Down.

  Down.

  Down.

  Sophie felt as though she had been falling forever. Her throat had become sore from screaming for the first while, but now she had stopped, realizing it was futile. She sighed as she looked up. The door she came out of didn't seem to be so far away, it was still within her sight, but she still felt like she had been falling rapidly forever. Finally, Nathan's voice called up from the darkness below. She couldn’t see him but yet his voice rang clearly through the pitch bck.

  "Sophie! I've found another door to go through. I'm going to stand in the frame and catch you, alright? Shouldn't be much longer!" He shouted. Sophie nodded, despite the fact that she knew he couldn't see her nod.

  "Alright Nathan!" She shouted back to make up for her ck of understanding how sight worked. She fell silently for a few moments, getting lost in her thoughts. Despite the uncertainty of where she was going, being alone and away from Marigold kind of felt therapeutic. Like she was no longer trapped. Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt the scarf around her neck begin to shift. It slithered down across her chest like a long, fuzzy, silver striped snake before nding on her stomach and transforming before her eyes. The body began to puff out as it grew legs, ears, and a face It seemed almost like a cat, but with a weasel or ferret-like body. It sat proudly on her chest, staring at her with its rge yellow eyes that seemed to hold all the world’s knowledge within them.

  "Sophia Isadore Paterson. It's been so long and yet we've never been introduced." He stated, flicking his tail, "Unfortunately I can't appear in reality or in controlled dream spaces, so we've never truly met."

  Sophie stared at the cat, unsure of what to say. This is a normal reaction to when something like this happens in your life. In fact, one might say so far Sophie’s reactions to everything were quite calm and subdued, but to her credit she also wasn’t entirely sure of what was normal. Before she could find what words to say, the cat spoke instead as he rolled his eyes.

  "Well come on then, don't try to get everything out at once." He grumbled, jumping off her stomach and on to the space of thin air next to her. He flicked his tail once, clearly annoyed.

  "As you don't seem to know, my name is Cheshire." He stated. Sophie rolled herself over so that her front was facing Cheshire. She used one hand to hold down her skirt, as she was suddenly aware she was no longer alone, and held the other outwards to him.

  "Pleased to meet you Cheshire. As you are already aware, my name is Sophie Paterson." She replied. He pced his paw in her hand and the two shook. He then retracted his paw, taking a moment to clean it.

  "I apologize for being tardy. I was uncertain as to how long it would take before you finally made it here." He expined. Sophie gnced around her at the dark space and many doors that floated around her. It was so strange, yet oddly looked familiar. The doors were all different shapes, sizes, and colours. Sophie found herself wondering where they went. She turned back to look at Cheshire.

  "Where is here, exactly?" She asked. Cheshire sighed impatiently.

  "This is what is known as 'The Rabbit Hole' to your people. I'm not sure why humans have to think up strange names for things but either way, it acts like a sort of hub to other people's dreams as well as a link back to reality." He expined. Sophie nodded as her eyes fell back upon the silver striped feline. Before today she may have found all of this very strange unless she had been by the ke back in Marigold, but now that it was today this didn’t seem as unusual anymore. In fact, all of this was starting to feel rather common, and she began to wonder if she would ever be surprised again. This, dear reader, will turn out to be Murphy’s Law. If you ever find yourself falling deep into a mysterious hole with strange things turning up right, left, and centre, it is ill advised to think this way, or you may find yourself manifested into a deeper madness. Or, perhaps just finding a bottom of the hole in which you will never think again. As you will be a pancake.

  "How did I get here? And how has this been here all along without anyone knowing?" She asked. Cheshire grinned the grin of someone who knew all, as he did.

  "Oh, everyone knows about it now. Well, except for you it would seem. Once, I suppose this is when you would have been very young, people did not really know about it to the extent they do now. Our world was kept separate and was only a pce you could visit when you slept at night. But even then, there would be people with strange abilities that could access our world. Then within the st… oh fifty or so years I would say, more children were born with abilities. That’s when our world became more exposed. And people who had written about our world in stories were suddenly realized to be the original Dreamers. Only they are able to access these parts of our world. For example, your friend down there prepared to catch you is what's known as a 'Dream Walker'. A being able to enter the actual portals in the dream world. With him opening the doors, anyone could go in and out of this world. But if someone without these abilities were to try to open a door and come in, it would just be an ordinary door. Likewise, if they tried to exit." Cheshire expined yet again. Sophie paused, then nodded.

