The Destruction Of The Codes: Chapter One

Leanna is willing to do anything to find her parents, but the first thing she wants is to get settled into a place before she goes off finding anyone. The house her and Zeke have found (in Leanna's name) isn't what it seems though. Not only that, but it holds the secret to how to find Leanna's parents, and so much more.

I was looking for an apartment complex for me and Zeke to move into while we found a way to find my parent's when I got a call about some things I was inheriting from my dad now that I was a young adult.

"My dad owned a house? That's strange, Uncle Rygan and Aunt Fever never told me he owned anything. Where is this house?"

"Out in the country a little. It's not in the best of shape, due to no one living there for about twenty years, and it's not the most attractive thing out there-"

"How much is it worth?"

"That's the weird thing. It's worth about 93 thousand simoleons. From looking at it you'd never guess it was worth that much."

"Is anyone willing to buy it?"

"No one, I've checked to see if anyone has ever wanted to buy the place, but no one has. So then, what do you plan to do with the place?"

"Hmmm, a run down shack with no offers or wanters on the land. I'll take it."

"Okay, either your dad was crazy or he was lending the place to someone crazy," Zeke commented when he saw the shack, "Are you sure you don't want me to fix the place up for you?"

"I can't, it was part of the policy my dad left me for the place. I wasn't allowed to chance the lawn or anything else in the house in anyway what so ever. No remodeling I'm afraid or I'd lose the right to the house. Besides, it's not that bad-"

Zeke laughed at me and pointed at the gnomes, "Not bad you say? The yard is full of bush animals and strange lawn gnomes! The windows are falling out of the wall, the siding is metal that's four thirds rust and the roof looks as if it hasn't been replaced since the dino age!"

I rolled my eyes, "You can be so hypercritical sometimes Zeke. I'm not going to live here the rest of my life. I'm just going to look around and see if I can learn anything more about my dad, and maybe my mother. She apparently visited here a lot before she got engaged to my dad."

"So, you plan on living here, look around the house and the land for more clues about your parents, then leave it be afterwards?"

"That just about sums it up."

The inside was worse than the outside. Everything was broken or old enough to be in an antique store. It was all one room, the kitchen, the bedroom, the living room, it was all in the same room.

Zeke looked up and almost yelled, "That ceiling looks as if it could cave in at anytime."

"Let's just hope it doesn't fall while we're here."

Zeke walked over to the bench, placing his hand down on it to see if it was going to break, then sat down on it, "Face it Leanna, this place is worthless-"

"That's not what the papers I saw said. They said the land was worth 93 thousand simoleons."

"You're joking! What could make this place worth so much!"

I shrugged as I looked at the bed, "Clean sheets? That's unusual. Zeke, the bed is freshly made!"

Zeke walked over to me and looked at the bed, "It is. The sheets look like they were cleaned within the last hour. Any ideas how this is possible?"

"Easy, someone was here before we came in," then I heard the sound of steps going down a flight of stairs from behind me.

Turning around, I was looking straight at a door, "Was this here a few seconds ago?"

"No, it wasn't."

"Well then, let's see who's been staying here, shall we?" I tried to turn the knob, but it wouldn't budge, "Oh pick lock king! I need your help here!"

He opened up his vest and showed me a bunch of tools, "What do you need?"

"I think a bobby pin or a credit card will do it for now," he handed me what I'd asked for and I went to work to try and open the door, but it wouldn't. After trying all of the tools in Zeke's vest, I gave up, "This isn't going to open for nothing! it's like it's under a spell or something!"

"Don't tell me the great Leanna is starting to believe in children's tales of witches and unicorns!" 

"No, but something is keeping me from opening the door. I can't explain it!"

"Oh, so now you can't explain something? Seriously Leanna, you're losing your touch!"

"It's getting late. I'm going to sleep, I'll take the bench and you can take the bed-"

"No, I'll take the bench and you'll take the bed."

"I can see this won't be going anywhere soon."

After a long hard argument, we finally decided we could share the bed, under a few rules though, no touching each other in anyway that would be considered a move on the other, and no trying to take the whole bed.

Half way through the night, I heard a noise from below the floor. It was the type of sound that you'd hear in a science fiction movie when a UFO was abducting someone.

"Zeke, you hear that?" I whispered, shaking his shoulder.

He sat up and listened to the noise, "Yes, it sounds like it's below us."

