"Mind Transfer, card, or cash?" The bus driver asked. Nathan and Sophie stood in the doorway looking back at the bus driver, though it wasn’t really a bus driver, per say. It was more like a spot with a panel. Many lights blinked across it as it seemed to be using it‘s many sensors to determine who was on the bus and who wasn’t, as well as if someone had paid. to her right, closest to the doors, was a coin slot and a dolr bill slot with a change dispenser below. Next to that were more options including a scanner of some sort that read “Mind Transfer”, and a pin pad with a slot for a card, as well as a spot to tap your card. Nathan put in some change and two tickets popped out, as well as some smaller change. Sophie stared at the machine in wonder as Nathan lead her away and further into the back of the bus. They both grabbed a hold of a pole as more passengers came onto the bus behind them.

  "What's Mind Transfer?" She asked. Nathan tapped on the side of his head.

  "A lot of people nowadays tend to hook up their banking information with their heads using data chips." He expined, “With technology like this advancing, it wont be much longer until everyone is hooked up… which could be a good thing but…”

  “…But the thing we talked about earlier today.” Sophie replied, catching on that he didn’t want to speak out loud about the situation. Nathan gnced back at her, smirking.

  “Exactly.” He replied.

  Sophie stared at the ground as the bus began to pull away. It was too crowded to sit down today. After what felt like an eternity, the automated voice suddenly called out a station name. Sophie didn't quite make it out, but Nathan clearly could as he grabbed Sophie's hand and led her off the bus. Even though Sophie had been sure they would have left the city portion of this "Lucidia" by now, there still seemed to be rge skyscrapers everywhere. She looked around, noting that this area was noticeably dingier and dirtier than the st area. Nathan led her a few blocks ahead as she took in the amount of people ying on the streets, huddling against each other for warmth. Her heart broke. There had never been anything like this back in Marigold and it almost made her want to return. But then she remembered her st sight leaving. The monstrosity that was formerly her neighbour. Sophie shuddered and moved closer to Nathan. But was she so sure she could even trust him? She looked up at Nathan. He was now leading her to his apartment. Some unknown man was leading her away from anyone else who could help and into his apartment. Her heart began to pound. But then again, she had let him into her apartment, and he had done nothing. But maybe he was waiting for the opportune moment. What would he even want with someone like her? Sophie sighed. But he was also the only person she had the ability to trust right now. He was the only hope she really had right now. Nathan finally stopped at one of the shorter buildings and typed in a code on a panel next to the dirty gss window. Sophie couldn't quite make out what was on the other side but made note of the mildew clearly growing around the door from the condensation. Gazing up the building was a tan colour, some parts darker from dirt. There were no patios on any of the units unlike in Marigold. Just small square windows.

  "I know it's not the nicest pce, but unfortunately out here it's what I can afford... and the only pce willing to rent to me without a proper job description and background" Nathan expined, opening the door and leading Sophie inside. Inside was a small lobby with a single elevator and staircase adjacent to the doors. The elevator seemed questionable, but Nathan led her inside anyways, pressing the button that read 5. There appeared to be 9 floors in this building. As the elevator doors closed and the questionably safe box began to rise, Nathan let out a deep sigh, rexing against the wall.

  "God, I thought for sure someone would have come after us by now." Nathan said, relief evident in his voice. Sophie frowned.

  "I meant to ask you, why do we need to hide so much from everyone?" She asked. Nathan shrugged.

  "Well, I’m already on the LDPD’s radar. And after what I just did, they may think I abducted you,” He expined, "Word travels fast around here."

  Sophie pondered this for a moment.

  "But what if I told them the truth? What had really happened?" She asked. Nathan shook his head.

  "I don't think they'd believe you, Sophie. The cops around here kind of get an idea in their head and stick to that idea. It doesn't matter what you say to them. I’ve seen too many friends disappear off the face of the earth to risk that sort of thing." He expined as the elevator shuddered to a stop. A sickly groan shrieked from the two sliding pieces of metal as the doors pulled open. Nathan led her out and stopped at a door that had been about four doors in. He pulled out a key and opened the door as he unlocked it. Sophie gazed inside. It was a little dirty, but retively tidy. A couple items left out here and there. Clearly a studio apartment as the sofa bed had been left unfolded.

