_{"Yeah! Let's go!" Isabelle said, hopping on her feet a bit. She looked around for a bit for the exit. Well, the little girl and cat can't go anywhere if they don't leave the room, can they?}

"Yeah!" Howl cheered with an equally excited leap in the air. He landed gracefully, did a neat little turn and a twitch of his tail, and raised his paws up against the wall, ears perked. "This is a very special room that has no door -- but you can push one of those buttons there! Do you see them?"

Carved among the intricate patterns on the coppery wall were a series of buttons with strange symbols on them:

---

_{Riley most certainly didn't want to imitate that behaviour, so she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and pressed one of the buttons at random. It turned out to be the one on the far right.}

The button lit up with a gentle green glow; the light spread quickly throughout all the carved lines that networked throughout the walls of the tiny room, until the coppery little room was full of angled patterns of dim neon.

BRRRRRM CLICK!

Above Riley's head, a copper ceiling slid closed, sealing off the room from the water that had been floating overhead.

Howl spun in place and flashed a fangy grin up at Riley. "See you later!" He turned his back to her, coiled his haunches, and leaped through the wall as if he were nothing more than a ghost -- but the wall was completely solid.

The room began to shake and rumble like a very old elevator.

DING!

All of a sudden everything went still and quiet; the lights were gone and the shaking had stopped. For a tense moment, Riley was alone in silence -- until the wall behind her split open like elevator doors, revealing a chaos of muttering and clattering noises and buttery-sweet smells.

"Make way, coming through, out of the way!" called a waitress as she sprinted through the crowd with an enormous tray of covered dishes held over her head. She rushed past the elevator door and disappeared among the filled tables to the right. The tables were all filled with enormous monsters with scales or feathers or fur or spines, all shoveling ravenous forkfuls of savory meats and sweet desserts into their fanged or tentacled mouths.

The waiters and waitresses that darted about, however, were very much human. They wore uniforms of pink and blue, which matched the gaudy decor that gave the huge restaurant a very particularly nostalgic feel.

Directly in front of the elevator was a worn red carpet, which led directly to the hostess' podium, above which glowed a bright green neon sign:

welcome to

Lilyrose House

The hostess was a teenage girl with flyaway black hair and a pink uniform that was slightly fancier than those of the other wait staff. She wore a patch over her right eye, but her left eye caught quick sight of Riley through the elevator door.

"Hey, there you are!" she hollered, gripping the podium. "You're late!"

---

<sub>"N-n-no!" He cried out as he twisted around and began to dig into the pillows in an attempt to escape this nightmare. "I just want to wake up!"

Deeper. "Wake up!"

Deeper. "Wake up!"

He made a small hole to climb into and began to blubber in it. "I want my Mommy!"</sub>

The black cat tilted his head and swished his tail, and for a moment he waited for this new visitor to finish being scared -- but when the boy showed no signs of anything but distress, the cat lighted up onto the disheveled pile of pillows and craned his neck to peer into the little cave the boy had made in them.

"What's a mommy?" he asked quizzically, triangle ears perked.

"What's a mommy?"

Arthur's mind instantly went to the worst possible scenario. That this place had no mothers. That was tragic and awful. He definitely could not stay here.

Quivering lips, he slowly turned towards the terrifying monster that was the cat. Then the walls. His eyes scanned the walls for any signs of a door. He refused to interact with the speaking animal. If he pretended it did not exist then maybe it would just leave. Besides, damp or not these pillows were actually somewhat comfortable. More comfortable that what this room felt like to him: prison.

He wished he still had Tyrone with him. At least he knew how Tyrone would deal with this. Tyrone always had ideas.

"Wait, you didn't-" shouted Riley, as the fairy cat jumped away and phased through the far wall. She ran over to the place where he escaped through, but no matter where she touched, it was solid and impassable. Then, there came another mechanical whir, and she could feel the distinct force associated with accelerating downwards. Then, everything goes black. Agonizing seconds pass, and Riley looks around for something, anything, that would shine any light in literal or figurative sense on her situation. Then, the wall parts, revealing a commotion on the other end. Humans rushing about under the lazy eye of horrendous beasts. Riley gasped, and this made one of the human women turn and glare at her.

"Hey, there you are!" she shouts. "You're late!" Riley didn't know what to think.

