[IC] Ripples in Reality: A World in Lines

[Curious Cat]

She woke up fifteen minutes before midnight, on a bus to Kingswood street. Audrey rubbed the sleep out of her eyes then stifled a yawn, midterms were officially over, and she had been out celebrating with some friends. The party had been a thrill, but now she felt exhausted and wanted nothing more than a warm bath and a soft bed to sleep in. The bus came to halt and Audrey shuffled out of her seat, walking past an old man with a newspaper pressed to his face, and a young boy who tugged childishly on his mom's sleeve as he tried to look out the window.

She dropped her change into the box by the door and made her way towards one of the streetlamps, it flickered, casting a warm glow that made the shadows by the sidewalk appear as if they were alive. The girl whipped out her phone and noticed a couple of text messages from her roommate. However, before she could open any of the messages, she was startled by a black cat.

"Hey, there..." the girl narrowed her eyes, watching as the cat licked at its paws. Its red eyes darted around shiftily. She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something odd about the cat, something that felt almost eerie.

It gave her a long look before it started padding away towards an Alley. Audrey didn't understand why, but she felt compelled to follow the strange cat. Common sense told her not to, but she went against her better judgement and walked after it and into the alley. It was a dead end, but the cat was nowhere in sight. Preparing to leave, she pulled out her phone to text her roommate—something warm brushed up against her leg and the phone fell to the ground with a clatter. It was the cat. Strange, she could have sworn it had disappeared.

It sauntered towards the dead end only to vanish and Audrey felt sick to her stomach. She had only had one glass, but she decided to blame it on the alcohol. Approaching the wall, she pressed her hands against solid brick then turned around and walked back to the street.

A man with a lollipop head tipped his hat at her and Audrey fell back onto the sidewalk, eyes wide and lip quivering.

She wasn't in Kingswood street anymore.

---

"See ya tomorrow, man." His co-worker flashed him a grin. "Oh, dude, catch!"

Nikolai saw his jacket in his friend's hands. "I almost forgot, thanks, Ray." He caught it then pulled it over his head. The sky was filled with dark clouds and it looked like it was going to rain. "Well, I'm heading off. Thanks for filling in for me, I'm really worried about my Geom test tomorrow."

"The late-night shift is always the most relaxing one." Ray gave his pal two thumbs up, "beat the crap out of math for the two of us."

Niko laughed, "no promises, but I'll try." the young man raised a fist into the air, grinned then exited the coffee shop. As soon as he stepped out, a cold breeze made him shiver. It was always nice and toasty inside. He stretched his hands forward and began walking towards the parking area. The young man lived off campus, but it was in biking distance, and he could travel to or from the campus in fifteen minutes tops.

There was a man standing beside his bike, he had his back to Nikolai, and seemed to be staring up at the clouds.

He paused and considered returning to the coffee shop. It's nothing...he could just be admiring the view, the sky looks real pretty. His positive side thought, and besides, he couldn't waste any more time. He had one last test early in the morning and after that, well, midterms would be over and he'd be a free man. Yeah, the guy was probably just counting stars, right? Because who'd want to rob a guy with a creaky bike. Last he checked, it was the students with cars and motorbikes that had to be extra careful.

"The weather is really nice tonight, isn't it?" Niko approached his bike with a smile and a friendly tone.

The man spun around and Niko found himself frozen in place—the man had a clock for a head.

"Tick tock," he whispered, "tick tock." He reached out a gloved hand and Niko, on jelly legs, stared at it as if it were a gun. "H...H-E-L-P. Unstable. The world is unstable. Error in the code. Error. Error. H-E-L-P." His voice sounded more like static than anything else.

Nikolai forgot about his bike and the quadratic formula. "I-I have to do laundry," he lied. The strange man took a step towards him and he began running like a professional athlete, well until he reached the end of the parking lot and tripped. He coughed until his sides hurt and until the air had left his lungs. Niko leaped to his feet and looked right and left. The strange man was gone, but so were a lot of other things.

A wolf in a trench coat lumbered towards a place called the coffee shack. Its Neon sign looked about ready to come crashing down.

"Oi, are you just gonna stand there, or are you going to come in for a drink?"

Niko slumped forward, dragged himself inside the shack and sat himself down. The waiter that approached him was a spoon in an apron. He was shaking all over and didn't know what the hell to do. "I...I'll have a smoothie, yes...a smoothie, strawberry."

"Sure thing, honey, just sit tight."

Nikolai wrapped his arms around himself and did as he was told.

[AlteredTundra]

“ARE YOU READY TO PARTY!?” Loudly said a lightly-brown skinned male.

The sounds of the bass bumped through the club. Lights of various shades flared off the ceiling and floor, they also reflected off of the disco ball hanging above everyone dancing in the club. Fists were pumping in the air, everyone shouting in excitement. They wanted to party, that’s for sure. There was groping, rubbing, kissing, embracing, punching, slapping — just about everything one could expect from a late-night club party. The man operating the music, he could be seen with a pair of green and brown Beats Headphones around his head as he toyed with his various music-making props.

Nearing midnight, the party was over. This club was only open till midnight, anyways. Soon, everyone walked out, and the last of them was the Disc Jockey who had been hired to be said DJ for the night. After he got paid from the Club Owner and then he walked out, bag over his shoulder. As Carlos walked down the street, he took notice to how the skies were nice tonight. Grey clouds covered most of the blackness, but he could see the moonlight showing through some of it. The stars added a very peaceful atmosphere to it.

Carlos took steps rather deeply. Unlike the usual person walking, his steps actually were him sort of dipping his lower body and taking as what people would call ‘double step’. It was much like how street gangsters walk, but not as tacky.

Heading home, Carlos was about five blocks away. It was lucky for him that his job tonight was near his home. He would turn a corner and come on 2nd street. He would come to the sight of some drunk. Said drunk would approach him, baring ragged clothing with tears all over and a bottle of hard liquor in his hand. Carlos would slowly back away, just hoping to avoid any trouble from the man. However, the drunk would look to Carlos and the DJ would notice something weird about him. His eyes seemed bigger than they should be and the man had very pointed ears. Carlos instantly thought the man resembled an owl of some kind.