Getting up, I went to the door, and tried to open it again, this time it opened.

After quickly getting dressed, we went through the door to find a stair way. Being careful not to fall through the broken and rotten steps, we finally made it to the bottom to the floor below the shack.

"This room, I know this room," I told Zeke.

"Huh? You remember this room?"

"Yes, like it's part of a distant memory."

"You're scaring me," Zeke explained, looking around the room, "This place looks like it's been used recently. Even that Cave Age computer! It even has the fossil by it to prove it's old!"

"Ha Ha Zeke, real funny. This place has relics from different times all over the place! Is that a rough draft of the Mona Lisa, with blonde hair?"

"Da Vinci, I'm so glad you didn't make Lisa a blonde! She looks so better with darker hair." 

"Look at this board Zeke. It's has all these notes about different times in the past... and the future? That's odd." Then the noise we'd woken up to went off again, and some sort of machine appeared in front of us.

"What is that thing?" Zeke asked me.

"I don't know-"

"You don't know? I thought you were a genius!"

"Even a genius doesn't know everything."

"Hello, I don't recognize one of the voices I'm hearing," the machine said, "The male hasn't been here before."

"Did that thing just talk?"

I walked up the machine and touched the door, "This machine seems familiar to me now but, I don't remember why."

Zeke walked over to the machine, looking at all the buttons,"Whatever it is, it's creeping me out."

"Now I recognize you," the machine exclaimed "Your the son of Fever and Rygan. From listening to the sound of your voice and calculating the age of Fever and Rygan's kids, I've come to the conclusion that you are Zeke."

"That thing knows my name! Leanna! Let's get out of here before something bad happens."

"Leanna?" the machine asked, "Leanna, daughter of Arther and Rikki?"

"Yes?"

"Access to portal granted," the machine said as it opened up, revealing a sight of wonder and beauty, but once again familiar, "Your parents are waiting for you."

"Your parents, are in there?" Zeke pointed to the door, "Wow, your parents really know how to go missing."

"Zeke, shut up and follow me in."

Zeke stepped back for a moment, but came back to hold my hand, "Okay, let's to this."

I took a deep breath before stepping into the display of light with Zeke. The feeling of being tumbled around in circles made my stomach hurt, but Zeke was enjoying it.

"This is more fun than the rides at Wonderland!"

Wonderland was fun, but I didn't get sick from the rides then, I never got motion sickness from anything. Why was I getting sick from it now?

Zeke was the first to get out of the portal, with me right behind him, my stomach spinning in circles. We found ourselves in the same room we were just in, but instead the board being full of notes of different times, it was full of numbers and letters, connected by lines of string. At the top left corner was a set of four numbers and two letters highlighted in neon green, 6538PR. All of the lines somehow lead to the numbers and letters in the top left corner. I was going to tell Zeke about the board but my stomach started to feel worse by the second.  

"That ride didn't go well for my stomach."

"What?, but you never get motion sickness!"

"I know, but that portal was different that all those other times. It was like it was tearing me up from the inside."

  "That's one way to put it I guess," a little girl said as she came from down the stairs, "My names Angelia and... you look like me, but older!" 

"You look like Leanna but, younger. Your point is?" Zeke asked Angelia, meaning it as a joke.

"Your name is Leanna! Wait right here! I have to get someone for you," with that, Angelia ran up the steps.

After a minute or two, a man with red hair like mine started to walk down the stairs. I recognized him from the pictures Rygan and Fever used to show me.

The man took one good look at me and realized who I was right away.

"Leanna, I... I thought I'd never see you again."

I soon found him embracing me, tears coming from his eyes, "I tried to get back to you, but everything I tried didn't work! I'm so sorry Leanna! I wanted to be there for you, but nothing worked!"

"It's okay dad, everything is going to be okay. I'm here, that's all that matters to me."

He finally let go of me and moved his hands through my hair, "Angelia told me your trip was a little upsetting to the stomach. The same happens to me. Please, both of you come up stairs. There is so much I need to tell you." he looked over at Zeke, recognizing him as well, "You have to be Zeke, I haven't seen you since you were a toddler, of course I haven't seen Leanna since then as well."

Zeke's mouth was wide open, he raised his finger, pointing at the man in front of him, "You're... you're..."

"Can't believe it's actually me? I don't blame you. It's hard to believe that I'm alive after being gone this long, but it's me, Arther Crockstin. Welcome to the parallel dimension."