"I . . . I don't understand," she says, trying to hide her confusion. "I'm not late for anything. You don't know me, you don't even know my name . . . right?"

Quivering lips, he slowly turned towards the terrifying monster that was the cat. Then the walls. His eyes scanned the walls for any signs of a door. He refused to interact with the speaking animal. If he pretended it did not exist then maybe it would just leave.

The cat blinked its huge eyes. It tilted its head. It backed out of the boy's way and sat down again, curious.

What Arthur would see on the wall were quite a lot of straight lines and neat angles, like the wires on a motherboard, that covered the entirety of the coppery walls as well as the floor. The ceiling, of course, was water -- like an upside-down pool with no bottom in sight.

But also on the wall was a row of circles that might be buttons, lined up just low enough that Arthur could potentially reach them with small effort:



"You wanna get out of this little room, huh?" the cat went on with a fangy grin. "Why not push one of those buttons? I bet they'll take you someplace neat."

---

"I . . . I don't understand," she says, trying to hide her confusion. "I'm not late for anything. You don't know me, you don't even know my name . . . right?"

"Your name's not important," the hostess said testily. She suddenly tossed an apron at Riley's head. "What's important is you get to work. Grab some dirty plates and take them back to the kitchen, and don't talk to the clients no matter what. Skedaddle!"

The monsters, meanwhile, paid no attention to Riley -- they were far too invested in devouring all the food in sight, as quickly and as messily as possible. The room was filled with slurping and chewing and grunting noises.

Suddenly there was a crashing commotion. A few of the monsters lunged over their table, grabbing for something that was running away between the plates. A little white fuzzy animal sprinted along the table, leaping away from their grabbing claws and tentacles -- it tumbled to the floor and skittered away again just out of reach of a hungry monster. The little poofy animal skidded and hid inside an oversized cup on the floor, shivering, unsure what to do.

"Pick up the pace!" the hostess hollered again, and threw a wad of paper at a passing waitress.

Arthur stared up at the water ceiling. He was puzzled about why the ceiling was water. It should be in this room and he should be swimming in it right now. What if this was actually a dream? That made sense. This was a really really weird dream. He felt himself calming down at that thought. He then decided to try something.

He climbed out of the pillow hole he dug himself and grabbed one of the least heavy pillows. With all of his might he threw it up into the water just to see what would happen. Would it splash? Could he even make the throw? Would it fall out of the water and land back in the pile?
He had no idea. However, weird water like that in a weird dream like this one could only bring about weird results. At least as far as he could imagine.

The buttons were interesting, but they were going to be there for as long as he was dreaming and with this dream being so weird he had no idea when he would wake up. Either way, the buttons could wait. So could the cat.

Riley barely caught the apron as it arced through the air at her head. She sullenly put it on. What could she do? She, however, didn't really understand what the apron meant. What was she even supposed to do? The questions were answered for her when a white object fell off the table and plopped onto the ground. Then, it came to life and scurried away on short, stumpy legs. It ran itself into a ridiculously scaled cup, and effortlessly vaulted over one of its sides, at least as large as it was. Riley forgot the screaming of the demanding hostess and went over to the cup. It was painted blue and yellow, and a large crack ran through it. Within sat the little creature, shivering from its near miss with death. Riley reached in to pet the little creature. It was odd, looking nothing like anything she'd seen in the normal world, but it looked frightened, and surely something as small as it can't be dangerous.

Isabelle examined the buttons curiously. Those were some strange patterns, and they look old. Some have really pointy patterns, and others are really swirly. There's even one that's both pointy and swirly! The young girl didn't know which one would allow her and the kitty to leave, of course, but Isabelle didn't think it would hurt to try.

"I'mma try pressing this one!" Isabelle declared, pressing the middle button that had two swirls on it.

He climbed out of the pillow hole he dug himself and grabbed one of the least heavy pillows. With all of his might he threw it up into the water just to see what would happen.

The pillow was flung upward, and with a quiet splash a few droplets fell down on Arthur's forehead. The pillow, for a moment, floated upside-down on the watery ceiling until the fabric had soaked through -- then it rose above the surface and continued to float along into the dark watery depths above. Anything more that he might choose to toss into the water would not come back down again.

The cat watched this peculiar behavior with a swishing tail and a twitching ear. Whiskers quivered, and it blinked its big eyes, silently waiting.

