Sophie couldn’t tell how long it had been since she had begun her training. She knew days had gone by, weeks even, but between the sessions and going back to her room she couldn’t keep track of the days. The worst part was the sessions felt as though they were getting longer, and she couldn’t tell if perhaps she had spent longer than a day at a time in this room. Professor Rivers seemed to be enjoying themselves a little too much for Sophie’s liking. Every day she spent trapped in her own mind, trying to gain back control. Professor Rivers would throw everything they had at her, making her relive nightmares she had already gone through over and over again. Repeatedly every day. And then they would knock her down when her defenses were down. Her body was covered in bruises and each night she was able to return to her bed, or ck thereof, it wasn’t much better. She was still harassed each and every night by the other girls in her room. It had escated from just verbal assaults, and occasionally she would have to defend herself upon returning. Once again Sophie sat in the room, staring straight into the eyes of Sebastian who was screaming and running at her once again.

  But today was different.

  She stared him in the eyes but didn’t run or freeze and cry. Today, something snapped a bit. She suddenly spun around throwing a punch, knocking Professor Rivers out. The scene around her dissipated into a fog before disappearing entirely. They smirked up at her, rubbing their chin.

  “Finally. You’ve finally managed to nd a hit. How does it feel?” They asked. Sophie looked at her fist, then stared back down at Professor Rivers.

  “Again.” She barked.

  After that day, she began to get small missions. Interrogations mostly. Tasks where she could exercise her abilities. Now she felt as though she was watching herself reach into the minds of her victims and rummage around, grasping their worst nightmares and pying them out for them until they gave into her. She felt detached from the world. She no longer saw Nathan. She no longer saw Bir. She was alone again; in a world she didn’t know. She felt more alone now then she had in Marigold. And every night, she would return to her cot. And she would be harassed and beaten by her bunk mates. But tonight, things were different. Things would be different. Sophie knew they would be when that woman grabbed her by the colr of her shirt today and smmed her into the wall. She knew the second she tried to hit her in the face. She knew when she could feel all the anger, frustration, and pain expel from her. She could see into the woman’s mind now… in fact, she could now see into everyone’s minds. She could see all of their fears.

  “Let’s begin.” She muttered. When she finally stopped, it was because the guards had come in. They opened the door to all of the women in the room on the floor. Some were screaming, some were weeping. All except Sophie who stood there, eyes still glowing purple. She willingly let them take her away to a room where she was cuffed to a table. She sat there for what felt like an eternity before the door opened and Professor Rivers stepped into the room. When they sat down, Sophie felt herself instinctively avert their gaze. A small smile pyed upon their lips.

  “Now Sophie. What happened here tonight?” They asked. Sophie paused for a moment before her eyes met theirs.

  “Those who hurt others for power should not go unpunished.” She muttered. Their smirk widened as they gnced up at the mirror in the room. Their gaze came back down to Sophie.

  “Sophie. I think you’re absolutely correct. To look down upon those who are new to our organization and abuse them is something we cannot forgive. Don’t worry. You won’t have to worry about those women in your dorm ever again. And we will be moving you to a new room. One for just you. So that you can prepare for your next mission.”

  “My next mission?”

  “Yes, the head of Insomnia has determined you would be the perfect person to enact his will and vengeance upon an undesirable. Someone who also has profited off of hurting innocents for power. If you accept, then we will reduce your sentence in half should you still wish to leave.”

  Sophie’s head snapped up, a moment of crity entering her mind.

  “What about Nathan?” She asked. They nodded.

  “We can accommodate him as well. But this mission isn’t one for the light of heart, Sophie. It’s an assassination. You will have to kill someone. But they’re a very bad person, undeserving of living in our world. Do you accept?”

  Sophie paused for a moment, before she felt herself become removed again. Her eyes gzed over.

  “I accept.”

  “Excellent. Your debrief is in your room. We’ll see you tomorrow to get started.”

  Sophie’s handcuffs were removed, and she stood up silently. She watched herself slowly move out the door as she was led down the hallway. As they continued down, she saw the girls who were in the dorm with her lined up in the hallway, cuffed with bags over their heads. She could see that they had been heavily beaten. Yet she could not make herself feel sorry at this time. She felt hollow. Empty. She needed to be to survive, she understood that now. Besides, they got what they deserved. This was what happens to those who hurt others for their own gain. When she got to her new room, Bir was sitting on her bed with Reggie next to her, grinning at her.