  "I suppose it makes as much sense as it could." She said. Cheshire flicked his tail in irritancy again.

  "It makes as much sense as it needs to." He grumbled. Sophie frowned. He let out a sigh.

  “But you humans always have to complicate things,” He snarled, “For profit, for fame, for ego. I promised your ancestors that I would watch over you when the time came. Once your story is done, I pn to retire and distance myself from ever watching one of you again.”

  Sophie opened her mouth to speak but before she could, Cheshire suddenly turned to her. He seemed to be making this a habit.

  "We're coming up to your friend and we're about to enter reality. I need to be around your neck again, unless you wish to lose me. I don’t feel like remaining a fashion accessory for the rest of my life" Cheshire stated. Sophie raised her eyebrows but obliged, holding out her hand and allowing Cheshire to run up and y himself across her shoulders. There was a moment of silence.

  "For the record, I don't enjoy being a scarf. Unfortunately, there are few disguises I can take in your world that are convenient. Your world doesn’t even seem to have cats that resemble myself that I could blend in with. Where I come from, my appearance is perfectly normal for my species." He growled. Sophie sighed and nodded. Just then she felt herself nd in someone's arms. She whipped her head to the side to see Nathan standing there, using one foot to hold onto the frame of the door so he wouldn't fall forward from her weight. He stared at her, almost confused.

  "You are strangely light." He stated. Sophie frowned.

  "I think I'm average, thank you." She scoffed, "One should never talk about a woman's weight... at least I'm sure that's what they say"

  Nathan smirked.

  "That's true, Miss Dreamy" He replied, pulling Sophie through the door frame, "Either way, it makes it easier for me to catch you."

  Sophie felt a blush creep across her face as she pushed herself away from Nathan, nding on the ground of what appeared to be the alleyway in a city of some sort. Nathan closed the door behind them, then took Sophie's hand.

  "Now... I know you've been in that town Marigold for a long time... So, don't be too surprised when you see the rest of the world." Nathan said gently, leading her out of the alleyway. Before them stood towering skyscrapers beneath a grey sky. She gnced around. Most people seemed to have these small earpieces, but instead of it going in their ear, it just went around the ear and halfway across the back of their head. Then there was a rge red glowing dot. High above Sophie could tell there was something blocking the weather from coming through. She looked out to the street to see someone climb out of a car but realized there was no driver. Nathan squeezed her hand.

  "I know. It's a big change from what you're used to... but the rest of the world hasn't been like that for probably fifteen years..." He expined. Sophie could feel panic rising in her chest. What was this? What was happening? Was Marigold truly that isoted or was there something else… Her heart thundered as she ripped her hand from Nathan's and dashed away from him.

  "Sophie!" Nathan shouted and bolted after her. Sophie couldn’t even feel her feet as she ran, trying to shut out all the lights... and the noise. Everything was so loud, humming with electicity. She gnced up, seeing images coming out at her, advertising and shoving products practically in her face. The buildings seemed to tower over her, trapping her within roofs she couldn’t even see from where she stood. She ran into someone, and before she could even apologize, she noticed a strange circle at the base of their head, just below their ear. Sophie backed away as the person stared at her, turning and taking off in a different direction. Everything was too much, it was nause ating.She could feel her heart beating in her head, pounding over and over again. Sophie closed her eyes, lowering herself down in the alleyway she now found herself. It was quieter... not quiet... but quieter. She could hear herself think here...

  “… Sophie?”

  Sophie snapped back to reality, the memory fading away from her mind. She opened her eyes and looked over at Nathan who was standing behind her quietly. His face flushed a bit when she gnced back at him, but he stepped forward averting her gaze.

  "Sorry... if this was all a bit much... I don’t really think there was a good way to coax you into all of this though...” He said. Sophie shook her head, rubbing it a bit, but remained silent for a few minutes.

  “It’s... shocking... how different Marigold is.” She said. Nathan just nodded, sitting down next to her and taking her hand in his.