Just as the dark silhouette of the pillow had begun to fade into the deep water, something else moved. A sinewy shape swam closer, snatched the pillow and darted away again, silent.

---

Within sat the little creature, shivering from its near miss with death. Riley reached in to pet the little creature.

The little critter blinked and breathed rapidly, watching as Riley's hand drew closer. Its pink nose quivered, and slowly -- cautiously -- it shifted forward to sniff her outstretched hand, whining, hopeful for her assistance.

Suddenly something big and fleshy grabbed Riley around the middle and yanked her high into the air; one of the monsters had spotted her, and now had her in its scaly grip. The monster held her up to the light, examining her with glazed red eyes for a moment before it tipped its head back and parted its tentacled face, revealing a round mouth lined with rows of razor teeth.

"No eating the help!" the hostess roared in the distance, but the admonishment was too little too late.

The little white critter, meanwhile, skittered up the monster's leg, scaled its putrid back, and crawled along its outstretched arm with flurrying speed. Riley's new furry friend opened wide its big toothy jaws and clamped down on the hand that held her.

The monster gurgled a scream of pain and dropped Riley into a half-empty bowl of custard on the table. The critter dropped down beside her -- and all the monsters at the table, poised and quiet, were now staring at them both.

---

[color=gray]

"I'mma try pressing this one!" Isabelle declared, pressing the middle button that had two swirls on it.

The button lit up gold and blue and swirling; the light spread along the patterns in the metal walls of her little room. With a bump and a click and a hum, the room began to vibrate; the water above rippled before a metal panel slid suddenly over the surface of the water, securing Isabelle's room into a solid coppery glowing trembling box.

The cat's whiskers twitched, and it grinned fangily. "Good luck!" it called in a voice that almost sounded mocking, and it turned its back on Isabelle and walked cleanly away through the solid wall -- as if the cat had been nothing but a spirit.

The room hummed and creaked and shuddered, the lit-up patterns flashed.

Suddenly, everything went still and dark.

A whining, creaking noise vibrated in the walls. A seam of bright sunlight cut through the wall before her and grew wider as the elevator doors slid open. A cool fragrant wind swirled just outside.

Once her eyes adjusted to the light, Isabelle would find that the elevator was perched upon the sprawling grassy, rocky top of a cliff. The wind whistled and howled, and the sun shone brightly on the waving green grass and jutting stones.

To her right was an old stone windmill, spinning rapidly, strung up with strings of little brightly colored flags that flapped in the wind. The windmill towered high above, and if Isabelle listened carefully she might hear the squeak and grind of machinery inside.

Attached to the windmill was a little stone house with a thatch roof and a cozy porch, presumably where the windmill-keeper lived. On the porch was a bench swing, a rocking chair, and a rather rusty looking robot. The robot was sitting on the porch floor with its legs stretched out and head drooped to its chest. There was a big turnkey in its back. It was about as big as Isabelle herself.

There was only one window on the house, but it was fastened and the curtains were shut inside. The door was closed, but unlocked.

To Isabelle's left, the rocky landscape sloped down, toward the edge of a thick scraggly forest in the distance.

Behind her was the cliff's edge, and a sheer drop from an unknown height; the bottom was hidden behind a mist, and birds flew far below.

Straight ahead, directly across from the open elevator, a winding path led past the windmill and along a narrow stone bridge that stretched across the abyss. On the other end of the bridge -- in the far distance, was a floating island, and on this island was a massive, shimmering mountain of angular pink crystal. The crystal seemed to glow and spark in the sunlight, its size impossible to determine from this distance, only that it dwarfed the spinning windmill.

Arthur flinched as he saw the pillow get snatched away. Even the water had monsters in it. These were his monsters though. After all, this was his dream, and he could do whatever he wanted. Right? He glanced over to the buttons considering touching one of them in his moment of doubt. He swallowed down his fear. After all he could not trust the cat.

He immediately started stacking up the pillows against the wall opposite of the buttons. The effort required was something olympian and he had to stop several times to catch his breath. For this being a dream, he felt very worn out by the time he was even halfway finished. Damp pillows were heavy. He looked at his progress as he sat down on the stack against the wall. Just a few more pillows and he might be able to reach.