  “I told you that you’d adjust in no time. Now look at you! Moved up in the ranks and going off on your own mission tomorrow!” She chirped. Sophie stared at her bnkly as she stumbled into the room silently. Bir’s smile faltered a bit as she stared at the husk that was once Sophie. Sophie’s eyes looked sunken in. Her face was gaunt, and she was covered in bruises. She looked as though she had lost a lot of weight since Bir had run off on her mission 3 months ago. Bir swallowed, standing up and walking up to Sophie.

  “Uh… so. What’s the mission, Soph?” She asked, trying to maintain her cheery disposition. Sophie looked down at her. Bir couldn’t find a trace of the woman that was once there. The meek, soft-spoken girl who didn’t want her to leave months ago. Now she was this empty shell of a being. She had gone in too deep. Something Bir had tried to avoid for years. Sophie looked away, making her way back to the bed.

  “Assassination.” She muttered, climbing into the bed and turning away from them. Reggie pushed a file into Bir’s hands. Bir gnced down at him before opening the file. She had to pce a hand over her mouth to keep from gasping. She quickly put the file down, trying not to alert Sophie.

  “Well, you seem tired. But I wanted to get Nathan for you. Would that be okay? Would you be up for that?” Bir asked. Sophie’s body twitched at the mention of Nathan’s name. Bir smiled.

  “I’ll be right back. Just wait here Sophie!” She called out. Sophie felt her mind wander back to her haze of thoughts as she drifted back to sleep. She awoke to a knock on her door. She expected it to be Bir and Nathan entering but looked up to see Professor Rivers entering her room. A chill ran over her as she felt her mind begin to retreat. They grinned at her.

  “Alright Sophie, one more training session before we go.” They said, handing her a new venetian mask. It was decorated ornately in shades of blue. She took it carefully in her hands before pcing it on her face and nodding.

  “Let’s go.” She muttered.

  - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

  “Nathan, we have to go. It’s an emergency.” Bir stated, grabbing Nathan’s arm. Nathan groaned, spreading out on his cot.

  “Bir, I just got back from this mission. I want to sleep for a bit. Can’t it wait?” He asked. Bir shook her head.

  “It’s Sophie. She’s in too deep. They have her on an assassination mission, and it won’t end well if she follows through.” Bir replied. Nathan’s eyes widened as he shot up. Bir grinned at him.

  “Oh, so if it’s just an emergency it’s nothing, but the second I mention it’s Sophie-“ Bir started, but Nathan held up his hand.

  “Stop that, you know as well as I do Sophie couldn’t be pced on an assassination mission. She couldn’t kill anyone.” Nathan retorted. Bir shook her head.

  “That’s just it… she’s been training for months. And I think… I think it broke her.” Bir expined. Nathan felt his heart sink when he heard that. He had noticed that over the st month, he had seen less and less of Sophie. Almost to the point where it felt like people were constantly stopping him from seeing her.

  “Okay, let's go.” He said. Bir nodded and led him in a sprint down the hallways.

  “I saw her schedule. We’ve still got time to stop her from doing this before they come to collect her for the mission.” She expined. Nathan said nothing. He wished he was seeing Sophie again under better circumstances but was still looking forward to seeing her after all these months. She had disappeared after the exam, and although he had seen her on occasion, he had definitely been missing her. Bir suddenly grabbed a door handle, whipping it open to an empty room. Nathan looked around.

  “Where are we?” He asked. Bir cursed as she entered the room, flicking the switch and turning on the light.

  “Sophie’s room. Shit. They must’ve already come to take her... This is bad.” Bir grumbled. Nathan gnced around.

  “Sophie’s got a room? How did she move up so quickly?” He asked. Bir gred at him.

  “Cause your girlfriend took the blood money, stupid. And not just any blood money.” Bir grumbled, handing him the file. Nathan read through it quickly, his eyes widening.

  “Sophie doesn’t know...” He said softly.

  “No, I figured that much out with the whole Insomnia thing. And not to mention this woman’s innocent. She had to deal with an abusive husband her whole life, her kid falls into a coma, and now Insomnia wants her dead just because she represents an idea. That’s the one thing I don’t agree with.” Bir snarled. Nathan raised his eyebrows.

  “And here I thought you were drinking the Kool-Aid with the whole down with the LDPD thing.” He replied. Bir grabbed her hair furiously, pulling at it.

