"Ash, you alright?" I inquired with an attempt to rock her back to reality.

Mumbling, she swayed herself from her daze's grasp, "y-yeah. Somewhat."

"Is it about Ethan?" I pried as she went to dip her hand in the water.

"Stop." The boatman growled with the ferocity of a feral dog.

She paused and stared at him with a disheartened, "what's... the problem exactly? I just wanted to wet my face."

"Don't. Touch. The. Water." He asserted with a row ardent enough that water splashed around us. "Too long and a piece of you shall swim in perpetuity."

"Oh," she nodded as unease weaved its way unto her gaze. "Got it, sorry."

"Ash, something's wrong." I prodded her shoulder. "I can tell."

She hesitated for a second but eventually opened up with a bit more persistence on my part. She's been mute the entire trip, and I'd like to know why.

"Aria," muttered Ashton with a trembling breath. "Is t-this really a dream? Will I wake up if you hit me? And why are you and Ethan here? I've n-never had a joint dream." She gestured to her body. "And one where I'm... well... like this."

"Ash," I paused as I hunted for my words. This place has to be a dream. I fell asleep after all. It's just that Ashton said my phone was in that small room. Something must've happened while I was out. Could someone have actually been in the area? Did they dra... no, just stop. I am not about to think about that.

"I mean, the fog right now. It's ice cold." She shivered and breathed into her hands. "I've never felt a dream this realistic."

My attempt for words crumbled to nothing while she stared off into the distant mist. The only things that remained on my mind were a means of waking, the fog's ice-cold touch, and that menu from earlier.

Curiously, I swiped down and watched a dust of hexagons in varying colors come forth from the aether.

The menu was more defined now. There were six rows, top to bottom with a large window finished with wooden borders that featured the engravings of various birds atop their tree branches.

Out of the six rows; one was lit. The overview tab up top was highlighted in a bold black, giving off the illusion of words being carved into wood.

I peered at Ash for a second. She was still wallowing in her daydream. If this truly isn't a dream, I wonder what's going through her mind right now. I've dreamt as Aria various times before, so this is something I'm a bit more familiar with. Her on the other hand...

I looked to the sky and water, noting the transition of colors in them. The violet sky, it was slowly dying green as we traversed the mist. The emerald green water? An ever-darkening violet.

I tapped the overview tab to be met with a picture of myself, akin to that of a recording. Aria's face would look around, but not much more than that.

"And here we are." The boatman suspired with disinterest as he aimed a thumb towards the encroaching dirt shoreline.

"Ash," I nudged her back to reality to be granted a slow nod. "Let's go."

"Thanks for the ride," I stretched a hand towards the boatman.

He rolled his eyes and kept rowing with a, "hm? What's the point?"

I dropped the offer and slid back an inch, "I was just trying to show my appr-"

"It's business." He cut me off. "Nothing more. Thanks aren't needed when it comes to business."

"Right..." I mumbled and redirected focus towards keeping Ashton within reality.

The shoreline arrived, and with it, our departure. We hopped out of the tiny raft and started making our way towards the entrance of a forest, but not without some parting advice first.

"Hey!" The boatman shouted over as he started rowing away. "Keep to the gray stone path, the one lit by lanterns! You two are in no position for fighting! Your friend, especially!"

I glanced at Ash. Is she gone again? It's like there's nothing behind her eyes. The very definition of "nobody's home."

I cupped my hands to my mouth and called after him. "Do you know what's wrong with her?!"

"Nothing serious! It happens to some!" He assured me, an intense row away following it. "Get to the shrine at the end of the path! It should be a clearing of sapphire blue stones! Keep her talking in the meantime. It will keep her in touch with reality somewhat!"

"Got it, thanks!" I shouted out with a wave.

"I told you!" He spat back with a drop of irritation. "No thanks necessary! It's just business!"

I decided to ignore that and grabbed Ash by the shoulders, ending with a lean into her ear.

"Ash?" I whispered with a shake. "You still with me?"

A presence found its way back into her eyes as she fell into reality... more or less.

"Aria?" She responded with a tone that hinted she thought she was dreaming. "That still you?"

"Yeah," I assured her and started marching her towards the stone path. "Something you need?"

"J..." She murmured, "Jess. You remember her? Or didn't... you meet her?"