Arthur glowered at the cat as he stacked up the last few pillows. All it did was watch. He did not trust it at all. He wished it would go away. He looked up at the new pile of pillows and licked his lips. He had to use all of them to be able to reach the water, and the stack was fairly steep. He caught his breath before he started to climb up the pillows. The water was a good couple feet away from the top of the pile, but it was close enough he could actually climb into it.

He took a deep breath as he hopped into it and found himself swimming. He knew he could not hold his breath for too long, so he had to find a way out. Immediately, he scanned the area for an exit. If he could not wake up normally he would have to wake up a different way. Either way, he would have to find a way out of here.

"There there . . ." Riley murmured, stroking the tip of the little creature's nose. It was small and soft, and for a little while she could feel safe and happy, here with this creature. "I've never had a pet, but for practice, you'll do alright. I think I'll call you Nina."

That thought was quickly pushed out when large snakes caught her by her midsection, each larger and slimier than the last. Riley shrieked, and the little critter seemed to pick up on that, for it bounded after her with a surprising vigor, leapt onto the towering source of the snake-like fingers, and dashed up to the hand holding her. With a growl, it bit down on one of the scaly digits, and an ear-splitting shriek reverberated around the room. Riley felt the familiar sense of falling, stopped this time by two splats in quick succession. She sat up, and found herself covered in a thick yellow goop. She looked up, to meet the face of a tableful of angry faces by a very generous definition of face. Some literally had steam coming out of their ears, or other similar orifices. Nina hissed at them, which didn't make things better. "Must go now. Bye!" Riley shouted, grabbing Nina and leaping out of the bowl. She ran to the edge of the table, but stopped there. It was a long and hazardous way down, but the alternative was quickly creeping up on them. She looked back, back at the twisted faces, the grasping fingers, and worst of all, the endless layers of sharp teeth. She breathed in, closed her eyes tight, and jumped.

He took a deep breath as he hopped into it and found himself swimming. He knew he could not hold his breath for too long, so he had to find a way out. Immediately, he scanned the area for an exit.

Back in the little room, the cat curiously hopped up the makeshift stack of pillows, stopping just at the top to peer up into the murky water, ears perked and tail swinging slowly. The cat did not follow, but only watched, a slight gleam of fang in its grin.

The water was dark and cool as a lake in summer; green bubbles followed in his wake. Above Arthur's head, the water went on for miles -- deep, black and cruel. It was clear that swimming straight up would yield not even a pocket of air before his little lungs were done, if the darkness didn't crush his fragile bones first.

Should he look down, he would see that he had just escaped a wide, sprawling, rusty factory with ornate crumbling smokestacks, gigantic moving gears, and algae-coated gargoyles perched on the green-copper eaves. The water was filled with the low rumble and hum of machinery. He could see the dim light of the room he'd just escaped; similar squares of light dotted the factory building like constellations, dozens of rooms identical to his own.

The factory was tucked into a rocky crevice at the heart of a small underwater island, complete with submerged forests of bony petrified trees, a stony hill filled with the dilapidated ruins of old stone buildings, and a white sandy beach that surrounded it. Deeper, beyond the beach, sunlight glinted.

The surface of the water lay below him, shifting and glimmering with the tide, lapping at the underwater beaches. All Arthur had to do was to swim down and make it around the girth of the island to reach the surface before his air ran out.

A huge boat was moving toward the island -- its bottom was a dark rumbling shape on the sunlit surface below, its motor churning the water bright green.

Something dark swam past Arthur -- something whose shape was hard to place, there was so much long black hair. It darted away again, spun and flitted, curious. He might catch a glint of red embroidered cloth clutched in its strange pale arms. It almost looked like a child, as small as Arthur himself.

---

She looked back, back at the twisted faces, the grasping fingers, and worst of all, the endless layers of sharp teeth. She breathed in, closed her eyes tight, and jumped.

Nina yelped in surprise. The guests at the table all lunged at once, each hoping to be the one to snatch her up, but their claws and tentacles all tangled in one another instead. Chairs thundered to the floor, snarls and roars rang out, and Riley fell --

-- right into an enormous basket of soiled table linens being carted away to laundry. A huge cloth napkin, soiled with sticky tomato sauce, dropped on top of Riley and Nina, hiding them from view.

Riley and Nina were cushioned and safe burrowed in the napkins and tablecloths; the cart rattled and creaked, shifting the basket now and then. She would hear the snuffle and slurp of the guests as the cart passed them by. Occasionally one of the monsters would give a loud sniff, but nothing disturbed the basket.