  "I know it's not what you're used to, but this is home to me." Nathan said as he shut the door behind him. Sophie turned to him and smiled.

  "it's lovely." She said. Nathan walked over to the sofa bed and thrust it shut, grunting a bit as he pushed it down into a normal sofa shape. He turned back to face her, making a bit of a face for a second before continuing.

  "I'm going to have a shower. You're welcome to watch some TV if you want." He said, pointing at the TV. Sophie nodded. He smiled at her then turned to the TV.

  "TV, On." He ordered. The screen suddenly lit up as some car chase was being shown from some movie. Nathan turned to see Sophie staring in bewilderment at what had just happened.

  "Oh, you haven't seen a TV like this yet... well it’s an older model for sure, but I'm not about to deal with the hassle of a new one. Besides, I couldn’t afford it, and this one was free.” He expined, ughing slightly. Sophie stared at him, then at the TV and walked over, examining it.

  "You just tell it what you want it to do, and it obeys?" She asked. Nathan nodded.

  "The new ones you can just think a command and it obeys. But like I said. There’s no way I can afford that shit. Plus, you need one of those chips.” He further expined. Sophie slowly sat down, eyes still on the TV.

  "What a world I have been missing..." She muttered softly. She felt her body begin to fall against the couch as she stared at the TV, eyes feeling heavy. Nathan sat next to her and pced a hand on her arm.

  "You must be tired after the day we've had... you can have a nap if you'd like... but we should probably start figuring out a game pn after this" He expined. Sophie nodded, not really hearing him as her mind began to slip away. Nathan smiled and walked into his bathroom, and Sophie could hear the sound of the water starting as she slipped into unconsciousness.

  Sophie's eyes fluttered open after what seemed like forever. She slowly sat up and gnced around the room, forgetting for a moment what had happened. She could hear water running in the next room as her mind began to recall the events of that day. Sophie realized she must not have slept for too long as Nathan was still in the bathroom. She looked down at her body and noticed that a bnket had been pced on her. She smiled softly as her eyes wandered back to the TV. The report being broadcasted was something about comatose children. Sophie narrowed her eyes and sat up and leaned forward. This was the first she had heard about this.

  "TV, Volume up" She ordered, though it was more of a question than a request. She had never tried this before so she hoped it would work. Luckily for her it did. The reporter's voice suddenly rang through the apartment clearly, stating that there was still no cure for the coma epidemic affecting children across the world.

  "There seems to be no common theme with the victims, the virus affecting all ages. Doctors say that there is nothing wrong with the victims’ vitals and nothing out of the ordinary other than the patients being unable to wake up. This disease has no warning symptoms and can happen at any moment. Doctors around the globe are frantically working for a cure but we have not received word that any of their attempts to cure this phenomenon have been successful. You can rest assured that as soon as we know more, we will be the first to report it. " The woman on the TV stated.

  "TV Off." Nathan ordered, suddenly standing behind her on the couch. Sophie jumped up and looked over at him. His face looked solemn as he paced over to her, his hair still wet. He was now dressed in a bck t-shirt and a pair of baggy bck jeans, with a short sleeved, white and green fnnel shirt over top.

  "Ever since... the mind technology began to take over, this has been happening. At first it was just a few people here and there... It just seemed like a coincidence... But now people are dropping like flies... No one has died yet, but no one has woken up from it ..." Nathan expined before Sophie could ask. Sophie nodded and looked at the ground.

  "Do you think... it has something to do with the dream world?" Sophie asked. Nathan nodded.

  "I do. But the LDPD is all over that case so I'm not about to try to go looking for a solution." Nathan said, "But it's not like they'll ever report anything. If the dream world is connected to the incidents, then they'd lose all their funding."

  "Why would the police lose their funding?" Sophie inquired, looking over at Nathan. Nathan gnced at her from the corner of his eye.

  "Because the LDPD is owned by the company that created the mind technology." Nathan expined, "In fact, PL Industries pretty much own everything now."

