Final Journey: Eighteen Worlds Trilogy – Book 1

By Dion Bird

Out of the midst of tragedy, adventure is born.

Two years after the loss of her mother, Hanali also succumbs to the hands of fate. But the afterlife is not all she had feared it may be. Her spirit, brought to the heart of the galaxy itself, is granted a second life in the heavenly realm of the eighteen worlds of Sil Panacia.

What she finds in this hidden paradise excites her inquisitive mind. For this is not only for the populace of Earth; creatures beyond her imagination thrive here also, from all across the cosmos.

Determined to find her estranged mother, Hanali embarks on a quest that takes her across an unknown and alien world, making new friends and fierce new enemies in a journey of hope, danger, and discovery.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Sep 5, 2012
• ISBN: 9781452506883

Dion Bird

Dion Bird is a first-time author. Born in New Zealand, he currently lives in Brisbane, Australia, with his wife, Satu, and baby daughter, Alannah.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

D ad, dad, dad, Hanali called out excitedly, still eliciting no response, Dad, come on, you have to come see this.

The stars overhead were looking incredible this night as Hanali reluctantly tore her eye away from her telescope to see just where that dad of hers was. Again he was missing the spectacle, choosing instead to be with them, a ragged bunch of adult misfits he had recently befriended at the Wild Inn, a ‘recreational facility’ as he liked to call it, so that she would not know of his true activities.

She though, even at fifteen, was no fool. She knew exactly what his ‘recreations’ entailed, whiskey, bourbon, vodka, anything that would steal his mind from the world around them. It had been that way ever since her mother had died two years earlier. Her passing had left a hole so deep in his heart that the only thing he had had found to fill it was an all-new love of the bottle.

Still though she loved him, unconditionally, he truly was a good man at heart, but just this once she wished he hadn’t brought his ‘buddies’ out here on their monthly trip to the white cliffs peninsula. It wasn’t the first time he had dragged them along to fill in the hours with gambling and more than their fair share of intoxicants. They played their poker while she gazed out at the stars, even though, as she sometimes remarked to herself, had she been up there playing with them she could all too easily rid them of their bankrolls and send them home running. She knew all their tells, knew how to read them easier than some of her favourite books, but that wasn’t how she was raised. Her mother had instilled in her a sense of right and wrong, and by going after their money in bitterness she may get what she wants, but there can, and always will be, consequences to her actions.

Instead all she really wanted was for her father to be out here with her now. To have a loving mentor by her side, and one who she could share her thoughts with, to have him smile at her and proudly listen as she bored him with her knowledge of the cosmos.

Tonight was such a beautiful night, the sky was perfect, there were no clouds, no breeze, no smoky haze. The stars were out in all their glory, shining like majestic gods down upon her. She smiled staring up at the Milky Way, the Southern Cross and Orion. As always, her imagination followed their sparkling lines and soaked in all the possibilities of just what might be out there.

That’s why she wanted her dad here with her; she wanted to share with him these thoughts, to discuss the idea of faraway life and imaginary adventures that could never be reached. He was a short-sighted man, as stubborn and unrelenting in his opinion as a boulder lodged firmly in the midst of a raging river. Slowly though, she knew a rock could be worn down by pressure, and it was his return arguments that made debating with him so much fun.

He had a stern view on god and a dead set belief earth was his only creation. There were no such things as aliens or magic, or far off mystical lands. There was the lord and his rule on this world alone. Hanali loved expressing her completely opposite opinions back at him, using science and logic as bases to prove the likelihood of something more beyond their world.

The universe was simply too massive to consider that only one tiny speck in its ocean had found the capacity to create life. There just had to be more out there, and forming in ways completely different to the life of earth. The universe composes itself of a great number of elements, and though water may be crucial to survival here, the same may not be necessary elsewhere. Gas giants could support an existence of hydrogen breathers, balls of rock lacking atmosphere could form the basis for vacuum sufficient bio-forms. The possibilities were endless out there and all one needed was to look at the true miracle of life on this planet to see that crazy things are indeed happening in the universe.

A chorus of heavy boisterous laughter drifted over from her father’s now aging Winnebago. The volume of the jeering had notably increased over the past half hour, and the awareness that he was now over his limit, and most likely not joining her as promised, tainted her mood considerably.

She sighed shaking her head, Mum would not be happy.

She moved the telescope gently aside and paced off, trying not to let her frustrations get the better of her, a small walk, she knew, would do her good. The night was warm enough to wear a simple pair of sneakers, a pair of shorts and her favourite t-shirt, a red and quite worn garment she loved to wear to prove to all those around her she was not by any means a girly girl. The t-shirt had a notable rip to the shoulder caused by a snag when tumbling out from a tree, as well as a couple of old grass stains on her lower back end.