The cart creaked and groaned and bumped along. There was a click and boom of a metal door being opened. The cart wheeled through it, then stopped.

The metal door slid closed, boomed and clicked. Suddenly all the sounds of the dining room had gone quiet. Riley and Nina and their basket of tablecloths had been left alone in a smaller, darker room, safe from the monstrous diners.

This room was lit only by a single gas lamp burning in a corner. The walls, the floor and the ceiling were all gray and peeling and slightly damp. The door they'd come in through was made of thick bolted metal, operated from inside by a switch on the wall. The floor was strewn with old discarded laundry and empty crates. At the far side was a stack of shelves full of huge cans of lard, kegs of cooking oil, and hundreds of boxes of matches.

A wooden door beside the shelves was left cracked open. Firelight glimmered in the next room, where there were noises of churning machinery and the slide and skiff of something big moving around within.

Against another gray wall in Riley's room was a metal ladder that led up to a metal trap door in the ceiling.

*KSSSSS*

A coppery funnel-speaker came to life with radio-noises. A high-pitched voice crackled through.

ATTENTION! ATTENTION! CRUISE FOUR-EIGHTY-FOUR NOW APPROACHING! ALL GREETERS TO THE LANDING DOCK! ALL GREETERS TO THE LANDING DOCK!

On the other side of the slightly-open door, a low voice muttered unintelligible and sarcastic. Something fleshy slid and skidded along the metal floor.

Arthur felt briefly amazed at the view as he scanned the water around him. This dream was extraordinary. Simply just amazing. He nearly forgot his goal when he witnessed the vast size of the factory beneath him. He saw sunlight! Perhaps that would be the way out of this dream.

He started to swim directly towards the sunlight when he spotted the large ship that was approaching. He had never seen a boat before except through the television, and that could not compare to the sheer size of the vessel before him. He knew he did not have long before he ran out of air, and he definitely was not the strongest swimmer which only served to increase the urgency.

Why was he afraid of drowning even though this was just a dream?

If he died he might wake up right? What if he did not? He started swimming towards the surface. He did not want to test out his limits in this dream. If he drowned he might start having a nightmare and that would not do. He became surprised as something swam past him and he saw a flash of red cloth. Whatever it was, it was small, but even small things could be scary. Like that cat for example. He could not allow himself to be distracted by anything.

Arthur had to swim for the surface. Now.

The cloth all around smelled of rot and decay. Riley held her nose, and clutched Nina tight. Where the cart was going, she could not say. Then, her blood ran cold as the sound of sniffing, accompanied by a low growling, seemed to approach the cart. Nina squirmed in her arm, and Riley did her best to stay very very still. The seconds passed slow and suspenseful, but the sniffing receded and the cart pushed onwards.

Slowly, the cart ground to a halt. The ever-present whir of machinery was particularly noticeable here. Slowly, Riley peeled back the cloth and looked around. It was dim, the only source of light being the shaded glow of a lamp. However, if she squinted hard enough, she could just make out grey walls and something of a ladder, reaching up to a point beyond the domain of the light.

A voice boomed out from nowhere. Riley shrieked and jumped maybe half her height into the air. Then, the voice was gone as quickly as it came. Gathering her bearings, she took one last look around, then grabbed Nina.

"Steady, we're going for a bit of a fly," she murmured, then leapt out of the more reasonably-heighted trolley. She landed feet first with a resounding clang, then immediately began making her way towards the ladder with the intention of going up.

Arthur had to swim for the surface. Now.

The black shape spun and twisted in the water around Arthur, moving with him but never getting close enough for him to get a good look at it. The red of the pillow flashed now and then between the locks of thick, tentacle-like hair; occasionally a flash of big dark eyes blinked at him, curious. As Arthur swam, the bubbles he created floated downward, toward the darkness that stretched on below.

The surface was too far away. It seemed the more Arthur struggled -- the harder he swam -- the farther away the sunlight seemed. He would see the boat stop at the edge of the island, and shadows moving near it, but his air was running out fast.

Something grabbed the back of his shirt, and Arthur was suddenly being rocketed toward the surface. The child with the long hair dragged Arthur with great speed into warmer waters, then pushed his head out and into the open air before letting go.