"Um... Ethan told me about her once, why?" Why is she thinking about Jess in a time like this? She talked to us maybe once or twice? Honestly, I wasn't a fan of her. She just kind of looked down on us as a bunch of dumb third-graders, it was aggravating.

"N-nevermind," she stopped almost as if she were fading in and out of reality. "Ethan?"

I froze as we came to the entrance of a darkened forest. The trees ahead were thick, almost as dense as the dark that waited ahead.

"Why are you talking about, Ethan?" My voice cracked. Please don't realize. It doesn't take an expert to recognize I look like Violet. And it won't be long after, that two and two are put together. Especially from her point of view.

"I can see him..." She pointed in her daze.

I followed her fingers only to land in the shadows ahead. She's really delusional, isn't she?

"Y-yeah! I see him too!" I forced an awkward laugh and kept pushing her forward. "Let's go catch him, okay?"

- - - - -

Our lighting was obscured within the forest thanks to a dense canopy above. Occasionally a streak would pierce through and down to the gray cobblestone path, bringing my attention to the occasional firefly. Ignoring them, and the few strands of light, the amber-orange lanterns attached to wooden posts lining our trail were all that remained to save us from darkness.

"I can't see him anymore." Ash sulked, "Ethan's gone now."

"Oh?" I mumbled and kept leading her down the dimly lit path. "Let's see if we can find him again, alright?"

Ashton isn't getting any better. She's just delusional. She keeps going on about Ethan, Jess, and even Mark, a guy that was somewhat close with Jess. He wasn't quite as bad as Jess, but he wasn't exactly great either. He at least didn't look down on us.

"Hello?" Zay(?) spoke up inside my head. "Is anyone here?"

"Zayden?!" My voice spiked in alarm. Why is he talking to me?! Shit, he doesn't recognize me? Does he? Please don't, for the love of everything holy.

"Yeah?" He hesitated. "How do you know me exactly?"

"Is Dani by you?" I shot back, deliberately ignoring his question. "Can I speak to her somehow?" Please, just let me speak to anyone else! Okay, only Dani! No way in hell, I'm explaining this to Gael!

"Yeah, she's right here, but can you answer my question?"

"Just put her on first, please?" I pleaded with a fervent nod.

"Um... fine." He yielded with a slight sigh. "Hey, Dani? Can you come here a sec?"

I heard what sounded like shuffling around until eventually, Dani was the one in my head.

"Hello?" She asked, followed by what sounded like someone muffling a mic. "Um... who is this? Why'd you want to talk to me?"

I found a tree with a few dim lanterns and glowing orange flowers scattered around it and sat Ashton down. She frowned, but it didn't hold true. It was a few seconds tops before she delved into her thoughts once more with a blank stare.

Leaning against the tree, I answered Dani, "hey. Can you promise me you won't repeat what I say back to you out loud? Like, try not to react at all, please?"

"Okay, sure. Why?"

"It's me, Dani. Aria." That is weird to say to her. Regardless, I guess both facets of me are being shown off today.

"Um... w-what?" She stuttered as if her reality were just shattered. "So you mean you're... but you're Aria."

"Surprise," I said aloud, a nudge to Ash following shortly after. All I got was a pout back. How can I keep her talking? I've been trying the whole walk here, but she just falls into her own stupors if I'm not continually questioning her. I'm running out of things to ask her.

"What happened?" She whispered with a tone that implied she was on the brink of alarm. "You aren't hurt, are you?"

Crossing my fingers, I quired, "Yeah, I'm just fine. Did you see the room Ashton got locked in?"

"Wait, he got?" Did they not go with him?

"Yeah, he's locked in a room right now. It's the two steel doors that are shut in the hall I went down. We're in them... well I was. He said he didn't see me."

"So that's where he went..." She murmured, "d-do you guys need help or something? Where are you now?"

I glanced at the dense canopy above us and let out a sigh of exasperation. "I'm not sure exactly, some sort of forest. I think I can tell you guys how to get to us."

"Alright, how?"

I grinned awkwardly. "You're gonna have to do exactly as I say. So you ready?"

She confirmed she was, and I told her what the deal was. Now, of course, I made sure to specify that only one of them should go in those rooms at a time. If there is actually someone waiting, then it's best if they can ambush them. Gael and Zay together shouldn't have any issue. You can seal the deal if Dani jumps in with them.