A girl of nature and adventure, she made specific effort to ensure her ways of life were known to those around her. A stubbornness to her imaginative ideals granted to her through her own fathers ways. It was only natural that too shake off the annoyances of her dads fall from grace, Hanali looked to taking to her feet.

There wasn’t really too many places to wander off to out here, to the east and downhill was an old camping sight, she could see lights from trailers down there not nearly strong enough to ruin the spectacle in the sky. Off to the west, north and south lay a coastline far below her hill’s cliff tops, they certainly held no place for her to go, but still they were more appealing than anything civilised right now.

So she slowly dragged her feet their direction, still watching the sparkling sky as she walked.

No sooner had she reached their high edges, than her breath had caught in her throat. The galaxy was alive right down there below her feet. The ocean, the completely calm and still ocean, grabbed a hold of the images in the sky, mirroring their reflection back up at her, and for a moment, she felt entirely immersed in the heavens. It was like she was standing in the centre of the universe, able to look both up and down on the surrounding cosmos, almost even to reach out and touch the great constellations that filled her view.

She smiled, mesmerized by the beauty, and indeed raised her hand out toward it completely forgetting everything, her father and his band of merry gamblers reverted from her mind as she became one with the universe.

Mum, she whispered, I can feel you here, I knew you weren’t gone, not completely, I’ve always known you would be watching over me from wherever you are, and I thank you. Don’t be too upset with dad, he just misses you. He was never able to understand why his god would take you away from him. I’m doing my best, I’m trying to convince him that you haven’t truly left us, that you were just needed elsewhere. But you know him, he can be hard to reach sometimes. I have faith he will someday realise this too, even if I have to bang him on the head a few times til he comes around, She giggled a bit knowing her mother would like that wee touch, We both miss you mum. Someday I’ll come join you there, but until then please, just continue to watch over us, your strength is worth more than you could ever know. I love you.

A frown creased her brow, what was that? Her body sensed something very strange. Before she could identify what it was it happened again, this time its nature was undeniable. The ground beneath her groaned and shuddered. Her eyes turned wide with fright as the cliffs edge suddenly become an unstable slab of rock.

Her weight, though not much, was enough that standing right on its ledge was just the trigger point for thousands of years’ worth of gravitational strain on its overhanging surface. The rock cracked and splintered, dropping Hanali to her knees on its drooping form which went from slanting on a ninety degree angle to a quick and steep incline of one thirty. She scrambled and cried out, crawling upwards, desperate to escape a fatal plunge. The cliff was too high and the waters too shallow, Daaaaaaaaad! she screamed, trying with all her might to pull herself free of her dire predicament, but the more she struggled the more the cliffs edge drooped, in less than a heart beat the rock’s grip of its mother land broke free and, with Hanali trapped atop it, plummeted down, down to the starry ocean surface below.

On the trigger edge between life and death, Hanali stared down at her destiny with clarity beyond her years. This was it, her time in this life was over, there was nothing she could do in those last closing split seconds other stare with wide eyed amazement at the incredible spectacle of stars she falling down into. Down beyond mortal life, beyond existence, right down into the centre of the universe itself.

The light she had heard so many people talk about over her lifetime was right there at her back. A tunnel of brightness calling out to her with an invitation hard to resist. But she could not turn toward it, not quite yet, today was the day of her funeral, and it was a day she knew she had to hold on to within her heart wherever it was that light wished to take her.

She had never experienced a stranger sensation than this, to stand by and watch those she loved and cared about cry and mourn her loss. She wanted to reach out and place her own reassuring hand on their shoulders, to assure them she was alright. To whisper in their ears that she truly did love each and every one of them, that the roles they had each played in her life had made her existence the luckiest a girl could have.

But she could not, as a spirit all she could do was watch and hope they could hear her thoughts with their hearts. She could certainly hear theirs. From some she could feel anger to the world, those people looked to blame something beyond their control. Hanali smiled and pushed their ways emotions of peaceful good joy. For this, there was no one to blame.

From others there was just a sense of sadness and loss. Her best friends wept while her grandparents stared blankly out, trying their hardest to come to terms with tragedy.

Then there was her father. Hanali herself just wanted to cry seeing the pain in his eyes. The poor man had first lost his wife, now his only daughter. The agony and distress clearly evident in his face, and she truly, truly wished she could lend him all the comfort in the world. This was not going to be easy for him, and she could already sense waves of guilt rolling off his soul. Their weight caused his shoulders to sloop and his head to sag, it looked as if he hadn’t eaten or slept at all in the days since her passing.

