I dreamt again that afternoon.

In this dream, or nightmare I should more aptly call it, I was back in reality but it was frozen still. I was moving about my house after finishing something on my computer. I knew the world was frozen but I had nothing I could do about it and so I continued to exist like nothing was different. My parents we’re frozen on the couch watching TV, my brother was frozen on the floor of his bedroom, Jessica was frozen standing at my stove and all I could do was move about them and pretend they didn’t exist. Pretend that all of this wasn’t happening. I could feel myself absolving myself of my guilt, letting go of my fear and then the doorbell rang.

I answered it, completely unaware of the absurdity of it and there, standing before me, was Principal Miller. He wore his gym outfit; the blue and white tracksuit with the puma over the breast, only the puma wasn’t white, it was black. Black and menacing, like those creatures that had chased me. He stepped into my front hall and smiled at me.

“Climb,” he said with a grin, and as I turned I saw the rope leading to the ceiling. Suddenly I wore my own gym clothes and everyone from class was standing around me. They were still frozen, unmoving. Only Principal Miller and I were alive, but I could hear them. I could hear them laughing as I tried to climb and fail. Each time I grasped higher on the rope my fingers slipped and the laughter grew. I could hear Miller telling me that I could do it, but I couldn’t. I kept slipping and with each encouraging word he said I could feel myself being more and more embarrassed until I let go.

I fell and in the darkness I could hear Principal Miller’s voice. He sat across from me as he did that day he assigned me my ISU project. I could hear him say, “Minecraft is cool; you should make your report on it.”

I watched from a third party perspective; saw myself, three years younger and three years more naïve. I was sitting across from him in his office clutching my backpack, holding it like a shield against my skin, a barrier between him and me. I could see his smile and his hand clasped in a pointed arch like a steeple. I could see him nod and I nodded back and as I left he began to laugh, just as the class laughed at me climbing the rope. I watched myself exit his room and stand in front of the class, holding the sweat stained report I had written on my then favourite video game, the wide eyes and the snickers from the class as I read each pained word. Miller watching from the hallway, laughing at me, laughing at the failure he had set me up for.

Then… then I saw the aftermath, the part of the story I had forgotten. I saw myself walk back into his office in tears, I saw myself throw the report and Miller stand behind the desk and he laughed and laughed only… I knew it was wrong. Suddenly I became very aware that this was a dream and as I did I could see the scene changing. The way Principal Miller leaned on his desk and the cold, angry gaze he offered melted to a compassionate concern. My righteous indignation looking more like petulance and as the scene changed, as it began to feel more correct, I felt myself feeling embarrassed.

I stepped forward into the scene somehow now back on solid ground and walked towards Miller who looked directly at me and away from the angry kid that yelled at him. With a sympathetic nod he said,

“I’m sorry Lester; I was just trying to help.”

I could hear my past self-scream at him and leave the room, just as I had in real life but staying offered me a moment of clarity that leaving hadn’t. I saw Miller sit down behind the desk, put his head in his hands and cry.

I woke to a knock at the door which made the dream I was having fade vanish in an instant. I groggily sat up to see Drew, his back turned to me and his face against the wall, wave me with a hand as if to say you get it I’m sleeping still. I sat on the edge of my bed and let my eyes adjust to the wooden floor boards as the knock came again, “Yes, yes, coming.” I said through a yawn and stood up. I opened the door to see a young human woman standing before me and in a monotone voice she said, “Wake up call, are you up now?” I nodded and as she turned I caught her.

“W-wait, Sarah?” I said with a bit if doubt on my voice. She turned back to face me and as she did I realized it was in fact her. Sarah, Jessica’s friend from the woods, the one who had arrived in Redmarsh when the world switched over was standing before me and with a smile I let out a sigh of relief,

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“That’s my name.” she said flatly and turned away again and started down the hall.

I stepped out after her and said, “No, no it’s me, Lester!”

She eyed me up and down with a look of annoyance and after a moment of vague realization she unenthusiastically said,

“Oh right, what’s up?”

With a look of confusion I answered, “Uhh nothing,” and as I did she began to walk away again, “Hold on, what… do you… aren’t you confused by all of this?!” I said waving my hands around, gesturing to the hallway and beyond. She looked around as if I was revealing something new and after a long studious moment she said,

“What the hallway?”