The drunk would just keep on repeating. “It’s the end! It’s the end!”, over and over again. Carlos tilted his head in some very modest confusion. Carlos would just turn a corner and something happened. He blacked out for a few seconds and he came to the sight of some tavern-like place. He looked at it and there was a neon sign. Carlos really didn’t think that was odd. The sign read ‘Coffee Shack’. Carlos just walked in, hoping to get at least some understanding of what had just happened.

He walked into the shack and he looked around. It looked like something out some kind of old-timey picture. The joint was really rustic and just read old-fashioned to Carlos. The DJ would then pull up a barstool and sit in it, just thinking about what this place was.

Carlos was looking down at the wooden countertop and it was oddly shaded with neon green and purple. Suddenly, he heard strange voice. “What will it be?” Carlos looked up and saw a spoon. An actual, talking spoon wearing an apron.

Carlos shook his head, his reddish-brown hair flying across his face. He adjusted his hat. “Um, I’ll have a Pepsi.” He nervously said biting his thumb with his pearly whites.

“Coming right up, doll face.”

Carlos didn’t know what to event think. Where was he? Wherever he was, he would just let the answers come to him and not seek them out foolishly.

---

“Harder! Harder!”

The sounds of an unstable, rocking bed banging against the wall could be described as a loud thumping noise. Moans of both male and female could be heard in a sorority house, but in one room specifically the moans were louder and more intense than any other girl in the house. One in specifc, a very busty, bubbly, outgoing, quite sexual, brown-haired female was at the epicenter of it all. Her body being thrusted, taken, embraced, kissed, and quite simply, fucked to kingdom come. The time of which she remembered when it started escaped her mind, but the time was definitely nearing midnight and it all started in around ten. So, it was definitely happening for almost two hours and it was almost done.

Once the climax of it all was reached, she got off from the bed, her movements causing it to squeak. As she walked up, her naked body was seen from a fellow student. She would head to the bathroom and grab a brush. She gently ran the brush through her hair, causing it to straighten to her shoulders. She would smile lightly at the man laying in her bed. She would then release a giggle, and speak.

“You can let yourself out.” She said turning to the bathroom.

The man was shocked. “But what about sleeping together?” He asked quite baffled and confused.

She peaked her head out the bathroom. “Oh please, you’re just a guy I fucked, nothing more and nothing less. ‘ She said rather coldly. “Now, please leave, and don’t wake up anyone.” She said closing the door of her bathroom.

A few seconds later she would hear a door open and closing, telling her that her fuck buddy for the night had left. Staring into the mirror, Lenore smiled at herself. She would then turn on the hot water and in the following ten minutes, she would bathe herself and do it rather quickly. Afterwards, she would dry herself, place on some clothes, which included a long-sleeved shirt that was brown on the sleeves and white on the torso. She would then put on a frilly skirt that had pinkish-brown and black on it, stockings of the same colors, but striped, and black shoes.

Her plan was to go visit a friend before she would turn in. So, with that being settled, Lenore would head out of her room, out of the house, and start walking through campus. Her friend just lived a few blocks away from the campus, so it wasn’t like she had to walk far. In a few minutes, she found herself off-campus and as she crossed the street, she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Sure, it wouldn’t strike as odd, but what she saw was a hooker, obviously trying to get clients, but what she saw was weird. “Is that fur?” She said, musing her thoughts aloud.

As she continued to look, a car went by her line of sight and the hooker was gone. Lenore blinked three times. After that, she noticed that not only was she not on the street that she was just at, but around her were weird surroundings. Odd colors on buildings and just about everything that was not normal. “Oh boy, what did I get myself into now?”

[Curious Cat]

"Shit," Audrey turned her pockets inside out, her hands were shaking, and her phone was nowhere in sight.

In a way, the massive skyscrapers and neon lights resembled Kingswood street, but Kingswood street did not have a floating park, of that she was certain. Audrey felt like a fish out of water and she remained on the ground with a frightened look on her face.

"Young lady?" It was a doberman in business suit, "you look pale, are you alright?"

Hell to the no! Audrey scrambled back, her back pressed up against a wall. "Gods, I only had a glass!" She ran a hand through her hair, unsure about everything that was happening. Had someone slipped something into her drink? Damn it all.

The doberman looked offended, "please, calm down. You're scaring people."

Walking clocks and people with wings had stopped to stare and a young boy with rainbow colored eyes looked frightened. "You're scaring the child, young lady." He placed a paw on her shoulder and frowned. "Just take a deep breath, okay--" before he could say more he was shoved roughly to the ground and he watched as the girl bolted down the street, leaving her belongings behind.

Audrey muttered a flurry of curses as the wind whipped against her skin. She ran across the street, and a car shaped like a carrot swerved to the right, the driver honking his horn angrily and muttering something about reckless teenagers.

She didn't have time to fear for her life and she ran and ran until she slammed into someone and fell back onto the street. The girl closed her eyes, and hissed. Slowly, she picked herself up and noticed that the person she had bumped into looked oddly...human.

And for some reason, she was familiar too.

---

Nikolai didn't know what he was feeling, but he guessed it was a mix of utter terror and astonishment.

"Here you go, sweetheart, one strawberry smoothie." The spoon winked, "on the house. Now, would you like something more filling, cutie? Growing boys need to eat, don't they, what do you say?" She took out a pad of paper and a pencil, waiting for his reply.

"I'm full..." Niko mumbled as he stared at his drink. The young man's grip on the glass tightened and he watched as the sugary liquid sloshed around the glass. He was still in shock and he watched as a bear in a top hat played billiards with a man in full body armor. This had to be dream, a horrifyingly really realistic dream. He brought the cup to his lips and took a big gulp, the sweetness on his tongue tasted nice, but all the same, he shivered. It felt too real to be just a dream.