  “I am. I mean it’s not Kool-Aid… I mean- I just don’t… It’s been a while, and I don’t think innocent people should have to die. I mean this is one woman. She’s suffered enough. She only attends events as per her contract now. She doesn’t even speak for the company now. If they really wanted to, they’d shoot that bastard at the top, he really deserves-“ She rambled, but Nathan grabbed her shoulder.

  “How did this happen?” He snapped, “I thought you said it would be fine”

  Bir rolled her eyes.

  “Well, maybe if you took 2 seconds to check up on her, none of this would’ve happened!” She snapped back. Nathan stared at her for a moment, then narrowed his eyes as his fists clenched.

  “Well, maybe if you hadn’t dragged us into your cult and just let us go, none of this would’ve happened.” He said, his voice low and full of venom. Bir paused for a moment, then sighed, sitting down on the bed. Her head slumped down into her hands and for a few moments, all they could hear was the humming of electricity through the lights. Finally, Bir’s head raised, and she turned to look at Nathan.

  “You’re... right. You’re right. I’m... still figuring all of this out. On one hand, I’ve been supported by this world for so long. Insomnia is my home and although I've always noticed some small cracks in its foundation, it’s always taken care of me... and I figured, well hey! No pce is perfect...” She said softly, then shook her head, “But the cracks... are looking like huge, cavernous pits now... and I don’t know how different it is from the LDPD anymore... but it feels... I feel sick saying that out loud.”

  Nathan stood there for a moment, then sat down next to Bir.

  “I think that’s normal... My family was kind of like that too... So... I get it.” Nathan said, then stared at the ceiling for a few moments. Bir lifted her head and wiped her eyes, smearing her bck eye liner a bit as she sniffled. She took a moment then cleared her throat.

  “But... us moping about the past... it’s not going to save Sophie, is it?” Bir asked, “We don’t have time to sit down and hash this all out.”

  Nathan sighed, looking down at the file Bir had handed him.

  “No. We don’t get the luxury of sitting down and processing everything right now... our world is at war. It has been for a long time. And I think it’s finally time we do something about it.”

  “Okay, Bir, focus. Where are they going? Where is the assassination taking pce?” He asked. Bir opened her mouth to speak when suddenly Reggie wheeled into the room.

  “They’ll be at the home. There’s a bonus where she can leave as soon as she returns if she wants… if she cuts the life support of the kid.” Reggie stated. Bir and Nathan exchanged worried gnces.

  “We have to stop her. She doesn’t know what she’s doing.” Nathan stated. Bir and Reggie nodded.

  “We’re getting out of here. Come with me.” Bir ordered as they ran back to her room. They smmed open the door as Bir rushed in, grabbing a case and throwing it onto the bed. She quickly pulled on a pair of gloves and grabbed a small blue crystal out of the case. She turned around, whipping Reggie’s door on his body open, and opening an even smaller case in his chest. She pced the crystal inside gingerly before shutting it. Reggie began to spark and shake as the crystal seemed to affect him. His screen face turned a shade of blue.

  “Dream Walking. Initiated. Searching for location of Sophie Patterson. Please enter Rabbit Hole to locate.” Reggie said. Nathan looked over at Bir as they headed out of the room and out of the Insomnia headquarters.

  “Dream walking? He’s able to replicate dream walking?” He asked. Bir nodded.

  “Years ago, when I was still with the LDPD, I had discovered these crystals in the dream world. It seemed as though the colours corresponded with each dreamer’s ability. The LDPD quickly discovered them after me, and after I made Reggie, I knew I had to escape. I knew he wouldn’t be in good hands with the LDPD. So, me and a few others made pns to escape…” She paused for a moment, hesitating to continue, “Of course… I was the only one who made it out.”

  Nathan was silent as the two of them continued through the winding tunnels of the underground train system until they reached the outside. They were back in the city, in an alleyway. Nathan quickly reached over to the first door he saw, but Reggie pced one of his cwed, robotic hands on Nathan’s and shook his head.

  “This door is not the best choice in this area. We should use that one.” Reggie said, pointing to a door further down the alleyway. The trio ran over, and Nathan opened that door. Quickly, they entered, falling into the bck abyss. Nathan hoped and prayed they would find Sophie before she did something she couldn’t reverse. Reggie’s chest began to glow blue.