The child swam backward, and for a moment watched him -- big dark eyes staring just over the surface of the water -- before it dipped silently back into the waves and was gone.

Arthur was now close to the huge cruise ship that had docked alongside the island. The sky above was blue and warm and filled with squealing seagulls. The island from this side seemed very small, smaller even than the cruise ship, despite the enormous expanse that Arthur knew stretched on below. A white-stone cliff stretched up and up toward the clouds, something between a sheer mountain and a tower. What lay at the top was a mystery.

A wide gangplank stretched between the ship and the island, and upon it trundled a line of monsters in single-file: tentacles, fur, talons and scales. Their eyes glowed, their teeth flashed, their mouths dripped ropes of drool. Each was as big as a room or bigger; each mouth was capable of swallowing a child Arthur's size whole. The gangplank wobbled with each terrible step, and the horrors filed in through the enormous open mouth of a doorway in the tower, shaped like a lion's head, above which read in sweeping letters: LILYROSE HOUSE

The white beaches all around the little island offered an easy way out of the water. The tower had no windows, and was surrounded by a thick garden of lush trees and a rainbow of flowers that, upon close examination, turned out to be made of plastic.

---

"Steady, we're going for a bit of a fly," she murmured, then leapt out of the more reasonably-heighted trolley. She landed feet first with a resounding clang, then immediately began making her way towards the ladder with the intention of going up.

Nina squeaked upon landing, wriggled a little but didn't attempt to leave Riley's care. It was clear, now, that Riley was the safest place to be.

But the moment Riley landed with a clang on the metal floor, the movement in the next room froze. Someone on the other side of the door had stopped to listen closely.

Riley made it to the ladder and had climbed up halfway before the door squeaked open. A huge, spidery creature crept into the room, hissing and gurgling, its many beady eyes ticking in odd directions. With fidgety forelegs, it dug into the laundry basket, searching for anything amiss. When it found nothing, it picked up a few of the discarded bits of cloth from the floor, tossed them into the laundry basket, and hefted the basket onto its back to carry it into the next room, where the fires roared and steam hissed.

The trap door was heavy, but with a push Riley would be able to open it wide enough to crawl out with Nina in tow. The trap door opened underneath a thin oriental rug in a room only lit by one little gaslight. There was no movement; no one was around, at least not yet. For the moment she was safe.

Out from under the rug, she would find herself in a library filled with huge books: cookbooks and atlases, worn journals and piles of scrolls. A few of the books seemed to sparkle and glow: House of Roses, Claw and Newt, and Song of the Whippoorwill, all located on the higher shelves at completely different sides of the room; they would require a bit of climbing to get to.

Gaslights flickered on the walls. There was another ladder and another trap door in the roof. There was an open metal door to the left, through which was a little empty bedroom with an enormous bed bolted to the floor, a single bookcase, and a safe under the bed with a four-digit code. To the right of the library was a closed metal door that could be opened with a lever and some great effort. On the other side, a woman was humming a gentle song.

Panic rose as Arthur struggled to reach the surface. He just could not make it. Suddenly the swimming thing grabbed him and pushed him to the surface with great speed. He stared with an expression of surprise at the strange child for a while. He took a moment to catch his breath as he worked to stay on the surface.

Before the child resubmerged Arthur smiled and exhaled. "Thank you."

Arthur took the time to spin around and take in his options. There was the ship, except all sorts of monsters were exiting it while entering a tower on the island. The island had plenty of places to find refuge, however a sheer cliff face made further exploration nearly impossible. This dream was making this very difficult.

Would there be more monsters on the ship even after the passengers had gotten off? What kind of monsters would he find if he decided to start climbing the cliff? Was entering the tower even an option?

Eventually, Arthur decided that climbing the cliff was far preferable over being eaten by a monster, and he immediately began to swim for the shore. As soon as he climbed onto the beach he decided it would be best to wait until his clothing dried up first before he started climbing, and he found as private a place as he could to start taking his clothing off to wring them out. Once he felt comfortable enough with how dry his clothes were he would start his ascent up the cliff-side.