  “It is... Lucidia is one of the biggest cities in the world, and the hub for all mind-based technologies. If there was going to be a city that would be too much for you, it would be this one.” He said. His voice was low and steady, calming Sophie as she rested her head on his shoulder.

  “I feel like an outsider... but also like if I turn a corner I’ll suddenly know where I am...as if I’m teetering on the edge of being home... Though I'm not sure how much sense that makes” Sophie said, her voice shaking a bit. Nathan nodded, squeezing her hand. He too looked up at the sky. As he was familiar with the city and it‘s buildings, he knew that there was a ceiling to Lucidia, to keep out “unsavoury” weather. He turned back to look at Sophie who was off in her own world now.

  "Do you think you're ready to come back now?" He asked. Sophie froze for a moment, then nodded. Nathan smiled.

  "I know it's scary... and it's a lot to take in. But until we can get you started on your own you can stay at my apartment." He offered, standing up and helping Sophie up. Sophie turned to look at him.

  "Will I have to get one of those strange earpieces?" She asked. Nathan looked at her confused for a moment then ughed.

  "A phone? No, they still sell old school ones for the 'paranoid' people." Nathan expined, beginning to lead her back downtown, "They call us paranoid because they think this kind of technology is great. And in some ways, it is... but not if it's being controlled by the wrong people… if you know what I mean."

  "The wrong people?" Sophie asked. Nathan nodded slowly as they began to walk.

  "In this world, there is the Dream Police Departments. Lucidia is the world headquarters due to the fact that the first dream-based technology came from here." He expined, "They control everything. Which would be alright if they weren't corrupt… but it's not like Insomnia's any better."

  "Insomnia? What is Insomnia?" Sophie asked. Nathan gnced at her.

  "Insomnia's a worldwide ‘Freedom’ organization. Really, they’re terrorists. No one's ever seen or heard from any of them as an actual official organization but every now and again we here that one was captured somewhere, or that people ciming to be from Insomnia attacked someone or something. Not sure if it's true or not. But they believe in a world removed of dream control, yet they use scare tactics to attack innocent people and would hurt them for the ‘greater good’. The trains out here were shut down due to the tunnels. They'd often use the darkness to attack and create horrifying images as part of their ‘enlightenment’ campaigns. But both try to force 'dreamers' into joining their cause." He expined, “Is this too much information?”

  “A little bit” She admitted, sheepishly. Nathan sighed.

  "I'll expin it more when we get to my pce. For now, we need to act normal... at least society’s normal." He instructed. Sophie nodded quietly. The two continued walking until Nathan suddenly spoke up.

  “I think we should probably grab something to eat first. I know a pce nearby that isn’t too expensive, if you’d like.” He suggested. Sophie said nothing but looked at him strangely.

  “I don’t have currency.” She said nervously. Nathan froze for a moment then let out a chuckle.

  “Uh… yeah, no, I know that. I want to treat you to a meal. You took care of me back in your town, and I haven’t really returned the favour yet. Plus, you’ve had a bit of a day, and I know a pce that may be a little easier on your eyes.” He said. Sophie smiled.

  “If it’s not too much trouble, I’d really like that… I don’t know why but I feel like I haven’t eaten in ages.” She said softly. Nathan held out his hand towards her and smiled.

  “Lets just pop into a pce really quick and grab some gear first. Just to lower suspicion. Like I said, I’m not exactly favoured by the cops out here.” He said, half joking half serious. Sophie smiled and nodded, taking his hand. Part of her still wasn’t sure about this hole situation, especially with Nathan having to hide his identity, but at this point she really didn’t have a choice. He led her down an alleyway, and then down another one that connected to that. Soon Sophie had no idea where they were. It seemed as though she had been led into a byrinth of tall buildings. Finally, Nathan walked up to a door and knocked on it. The door swung open to reveal a tall, tanned woman peering down at them. She was clothed in a long silk robe that was pin bck, to match her long, silky bck hair. Her eyes were dark as well and looked stunning on her angur face. Everything about her made Sophie stare in awe. Yet she felt uneasy as this woman did not look happy.