"Mind if I sit and join ya pal?" A little man scrambled up onto his seat and didn't even give him time to speak. "Friday nights are always busy." He hoisted his suitcase onto the table and began taking out all sorts of utensils. "So, what brings you to the Coffee Shack?"

"I don't know," he kept his eyes on the spoon and watched as she approached another table. Niko rubbed at his eyes and froze. "Carlos."

[AlteredTundra]

While waiting for his drink, Carlos sighed. He didn’t even know where to begin about this place. He would just look around and all sorts of crazy was around. He saw a bear with a top hat, he saw a half-dragon, half-tree creature talking to a Lion in a gothic outfit. There was just so many things around that he didn’t even know how to begin to explain to himself. Oh how he was hoping someone human would show themselves.

“Here you are sugar! One Pepsi!” The spoon said.

“Uh, Oh, thank you..” Carlos said.

He took the glass of the brown-hued carbonated drink and took a sip. As bad as it was for him, Carlos loved himself some Pepsi. Perhaps it was because he had always grown up on sugary drinks and food or just cause Pepsi was the best soda out there. Regardless of that, he took sip after sip, the taste of it soothing his tongue, and going down his throat. He let out a rather loud burp, to which got the attention of people around them. They mainly gave him sour looks, but went back to their business. He would finish it and set it down.

Carlos would let out yet another burp and he would hear his name being called out. He turned to see where that was coming from and he saw a human; though he didn’t know the name of this guy. “Yeah, that’s me. “ He said, looking at the person who called out to him. He would then get up and join the guy. “Haven’t I seen you around somewhere?” Carlos asked him.

---

Lenore walked around the streets. She didn’t recognize them. They seemed so foreign to her and as she would walk further down some streets, she saw weird things. She saw oddly-shaped cars pass by, walking animals with clothes. Like, she could had sworn that she just saw a walking snake, tiger hybrid wearing a turban and other such Indian-based clothing.

She would then make her way down some street, trying to figure out exactly where she was. She definitely wasn’t home and that was what she needed to figure out: how to get home. As she would cautiously proceed, she felt a very strong force bump into her, knocking her onto front side. Her face was smudged right into the dirt. As she would press herself up using her arms, she would shake her head to get the dirt off of her face. Looking over, she saw a red-orange-haired girl who was also knocked down due to the bumping.

“Damn, watch where you’re going next time, won’t ya?” She said making sure her head was still intact.

Looking at the girl, Lenore couldn’t help but wonder why she looked so goddamn familiar? She might have seen her around the campus, but then pegged the question on exactly why she was here to begin with? Better question, what was ‘here?’ Lenore knew she would find some sort of answers in this girl. “So, who are ya anyways? You look oddly familiar.”

[Curious Cat]

"Yeah..." she pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes. Whatever this was, it didn't seem like it would be ending soon. "Who am I?" Audrey couldn't help but stare blankly at Lenore. "Someone needs to get their priorities checked." They didn't have time to play nice and introduce themselves because for all they knew, those animals in suits could turn feral at any moment. What then? They didn't have claws or weapons to fight back with, that was what. It'd be game over for them and they'd wind up as someone's dinner, whoop de freakin do.

Her eyebrows were furrowed together in annoyance and she sucked in a breath of air. It was the stress and alcohol speaking, Audrey cleared her head and sighed. "Sorry, but we should focus on finding a way out of here. We can chat if we survive this..." Whatever this was, there was a slight pause before she finally murmured her name. "Audrey Calloway," the girl raised her eyebrows in question. "And you are--OH SHIT, give me a break."

A lion and a lioness in police outfits were headed their way, the doberman trailed behind them, looking worried.

"Stop," the lion narrowed his eyes. "You're in trouble, little missy for jaywalking and disturbing the peace."

She looked at the police officers then at Lenore. "Well now...this is a predicament. Well, officers I'd like to say something." She lowered her head and for a moment appeared as if she were going to be submissive.

"What is it?" The lion arched an eyebrow.

Audrey gave them a smug looking smile and had she been completely sober, she wouldn't have done the next thing. She gave them the middle finger, and leaned in to whisper in her fellow human's ear. "I think now would be a good time to start running."

---

It really was the DJ...

For a moment, Nikolai just sat there, dumbfounded. Seeing a familiar face eased his nerves a little bit, but he still felt utterly terrified by all the impossible things that were going on. "Hey," he fumbled with sleeves, "this is just some elaborate dress up party, right?"

A headless man walked in the dorm, a jack o lantern tucked snugly beneath his arm.

Niko refused to believe it, "did Serah come up with the costumes? She really outdid herself this time." Serah was an interior design major who sometimes made costumes and props for the theater group. She and Niko hung out from time to time and her drawings were always amazing.

"Costumes?" The midget stood up and scowled at both boys. "Whatcha fellows talkin' bout. This is the real thing!" He thumped his chest and scowled. "You hear that brothers and sisters." He gestured wildly, with wide, offended eyes. "These two fellas think we're phonies." He jumped out of his seat and began marching towards Carlos. The midget wanted to jab a finger at the man's chest but only managed to reach his knees. "You think I'm fake you bozo!"

Nikolai grabbed the tiny man by the collar of his shirt and pulled him back. In response the midget began attacking his leg.

"I didn't mean to offend you," his eyebrows were drawn together. "Coffee shop, I work there part time." He shook his head. "Do you know what's going on? I think I might have stumbled into one of your costume parties."

[AlteredTundra]

As Carlos sat down next to guy that called out to him, that very guy would talk aloud about how the people around were in costumes. Carlos would half-laugh at that. Perhaps they were in costumes, but Carlos wasn’t really concerned with that at the moment. However, his comments seemed to had drawn in the attention of what it looked to be a midget of some kind. He would go on to say that they were the real thing, as he would pound his chest proudly. About a half of minute of talking, the Midget would then go on to yell to the others that Carlos and the dude with the hat thought they were phonies.

