Shelly

By Andrew Zellgert

Shelly had a normal life. Living in poverty with her rich parents until she encounters two mysterious figures in a historic alien site.

From there, she is sprung into two epic escapades involving a sci-fi samurai, multi-dimensional travel, time-traveling foes, and a universe that needs to be saved… twice…

 

"We are currently in the future. A future where the Institute is destroyed. This is a future I want to avoid."

-Oscar C. Detrot [The Institute; Book 1]

 

"A complex near here will surely point you toward the Dimensions Master. She is the switchboard of Drent that connects people to different worlds."

-David Hilbert [24:00; Book 2]

• Language: English
• Publisher: Andrew Zellgert
• Release date: Oct 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223673002

Andrew Zellgert

Andrew Zellgert is an award-winning science fiction author who primarily writes for children and teens. The topics covered in his work translate the calamities of life into relatable, entertaining allegories. He currently has nine releases spanning from epic intergalactic espionage to chilling dystopian prison life. His latest work, The Adventures of Randy, is a sci-fi trilogy involving time travel, cunning villains, heroic sidekicks, and an intergalactic adventure you will never forget! Join Randy, the restaurant employee as he goes on an allegorical journey through self-discovery. Zellgert is a medalist in the Outstanding Creator Awards of Summer 2022 and was given a five-star review by Reader's Favorite. In his spare time, he loves to read children's books and go for walks in his hometown of St. Cloud Minnesota. You can contact or connect with Andrew Zellgert at: Twitter: @AndrewZellgert Facebook: @zellgertbooks Pinterest: /andrewzellgert Goodreads: Andrew Zellgert All Author: /author/andrewzellgert BookBub: @andrewzellgert

Book preview

Shelly

The Complete Story

Andrew Zellgert

Zellgertbooks

Copyright © 2023 by Andrew Zellgert

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

The story, all names, characters, and incidents portrayed in this production are fictitious. No identification with actual persons (living or deceased), places, buildings, and products is intended or should be inferred.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

David Hilbert invented the concept of a paradoxical hotel in 1924 known as the Hilbert Hotel. This concept is used in this book to help display the concept of infinity for the reader. The original idea and inspiration came from David Hilbert and his work.

Book Cover by RebecaCover

Print ISBN: 9798855625615

1st edition 2023

Contents

1.The Doorway

2.Desolation

3.The Signatures

4.The Trap

5.Statistica

6.Possibilities

7.Nightmare

8.Graveyards

9.Tea

10.Act

11.Insecurity

12.Fears

Reconciliation

Future Fog

13.The Monotonous Routine

14.Battles

15.The Hilbert Hotel

16.A Dimensional Door

17.The Task Master

18.Story

19.The Mind

20.The Fool

21.Relapse

22.The Threat

23.Kings

24.Manipulation

25.The Dead Zone

26.Childhood

Normalcy

About the Author

The Institute

Time ticks slowly, the plan in motion.

Evil causes all commotion.

Thundering rails and blistering sound,

Beats of a heart that's booming and loud.

Eight days to find them no matter the cost.

Before all fall to darkness and the secret lost.

1

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The Doorway

It was dark in the eerie streets of Alpha Cortex. The abandoned streets gave off an aurora that suggested something mysterious would happen. A faint breeze that nipped at the face drifted through the mess of interconnected buildings and statues. Relics of a past civilization. A monument to time itself. Shafts of red light filtered throughout the city from above. Obscuring the view of space and the world beyond this menacing domain.

Shelly took a deep breath and took in the sights of this mysterious historical site. Many had tried to uncover the secrets of the Cortex, but no one had ever returned. Why was this here? Where did it come from? She wasn’t sure, but she would find out. She glanced at a note she had received. Telling her to make haste for the Cortex signed by a mysterious cursive ‘A’. She wasn’t certain who had such a signature nor who had written to her, but she knew the answer was here. The explorer trudged on toward the city in her explorer’s attire and matching jacket. Shelly was a loner and enjoyed exploring history on her own.

To her, it heightened the experience and made the discovery process more enjoyable. She brushed past vines and wafted the mist out of the way as she stepped toward the looming structures, snapping pictures as she went. The chilling air and black rock didn’t bother her in the slightest. Nor did the fractured bones dotted across the landscape phase her. Shelly knew Alpha Cortex was dangerous, but she knew her people were counting on her to bring back evidence of an advanced civilization. She couldn’t pass up an opportunity such as this. To prove to her family she was a real explorer and not just some nerd.

