, she couldsee into the dimensions. Some seemed to be all sky but there were stretches ofland in some too. If this was a trap she wasn’t quite sure what she was meant todo with it. Was he in here somewhere? How would he know where and when she entered?Was it booby trapped? Was he going to jump out and grab her? It’s not like shewanted to find him – not really, but as the saying goes, trick your enemybefore they trick you.

And he would trick her. Then he’d kill her.Oh yes. He had no compunction about that. He wanted her dead. And to be honestthe feeling was mutual. Usually Tricky wouldn’t go in for such dramaticthoughts and murder was definitely NOT her thing. But in this case, it wasdefinitely a matter of who would get who first, like one of those old westernbooks her dad loved to read. They were always standing there ready to drawtheir guns and shoot the hell out of each other. Except there were no gunsanymore. If any turned up they were immediately melted down. Metal was tooprecious, and so was human life too. Humanity had at least learnt that sincethe shift. Although fat wizardy types and his cronies might think differently.But they didn’t have guns now, they had magic instead. And staring at this bigswirling rupture it could be just as deadly.

It was then that Tricky realised shewouldn’t be going in. Oh no, she had to shut this thing off. Close it up beforesome innocent happened across it. If she was going to chase him into anotherdimension, she was going to be the one controlling the when and where of it.