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

I tried to keep Ash chatting, but she was too far gone. She was more concerned with droning on about trying to get Ethan to speak to her as she fought off sleep's embrace.

"Um... are you still there?" Questioned Zay, successfully pulling my attention from Ash.

Plucking a bright orange flower, I blew its petals into the air, "Yes, aren't you supposed to be in those rooms?"

"There were only two vacant rooms, so I came back when they wouldn't open. Dani insisted that she was the one to go inside."

I opened my mouth, but Zay beat me to the punch with, "I'll be right back. I'm gonna try to find a manual. I'm getting a bunch of popups on-screen that... well, they're definitely not anything I can read. A bunch of gibberish."

"Wait, Zay, gibberish?"

He's not responding. He probably took off whatever he was using to talk to me. He said something about popups, though. Did they find a computer or something? And if they did, how are they talking to me like this? Their voices sound like they're implanted within my mind. What's more, it seems the computer might have the same style of letters we found earlier.

"Ash, you..." She's asleep? I did notice she was getting quiet. I'll wake her up after Gael, and Dani get here. If they get here.

Thankfully, it was much warmer than when we were out on the water. So much so, that if I didn't know any better, I'd said the seasons swapped in a heartbeat.

I got back to Ash and couldn't manage to rouse her from slumber. At this rate, I'm going to have to carry her. I hope she isn't heavy. Regrettably, she's still larger than me in general. I was hoping to get a height advantage in some way. Pretty sure I might've lost inches actually. Positive things are looking to be in short supply today...

"Just hang in there, alright?" I smiled at her.

"Aria!" I heard Dani's voice call out from behind me. She made it? It's all but confirmed now. This place isn't a dream. It can't be.

But then what is it?

"Hey!" I beckoned her and Gael over.

Unlike Ash and I, she and Gael looked almost entirely the same. The only differences were their slight facial imperfections, all of them vanished.

Dani sprinted to meet me at the tree's base and dropped to her knees with a gaze of wonder. "Holy shit, you weren't kidding."

"Yeah," I mumbled to the ground. "So, did it happen like I explained?"

She opened her mouth, but Gael spoke in her stead.

Scratching the back of his head, he stared at the canopy above in pure surprise. "Okay," he looked towards Dani and me. "I haven't eaten or drank anything in ten hours. So how did..." His eyes focused on me for a moment before jumping over to Ash. "Dani, who are these people?"

Pointing to me, Dani 'introduced' us, "that's Aria. She was the one on the headset earlier."

Gael mouthed an 'oh' and offered me a grinning handshake. "Nice to meet you, Aria. Name's Gael."

If there's someone out there in the void looking out for me, thank you. He doesn't seem to notice anything. And there's definitely fuel for theories.

"And who's her?" He gestured to a now-snoring Ash. She was on her side, curled up into a ball without a care in the world.

"That's Ash." Dani dropped the first (and hopefully only) truth bomb to be met with a silent wide-eyed Gael.

"Sorry?" He questioned, pulling at the collar of his white t-shirt. "You mean, our Ash?"

"Mhm," Dani smirked, breaking eye contact with him as Gael turned and took a few steps away.

"You know what?" He threw his arms towards the sky. "I'm not even gonna ask! Let's just find the place that dude told us to find!"

I'm actually kinda astounded he's dropping it so quickly. I expected an artillery barrage of inquiries. My best guess is waking up inside another world(?) is a bit more concerning to him. I'll take it either way.

Gael strolled over to Ash and lobbed a kick into her side to be met with a cry of pain.

Writhing back to consciousness, she clutched at her side, "the fuck was that for?!" She seethed in between her squirms.

"You and I both know you're a pain-in-the-ass to wake up." Gael attempted to swat her anger away. "I'm not dealing with that."

"You could've been more gentle, you know?!" She shouted with a jump to her feet.

"That," Gael poked her nose. "Was payback for punching me earlier. You weren't gentle, so you had that coming."

If she slugs him, I won't be surprised. They have genuinely gotten into fistfights before. Surprisingly, it didn't seem to matter what they were about. All they had to do was beat the shit out of each other, and they'd laugh it off like there was no issue. Zay was always eager to referee for them as a side note.

