The only noise we make as we climb the stairs comes from our feet hitting the steps. The rabbit hops in between me and Holly, still emitting its otherworldly glow.

“I’ve always wondered how this sort of thing works,” Holly says. “I’ve heard of a guy in Carmsborough, some small country off the coast of England, who makes machines like this. They’re always animals, too.”

It doesn’t make it feel any more real. This is supposed to be science fiction. Something you read about in a book.

All of this is supposed to be something you read in a book. Like Cody said. And yet here I am, spending my waking moments trying to survive a haunted airship in the middle of a desert with a sentient robot and a classmate who lost her high-school sweetheart barely twenty minutes ago.

Yep. The medicine is definitely wearing off.

I bounce up the last stair step, landing on a carpeted floor. The whole place, including the ceiling and walls, is warped and torn worse than on ground level.

“All the way down and to the right,” Holly repeats, leading the way. I’m not sure where the sudden burst of confidence and leadership came from, but I’d rather this than her crying.

That’s not really fair. She hasn’t even had the chance to mourn. I’d want the chance if I were her.

Look at me, expressing empathy.

We walk in a line, me behind Holly and the rabbit behind me, all being careful not to step through one of the numerous holes in the floor. Some boards bend and creak dangerously when we put even a little weight on them, forcing us to navigate the hallway in a more winding fashion. It’s an exhausting way to move forward and takes way too long, but we eventually reach the intersection point where we must turn.

The new hallway is somehow more decrepit than the last.

“I’m not sure this is gonna be safe to walk down,” Holly says, echoing my thoughts. “What do we do? Should we see if one of these doors leads to the end of the hallway?”

Stolen novel; please report.

I press my foot against part of the floor. The board snaps off and falls to the level below.

I guess we’re going with her suggestion.

For what feels like the fortieth time, we step into an adjacent room. There’s nothing interesting, unsurprisingly. A doorway on the opposite side leads to a second underwhelming room with another door.

This is the definition of insanity. I’m sure of it.

Holly reaches for the door, but the sound of sobbing freezes her in place.

It’s the crying ghost again. What is it doing on the second floor?

“We need out there,” Holly whispers.

I nod. This is a predicament. What do we do?

The signature dark blue tentacles of one of the spectral creatures moves through the door, and we watch in horror as a woman in a beige nightgown appears. She doesn’t notice us at first, but after a couple of seconds, she’s staring at us with the same vacant expression we’re giving her. She breathes deeply, winding up for something.

“Please don’t scream!” Holly says quickly, catching the ghost in the act. “We’re not gonna hurt you.”

“You can see me?” asks the ghost. It has a thick German accent.

“Trust me, we’re as confused as you are. We couldn’t see any of you until… until we found Aurora!” She looks at me. “Do you think Aurora’s helping us see the ghosts? Maybe that’s why the fancy guy disappeared.”

I shrug. How on earth would I know?

“You’re not gonna hurt us, are you?” Holly asks, back to talking to the ghost.

“No. I’ve never wanted to hurt anyone. I just can’t handle… this. One second, we’re on the Hindenburg, flying fine, and the next, there’s some accident that crashed the ship, killed a bunch of people, and left me like this.”

“And what exactly is this?”

“I’m not sure. It’s like I’m stuck between two worlds at once. Our world, and some alternate world. Except sometimes, the alternate world changes. For a long time, I was half-stuck in a world of people with innate superpowers. Now, all I see is an endless expanse of dead trees on a grassy plain.”

That sounds terrifying.

The woman cries again. Sounds like we’re all going through some serious trauma. I can’t imagine going through it for a decade, though.

“Hey, so not to distract from that,” Holly says, “but we were kind of hoping to get some water and then leave. Would you happen to know the way to either of those?”

The woman sniffles. “I can lead you to some water, but you might be stuck the same as me. Those before you were, too.”

“Those before us?”

“Yeah, there were some raiding parties and unfortunate crashes nearby, and whenever they come, they’re trapped by the same thing that’s trapping me and the rest here. It’s some sort of energy field coming from the captain’s quarters. You’d have to shut it off to leave.”

We stare slack jawed at the apparition.

Why does everything need to be complicated?