Her uncle stood by his side, resting a comforting arm over his shoulder and doing the best he could to ease the man’s pain. Hanali watched as her uncle hushed quiet words to her dad before receiving an approving nod in response. He then cleared his throat and addressed the crowd gathered around her open burial site.

Hanali my dear sweet niece, I hope you can hear me from wherever you may now be. You were this family’s shining star and now without you, the light of our world has been greatly diminished. Your father and I struggled with the loss of your mother, and to now lay you to rest next to her I… I, I never knew I could feel such heartache, He took a moment to swipe a tear from his eye and collect himself, But in saying that, I know you would not wish for us to hurt. You would probably have rather we ditch this whole melancholy affair and took to rejoicing with all those of our wider family we have not seen since the last time we visited this place. For your memory I intend to do just that. I will not allow your passing to be taken in vain. Goodbye my dear sweet niece, and rest in peace.

Thankyou uncle, She whispered back through her own unseen tears, Knowing you are here to watch over my family, especially my father, means more to me than you could ever know. The beckoning light on her heel loomed ever closer, its seductive pull promising her final closure on this world she called home.

She flicked her eyes back to the light and asked with quiet conviction, Please just one more moment. It, with something akin to a personality, obliged pulling back slightly and allowing her some space. With this freedom she walked forward, around her grave, not at all interested in looking down, and headed over to her father.

She knelt before him and placed her hands on top of his. Even though he could not see her, she took some comfort in the fact that his eyes seemed to gaze straight into hers.

Dad, I love you, She smiled shyly as a tear fell from her cheek, Be strong and I will miss you. Uncle Charlie will be the one to be with you now. but I, well I will be up there with mum watching out for you. So you had better stay out of trouble because we will know. I have never doubted you, and dad, someday I know I will see you smile again. But until then, just know that I will always be in your heart.

Standing, she bent over to kiss his forehead before the light was finally able to take its hold of her to pull her far, far away.

As she sailed up through the clouds she thought to herself ‘This is really it, I’m going to heaven. She began envisioning what it would be like. Just as her father had always told her she guessed, a paradise land on a snowy white cloud, angels singing, a place where she would have everything she could ever wish for, a place where she could watch over those she had left behind.

She had never truly believed in this concept before, not while she was alive. It had always seemed so farfetched to her, and to all extents and purposes, impossible. Mankind had come a long way from their ancient stone building ancestors. They’d built aircraft that could fly above those clouds and see there were no heavens on their ever changing surfaces. They’d surveyed the earth and found those gushing bursts of lava that explode from its surface come not from a hell, but from a super-hot core that is in fact a crucial element in the worlds functionality.

But here she was, floating onwards and upwards, leaving her home far behind and traveling directly up into those clouds themselves. Those angels up there must consider her a fool for her doubts, it was lucky in fact that they allowed her up here at all, and that they didn’t just drop her down to hells depths. She was now fully prepared to shoulder her humility and come forth to this new land with open eyes.

It was to her complete surprise then when she emerged out through the surface of the white sanctuary she was drifting through and continued up. She wanted to reach out and grab something, anything to stop her floating onwards. She wanted to yell and scream for the angels to assist her back to their home, but there was no one there to hear her cries, nor anything to grasp onto. There was only all that she had ever suspected, nothing.

Her heart sank as her spiritual hand fell back to her side, ‘This isn’t how it was meant to be,’

It wasn’t long before she breached the earth’s atmosphere and was able to see her world as she had always dreamed. It had been her wildest fantasy to take to the stars and see this sight, but now, now she felt so lost. An abandoned spirit falling into the cosmos destined to travel the far reaches of space alone, forever.

It was then at that moment she realised how truly not alone she was. There were others, hundreds of them, thousands. Spirits, each and every one of them, erupting from the earth in a constant stream of ghostly images. A lot of them were human but most weren’t. All species of once living, breathing creatures were leaving that world behind, just like her. She was on a deaths march somewhere, she knew this because although these deceased beings came from all across the globe, they all floated out in one general direction. It was like some far off distant force was pulling them onwards. Had captured their souls and had some far off destination in mind to deliver them.

Her hopes soared once more, ‘Okay, so our general idea of a sanctuary beyond our mortal lives may be correct. It was just the location we had confused.’

Off to her side flew a pair of hippopotamus, a mother and her calf. This made her smile even more. Even in death the family could be together. She watched their awkward slow tumbling journey and wondered to herself if it truly were possible her own mother would be there waiting at the end of this ride for her.

They passed by the moon, seeming with every moment to be increasing in speed. Out past Mars they flew, and Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus and Pluto. The earth itself was nothing anymore but an unidentifiable speck. Soon the whole solar system was long gone as Hanali was left completely subdued by the entire varsity of space.