The rungs of the metal ladder clanked with each step Riley took upwards. They fell together into a steady stream of noise, and even Nina stopped her squirming and was content to dangle under Riley's arm, looking for all the world asleep. Then, she reached the top, and encountered the rounded door. "Hold still," Riley muttered, and tucked Nina into her other arm. With her free hand, she reached up and felt the trapdoor. It was solid metal, and with a little push, revealed the tiniest of cracks, barely visible enough to see light on the other end. Nina suddenly sprang to life, bounding off of Riley into the crack, and squeezing through. Riley felt her balance give way, and for a few frightful seconds, she was dangling by one arm, legs scrambling for purchase, near dropping into the dark abyss below. Then, she found two rungs for her feet, and clung to them best she could. Again, she reached out for the trapdoor, and this time pushed with all her might, leaving a hole for her to exit through.

"Bad girl! don't do that again," she chastised, as she joined Nina up there. The little animal sat on her haunches, gazing up at the giant room before her. Riley soon joined in, transfixed by the scene. Each book must be as tall as she is, and they stacked together higher than the hotels on the Scarborough shore. One of the books caught her eye, glittering in the light. She couldn't quite make out the title, but it must be useful somehow. She started planning another ascent up the bookshelf, sure of her actions. She remembered spending hours climbing the highest of trees, fending off defensive birds, all the while looking for the elusive fairies she had never found. Perhaps had she known they were all hiding under the lake . . .

Another book tumbled from its perch down to the far-away ground. Riley quickly found another place for her free hand and continued. As the book got closer, she could finally recognize the title. On the spine, in shining words, read House of Roses. She stretched to her full potential length up to it, and pulled it out with a grunt. It tumbled, like the rest of them, down to the little pile at the bottom. The book struck ground, and opened up to a page. Riley quickly scrabbled down, eager to read the contents.

Once he felt comfortable enough with how dry his clothes were he would start his ascent up the cliff-side.

Arthur would find the white cliff-face sheer and slightly cracked, with just enough footholds to give a highly experienced rock-climber a challenge -- for this child, however, the task he had chosen was quite an undertaking indeed. He would find the stone powdery and salty under his fingers, almost crumbly under his feet, creating a precarious and dangerous situation -- and he'd only just cleared the tops of the scraggled trees.

The salty wind rushed through him, quickly drying his hair and his clothes the rest of the way. From here he could hear the shuffle and grunt of the monsters on the gangplank, the squealing laughter of seagulls, a sharp human voice directing the guests inside. From here he could see the dazzle of the ocean that spread out in all directions, little waves capped by flashing froth, the sun casting bright shimmers on the calm water.

His next handhold would prove unsound, and there was nowhere else to go. The way up still seemed impossibly high, the top of it hidden in a misty mystery.

"D'you want a little help?"

The voice belonged to an enormous flying fox, twice as big as Arthur himself, who clung to the side of the cliff, licking the salt from the rock. She shuffled a little closer, hanging by the sharp claws on her wings, and twitched an ear and blinked an eye. "You fall from here you'll wreck your head, I imagine. Unless that's the point, in which case you've got a good effort."

After a few more licks, she twitched the other ear. "You could climb on my back, if you wanted. Unless you think you can make it yourself to the top. I'll watch you try, it'd be jolly fun."

---

It tumbled, like the rest of them, down to the little pile at the bottom. The book struck ground, and opened up to a page. Riley quickly scrabbled down, eager to read the contents.

Inside the cover of the book was an inscription that marked the book belonged to Lily Rose. It was handwritten, as a diary, and each page had a slight glimmer of magic threaded within it.



A door creaked. One of the enormous horrors was coming out of the right-side door, a stack of books in its tentacles. It had not yet seen Riley -- but in only a few moments it would inevitably discover her.

Riley gasped softly. What did this mean? Was it a sign that other humans have been here? Could there be stranded people, like her, who've either found an escape or are looking for one? Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud thump, jarring her from her inner monologue. She looked over to where she thought the sound was coming from, and saw a horror that stopped her breath in her throat. It was a gigantic creature, without any shape resembling that life existed within. An uncountable amount of thick tendrils reached out, feeling her and there on the shelves and adding books where there was space. Desperate, she concentrated best she could on the page, getting the rhyme well memorized.

"Run!" she whispered, grabbing Nina and legging it for one of the shelves. She pushed aside two books and tossed Nina into the gap. Then, she clambered in, whispering the words of the rhyme like a prayer. When she finished, she grabbed one of Nina's paws, hoping despite everything that the spell would work.