She was getting close to the misty city. She was so close; her body was shivering with excitement as the tingles of adventure filled her being. The dopamine-fueled desire to discover the unknown. She pulled out her camera and set up a tripod to document the entrance to the historic site. When everything was set up, and she was ready to broadcast, she got in front of the camera and said, Ladies and Gentlemen, it is with great honor I present to you: The Alpha Cortex.

She gestured to it for a moment and paused for dramatic effect. She wanted to be sure the guilds were listening carefully about what she was about to do. How proud they would be of her discovery. Before she could speak again, her phone rang. She quickly opened her battered flip phone, and a harsh female could be heard on the other side: SHELLY. I told you not to leave the country.

I know Lisa, replied Shelly as her eyes darted from the still broadcasting camera to her phone.

That’s Sergeant Lisa to you, roared Lisa. Pack up and return home. Now. That’s an order.

But I just got here— began Shelly, but Lisa interrupted.

And I don’t care, snarled Lisa on the other end of the line. If you don’t return home, your father and I will take the last of your possessions. You owe us enough as it is, and going into more debt on some stupid expedition will not make it go away.

But this one will be different, Mother. I promise, complained Shelly.

Don’t you ‘mother’ me! laughed Lisa. You’re sinking in debt as it is, and you owe us. Pack up your equipment and turn back. You will never be anything more than a hobbyist unworthy of any real academic credit. Now GET.

Shelly tried to slow her breathing as she slowly lowered her flip phone, but how could she? She looked up at her beaten old camera and battered tripod. Then stared at the explorer’s outfit she had cobbled together using scraps in her town’s garbage. Would she truly be anything more than she was? Some nerd who could never break past her restrictions as a person? Lisa was right. She sighed and ended the call, and ended the broadcast, continuing to stare at the apparatus she was going to document her adventure with. She couldn’t believe how confident she had been. How certain she had been this would bring honor to her family. The expedition where she found something worth sharing to pull her out of the hole she had dug herself into.

She packed up the camera and forced her tripod back into its faded sleeve. Another attempt at adventure for nothing. For a few brief glorious seconds, she had felt like a professional, someone who had done this before and knew what she was doing. She knew the guild rules by heart and had studied for many months in her run-down apartment, learning about the Alpha Cortex and the secrets it had. She put her camera in her backpack, tossed the tripod bag over her shoulder, and stood there. Facing the glowing city, hoping to find something worth documenting, but she knew there was no point in trying. She couldn’t risk the little she had left for a few pictures of a misty old city.

She turned away from Alpha Cortex with a heavy sigh as the cold reality sunk in. She would never be an explorer. She longed to ignore her mother’s commands and explore the Alpha Cortex, but fear held her firmly in place. Disabling her ability to do anything her heart longed to do. She would never be more than who she was already. She would not make the next breakthrough; the sooner she accepted that, the better. Tears formed in her eyes as sadness enveloped her.

How could she make a difference in her life? No sooner had these thoughts swirled through her mind did she fall face-first onto the cold, jagged stone. She could feel her body scream at her as droplets of blood spattered everywhere. She climbed onto one of the cold, black rocks and bowed her face low with her head in her hands. Tears flowed faster than the cuts bled, resulting in a rollercoaster of emotion that only intensified by the overwhelming sensation of hatred turned inward.

She cried for a long time on that rock. The realization that her life amounted to nothing, and that she would never live the dream she had always wanted slowly sunk in. Her emotions flowed out rapidly like a faucet pouring infinite depression into her soul.

I don’t know how long you intend to do this for, but it isn’t very interesting.

Shelly slowly raised her head, and to her surprise, a man in his mid-forties with a black suit and matching black tie was sitting opposite her. They stared at each other for a moment in complete silence as Shelly tried to process where the man had come from.

How long have you been sitting there? she asked through her tears.

Who me? Negative three hours, replied the man, who looked at his watch.

What? asked Shelly in utter bewilderment, for the moment her depression and self-pity were forgotten.

I said negative three hours, replied the man, who raised his watch for Shelly to see. The expensive Patek Philippe slowly ticked counterclockwise as he spoke. Counting down instead of up.

Shelly took a moment to process that the watch wasn’t acting correctly. When the man straightened up again, Shelly asked, Why is your watch going backward?

Why wouldn’t it? said the man with a laugh.

But watches are supposed to count up, said Shelly, who felt silly stating the obvious.

What an absurd idea! laughed the man as he rubbed his chin, grinning as he dusted himself off and got up from where he sat.

But that can’t be right, said Shelly.

