Chapter Text
As Eli laid on the ground, his entire body aching, he tried to recall what had happened just now. The swirling mass of dark energy hadn’t stopped like they’d planned, and he had slowly felt his grip begin to slip. Burpy’s panicked chirps from his shoulder had been drowned out, and they’d tumbled into the tornado of swirling particles.
His eyes felt glued shut, but slowly they opened. It was dark, but the stars above him illuminated the tree branches and grass underneath him. The Surface? He flung himself upwards. His body protested and a pained yelp came out from his lips. Reaching to grab his arm, probably sprained from the force at which he had flown from the portal, he took another glance around.
He didn’t recognize the forest he’d been transported to, but he was certain it was the surface. Beats the Deep Caverns, he thought briefly as he checked to see if his friends had been transported to. He was alone in the clearing, except for… “Burpy!” he smiled as the slug hopped up onto his shoulder, cooing happily at the sight of Eli. Good to know he isn't totally alone.
“Where do you think we ended up?” Eli finally stood on shaking legs, wishing he didn’t feel so dizzy. Not a good start to waking up somewhere strange. Burpy lit himself easily to illuminate the space around them. The full moon was bright, but not nearly enough to give Eli good vision. They both silently peered into the forest, until Eli decided to head off at a brisk walk. “Won’t do us any good standing there,” he mumbled to Burpy, who nodded.
As they walked, Burply alighted upon his shoulder, he slung his backpack around to the front of his body to look through its contents. His blaster was thankfully intact, if not a little dented. Burpy seemed to be the only slug who’d come through with Eli, much to his chagrin. Perhaps the others had managed to jump out before he’d lost his grip.
A pang of guilt struck Eli at the thought. He’d left his friends there with Blakk. If he’d been a bit stronger at keeping his hold, he wouldn’t have likely trapped them together in that room.
Burpy chirped angrily at him, snapping Eli out of his thoughts. He shook his head like he could guess what Eli was thinking. He chuckled and attempted to pet the slug with his right arm, only to find it twinged painfully as he reached upwards. He paused to test his range of motion, Burpy also watching curiously, and found it couldn’t reach any higher than above his chest. “Damnit,” he hissed, shaking out his arm. He’d have to use his left arm if he encountered any trouble. Then again, he wasn’t too sure there’d be much trouble on the surface anyways. He’d have to find somewhere to sleep, but if he had any luck at all he’d be near his old house before he’d left. Burpy chirped to alert Eli as they reached the edge of the forest. The treeline ended sharply as they came to a road, and Eli set off in the direction he hoped would lead to a town or city.
They hadn’t been walking long when he spotted a sign by the side of the road, white printed letters a bit faded and old. Giving Burpy a hopeful glance, he sped up his pace to reach the sign.
“WELCOME TO ARCADIA OAKS,” was printed boldly across the sign. Eli gave Burpy another glance, just to see the slug looking equally as confused. “You ever heard of this place, Burpy?” the slug huffed and shook his head. Eli felt the same way. He’d certainly never heard of this place before going down into Slugterra, and after so long down there anyways he wasn’t certain he’d remember if he had. Moving past the sign he continued on down the road, giving Burpy a reassuring pet. He’d figure out what to do regardless. A town was always a good sign in Slugterra, and the surface with far less dangers couldn’t be any different.
The road continued for about a 20 minute walk, if Eli’s internal clock was still good after his abrupt exit from Slugterra. He stopped on a small ridge that the road had curved up over, peering down into the town. It looked small from up here, although maybe it was just a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. He could make out the main roads of the town, although the darkness obscured any defining features. The neighborhoods sprawled out around the main roads, and then met with the forest once again. Eli sighed unhappily and began to make his way down the ridge, directly into the town. He figured he could locate someplace to stay for even just the night once he had a better layout of the town, and maybe figure some things out. Like where Arcadia Oaks was, for example. Maybe a library. Libraries had computers, usually. That was a good place to start.
Sneaking into the library was a breeze compared to sneaking around Blakk’s base. There were no security guards, Not that I think this town could afford one, he thought distantly, but the window was unlocked, and he simply pulled himself up. His arm protested painfully as he did so, but Burpy egged him on helpfully from the windowsill, until he was gasping for breath inside the library.
It was dark, as expected, and Burpy helped light up the dim space. Rows of bookshelves filled his vision, and after searching for about a minute he located a pod of five computers, screens blank. They looked- a little strange, different than he’d remembered computers to have looked, but he figured that could be from anything. Who knows what had changed on The Surface while he’d been gone? He plopped down into the chair, angling his body forward so Burpy could hop onto the table, and dragged the mouse closer to himself. A helpful “guest” option allowed him to log in easily, and he pulled up Google. The interface also looked different, but he simply squinted at it. Using his left hand, he typed in “Where is Arcadia Oaks?” with Burpy peering at the screen as well.
“California,” he and Burpy shared a shocked glance. Far from home, that was for sure. Eli stared at the word for what felt like ages, until Burpy began to nudge at his hand holding the mouse. “Okay,” he chuckled quietly, moving to search for something else. He stalled, trying to think up anything that could be important to know. Searching up the date, he choked on the breath he had been taking in, stopping to cough.
“October first, 2016,” Eli gaped at the screen, with Burping squeaking erratically as they both absorbed the information. “Four years in the future?” Eli whispered with growing panic. He was certain he hadn’t been in Slugterra for that long, it hadn’t even been a year. Not only had he been teleported, somewhere that frankly didn’t make sense, but he’d time traveled? He should’ve been in the Deep Caverns. As much as it comforts me that I’m not, this isn’t a lot better. A chuckle almost escaped him at the thought. He wouldn’t have thought he’d ever wish to go back there.
“What now, Burpy?” he rubbed a finger against the slug, who was casting him a forlorn glance. “We need somewhere to stay,” he tried to think. It’s not like he could waltz up to someone’s house and ask them to let him in.
He glanced at the time. 6 am. The sun would rise soon, and he’d have to be out of the library by then.
His mind passed over the culvert he’d passed on his way here. It was dirty and smelled, but would provide some sort of shelter while he figured out what else to do. Scooping up Burpy he found the window and was out in a blink. The sky had been slowly but surely lightening while he was inside, and he needed to get going if he wanted to be out of the town by the time the sun was up. It was just as easy leaving as it was getting in, although there were a few people up and about, cars he had to watch out for while crossing the street. But with Burpy in his backpack, no one gave him a sidelong glance as he walked along the sidewalks and alleys.
The forest was easier to traverse with the sun now nestled along the horizon. Climbing up the small hill he’d gone down earlier that morning was rough on his aching body, but he managed and found the culvert with little trouble. Burpy gave an incredulous squeak at the sight of the culvert, and Eli gave him a look. “You have a better idea?” he said fondly as he scooped Burpy up and put him down gently, letting him search around. He gave Eli another dubious look as he looked around, especially getting a better smell. “I know,” he said gently. “But it’s not like we have anywhere else,” and Burpy sadly cooed in agreement. He probably missed the other slugs more than Eli did, which was saying a lot. They’d both feel better with more company, and Eli would feel safer. He still couldn’t shake the thought that something was eerily wrong with this place.
He settled into a seated position, his backpack under his head and his blaster attached to his belt. Burpy crawled up his torso and settled into the crook of his neck. “We’ll try to get some sleep,” he mumbled. His eyes felt heavy, despite the rising sun. The portal had dragged all the strength from him. He was sure Burpy felt the same way. He closed his eyes and felt sleep finally settle over him.