Arthur's task proved to be exactly what he expected. Nearly impossible. Several times while climbing the cliff face he faced the thought of giving up. For a dream this adventure was definitely challenging. Maybe that is because he wants it to be challenge. The task at hand utterly and completely required his focus. The slightest distraction could result in a dreadful fall.

"D'you want a little help?"

Arthur's grip tightened as he heard a voice behind him. He slowly and shakily glanced over his shoulder to see a flying fox clinging to the rock nearby. He winced as she shuffled closer. Was this going to be the end?

"You fall from here you'll wreck your head, I imagine. Unless that's the point, in which case you've got a good effort."

He did not want to think about falling at all at this point. His already pounding heart threatened to rip itself out of his chest. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths to calm himself.

"You could climb on my back, if you wanted. Unless you think you can make it yourself to the top. I'll watch you try, it'd be jolly fun."

The suggestion was very tempting. He reopened his eyes and looked up. He could not find a nearby handhold he could make use of. The fact Arthur had made it all the way up here could only be explained as a miracle. He looked at the huge fox again and swallowed dryly before nodding. He shuffled over so he could grab onto the fox's fur and climb onto her back.

"Th-Thanks."

She pushed aside two books and tossed Nina into the gap. Then, she clambered in, whispering the words of the rhyme like a prayer. When she finished, she grabbed one of Nina's paws, hoping despite everything that the spell would work.

The horror lifted its dripping head, its tentacles poised in the middle of replacing a book on a shelf along the wall. A loud snuffling, sniffing noise filled the room -- and then the book dropped to the floor.

It had heard something. It had smelled something. With clammy slapping feet and a low gurgling huff, the horror squinted six-eyed into the empty aisles between the bookcases. Searching. Sniffing.

It moved into the aisle where Riley was hiding, its jowls flapping while it swung its head back and forth, peering at the shelves.

Meanwhile, Riley would find herself, in an instant, covered in fur and standing on all fours. She could smell everything now: the pungent odors of the horror, the must of the books, the mold on the walls, the food downstairs, a faint fragrance of roses. Her eyesight, though, was now terrible.

Nina yelped quietly to see her mirror image; she scooted back against the books, wide-eyed as she stared at her twin.

The noise had been just enough to attract the horror's attention.

A great yellow eye appeared level with their hiding-shelf, staring directly at the two furry white intruders. Nina immediately made a run for it, darting around a snapping tentacle, tumbling to the floor.

The horror hissed, showing long rows of teeth.

---

He looked at the huge fox again and swallowed dryly before nodding. He shuffled over so he could grab onto the fox's fur and climb onto her back.

"Th-Thanks."

"No thanks necess'ry, child, jus' doin' what I'm here to do." The fox waited until Arthur had situated himself securely on her back before she dropped from the stone and snapped open leathery wings. With a flap they were soaring up and up, circling around the tower while salty wind pushed back Arthur's hair.

"Visitors don't usually come up this way, y'know," the fox called over the wind. Far below, the cruise ship was letting off its final passengers. "Too fat to try the climb, I'd wager. Ha! You'll be the first in a long while."

Finally the fox floated over the lip of the tower and landed neatly in a small field of cut grass. She walked forward, away from the edge, on her feet and her wings, and stopped to let him step down.

The top of the tower was rocky and full of grasses and weeds. The wind whistled and howled, and the sun shone brightly on the waving green grass and jutting stones.

To Arthur's right was an old stone windmill, spinning rapidly, strung up with strings of little brightly colored flags that flapped in the wind. The windmill towered high above, and if he listened carefully he might hear the squeak and grind of machinery inside.

Attached to the windmill was a little stone house with a thatch roof and a cozy porch, presumably where the windmill-keeper lived. On the porch was a bench swing, a rocking chair, and a rather rusty looking robot. The robot was sitting on the porch floor with its legs stretched out and head drooped to its chest. There was a big turnkey in its back. It was about as big as Arthur himself.

There was only one window on the house, but it was fastened and the curtains were shut inside. The door was closed, but unlocked.

In the distance, a great mountainous floating cluster of pink crystals dominated the sky, glimmering in the sunlight.

And beside the little stone house was an open elevator: a little room like the one he had arrived in.

"Dooa will be pleased to have a visitor!" the fox piped, and she crawled along the grass toward the empty-looking house. "Dooa, Dooa! A visitor! C'mon, come out!"

But there was no answer.