“No,” I said as absolute perplexity washed over me, “the world Sarah, have you not realized it’s gone?”

“Duh,” she said as if I were telling her the sky is blue.

“Okay,” I said and turned as Drew joined me in the hallway a confused look on his face as well, “well then, did you find the others? They explained what was going on to you then.” I said more a statement, the only way her seeming disinterest could make sense but to my frustration she answered,

“Others? Who?”

“Do you not realize that the world is gone and you’re in a fantasy setting?” I said half shouting in frustration.

She again looked around the hallway as I threw my head back in annoyance and eventually she added,

“Oh ya, I guess, right?”

I looked towards Drew who just shrugged and after a momentary break I said, “Fair enough, well you don’t need to work here anymore cause we’re going home.”

Sarah yawned in boredom and removed her apron casually, dropping it on the floor, “Cool,” she said as if it didn’t matter one way or another to her and with utter disbelief Drew and I got dressed and moved towards the stairs down as Sarah followed.

We entered the bar which by this time in the evening was even livelier than before. Music played loudly near the hearth and people danced around the stairwell swinging and bumping into each other as the three of us made our way down to the tavern. Sarah cut through the crowd with confidence and we followed. At the bar she yelled to Leland, “I don’t need a job anymore I’m going home or something,” she said and Leland looked surprised and sad, a look that seemed bizarrely out of place on him.

“Sarah, you can’t do this to me you’re the best I’ve had,” Sarah just shrugged and gestured again to us. Drew and I made an awkward smile and as Leland looked back at her he just sighed, “Fair enough, well let me collect what I owe you and then you can be on your way.”

I took a half step forward and said, “We’re meeting a friend here for a bite anyway so we’ll just be hanging around,” and with a nod Leland turned back to the other patrons. Drew had been scanning the crowd and after a moment nudged me pointing in the direction of the booth closest to the door. There, Killian was standing on the table of a large booth with his axe drawn, shouting at the small group of people before him. I sighed heavily and turned back to catch Leland’s attention. When I did I ordered four chickens to the table in question and moved towards Killian with Sarah in tow.

I caught the end of Killian’s threat when we approached the booth.

“…so stay away or ye be dealing with the end of my axe!” he shouted as spittle flew towards the group of Goblins that we’re eager to take the booth from the dwarf. As Killian saw us however he pointed and hollered in righteous vindication, “See! Right here! There they are as I told ye!”

The Goblins cursed and turned away, scowling and huffing as they parted through the crowd. Killian jumped up and down at the table as we approached and when he saw Sarah he turned to me with a confused expression, “Who be she?”

“This is Sarah.” I said sitting down in the booth and Killian nodded in understand though I wasn’t sure he did.

He turned to us and said, “The bar was mighty busy so I’ve been guarding the booth for us for the last little while!” he smiled wide and I gave him a nod, “These Goblin’s are sneaky, they’ll take everything from ye the minute you turn yer back. If I left this booth they’d be takin’ in be sure of that!”

“Thank you Killian, sincerely.” I swear beneath his bearded face he blushed and as we waited for the food to arrive I watched the Goblin’s eagerly wait for another booth to leave. He was right of course; the Goblins were sneaky but above all else driven, if we stepped out of the booth for a second they would most definitely take it back. I admired their tenacity and watched them eye for another booth as Drew reiterated the plan.

“So after this we have until morning to get to The Red Lantern Inn and meet with your friends,” I cringed a bit at the word friends, remembering how we had last left each other but nodded for him to continue, “Then we just need to find out where the library would be in relation to Dunn; zap through, grab a USB, upload the original game files and head back to where you started to revert the code back.”

It sounded like a good plan but the thought of seeing them again still sat uneasy in my stomach. I turned to Sarah and said, “You haven’t seen Jessica at all?” she shook her head no with disinterest and stared blankly out at the crowd, I turned to Killian and saw his face reflecting the sadness I felt.

“It’ll be alright laddie,” he said in a surprisingly reassuring tone, “They’re still yer clan and they’ll be happy to see ya.”

I turned to Drew as well who, despite not being fully aware of how the scene played out, nodded in assurance. I breathed a sigh of relief that lasted only for a second as my eyes spotted both Hestle and his brother Ergon entering through the front door.