Then things got worse.

In response to the hat-wearing man’s comments, the midget began poking and attacking him and proceeding to attack his leg. The man, however, would grab the midget from the collar and push him back a feet or two. Yup, that was not a smart thing to do. However, before anything could escalate further, Carlos stepped in-between the two of them.

“Oh, you want some too, ay?” The midget said putting up his fists.

“Please, sir, we meant no disrespect.” Carlos said putting his hands up in some sort of surrender-type of moton. “My friend and I aren’t from here, and well we don’t even know where we are.” Carlos admitted trying to be the peacekeeper. “Perhaps you could help us out and inform us on exactly where we are.” He politely asked the midget.

---

Boy, this Audrey sure knows how to make Lenore feel like she wants to hit her. First, the red-haired girl bumped into her, which Lenore could forgive. It was something of a ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ sort of thing, so that was at least something that Lenore could overlook. However, now there were two cops at them. Lenore didn’t even want to think about how they were a Lion and a Lioness. That shit was just too crazy for her to think about.

When the two cat cops would state that Audrey was the one in trouble for Jaywalking and disturbing the peace, Lenore would look at her with a raised brow. That’s when she would speak to the cat cops and then proceed to give them the finger. Widened eyes betook her and the cops to which Audrey would whisper to Lenore that they should start running. Lenore just gave her a ‘you stupid bitch’ look, but she agreed.

In the seconds that followed, Lenore and Audrey were running away from the cops. In her mind, Lenore wanted to ditch this girl, but she seemed to be the only human around, so she couldn’t no matter how much she really wanted to. As they were running, Lenore looked back just briefly, and she ran into a street light face-first. She let out a low yell of pain. “Ow, that hurt!” She said dripping her forehead and as she took her hand away for a moment, she saw blood. This was definitely not good.

When Lenore would collect herself, she would look back and it would seem they lost the cops. Catching her breath, she would prop up to a straight-up position. “By the way, I’m Lenore Robinson.” She said holding out her hand; though a look of hesitating glee appeared on her face.

[Curious Cat]

Hmm, they'd actually managed to evade security? That was easier than she thought it would be.

Audrey caught her breath then turned to notice Lenore's outstretched hand and her bloody forehead. "You're bleeding," the girl pulled a handkerchief out of her jacket's pocket and handed it to the girl in front of her. Audrey took the girl's hand and shook it...wait Lenore? She paused and arched a questioning eyebrow at the girl. "Lenore from art class?" Hah, no wonder she looked so familiar.

Lenore was quite the artist and now that Audrey could match her name to her face, she knew that rumors about the girl circulated around campus too. "We're in the same art class," she mumbled before a smile tugged on the corner's of her lips. "Professor Rhianon, right? I've seen you a couple of times in the theater too. I think you helped us out with the props once?" Audrey nodded her head, she was feeling less upset and more civil now that the cops were gone.

"So, do you happen to know where here is? Last I checked I only had a glass...maybe two." The girl clucked her tongue and frowned. "Were you at the party? Because the most logical thing I can come up with, is that this," she threw out her hands and almost laughed. "this is all a collective hallucination caused by some shit strong alcohol."

A lollipop pushing a baby carriage walked past and greeted them a good evening.

She scowled, "or we're dead and this is what hell really looks like. Or it's heaven, though I always thought it'd be, more, y'know...shiny."

---

Nikolai nodded his head, "yeah...as soon as we know where to go, we'll get out of your hair. I'm really sorry."

The midget gazed at them with wide-eyes and a frown. "Wait, wait, not from here. You tellin' me you dorks are humans?" He narrowed his eyes and his ears went red in frustration. "Oi, buddy boy with the poofy hair, you're tellin' me you're human? Did I get that right?" He jabbed his finger at Carlos' leg.

"Yes, we're human." Niko's eyebrows were drawn together in concern.

The Midget stopped his assault and looked down at the floor worriedly. "You gotta be kidding me?"

"No, we aren't." Niko pulled out his ID. "We're students at Kingswood University."

"Crumpets!" The red-faced midget had gone pale and he ran a shaky hand through his slicked-back hair. "You two are for real?" When Niko nodded his head the Midget closed his eyes and sighed. "It really is happening, I can't believe it. I kept telling myself it was just a rumor, y'know but then yous two come crashing in and everything just goes to hell, you hear me? To hell! It's really happening..."

He yelled at the spoon for a bottle of their most expensive wine.

Niko looked at Carlos with wide eyes then turned to stare at the midget. "Wait, what's happening."

He kept his eyes focused on the floor. "The world's gonna end. Not just your world, but our world too."

[AlteredTundra]

As the midget would speak, Carlos would listen and from what he said it definitely wasn’t good. First, he was so astonished and surprised that Carlos and the other one were humans. Actually, he seemed more than shocked. The midget actually seemed in disbelief. When he asked them if they were sure, the guy next to Carlos actually pulled out his ID. As if he had never heard of rhetorical questions or even sarcasm.

Carlos would look to the midget would go on about something happening, especially with the two of them here. When the guy next to him asking what exactly that was, the midget would reveal that both worlds — this one they’re in now and the one they were from — would be coming to an end. Now, of course, Carlos was totally shocked by this, but he thought the midget was full of shit. Then again, just them being in this strange, new world was proof enough that anything could happen.

“What do you mean it’s coming to an end?” Carlos asked as he tried to remain as calm as he could.

The midget, not really able to cope with it, drank glass after glass. “The borders…they’re coming down.” He said almost in a trance, and probably a bit of disbelief.

Carlos would look at the midget and then to the only other human. “Oh, before we even continue, I’m Carlos Santiago, part-time DJ, and full-time cool guy.” He said holding out his hand as if that were the most important thing at the moment.

