My story is set in a world similar to our own – in the early 2000s. I’m going for a  Spielberg vibe - although I'm steering away from going overtly 80s as I feel it’s been done before. However, I want to incorporate the warmth and camaraderie that Spielberg brings into his stories.

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There’s going to be an industrial feel. There will be elements of cyberpunk and dystopian post-apocalyptic - the set begins in an abandoned high rise building.

 

So Spielberg with an industrial edge provides an impression of the overall feel I’m aiming for.

 

Story premise
 

A group of delinquent teens inadvertently make a crossing into a grim post-apocalyptic alternate reality.
 

In time they discover that this other world is in fact just one of many, potentially infinite dimensions that overlap their own. The theme of lines ties into the story here – as the crossings between these dimensions occur in specific places in the world, on “crossroads” along what are - to most people - invisible lines.
 

Some individuals have the ability to sense or have knowledge of where these invisible crossroads are found. The lines overlap on a lattice, like a flattened underground subway map – these crossings or portals can be pinpointed and exploited by those who know how to find them.
 

Those who can sense the crossroads are highly sought after in the dimensions where the secret is known. Revered and protected by some, reviled and feared by others – more often than not they end up with a bounty on their heads, become enslaved or eliminated. Known as Seers, Druids, Three Eyes, Witches, Diviners - they have existed as long as memory.

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How the story unfolds

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The story opens with the group hanging out in a deserted run down industrial yard/hulk. It's implied they come here often, to hide from where they ought to be - be that school or college or a less than perfect home life. They're a group of frustrated teen's looking for clarity in the world, essentially. 

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This time they explore a little further than usual and discover a section of a wall that's almost entirely covered in a giant fungi network.

 

Enormous puff balls billow out all over it - it looks grotesque, alien, and while a couple of them recoil from what they see, the most impulsive of the trio begins to nonchalantly kick one of the larger clusters. This sends a massive, visible cloud of spores into the air. causing everyone to fall into a fit of coughing. As the spore cloud subsides, the group is disorientated, dizzy and nauseous - almost like an intense travel sickness - and they begin to notice some changes in their surroundings.     
 

Initially, in at least one member of the group, there is doubt (and ideally from the reader’s perspective as well) as to whether what the kids are experiencing is real or a group hallucination. 

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Everything is flipped over into a mirror image, the layout of the building is changed, and panic begins to spread within the group. As they gradually gather their bearings and behind to explore further, they discover other chilling differences.

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Sometime later they discover three individuals that bear an uncanny resemblance to themselves - except the three new characters introduced are feral looking, bedraggled, and scarred. The girl has lost an eye, and they all wear either hessian bags, deep hoods, or masks to cover their faces most of the time. 

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We later find out that they are wearing these coverings to hide from ultra-dimensional creatures who have the ability to see you if you can see them. These creatures also attack cognitively, devouring memories - so they can’t always recall why they wear these coverings. It appears they’ve been trapped here a long time, and they're running on instinct and fear. 

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Narrative twists and turns

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The twist in the story is that these three new characters are actually older versions of the original trio. This warped plane where they exist as prisoners has been in existence for at least three years.

 

The three newbies replace the prisoners ultimately - possibly willingly - to allow them to escape the gruelling torture they’ve endured for three years. Once escaped, they won’t remember a thing, the memories erased fully on the journey back.

There's a suggestion that this process repeats on loop - and the longer it persists the stronger the creatures get. There could be an incalculable number of these new warped portals spawning into existence all over the known world.

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In time they discover that their combined task is to destroy the gateway – the Fungi network they stumbled upon initially – and sever the path forever.

 

There is hesitation as they consider whether this may cut off the older kids only escape route. What if they all end up trapped for eternity? Will this sacrifice really stop the torturous loop? Will they make a difference ultimately? Is this just one of the incalculable realities they’re saving?

 

Conclusion

                                             

After some debate, they vow to work together to destroy the gateway, accepting the risks of trapping themselves within. There a lot of setbacks here - lots of scenes - but ultimately they appear to succeed.

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They wake up - heads pounding, feeling sick, disorientated, but alive.

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In the real world, no time has passed. What felt like three years in this awful fever dream. Did any of that really happen?

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Brief Overview of The Monsters 

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There are going to be a few different monsters in my graphic novel series, however, the main threat won’t be depicted visually in the first volume.

 

I think this adds to the suspense, the fear factor, and also keeps the reader hooked, hoping that later in the series we might get a glimpse of them. They are known to the kids in the alternative reality, but important details elude them. 

 

It seems the creatures:

 

• have some form of mind control, or attack the brain/devour memories in some way.  All the kids have are flashes of recall, random formless fragments of recollection, and paralysing instinctive fear.   
   

• do not conform to our understanding of physical laws at all – nor the laws of known alternative realities.  This might be another contributing factor to the kids being unable to recall what they see - the mind protecting itself from something simply too awful to understand.
   

• were somehow spawned between the lines - a kink in the universal code. They aren't creatures of flesh and blood or even carbon-based - they're unnatural predators, feeding on potential chaos.
   

• have a link between them and the puffball mushrooms - perhaps this is a gateway to their plane of existence - or is it a prison they have created to trap travellers into so they can feed on their despair?  

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