Chapter 1

"Merlyn, you need to make your steps quieter," I whispered to my best friend as we snuck through the hallways of my father's lab. My dad was a renowned scientists, and being bored one night during a sleepover, Merlyn and I decided to take a look since I'd never been before. It was juvenile, I know, but we were teenagers at the peak age of 17 years old. Merlyn and I had been friends forever. We would graduate next year and it was my first time seeing my dad's workplace. He was secretive about his work and Merlyn and I let our curiosity get the best of us. Of course, sleepover chatter was what got us on the subject in the first place.

"We cannot get caught," she whispered the obvious nervously. Merlyn, my crazy, petite, pink-haired best friend since elementary school. Just as she said that, we heard footsteps approaching. I opened the nearest door and rushed inside with Merlyn at my heels. We crotched under the window as the footsteps stopped right outside of the door. Merlyn held the door handle tightly just in case someone tried to open it.

"Is it ready?" A deep voice asked. I felt my heart drop to my feet at the thought of getting caught. I knew where my dad worked my whole life, but he never allowed my to come visit. What was he working on that caused him to be so secretive? I briefly wondered if he was testing on animals.

"We just need to active it for the test run. Of course, we don't know what the consequences will be quite yet," I heard my dad answer. My eyes widened when I realized my dad was right above us on the other side of the wall. I was shaking, scared that we would be caught by the one person who I wanted to avoid. I mouthed 'my dad' to Merlyn and her eyes went wide as she got nervous as well.

"Well, that's what the testing is for. We'll take it easy for now. Start it up," the other voice replied. Something in the room with us clicked to life as a whirring sound began. I looked behind me quickly to see something that looked like a giant infinity symbol with huge generators on either end. As the machine whirred to life, colors began spewing out of both ends. The wind in the room picked up causing me to slide towards the machine. Merlyn was still holding tightly to the door handle.

"Hold on to something!" Merlyn yelled at me. The room was so loud, I only barely heard her. I didn't have anything around me to hold on to as my ears felt like they were going to burst from the noise. The wind picked me up before I was pulled into the colors flowing between the machines. I saw the look of shock and horror on my dad's face as he rushed to click something on his tablet, but it was too late. I was flying through the rainbow. I held on as long as I could, but the speed of my trip eventually made me pass out.