Nebula flashed by as they soared through whole new star systems, collecting as they went, more and more plumes of spirits. It seemed everywhere in the galaxy beings were living and dying, completing a phase of existence so that they too could join this train. She wanted to spot out their alien followers, but at this stage they were too far off for her naked eye to see clearly. Soon though she knew she would get her chance. Somewhere along this incredible flight.

But just where were they travelling? What destination could it be that would contain a spiritual realm? The universe was still, despite all of this, a place of science and logic, and neither science nor logic could explain the presence of a heavenly hideaway. It still seemed so unbelievable, even to one caught in the middle of the obvious truth.

The slowing down of their movement alerted to her to fact that she might just be about to figure all that out. She turned around and saw there an image she learnt long ago in her studies was the centre of the galaxy. She stared wide eyed and open mouthed at its beauty and splendour. This really was a sight to behold.

Sagittarius A, a super black hole, the absolute mega giant of the stellar world weighing in at over sixty two billion times the mass of the sun. This thing is what steers the galaxy; its gravity takes hold of all the billions of stars, orbits them around its axis, before slowly pulling them all in. In short this thing, this massive gravitational force that has the power to capture and imprison even light, was the true master of space and time.

Surrounding it like outstretched arms were clouds of colourful gas clouds, they appeared both welcoming and frightening as her soul was dragged uncontrollably through their midst’s, continuing on her path toward that looming black hole.

It was here things began to change, before her eyes her hippo neighbours vanished. Poof, just like that they were gone, and they weren’t alone. All around the souls that were pulled here started disappearing, winking out of existence as if they had never been. Hanali grew frightened, the light that was surrounding them was responsible, every soul it touched vaporised into nothing. It was like a killing field and Hanali could do nothing but squirm helplessly, hoping that relentless touch would never take a grasp of her.

‘No, no, no, please let me through, pleeeaaase.’ She needn’t have asked, the lights had no intention of stealing her away. For Hanali it was the black hole alone that was her destination, and as she and just a remote handful of other creatures passed unscathed through the terror lights, that great dark orb ahead was the only thing left in her path. Within moments she was sucked within.

CHAPTER 2

H oly heck what a rush, Jamie Sedo blurted, perched on the precipice of a whole new world. His eyes darted around with boyish wonder, as the grin of a retarded monkey split his lips.

Whoa! He had to quickly duck and roll to his side to avoid being crushed by a massive leg that now occupied the space he’d just been standing. There was no fright coming from the young teenage boy. To this kid, almost being crushed was as exciting as winning the lottery.

He looked up and up, taking in the enormity of the creature by his side. A humanoid covered from head to toe in fiery red scales and twisted hooks of bone. The monster looked down at him in disappointment.

Well if you really wanted to crush me, you should have tried harder. The beast was not impressed, his big eyes narrowed to slits as he carried on his grumpy way down the path they all followed.

He shook his head smirking, This place is awesome. He then too, followed after the giant, and the few hundred other wild creatures that accompanied them, down along a rainbow bridge, cut through black space.

The ride here had been the thrill of his life, or death, or well whatever this place was now. Racing through the stars, getting so close to some worlds he could actually make out what they looked like. They’d smashed through huge clouds of space dust, and he had even, just for a fraction of a spilt second, touched an asteroid.

As for the aliens that had joined them along the way, he hadn’t been able to steal his eyes away from them. There had been huge ones and small, blue ones and green. Some with many arms and legs, and others with more than one head. Swimming aliens and flying ones too. Beings that looked intelligent, and others that were no more than masses of jelly. There had even been the ghosts of plants and trees out there, thousands of them in a thousand different displays of shapes and colours.

Then, when he had approached that super massive black ball in space, and the crazy plumes of light surrounding it, things had turned from exciting to insane.

He remembered it vividly, all that light flashing down at them. It had wrapped itself around, vanquishing almost every single ghost out there. Millions had been reduced to hundreds, and he was sure he was not meant to be one of the ‘survivors’.

When the light had come his way, he’d been floating along next to some weird orange tree. He’d grabbed a hold of one of its roots and hoisted himself out of the way. The light had still been after him, so he’d been forced to climb like he’d never had before. He’d raced up, even as the light gobbled up the very obstacle he climbed.

He guessed it had been the last breath of spirit from the tree that had saved him. It had given out a whoosh of energy that had seen him catapulting through space, right into the face of that great red giant.

The giant had not been happy, especially since the impact had almost launched the both of them right into the wave of another light burst. From there it was clear sailing right into the heart of the black hole.

Time stood still from that point on, the darkness devoured him, and for what could have been hours, or weeks, or even years, he floated in the black.

He wasn’t even sure how he’d made it all the through. All he knew was that