---

When Lenore had introduced herself, Audrey would shake her hand, but not before mentioning that her head was bleeding. And of course, she would state that she remembered Lenore from Professor Rhianon’s art class. Lenore would nod as if confirming what she said was true. She would also state that she remembered Lenore helping out with the props for the theature. Again, Lenore would nod confirming it, though she did it rather oddly and making ‘mhm, mhm’ sounds as she would do it.

After that was settled, Audrey would ask her where they were. Lenore would say something, but Audrey again would speak, asking Lenore if she was at that part on campus earlier. Lenore was getting annoyed that Audrey wouldn’t give her enough time to respond. Then, as if she wasn’t annoyed enough, Audrey would go on and on about how what they’re all seeing was hallucinations or that they might be dead and what they see all around them was what heaven looked like. Lenore was getting angry with her now.

And then a loud clap was heard.

Only, it wasn’t a clap. It was a slap and it was from Lenore to Audrey’s left cheek. The slap would leave a big red, handprint on her cheek. Lenore was shaking her hand as if trying to dull out her hand from the pain it was in from the slap. “I didn’t want to do that, but you seriously talk too much.” She said holding her hand. “Before you go wondering on what is, maybe we should politely ask someone where we are?” She said so bluntly as if insulting Audrey.

Lenore would walk on up to a homeless, pink deer playing the drums. “Excuse me sir, can you help us?” she said politely.

“Sure dolly, but it’ll cost ya.” He said winking at her.

“Of course big boy. “ She said slightly raising her skirt up, revealing red and black lace. The deer was getting excited, but then she pinned him the wall by his antlers, and leaned in close, covering his mouth with her free hand. “Now, I will give it to you good if you tell me just one thing.” She told him. “Nod if you agree.” The deer nodded. “Good, good. Now where are we?” She asked him.

Lenore removed her hand from his mouth. “You’re in the Magical Realm.” [/b]He stated, fearing for his life by the hands of Lenore.

“Magical realm? What do you mean?”
“Just as I said. You’re in the realm where all things magical exist with one another.”
“How is that possible? It’s just fairy tails and stories.
“To you maybe, but to us, you humans are fairy tails and stories.”

As they went back and forth, Lenore let him go, to which he gathered his things and departed. Lenore turned to Audrey. “This is getting really bizarre.” She bit her thumb between her lips.

[Curious Cat]

Her cheek stung, Audrey brought a hand to her face and for a moment stood there, trying to register what had happened.

Her free hand clenched into a fist, Lenore had slapped her. "What..." her eyebrows furrowed in irritation. Who did this girl think she was? Audrey was stunned by the sudden action and watched as the girl began threatening one of the strange creatures of whatever the hell this place was.

Lenore threatened him and Audrey raised her eyebrows at the scene. This girl was a pyscho wasn't she? As soon as Lenore came back, Audrey scowled, she had a hand over her reddening cheek. "You sure discovered something new." Audrey rolled her eyes, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "I really thought this world was normal before you asked Mr. deer all about it." Her opinions on Lenore had been turned upside down.

When she realized they were in the same art class she was kind of glad, but now...well, she didn't like the girl and had they not been the only humans in this topsy turvy world she would have left. "You didn't have to slap me," the girl muttered before glaring at her schoolmate. "Did the deer tell you something useful?" She asked as if everything else he had told her was plain as day. "Maybe something that involves...oh I don't know, us getting out of here."

---

"Borders?" Nikolai mumbled.

"The thing that keeps our worlds apart." He narrowed his eyes at Carlos, "Dominick," he didn't bother to slap the DJ's hand. He then turned to look at Niko, the boy was holding his fedora between his hands and he looked deathly pale.

"Nikolai," he finally mumbled, but even he didn't reach out to shake Carlos' hand. He was clutching his hat between his fingers to keep his hands steady after all. "Hey...Dominick, when did this start happening?"

The midget reeked of alcohol. "Two months ago, rumors began spreading. People from our world would go missing."

Niko's eyes went wide. The same had been happening in the human world. People would just disappear without a trace and some would come back while others wouldn't and sometimes there would be strange sightings of weird creatures. "The news," he clenched his fists until his knuckles turned while. "Carlos...the missing people, their claims of bizarre things happening. Holly strawberry tart!" He leaped to his feet, eyes wide. "It all adds up...we've gone missing now."

[AlteredTundra]

As Dominick would explain the whole situation of the borders, Carlos listened intently. That’s when Nikolai would finally say his name and Carlos, among all the craziness at the moment, would acknowledge it. Then, he turned his attention back to Dominick who was in the process of stating that two months ago strange things happened that included disappearances from this world to the human world. When Niko would state that the same thing happened in their world, Carlos would sigh.

Trying to process all of this, Carlos would wave to the spoon waiter. She came over. “Can I help you darling?” She asked.
“Yes, I’ll have a shot of whiskey please.”
“Right away hun!”

And with that, she would go off to give him his shot of whiskey. In a minute, he would have it and he downed it. “Okay, that’s better.” He said shaking his head fast and turned his attention tot eh topic at hand. “If that’s true, how do we even get back?” Carlos asked himself and also would be open to the others to answer as well.

---

When Lenore got back from manhandling the deer, she went back to Audrey who was holding her cheek. She didn’t know why, but Lenore didn’t bother to ask. She just would listen to the redhead about she didn’t have to slap her and asking Lenore about what she found out.

Lenore sighed, placed her hands on her hip, and would just speak. “Well, I didn’t find out how we could get out of here, but I did find out that we’re in some magical realm. It would seem a bit polar to our own.” She said scratching her head. “You know, something about this fit’s a story I saw on the news.” She said, “don’t you remember? The story about people going missing since two months ago and no one found them. Like, their bodies were never found, but their belongings were left.” Lenore continued, “I don’t know if this is the place that they ended up at, but if so, then maybe there are more humans like us here.” She said, wondering if there were other humans around.

[Curious Cat]

The missing people, Lenore's words, all of it began falling into place like pieces of a jumbled up jigsaw puzzle.

