Chapter 3

  The shiny portal was right there, almost begging Li Wei to jump in. But something hit him suddenly; wait a minute! Kind of feeling. He couldn't just stroll into that alien place with nothing but a parasite and good intentions. He needed to protect himself. He needed something to fight with. What if there were some rampage?

  He couldn't shake the image of those huge, strangely strong creatures he'd seen before. What if not all of them were friendly? What if there was some kind of super-aggressive monster, defending its territory, something way scarier than anything on Earth? He shivered, thinking he'd be less of a doctor helping patients and more like hors d'oeuvres.

  Okay, he needed weapons. But what kind? Earth weapons were made for Earth's problems. A simple tranquilizer dart wouldn't even scratch a creature with golden scales. He needed something that could actually hurt alien wildlife.

  The next few hours were a mad dash. He dove into the internet, checking out weird conspiracy forums and fringe science sites. He was looking for anything: theories about alien guns, stories of supposed encounters, even crazy science fiction ideas. He found blurry pictures of what people claimed were energy weapons, shaky videos of UFOs, and tons of pages filled with nonsense. Most of it was useless, but he kept digging, desperate for any kind of clue.

  He even thought about using his own vet tools. A cattle prod tuned up a bit? A bigger tranquilizer gun? He seemed pretty sad when he remembered those giant creatures. He needed something with some real power, something that could stop an animal as huge as the size of a small house.

  His search led him to stuff about experimental tech: plasma rifles, sonic devices, and even theories about gravity weapons. But those were all prototypes, really expensive and hard to get. He was just a vet struggling to make a living, not some government agent.

  As he was looking for weapons, he kept thinking about those sick animals he'd seen over there. He had to be ready to treat them, but he had no idea what was wrong with them. He remembered the oozing sores on that six-legged thing, how dull the eyes were on that snake-like creature. He tried to think of what it would be like with Earth animals: fungal infections, parasites, viruses. But these were aliens; their bodies were totally different.

  He needed info. He needed a quick lesson in alien diseases. He went back to his grandmother's old book, hoping to find some clue, some old wisdom about alien sicknesses. Nothing. The book had wild stories about magic and going to other worlds, but not a word about alien health problems.

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  Days turned into nights. He was tired, his eyes burning from staring at screens and old books. He hadn't found any weapons or any cures, just more questions. He started getting worried. Was he wasting his time? Was this alien world just impossible for him?

  Then, as he was about to close the book because he was so frustrated, a piece of paper fell out. It was folded up and old. It was a letter.

  The writing was fancy and flowing, and the ink was faded but still readable. It was a love letter.

  “My dearest Aiko, it started, The mountain winds whisper your name, carrying my longing across the valleys. My heart aches for the day I can once again gaze upon your radiant smile, a smile brighter than the morning sun that kisses the peaks of Mount Fujiwara. The cherry blossoms bloom, but their beauty pales in comparison to yours…”

  Li Wei stared at the letter, feeling really weird. His grandmother? Aiko? A lover? It didn't seem real. He'd always known her as someone cold and distant, always frowning. The idea of her writing – or getting – such a loving letter was... strange.

  He almost closed the book, thinking it was just some weird old thing of no importance, something from a life his grandmother had forgotten. But then he noticed the address.

  The letter was mailed to his grandmother from a place called The Whispering Woods, in the Dragon's Tooth Mountains. The name made it sound like something from a cartoon, a place of magic and legends.

  He grabbed his phone and typed the place into the map app. To his shock, it was a real place. A faraway, mountainous area, way far from any big city.

  A strange idea started to form in his head. If this letter was real, if his unloving grandmother had once been loved, then maybe... maybe the man who wrote it was still alive. And maybe, just maybe, he knew something. Something about magic, about the alien world, something that could help him.

  He packed a bag with a strange mix of stuff: the magic book, food, some camping stuff, and a bit of hope. He had a new place to go, a new clue, a new, crazy mission.

  The trip was hard. He climbed mountains for days; his muscles were sore, and the letter was his only guide. The air got thin, the trees got less, and the land got wilder. The Dragon's Tooth Mountains looked like their name, their sharp peaks pointed at the sky like teeth of a giant animal.

  Finally, after a long time, he got to the Whispering Woods. The air was quiet, only the leaves moving and the call of a bird far away. He walked on the trail from the letter, his heart beating loudly.

  He found him in a small open area, a very old man with eyes that looked like they knew everything. His face had a ton of wrinkles, his long white hair down his back like a waterfall. He looked like a wizard.

  “You seek Aiko?” The old man said weakly, his voice sounding like leaves.

  Li Wei couldn't talk; for all he knew, his grandmother was long dead.

  “I am Kenji,” the old man said, smiling a little. “Her... friend.”

  Li Wei swallowed, his head spinning. “I... I am her grandson. Li Wei.”

  Kenji's eyes opened a bit wider. “Aiko... she never talked about family.”

  “I need your help,” Li Wei said quickly, his worry taking over his surprise. “I... I have found a world beyond ours. A world of alien animals. And I need to treat them. But I don't know anything about their illnesses.”

  Kenji looked at him for a long time, staring. “You seek knowledge that is not meant for regular people.”

  “Please,” Li Wei begged. “I am a doctor. I just want to help them.”

  Kenji sighed, like the wind in the trees. “There is a way... but it requires something to be given up.”

  Li Wei stopped breathing for a second. “To be given up?”

  “A risk,” Kenji corrected, his eyes twinkling. “Like in the cartoons you young people watch. I can make a drink, a potion that will let you know what's wrong with these creatures. But to do so, you must give something of equal value.”

  Li Wei's mind raced. What could he offer? What did this old wizard want?

  The mission had just begun.