  “Nathan. What trouble did you get into this time?” She snapped. Nathan released Sophie’s hand and held up his hands in defence.

  “Okay, okay ‘Nee I get it. But it’s not my fault this time.” He stated. The woman crossed her arms as she leaned up against the door frame.

  “Don’t you call me ‘Nee. And it never is. Get to the point. I have a client.” She demanded. Sophie felt a chill run down her spine with the venom she seemed to be shooting at Nathan from her eyes. He nodded.

  “I need some help; we just need some stuff to disguise us for a bit to give us some time.” He expined. She sighed, gncing over at Sophie.

  “Well. Aren’t you going to introduce us?” She snapped. Sophie jumped, as Nathan quickly reached over and put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Yes, uh Miss Dreamy- I mean Sophie, this is Aleshanee. She’s a friend of mine. And ‘Nee, this is Sophie.” He said, gesturing to each of them as he said their names. The woman, now known to Sophie as Aleshanee, held out a hand towards her.

  “Come on in, love. You look as though you’ve seen a ghost. I promise you’ll be safe in here.” She said, her voice suddenly turning sweet and kind. Sophie was taken aback but still found herself taking her hand instantly. Nathan let out a snort as he followed behind the two, clearly annoyed as he shut the door behind him. Sophie noticed how dimly lit the pce was. It was hard to make out anything in the pce, but she could tell it was an office building of some sort though none of the doors seemed to have windows. Just numbers and names on the outside.

  “A new favourite, huh ‘Nee?” He scoffed. Aleshanee turned to him, her face stone cold again.

  “Nathan, you’ve been a pain in my ass for a long time. And now you’ve become a pain in her ass. Someone needs to set up a support group against you.” She stated, her tone sharp and cutting. Nathan grimaced.

  “Look. I’m sorry about that one time but-“ He started but Aleshanee held up a hand quickly.

  “One time? Nathan, sweetheart, I have books of incidents stacked against you now. Considering I was the one who found you on the street bloodied and bruised and took you in, I think you should be a little more considerate as to how much you expose my work. You know that the LDPD is looking for this pce and what they would do to get their hands on my family.” She snarled. Nathan shut his mouth quickly, looking down at the ground. Sophie expected him to say something back, but he never did. As if he didn’t want to go further into the issue. Sophie looked up at Aleshanee.

  “If you don’t mind me asking… what is this pce?” She asked as Aleshanee lead them into a room. She paused as she saw a man tied to a rather luxurious bed with a blindfold, completely naked. Sophie’s face reddened as she turned away to look back at Aleshanee, who’s eyes seemed to have clouded over to a pale purple as she stared at the man. Her eyes snapped back to normal, looking down at Sophie.

  “Oh, it’s not like that. Well… it is a little like that but there’s no physical contact.” Aleshanee expined, grabbing a few items from the dresser and shoving them into a bag before exiting the room with Sophie and Nathan close behind. They moved down the hall a bit, coming to another door. This one led to a kitchen and dining area. Aleshanee motioned for them to sit as she pced the bag on the table.

  “Help yourselves to anything in the bag. I’ll make some tea.” She stated as she headed towards the kitchen area and grabbed a kettle from the counter. Sophie sat down at the table quietly. As opposed to the rest of the pce, this room was well lit and very bright. There were some insignia on the walls, but Sophie wasn’t too familiar with them.

  “This pce is where people come to live out fantasies. Sometimes they’re sexual, sometimes they’re not. We don’t ask questions. Our jobs are to provide them with the visions to see these dreams come to life.” Aleshanee expined. Sophie felt her body rex a bit.

  “So that guy you saw earlier just happened to have a certain kind of fantasy” Nathan expined as he reached into the bag, pulling out a shirt and pants, examining them closely. He gnced up at Aleshanee.

  “This isn’t his, is it?” He asked. Aleshanee shot him a gnce.

  “Of course it’s not. That wouldn’t make me a good hostess, now, would it?” She growled. Nathan shut his mouth and nodded, looking back down. Sophie looked up at Aleshanee.

  “So, you’re able to put visions in people’s heads?” She asked. Aleshanee smiled.