  Sophie looked at the ground for a moment in thought, not wanting to stare back into Nathan's eyes. He had mentioned before that they were after him... what would it be like to have a company that owns almost the entire world after you? The moment of silence was interrupted by the sudden wail of a siren and lights appearing out the window. Nathan held out one hand then crept to the window and peered down.

  "Shit. Speak of the devil." He grumbled. He looked over at Sophie then dashed to the fridge, grabbing some food and throwing it in a bag. Nathan ran around the apartment shoving random things in the bag.

  "Sophie, we have to go now." He said firmly. Sophie frowned.

  "But this is your home... couldn't you hide for a bit, and I could go out? Just to keep them off you for a while until they lose interest?" She asked. Nathan shook his head.

  "No, I'm afraid that won't work. Besides, trust me when I say you're just as in much trouble as I am if you’re caught by them." He expined. Sophie frowned and opened her mouth to ask what he meant by that just as the door suddenly burst in and police officers burst into the room. Nathan grabbed Sophie's hand and dashed towards the bathroom door but one of the officers reached out and grabbed Nathan's arm. Sophie shrieked as she was flung forward and held onto the door handle, trying to regain her bance. Gritting her teeth, she worked to calm herself back down despite the commotion going on behind her. She closed her eyes, turned the handle, and pushed. All around her was darkness.

  "Great job Sophie!" Nathan called out, "Congratutions, you're a dreamer!"

  Sophie looked back at him just in time to see him punch the officer that had grabbed his arm and pull away. He charged forward and Sophie just had enough time to turn back around to face the darkness before Nathan grabbed her hand and jumped forward, the door shutting behind them. As they drifted in the darkness, Nathan cursed.

  "They took the fucking supplies, those bastards!" He growled. Sophie looked over at him, noticing several bruises and a cut lip on his face.

  "Are you okay?" She asked gently. Nathan nodded.

  "I'll be fine. But we’ll need to figure out some pn to survive on the run, and fast. Without those supplies we’ll be without food for a while unless we can make money and get some more… and we still have to y low on top of all that…” He said, continue to mumble. Sophie nodded as guilt began to swell in her chest. Tears began to form in her eyes.

  "Nathan... I'm so sorry... this is all my fault." She said softly. Nathan turned to look at her and quickly shook his head.

  "No, no Sophie. It's not your fault. It was my choice to help you, and besides. I was already in trouble before I even met you.” He said, taking her face in his hands. Sophie began to feel sobs rising and escaping through her mouth.

  "But now... you don't have a home... Or any food... or anything at all!" She sobbed. Nathan wiped a tear from her face, but it was quickly repced with more.

  "Sophie we'll be alright" Nathan said. Sophie shook her head and began to wail. Now that it had started, she couldn’t seem to stop the feelings from spilling out. Nathan sighed as he took her hand and pulled her through a door that was passing by them. Sophie felt her knees buckle under her weight and sat down on the ground and wept. Nathan rubbed her head.

  "Sophie... everything's going to be okay. I know it's been a rough few days for you, but you need to pull yourself together if we’re going to get through this." Nathan said gently. Sophie nodded, wiping her eyes and sniffling.

  "I'm trying, but I feel so awful." She said softly. Nathan nodded.

  "It’s okay. In my life, nothing is permanent. I’m constantly moving from pce to pce. This isn’t even the worst trouble I’ve been in with the LDPD. You have nothing to feel sorry about. Besides, I knew what I was getting into when we met. I chose to stay. We’re in this together now” he said, smiling as he messed up her hair. She smiled, sniffling a bit as she wiped the snot from her nose. Nathan let out a sigh, standing up and looking around. “We should probably find a pce to get some actual sleep for the night." Nathan said, pulling Sophie to her feet. She stood up, regaining her bance and strength in her legs as her mind began to calm down. She still felt exhausted and horribly guilty, but Nathan seemed to still be moving so she needed to keep going too. Sophie let out a shaky sigh as she willed herself to stop crying and followed Nathan through a field. In the distance she could see a deep forest.

  “Are we in someone’s dream right now?” She asked. Nathan nodded.