"Unbelievable," Audrey shook her head a little before focusing on Lenore. "Who hasn't heard about it?" Lately people had been going missing and the news had been spreading around the country like wildfire. The disappearances weren't just happening in the city, it was a global phenomenon that nobody could explain. Some people chalked it up to alien abductions while the more rational ones said it could have been a mass kidnapping or terrorists. Feh, it looked like the alien believers were in a way right. "Bodies never found, people just up and disappearing," Audrey paused, "it's all over the news, I couldn't miss it even if I lived under a rock."

She listened to Lenore talk a bit more then looked around to see a bus filled with strange creatures.

"I think we're the only humans here..." she trailed off and chewed down on her lip. It was starting to make sense, but she didn't want to believe all this. Blaming it on alcohol or anything else would have been a lot easier. Magic...yeah, this was, to put it lightly, weird as hell. "You know that most of the missing people are never found, right?" The girl's eyebrows were drawn together and she sighed. "Lenore, right? We need to find a way of out this place...if we stay for too long, who knows what will happen." Those that came back usually had a few screws loose, and she didn't want to end up as one of them.

"Come on, we have a lot of ground to cover." Audrey turned away from her schoolmate and started walking down the sidewalk. As they walked on, the buildings grew eerier and the creatures appeared darker, the once bright lines turning into hues of red and purple. Audrey scrunched up her nose in distaste but walked on anyway, a few shadowy figures in coats marched past them and the tension in the air was palpable.

---

Nikolai wasn't too fond of alcohol, but at this point, Carlos' glass looked very tempting.

He shut his eyes and counted quietly to ten before nodding at his schoolmate's question. In the news, people rarely ever made it back. "Is there a way out of here?" The question felt heavy in his mouth and he hoped and prayed that Dominick would say yes, if the answer was a no, Niko didn't know what he'd do.

Dominick drummed his fingers on the table and the seconds felt more like days. "Yes and no..."

Niko's heart sunk into his stomach, "what do you mean?"

"Well, technically there is a way to leap between our realm and yours. Ya see, recently, something freaky has been happening. Normally our worlds rest on different planes of existence but ever since two months ago, holes have been popping up here and there. When someone wonders into that wrinkle in dimensions they end up in your world or in your case, they end up here." He took another swig of alcohol, his cheeks were a light shade of pink and Dominick eased into the couch. "That's not supposed to happen. The worlds colliding will be catastrophic."

Niko turned to Carlos with questioning eyes. If someone told him this the other day he would have laughed and told them that played way too many video games. But now, here he was, seated beside DJ Swagstar and some midget, discussing the end of the world.

"Y'know those holes in reality I was talkin' bout?" He waited for the boys to look at him, "some of them are temporary, some of them move around, but if you can find one then you can get home. They've been becoming more common lately, I suggest you leave as soon as you can." He lowered his voice and Niko felt a chill run down his spine. "Not everyone can cross through and the longer you stay here, the harder it is to travel back to your own realm."

"Are there any of these holes nearby..."

Dominick gave them a grin, the alcohol slowly taking hold of him. "Lucky for you boys, I happen to know where one is." Propping his elbows on the table, he leaned close, and whispered. "Dark district on top of the abandoned office. If you can get to the rooftop, you should feel something strange. Place was abandoned cause of the portal, I'm not sure if it's still there...but it's worth a shot and it might be your only chance." He shrugged and took another swig, this time forgetting everything he had said about the world eventually coming to an end.

Niko steeled himself, "well, we don't have much to lose," he held out his hand and nodded at Carlos. "What do you say?"

[AlteredTundra]

Nikolai asked Dominick if there was a way out from this realm back to their realm and as Carlos would down his glass of Whiskey that he had waved for another beforehand. Domi would say that there was a way, but based on his tone, it was pretty complicated. Nikolai further asked for more details and Domi said that there was a way to leap from the dimension they were in now. He furthered his explanation and said that ever since two months ago or so, portals connecting this world and theirs have been popping up here and there and that their worlds colliding would be very, very bad.

Carlos took all of this in and Niko would look to him as if wondering what he thought of it. Carlos would just stare back at him and then Domi would speak again about how the portals are temporary and move from location to location. Carlos did not like the sound of that one bit. He would further state that the longer that the humans stayed in the magical realm, the more difficult it was for them to return to their world. Thankfully for Niko and Carlos, Domi knew where one was and he would then say that it was up top of an abandoned office building in what he called the Dark District.

Carlos thought about it and it wasn’t like they had much to lose on this. If they don’t get there in time, then it was most likely that they were stuck in the magical realm. If they made it, then great they would be able to go home. Niko would offer a hand and suggest they go. Carlos shrugged. “Not like we have any better options.” Carlos shrugged as he took Niko’s offering hand and stood up.

When Carlos took Niko’s hand, he would turn to Domi. “So, where is this Dark District?” He asked him.

Domi looked at him strangely. “Where it’s dark, ya dork!” He said in a ‘Mr. Obvious’ kind of way. He would burp from the alcohol, and speak again. “Just go where the colors are of red and violet. You should be able to find it--” He burped again, “--there.”

Carlos smiled and he and Niko would depart, not knowing what awaited them in the Dark District. Hopefully nothing too shady.

---

“My head hurts.” Lenore grabbed her head. It was spinning and spinning, but not from the fact she was bleeding; that was just a minor cut. No, her head was spinning from all craziness. She just couldn’t handle it and to be quite honest, Lenore didn’t want to be in this realm. Even as Audrey would speak about the fact that they were probably the only humans in this place, she didn’t like it. Probably a shift from her usual self, but it had just dawned to her that she didn’t want to be here.

Audrey suggested they get going, and she just followed. As she would, she noticed the buildings got a little more creepy as they continued. Truth be told, Lenore felt scared. She didn’t know if she and Audrey were going to get raped or worse yet..mugged! Yup, Lenore was getting freaked out and seeing those two shadowy figures didn’t help much ether.

She would just try not to look them in the eyes and instead would wonder where they were going. “Do you even know where we are going?” She asked Audrey.

