Thin places and the easy way in

Getting in wasn’t the hard part. Even with all the work it took to get in, it still hadn’t been the hard part. The hard part came when he tried to get back out. He didn’t want to leave but the time ran out. Then he got lodged between the sides of the entrance, and almost didn’t make it out. That, he hadn’t foreseen. It would have to be addressed, the next time he went back in.

And he was going back in. He would be crazy not to, especially after discovering it is a real place. He pulls his car into the garage and shuts the garage door with the remote. Absently, he watches the door lower in the rear view mirror. It’s an epiphany. Therefore, sitting quietly, he lets the ideas flow. Was there a way to bring anything out? He could only speculate. It was such a brief visit, he isn’t able to say what he found. Only that it is real. And definitely there.

Thin Places

Walter is a technician. He works on servers, at network centers. Occasionally he is asked to troubleshoot a network, or cellular system. It isn’t hard work, but it is never ending. In fact, network issues were somehow destined to happen in the wee hours of the morning. Always.

That was how Walter found the thin places. That’s his name for them. Actually he was worried about his sanity at first. It began when he noticed anomalies in his equipment readings. Data wasn’t there. It did not just disappear. It was just gone. Almost like it never existed in the first place. Then, in the wee hours of one particular morning, he saw one for the first time.

A thin place is the best way to think of one of them. Furthermore, they seemed to only show up in certain places. So far, only between servers. He lost his hand in one. That is how he discovered it.

The Easy Way In

It was an all night shift. He is supposed to monitor the network and fix bottlenecks. Everything is fine until an entire row of servers are compromised.

Walter begins searching for the cause right away. He locates a surge, and traces it to the first two servers. As he begins to remove the outer case from the first one, he reaches for the lower part of the panel, and his hand is gone. He blinks. He can’t understand what’s happened. And instinctively braces for the pain. As he does, he immediately yanks his arm back.

And regains his hand. After a few moments of confusion, he relies on his instincts, yet again. He plunges his arm back between the servers. It is gone again. This time all the way to his elbow. Additionally he can still feel his fingers. He wiggles them. And then recoils in terror, when something brushes against his absent hand. That was how he found the easy way in.

Beyond Thin Places

A few weeks later he found a way to determine where the thin places are most likely to appear. Furthermore, he has been experimenting with what’s beyond the thin places. Is it a new dimension, or another world altogether? However, each time he reaches into one of these places, the other side feels cool, and he is almost certain there is a wind blowing. All seemed to indicate a safe environment. That’s when he decided to try an all in approach.

The problem is getting back out. He almost couldn’t get through. When he went through he could see only a mist. Everywhere he looked, a mist. Except where the thin places are. There he can see his world. He tries reaching out, and sees his hand disappear from this place, and reappear in his place. He wavers, and his knees nearly fold under him. That was when he tried to get back. And got stuck…

First Night

John is on his first night shift, at the network center. It is okay at first, but as the wee hours of the morning roll around, things get weird. Not only were there unexplained sounds, but also there were things here that didn’t belong. Furthermore, he was working on a network issue and he almost had the life scared out of him.

There were the most awful sounds coming from somewhere, but it was the hand that came from nowhere, that nearly did John in. He left the job that night, and never returned.

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