  “Yeah, they’re off somewhere else in this world. So, we’ll want to be careful and hide somewhere in the background. Most likely that bank of trees.” Nathan expined. They walked in silence for a while, both taking the time on the walk to mentally process what they had just gone through today. Soon they were deep in a lush green forest with soft glowing orbs moving around in the trees. It was now nighttime. Nathan smiled at Sophie as he stopped and sat down quietly, pulling her down with him. She looked around, admiring the view around her. Nathan took her face in his hands quietly and pulled her towards him. He stared deep into her eyes.

  “Sophie. You are safe now, I promise. I won’t let them take you back to him, okay? You’re safe here with me.” He said gently. Sophie stared into his eyes, feeling tears welling up in her own as her body began to rex. She felt like she had been running for so long, even before she had met Nathan. She felt her body colpse beneath her weight as she curled up next to Nathan, her eyes closing. Nathan stroked her hair gently as she slowly lost consciousness.

  Sophie’s eyes snapped open as she looked around. She couldn’t see anything around her at all, just darkness. The only thing she could see was herself and some of the floor around her feet, which appeared to be bck and white tiles.

  “So. You’ve managed to st this long. But how long do you think it’ll be before I find you and drag you back?” A voice hissed. She spun around trying to locate the voice.

  “Sebastian? Is that you? I’m not coming back. I’m never coming back to that pce” She snarled. The voice snickered.

  “Oh, you’re starting to remember! How good for you,” Sebastian said sarcastically, “But how much will you be willing to remember before you crave to forget again?”

  Sophie gritted her teeth.

  “You had something to do with this, didn’t you?” She growled. Sebastian’s voice ughed again.

  “Oh, my dear Sophie is starting to talk back! Not to worry. We’ll take care of that when I find you. I’ll take such good care of you, my love.” Sebastian cooed. She felt something move against her cheek, almost as if someone was stroking it. Sophie felt sick as her head began to throb. Suddenly there was another voice.

  “Sophie, he’s using your dream to try to track you. Wake up now!” A girl’s voice rang out. Sophie thought it sounded familiar, but she couldn’t recognize where she knew this girl from. She heard Sebastian growl.

  “You. Get out of here, you shouldn’t even exist anymore.” He roared. The other voice snorted.

  “Yeah, you made sure of that. Sophie, you need to get out of here now. Wake up. Wake up!” She yelled. Sophie suddenly sat up, looking around her. The light had changed in the forest, and she could tell that daylight had come. She gnced down to see Nathan lying next to her, sleeping soundly. She felt curiosity rise in her as she crawled over to look at him. Her hand rose on its own as she moved his hair out of his eyes. She leaned in to look more closely at his face. Suddenly his eyes snapped open, and he jumped up. She gasped, pushing away from him frantically.

  “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” She yelped as Nathan frantically moved back, looking equally as frightened. The two stared at each other before Nathan let out a weak ugh as a blush spread across his face.

  “Uh, was there something on my face?” He asked. Sophie sucked in her cheeks.

  “Uh, yes actually. A huge bug. I don’t know what it was. But it didn’t look friendly, so I was trying to shoo it away.” She expined. Nathan nodded, standing up and brushing himself off.

  “Ah, yes. I see.” He stated. Sophie also stood up at this moment, looking around for a bit. The two avoided eye contact for a few moments before Nathan spoke up.

  “So, we actually should probably go now before the LDPD find us…” He said, “Either that or this person will wake up eventually.”

  Sophie nodded.

  “Okay, yep, let’s go.” She replied, pointing and starting to walk off. Nathan grabbed her arm and pulled her in the opposite direction.

  “Actually, it’s over this way” He stated.

  “Ah. Yes. Of course.” She said, then followed him as he opened the door and led her through. The two floated silently for a bit before Nathan spoke up.

  “So. I was thinking st night. We should take a break before moving forward. I mean, we can’t go back to any main cities right now because the police will be looking for us. But we could take a break in here for a bit. It’s just… you’ve been through a lot, and I think we should just… take a break.” He repeated, then smiled at her. Sophie looked back at him and smiled back.