[Curious Cat]

Audrey gave Lenore a worried glance before her eyes flitted to the red mark on the girl's forehead.

She stopped walking and her eyebrows were drawn together in concern. She didn't exactly have any medical know-how, so the last thing she wanted was for Lenore to suddenly pass out. "Maybe we should find a place to rest," she suggested, though to be honest, Audrey didn't like the thought of stopping. The police officers were probably still looking for them, and when one of the houses blinked, a shiver ran up her spine.

"Or maybe we should keep walking...just slower than usual. Do you need any help walking?" She offered Lenore a shoulder to lean on then frowned when she finally thought the girl's question over. "No...but we don't have much of a choice do we? Unless you have any ideas? I'm willing to try new things."

The streetlight above them suddenly flickered before a pop and a sizzle were heard, the street went dark.

---

He turned to look at the midget, Dominick was resting his head on his arms, eyes half-lidded and face flushed.

The alcohol had kicked in now and he slurred more than he spoke. "Thanks, Dominick," Niko watched the midget raise a shaky thumbs up then turned to Carlos. "Maybe we can catch a bus?" As strange and unbelievable as this world was it seemed pretty similar to their own. Their was a coffee shop after all and while the costumers were strange they did normal things. They played billiards and talked and one carrot shaped individual was clacking away at his laptop's keys.

If they had human bodies, he would have believed they were just like him and Carlos.

"Maybe we can get one of the people...er, creatures outside to show us the way?" It still felt surreal, but by this point, Nikolai knew it wasn't a dream.

[AlteredTundra]

When Dominick the Dwarf gave Nikolai a shaky thumbs up, Carlos padded the guy. "You're a good man for a short man, Domi!' Carlos said smiling cheerfully at the dwarf. He just let out a burp and passed on the ground. Carlos whistled and slowly looked away.

He heard Niko make a mention of a bus and Carlos nodded. On that, they went outside, and as they did, Niko mentioned them asking for help from one of the creatures around. Carlos nodded once more as he agreed with his new friend. Carlos looked around and he saw someone who at least looked friendly. "Hey sir, can you help us?" Called out Carlos.

A turn of a head, the one that Carlos called out to looked at him. They would see a nine-foot Gorilla with purple and white fur wearing what looked like skater hat and other such clothing that a skater would wear. He even had a long-ass skateboard to boot. "What can I do for you mah homies!?" He asked.

Carlos looked at the Skater Gorilla with a straight face. "Peep this homeskillet! We're human!"
"Word?"
"Oh yeah."
"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle! You're really human!"
"It's surreal, I know, but can you help us out?"
"I'll try dawg!"

Carlos explained the situation to the Gorilla about how they wound up in magical realm and how they needed to get to an abandoned warehouse in the dark district. Carlos would introduce himself to the Gorilla and also introduce Niko. The Gorilla also would state his name to be G.

"So, G, can you help us out?" Carlos asked him.

"Fo'shizzle! My crew will escort you personally." G said, crossing his big arms and nodded.

"Well, I guess that settles that. You game, Niko?" Carlos asked Niko.

---

Lenore and Audrey kept on walking. She found herself walking alone as she would look back to Audrey who had stopped, obviously taking her own advice. Lenore was a bit confused on why Audrey would stop, and then she saw Audrey speed up to her. As she did, she then suggested they keep on walking, but at a slower pace. She shrugged and just kept on going. Though, Audrey would also suggest walking slower. Lenore instantly thought that Audrey was worried about the wound on Lenore's forehead. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." Lenore was lying, but she had to put a brave face on.

As Audrey would ask Lenore if she had any ideas, Lenore was about to answer her, but that's when a street light would start to flicker and then it popped like a balloon. Lenore shrieked, and she found herself hopping into Audrey's arms, which then caused them to fall, Lenore's butt in Audrey's face. "Oh dear.." She said as she would get up, no doubt that Audrey was getting suffocated by her big ass. "Sorry. You're not hurt are you?" She asked her genuinely concerned.

[Curious Cat]

Gah! before Audrey knew it, she was on the sidewalk with a panicking Lenore.

For a moment, the girl thought she was going to suffocate under the heavier girl's weight, but Lenore eventually calmed herself enough and Audrey took in a deep breath and found herself staring at the sky. Because the dark side was so dark, the stars here were brighter than any she had seen Kingswood or anywhere else back on earth. The retort she was about to give the other girl died on her lips, instead she remained quiet and looked up at the sky.

It felt calming, but they couldn't waste any more time and after a few more moments the girl got to her feet and dusted herself off. "I'm alright, don't worry." her eyes went to Lenore's forehead, "try not to move around so much, alright? I don't know first aid and the last thing I want is you passing out here." She placed a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder then noticed an empty bus stop on the corner of the street.

"We can rest there for a bit, and you can catch your breath." Audrey was putting up a brave front for the both of them, but she needed to sit down and gather her thoughts as well. "We'll need to come up with a plan as well." She offered Lenore her hand and began leading them to the bus stop.

---

A gorilla with a skateboard..well now he'd seen it all. Nikolai watched as Carlos and G talked, and when the DJ introduced him to the animal Niko nodded his head, introduced himself and thanked the gorilla for taking the time to help them.

G said it wasn't a problem and before they could say more he was offering to have his crew help.

A part of him felt a little wary. Why was G so eager to help them, but it wasn't like they had any other options. "Yeah, I'm game." He gave the excited looking DJ and the gorilla a small grin. "We're not just going to sit around and wait for some miracle," he chuckled and held out a fist for the gorilla to pound. "If you ever find yourself in the human realm, stop by the Kingswood street and I'll give you and your crew some coffee."

"Nah, man, we'll stick to our world! That's one vacation my homies and I ain't gonna take."

Niko nodded his head and G whistled loudly.

"Yo, G!" From down the street a smaller monkey in a skateboard began whizzing towards them. "Whassup my man, I heard you callin' so you see me skatin' what's the situation--oh, these some of your homeboys?" He nodded in Carlos' and Niko's direction.