  “All of us here are Dream See-ers. We can put visions into people’s heads and see what their dreams are as well. I’ve trained everyone here,” She expined, pouring the now boiling water over some leaves in three mugs, “But of course, most of them still need to be near the client to maintain the visions. I generally take on the… clients with specific needs. Many of my family here are young and I’d like to shield them from having to do anything like that as much as possible.”

  “Aleshanee can keep people in her illusions for a long time, but just has to check in from time to time.” Nathan expined, “She’s pretty much the strongest Dream See-er in the world”

  “I don’t know about that,” Aleshanee scoffed as she handed the mugs to the two of them, keeping one for herself, “But I’m the best in this city. My ability is what keeps the LDPD from finding us. I’m able to erase our clients’ memories of exactly where we’re located, and anyone who’s come close to finding us just gets wiped and left a few blocks away. Clients are only allowed to hold onto one contact number for our location, and it leads to a burner phone. Only our benefactors truly know where we are, but they’re not on good terms with the LDPD either so there’s no risk of us being ratted out. Now, Sophie, you come with me. We have the women’s clothing upstairs.”

  Nathan rolled his eyes.

  “You’re not thinking of putting her in some silly outfit, are you?” He asked. Aleshanee shot him a look again.

  “Nathan, that would be idiotic. You both are trying to hide. A maid costume would not help her hide.” She snapped. Nathan rolled his eyes again, this time exaggerating his expression more.

  “Ugh. You just mentioned a maid costume which means you were at least thinking about it!” He excimed. Aleshanee winked at Sophie before turning back to Nathan.

  “Nathan, you go into the men’s washroom next door. Make sure you lock the door; we don’t need anyone walking in on you right now for both our sakes.” She ordered, then turned back around. Nathan sighed and nodded.

  “Yes ‘Nee.” He stated. Aleshanee turned around, fuming.

  “You don’t get to call me ‘Nee anymore!” She snarled. Nathan held up his hands defensively again.

  “Yes Ma’am!” He yelped. Aleshanee turned back around quickly and stormed out, Sophie following behind her silently. Once they had gone upstairs, Aleshanee let out a sigh and ran her hands through her hair. She turned to look at Sophie and smiled softly.

  “Sorry. I have to keep him away for his own good.” Aleshanee stated. Sophie frowned.

  “Why do you have to keep him away for his own good?” Sophie asked. Aleshanee turned back around, opening a door to a room full of racks and racks of clothing.

  “It’s not my story to tell. But someone who is from Nathan’s past frequents this pce. And if I try to ban that man, or make any noise about Nathan coming here, it will look more suspicious… not to mention it would mean that since the incident we’ve opened our doors to him... So, to keep him safe, I have to try to chase Nathan away. And that man is due to be here ter today, so we need to get you out quickly.” Aleshanee expined. Sophie felt a hard lump in her throat. What ever this man was to Nathan, it didn’t seem good. Aleshanee reached around the closet, going through quite a few items as Sophie sipped her tea quietly. She finally pulled a blue blouse with a pair of bck pants and handed them to Sophie, then pulled out a cream corset top and handed it to her as well. Then she grabbed a long bck jacket and handed that to her as well.

  “Here. Change into this and pull your hair up into a ponytail… you’ll also need something to cover your eyes…” She stated, looking back through a bucket of various gsses. Finally, she came to a pair of gsses and passed them to Sophie.

  “They don’t have a prescription so you should still be able to see while they at least disguise your face a bit… I’d also recommend pulling that scarf up a bit to hide your face a bit more.” Aleshanee continued. Sophie nodded, turning around looking for a space to change. Aleshanee looked at her for a moment before smiling again.

  “Sorry love. I’m used to my family, there’s a change room next door you can use.” Aleshanee expined, pointing back towards the entrance of the room. Sophie picked up her things quickly and darted out of the room and into the change room. As she began removing her clothing and repcing them with the items Aleshanee had lent her, she began to think about how strange her life had become. Just yesterday she had woken up expecting her life in Marigold to continue the way it had for years. And now, today, she had left her home and come to a world so strange and different from anything she had ever seen before. She smiled to herself a bit. She finally felt like she was free. Even if it was just a bit, and she still needed help to get to where she needed to go. She had escaped. She was free.