  “Yeah, okay that sounds nice.” She replied. Nathan looked around at some of the doors, suddenly grabbing her hand and leading her to one. His smile grew as he opened the door, and both entered. They appeared to be in the woods, though there seemed to be a vast field that the trees spotted. Sophie looked at Nathan, confused. He just gestured for her to keep walking. She continued forward, looking around. It was then when she noticed a rge tree to her right with a little door. Over the door was a sign and a bell. She walked towards it and crouched, noticing a little log to one side and flowers growing by the sides of the door. The sign over the door read ‘Mr. Sanderz’. She looked at Nathan, even more confused.

  “Am I... supposed to know who Mr. Sanderz is?” She asked. Suddenly the door opened, and a little yellow bear walked out. Sophie looked it over. She had never seen a bear in person before, but she was pretty sure they didn’t look like that. Upon a closer look, the bear was a stuffed bear. The bear turned to look at her.

  “Oh. Why, hello there” The bear said, speaking to her, “I don’t believe we’ve met before.”

  Sophie shook her head but extended her hand to the small bear.

  “No, I don't believe we have. My name is Sophie, what’s yours?” She asked. The bear put his paw in hers, shaking it gently. His little paw was soft but slightly worn as if he had been very loved.

  “I am Winnie the Pooh.” He said, “I don’t suppose you’ve seen my good friend piglet around?”

  Sophie gnced around, but didn’t see anyone else. She looked back at Winnie the Pooh, shaking her head.

  “I’m sorry, I haven’t. But I can look with you.” She said, standing up. Winnie the Pooh nodded, taking her hand in his.

  “Oh, that would be lovely, thank you.” He said, “It’s always nice to make new friends.”

  Sophie looked back at Nathan, motioning for him to follow.

  “Come on Nathan, let’s go and find Winnie the Pooh’s friends.” She said. Nathan stared at her for a moment, before smiling and nodding.

  “Alright, let’s go Sophie.” He said, following along behind them. They walked a short distance, before coming to another tree. This one, surprisingly, was much thicker than Winnie the Pooh’s house, with rge roots going out in various directions. But at the base of the tree was a tiny little door. Winnie the Pooh walked up, still pulling Sophie’s hand, and knocked on the door. After a few moments, a small little pink pig stuffed animal with a darker pink striped body appeared in the doorway.

  “Oh, hello there P-P-Pooh.” The small pink pig said. Pooh nodded at him.

  “Hello there, Piglet,” Pooh said, then gestured towards Sophie, “This is my new friend Sophie. And that’s her friend...” He turned towards Nathan but looked a little lost, “I don’t believe I know his name.”

  “It’s Nathan” Nathan said. Pooh turned back to Piglet.

  “That is Nathan. We were just about to go for a walk.” Pooh said, “would you like to join us?”

  “We were?” Nathan asked. Sophie shot him a look.

  “Of course we were.” Sophie retorted. Nathan smiled but held his hands up. Piglet walked out of his house, closing the door behind him.

  “Oh y-yes! It’s w-w-wonderful to m-meet you Sophie and N-Nathan!” Piglet stammered. He took Sophie’s other hand, and they continued walking. Nathan just walked behind, smiling to himself. It was like watching a small child walk through a happy dream. He let out a breath. Hopefully they could stay here for a while until things quieted down. Suddenly, in the distant trees, a screech resonated and echoed through the sky. The four looked over, watching birds fly out of the trees as they shook.

  “What was that?” Nathan asked. Pooh looked at them.

  “Oh, I think the heffalump is just hungry. We should go find some carrots for him. We wouldn’t want what happened to Roo, Rabbit, and Owl to happen to us” Pooh said. Nathan and Sophie exchanged gnces as Pooh and Piglet led them down the path. Nathan groaned.

  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this...” He grumbled.

  Sophie, Nathan, Pooh, and Piglet continued to walk along, passing over a small bridge with a river running under it. Winnie-the-Pooh let go of Sophie’s hand for a moment, looking over the bridge until Piglet spoke up.