Aid said it was right, so therefore it is! replied the man. Before Shelly could ask who Aid was, the man continued. Come, I have something I want you to see! He gestured for Shelly to follow, and together they made their way through the misty landscape toward Alpha Cortex. As they walked, the man put his hands in his pockets and said, I have been waiting hundreds of years for someone to show up, but I could never have hoped for a better turnout.

Better turnout? asked Shelly, who tried to keep her cool about the sudden conversation in this barren wasteland. She wasn’t certain if this was an attempt by Lisa to get her to go home, but she played along just in case.

Indeed! exclaimed the man. As they crossed through the red mist into the historic alien site, the man turned and shouted, Oscar? Oscar! Where are you?

Just a second! came a faded voice in the distance.

What have you gotten yourself into now? complained the man, who looked at his watch, leading Shelly deeper and deeper into the Alpha Cortex. Don’t you realize how early we are getting? At this rate, we will be too soon! Get over here now!

Fine, replied Oscar. A few moments later, a figure came into view through the haze, and a young man in a perfectly ironed shirt and pants walked toward them. In his breast pocket, a single pen sat perfectly in the center, and his bow tie was perfectly straight. Alright, I’m here, he said. I don’t see why you need me now, Archie. I was doing all right straightening those rocks over there to prepare for teatime. He gestured back at the mist, and Shelly could vaguely make out rows of perfectly straightened rocks with a larger slab over them. It occurred to Shelly that Archie may have been the author of the mysterious note and decided it would be best to play along.

Archie sighed and checked his watch again. Haven’t you noticed how early we will be if we don’t get a move on? You will get us both in trouble if you continue your unnecessary tasks!

Who— began Shelly, and both men turned toward her.

I apologize, said Archie with a kind smile. We haven’t formally introduced ourselves. This is Oscar C. Detrot, and I am Archie S. Detrot. We work here. I apologize for Oscar’s needlessly obsessive behavior. He has never been the best at self-control—"

Oh, you are one to talk! laughed Oscar. You can’t even tell if someone is listening to you! It’s always business this and business that! HA!

Archie clenched his jaw and ignored his brother’s rebuttal.

Oscar opened his mouth again to make another snide comment, but Archie pointed sharply at his pocket watch, and Oscar rolled his eyes. No more than a moment later, the three walked through the misty ruins of the Alpha Cortex. The cloudy atmosphere reluctantly parted to allow the trio through its mysterious depths.

Nearly there! said Oscar, who turned to face Shelly as they walked as if he were confirming something she did not know.

Enough of your banter, said Archie. Your frequent need to inform others isn’t helping anyone but yourself, so I advise you keep your mouth shut.

Oscar hung his head and mumbled something about straightening dishes. The walk continued in silence until at long last, they came to the source of the glow: A strange black door sitting upright in the middle of the mist-filled clearing. Red light dancing about and refracting amongst the airborne water droplets.

Archie, thank goodness! exclaimed a voice.

Shelly turned and saw a young girl who couldn’t be older than six step out from behind the black door in a school uniform with a warm smile on her face.

You received the memo, I take it? asked Archie, who stepped forward as the child approached.

Of course, replied the girl. I am always on top of everything!

Very good, replied Archie with a stiff nod. He turned to Shelly. Are you ready?

Ready for what? asked Shelly nervously.

For the doorway, replied the young girl.

The doorway? asked Shelly, sputtering worriedly. What had her mother done this time? Was she being sent to prison? She knew her credit was poor, but she had no idea it would come to this. You can tell my mother… I mean Lisa she’s had her fun. You can send me home now. I know I broke the law, but I swear this is the last time I will ever stray on forbidden property again—

Oscar turned to her and said, Be sure to have all your ducks in a row!

Archie turned and said, Be sure to think things through.

But most importantly, stay until the end, finished the girl. Come, The Gatekeeper is waiting for us.

Shelly turned back to look at Archie and Oscar as the young girl took her by the hand and led her toward the doorway. As the door swung open and the two girls stepped through, Oscar turned to Archie and asked, And you are certain this is a good idea?

Archie smiled widely, glanced at his strange watch, then turned to his brother and replied, Absolutely not.

2

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Desolation

It was pitch black on the other side of the door. All Shelly could see was her breath turning to condensation before her eyes as an unseen light source refracted the water molecules. This reminded her of the red glow in the Alpha Cortex and how chilling this simple exploration had become. Was she being kidnapped? Despite none of these strange people showing any force, she felt an odd reason to comply with what they asked. Causing her mind to whisper contradictions. Sometimes she thought she heard other people in her mind that she had never heard before. Turbulently swimming in her mind as rounds of questions barraged around