Massaging her side, she conceded with a sulk, "fine. You have a point there."

"Ash, are you back among the living?" I questioned, ensnaring her attention and an eyebrow raise.

"Yeah?" She cocked her head to the side. "Didn't go anywhere? And I don't have any autographs from dead people either?"

"Nevermind," I turned and started down the cobblestone path. "Glad to have you back." I'll take a kick from Gael, bringing her back from whatever she was just dealing with. It beats carrying her while hearing tales of the "fabled" Ethan as we traverse this place.

"Glad to be back!" She called after me. "Whatever that means!"

- - - - -

"Hey," Dani pulled me to the back of our group, just out of their earshot.

"What's up?" I quired as the air started to grow progressively colder.

"How are you doing?" She shivered as her eyes started to seemingly inspect my face.

Glancing towards Ash and Gael, I answered, "Fine, why?" Gael seems to be interrogating Ash right now. Earlier, he was listing off question after question. Both involving if she felt all right and this whole gender swap ordeal.

She shook her head. "It's just. I figured you might've been thrown off a bit by this whole thing."

"No, I'm fine," I assured her with a confident smile. "A bit weirded out, but fine nonetheless."

She looked like she wanted to keep talking, but right as her mouth opened, Gael shouted to us both to hurry up. Next thing I knew, I was being dragged along partially against my will.

After a few minutes of wind blasting in my face, we broke into a clearing, specifically, the clearing of sapphire blue stones. It resembled a whirlpool without movement. The rocks beneath our feet peaked in size and progressively grew smaller in their path down to a crater in the center, each one sparkling in response to the sunlight.

The air was the most unsettling. It was frigid, enough so that the water's surface paled in every feasible way.

Gael looked back to Dani and me while Ash seemed to be lost in the stones.

"I would suggest we rush it to the center, but!" Acknowledged Gael with a raised index finger. "I have a feeling that would be in the top ten of my dumbest decisions this week. So who's first?"

"Um... Ash, it looks like." Dani spoke up for me as Ash took off towards the pit.

Every stone sparked beneath her feet, but the thing is... it wasn't when her foot hit the ground. It was sparking beforehand, almost as if it knew where she was headed.

Gael turned back and took a few steps forward, topping it with, "you could've just told us you were going first, you know?!"

"Ash!" I called after her. "Where are yo..." She's gone? She just sort of fell through the ground? One bright spark, and she vanished.

Gael took a few steps more when regret strangled him for that decision. A pair of spectral blue hands rose from the ground and started pulling him under.

"What the?!" Gael panicked and started trying to kick at the hands. They wouldn't give in. More of them sprouted from the ones that fell, quickly overwhelming him as he sank into the sapphire stones.

Dani and I both had the same idea. We charged into the stones in a desperate gambit to help Gael from his attackers. How foolish it was didn't cross my mind. And even if it did, I can't say I would've picked otherwise.

I kicked a hand from Gael's face as Dani started trying to pull him out of the pit.

"Did that guy trick us?!" I screeched as I pried hand after hand from Gael's face. Dani couldn't get him up. He was chest-deep and only sinking lower.

"Guys, just get out!" He shouted right before a hand covered his mouth. I went to wind up a kick but was grabbed right as I let it fly, tripping me with ease.

I fell to the stones and tried to get up, but looked back and saw them. Hands, they were coating my legs.

"Dani!" I squirmed in a vain effort to shake them. Nothing. They were squeezing as tightly as a starving anaconda with fresh prey.

She noticed it right as Gael got pulled under.

Darting over to me with nary a moment's hesitation, she kicked a horde of hands off my legs. "I gotcha, Aria!"

She ran up to my shoulders and desperately tried to pull me up as my hands succumb to the stones. It felt like... nothing, but not in a negative way.

A welcoming sort of nothing. The kind of nothing you want to see when you come home. The type that lets you know nothing's changed, that there's no intruders wading in the dark.

"Dani!" I shot a nudge towards her legs. They had her ensnared too.

It was hopeless. All I could do was look up at her horrified expression as her feet sank along with me. The only thing to even slightly ease our worries were the gazes of confidence we gave each other. The gazes that insisted we'd be all right in spite of everything.

And then, nothing.