  “P-Pooh, we need to g-go get the carrots for the Heffalump” Piglet said. Pooh turned back around and waddled back over to them.

  “Oh, yes. Sorry. I was just hoping for a quick game of Pooh sticks.” Pooh said.

  “Pooh sticks?” Sophie asked. Pooh nodded.

  “Yes, we like to py it on the river” Pooh expined. Another loud screech reverberated through the ndscape, sounding closer than it had before. Nathan looked over, his face growing pale.

  “Oh dear, oh dear” Piglet said, “The Heffalump s-sure sounds hu-hungry!”

  “it’s okay, lets go get those carrots” Sophie said, reassuring them. The three walked forward as Nathan looked around behind them, trying to locate whatever was stalking them. Finally, they came to a garden with some vegetables growing. Pooh walked forward, pulling on the green top of a carrot. He tugged for a bit, then fell over as it came loose with a satisfying ‘pop’.

  “I’m pretty sure carrots don’t make sounds like that normally” Nathan muttered to himself. Sophie, not hearing a word Nathan said, reached over to another carrot and pulled it out. Piglet looked around the garden and began to shake.

  “Oh dear... oh dear...” He muttered. Nathan looked down at him, his brows furrowed.

  “What’s wrong, little guy?” Nathan asked. Suddenly he heard a twig snap. They all looked up, startled. Suddenly, a small stuffed donkey waddled out of the woods.

  “Sorry. The carrots haven’t been growing as well tely” The donkey said dully. Sophie walked over, crouching down to meet the donkey. He was a grey colour, with a tail that was just pinned onto his backside.

  “What’s your name?” Sophie asked. Eeyore held up one stuffed foot and Sophie took it, shaking it.

  “I’m Eeyore. It’s a pleasure to meet you... probably a bigger pleasure that it is to meet me.” He said sadly. Sophie looked up at Nathan, her eyes watering a bit.

  “Why is he so sad?” She asked. Nathan opened his mouth to speak but shut it again. Probably best not to talk about the story of Winnie the pooh in front of the characters from the book.

  “Since that heffalump appeared, things have been worse. Not that they were great to begin with. But anyways. It started eating all the honey. Then we tried giving it other things. But it’s always hungry.” Eeyore expined as Pooh and Piglet continued to try to gather as many carrots as they could.

  Suddenly, they heard the screech again, this time, much louder. It sounded like it was coming from behind Eeyore. Nathan quickly scooped up Piglet under one arm and held Pooh against his side, and Sophie grabbed Eeyore, holding him in front of her with her arms wrapped around him. Both of them took off running in the other direction as another screech sounded, and they could hear the drumming feet of something behind them.

  “Oh dear, oh dear” Piglet said, his body shaking.

  “Oh well. Looks like it’s time to die. I suppose I’d be lying if I said it’s been fun” Eeyore said, still sounding apathetic. Nathan cursed as he gnced back. There was a rge beastly creature behind them, pursuing them. It looked like maybe once, it could have been a heffalump from Winnie the Pooh, but it was distorted. It was like an elephant... if an elephant had died, come back to life, been run over a few times, been resurrected in a stereotypical demonic ritual, and decided it wanted to eat people... or well small re-animated stuffed animals. Its purplish grey skin looked like it was rotting off as it ran, exposing bone and muscle underneath. He turned back around.

  “Keep moving, don’t look back!” Nathan shouted back at the group as they headed into the woods. They ducked under some bushes, hiding from the creature. Everyone stayed quiet as the heffalump wandered through the woods, trying to locate where they were. It slowly and begrudgingly stomped off, unable to locate them. Everyone let out a sigh of relief.

  “Oh well. Looks like we get to live another day.” Eeyore said, almost sounding upset by the situation. Nathan looked over at him, making a face.

  “Do you think maybe we could find a small smackerel of honey for lunch? All that running sure made me hungry” Pooh said as Nathan released him and Piglet. Before Nathan or Sophie could respond, Nathan felt a gun pressing into his back. Sophie’s eyes widened in fear.

  “There you both are.” The man behind Nathan growled, “It sure took a minute to catch up to you both. Now, come quietly and you won’t die right here and now.”