  “Calcuting…. Calcuting… Sophie Patterson located.” Reggie stated, then pointed to a door coming up towards them. It was an ornate door, with fogged gss panels on it that you couldn’t see through. Nathan and Bir exchanged gnces before Nathan reached forward, ripping the door open. The group spilled out into what appeared to be a greenhouse tearoom, attached to a house. The room had been smashed and had several items tossed about. Clearly there had been a scuffle of sorts. They gnced around trying to gain their footing when they suddenly heard a crashing sound upstairs. Without saying a word, the group bolted from the room and ran upstairs. When they got there, they saw a figure wearing an ornate blue venetian mask standing over a blindfolded woman who sat on her knees, battered and bruised. Nathan immediately knew this was Sophie. She had a knife gripped in her hand.

  “Whoever you are. You can take my life. There’s not much to it, but it’s yours.” The woman said softly, “But do not harm my daughter, please.”

  Sophie said nothing but stepped towards the woman as her grip on the knife tightened. Nathan stared in sick horror as she raised her arm up, ready to strike. Suddenly Bir lunged forward, jumping up and grabbing Sophie’s arm. She bit her hand and kicked, causing Sophie to drop the knife and knocking her back onto the ground. Bir quickly regained her footing when she nded.

  “You went in for a bite rather than something actually effective?” Nathan snapped at her, but still keeping his focus on Sophie who stood there, gring at them. Bir shot a look at Nathan.

  “Nathan. Are you going to sit there staring at her ass or are you going to do something?” She yelled. Nathan moved his eyes up to look over at Bir, slightly annoyed at Bir as he watched Sophie start at Bir with a bnk expression. Nathan pondered for a moment if he should do anything to help Bir after that comment as she reached out behind her, grabbing her wrench and growing it as she stood in front of the woman. Reggie began to start into the room, but Bir held out her hand.

  “Reggie, stay in the hall. Protect the daughter.” She ordered. Reggie nodded, disappearing back into the hall. Nathan ran towards Sophie, jumping onto her back and knocking her over as Bir grabbed the woman and helped her up. Sophie’s mask fell off as she rolled over to look up at Nathan, who was now straddling her chest, trying to restrain her. After a moment of struggle her body rexed as she stared up into his eyes. He smiled softly at her as she pced a hand on his face.

  “Hey Soph. It’s me-” He began but was suddenly stopped by a punch to the face which knocked him off of Sophie’s chest.

  “Shit.” Bir cursed. Sophie stood up and stared at Bir, the knife in her hand again.

  “Those who profit off harming the innocent should be punished” Sophie muttered as she lunged at her. Bir gritted her teeth as she grew her wrench again, blocking Sophie’s hit. She tried to keep up, but her movements were much slower with her wrench and Sophie moved extremely fast. Nathan got up, running around the other side of the room to try to get the woman out of there. He quickly untied the woman’s blindfold and bindings as he helped her back to her feet.

  “Ma’am. I’m very sorry but it seems things have escated in here. We may need to escape.” He said softly. He stared into the blue eyes that stared back at him. Though this woman was supposed to be in her 50s, she still looked incredibly young naturally. She nodded softly.

  “I understand. But I can’t leave my daughter. And we can’t take her with us.” She said. Nathan frowned. She was right. Suddenly his thoughts were stopped by someone grabbing him and pulling him back. It was Sophie. Or the person who used to be Sophie. He cursed as his mind was suddenly filled with fog. In the fog he could see a familiar figure walking towards him, blood dripping onto the floor. He could tell this was an illusion, yet he still felt a chill run down his spine. He assumed Sophie had either knocked Bir out or had her under her trance as well. He quickly shook himself out of the trance to see Sophie suddenly lunging at the woman with her knife. The woman turned to look into Sophie’s eyes. They both froze as they stared at each other. The knife suddenly cttered to the ground. Nathan ran up, hitting Sophie in the head. Her body fell down as her head smacked against a cabinet that had been pced nearby, knocking her out cold. Nathan grabbed Sophie quickly, struggling a bit due to the fact that Sophie was a few inches taller than him.

  “Bir. Reggie. Let’s go.” He said, running for the door before the woman could say anything. Bir, now free of Sophie’s hold, grabbed Reggie and followed quickly in suit.

  The woman stood there dumbfounded in the dark. She silently walked into the next room to look at the girl who id in the bed, before making her way back to her bedroom and making a call.