And G filled him in, when he learned they were humans he flipped out and hopped onto Carlos' shoulder. The monkey looked through his hair and stared at his face. "So you're really a human, huh?" He hopped onto the DJ's head and if it weren't for the weirdness of the situation, Nikolai would have laughed. "Ey, ey, so G, big-man, dawg, you want us to bring 'em to the darkside?" His tail twitched and he made a face. "That place gives me the heebie jeebies, man!"

That made Nikolai feel concerned but he didn't ask why. Ignorance was bliss after all.

The monkey continued looking through Carlos' hair for a tasty snack then turned back to face G. "Humans...dark side, dawg, this day got hella interesting...but no way am I going there alone. You coming with, right?"

[AlteredTundra]

Carlos was glad to see that Niko was on-board with G helping them. Even though he was a little out there, at least he was friendly and he seemed to really like Carlos. Maybe it was because they were so much alike or Carlos was just so damn popular with people. Whichever the case, Carlos was happy to have some friends along the way.

As they would continue, they met up with one of the members of G’s crew. This one was a little monkey, who seemed to have normal, brownish-red fur, but it was also on a skateboard and it wore a backwards hat and had a pink T-shirt on that read ‘It Roks to hav Thumbs’. Carlos smiled at the monkey, but then he would climb up top of Carlos’ head and would start picking at his hair, no doubt for some snacked. Carlos would turn his head, but he would just let him. Carlos was cool like that.

When the mention of going to The Dark District came up, the little monkey twitched and would say that it gave him the heebie-jeebies. Carlos wasn’t too happy to hear that, but on the mention of both of them coming with, Carlos smiled a bit.

“You know it man! These humans are so tight! I just hope we don’t run into some freaky-type shit, y’know?” G said.

“Oh I feel ya dawg, especially those shady folks.” The monkey said. “They be some wacky-ass, punk-ass bitches!” He said.

“Um, Monkey..?”
“Waddup dawg?”
“You got a name?”
“My friends just call me Digger.”
“Nice to meet ya. I’m Carlos and my friend here is Nikolai.”

As Carlos would introduce Nikolai to yet another one of them, Digger would stay on Carlos’ shoulder, obviously wanting to stay on him. That’s when they would head to the Dark District and hopefully the humans would get home.

---

As Lenore and Audrey were on the ground, Audrey would be the first one to get up, as she would dust herself to remove any dirt, She would then respond to Lenore by saying that she was indeed alright and that Lenore should not move cause of the blood from her head.. Lenore nodded and took the hand that Audrey offered her.

As she stood up, Lenore felt dizzy. Perhaps going unattended with the wound on her forehead was not such a great idea. Audrey would even offer up them not moving at a fast pace and actually resting. They would go to a bus stop at the corner and then Audrey said that they needed a plan.

When they sat down at the bus stop, Lenore rested her head against the back of the Bus Stop. She would then think about what their plan should be. “Well, obviously we need to find a way home, but I don’t see any creatures around.” Lenore stated the obvious there.

[Curious Cat]

"That's our goal, but the question is..." she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, all this craziness was starting to make her head pound. "The question is, how are we going to get home? I'm not sure we can trust everything we see and I doubt we can take a cab back to Kingswood University." Feh, the University probably didn't exist here, wherever here was. Audrey's eyes landed on a dilapidated looking cafe at the end of the street. Rom's Coffee and Dessert parlor it had read in fading neon lights.

The cogs and gears in Audrey's head began to spin and she nearly fell out of her seat. "Hey Lenore...is it just me, or did you notice the little similarities here and there. If we were back in the city, this would be Seventh street." She wasn't exactly sure, but in more ways than one, places in this realm seemed to have a counterpart in the human world. "That street with the police officers, it looked a bit like Kingswood, didn't it?"

The sound of static filled their ears, and two creatures that vaguely resembled humans sat beside them on the bench. They had human bodies though they had television screens for heads. They stared ahead blankly, their faces giving the place a cool blue-ish glow.

TV Head Guys

Audrey moved towards Lenore before giving the girl a questioning look. Should they stay or leave?

The taller of the two TV heads had the body of a young man, he turned to face them and waved slowly. He pushed a button on his face and the screen lit up, revealing a yellow smiley-face that was just a tad more eerie than cheerful looking. He continued waving then pointed to his happy face with a gloved hand. "I am Fl1CK3R...good evening." And with that the screen returned to one of static.

---

G and Digger had led them to an old shack. It seemed as if most of the crew were gone, but they had bikes and other means of transport.

"No worries, homies. Our homeboys be hella cool, they won't mind if we borrow these." He looked to G with a wide grin. "Ain't that right, my man?" He twisted his cap back then did a little flip on his skateboard. "So dawgs, are you the only fellas here?"

Nikolai was putting on a bike helmet. "I'm not sure, Digger, but we didn't see anyone. Thanks for helping us out." He hopped onto one of the bikes and grinned. Nikolai liked biking, he was by no means a dare devil, but he liked the feeling of wind on his face.

"Like me and my man said, dawgs, it's no problemo! Now let's get you homeboys back to your ladies!" Digger did a little backflip before he got onto his feet and began to push his board forward. "Just follow our leads, kay, bros?" And he was off, a speedy blur of pink. Niko watched as he did a couple of tricks expertly before cutting a corner, whooping and cheering as he leaped over a fire hydrant and landed on his board. "Slowww pokes!" He had yelled before disappearing.

"He sure is full of energy," Nikolai laughed then turned to look at G. "So...what exactly are the shady folks?" He was hoping they weren't giant man-eating shadows or anything like that, but in a world like this, he didn't know what to expect. He waited for G to reply then grinned at Carlos. "Last one there's a rotten egg?" And with that he began pedaling, the bike zipping down the street. He wobbled for a few moments, but after that Niko was off, yelling and laughing as he asked Digger to slow down.

[AlteredTundra]

These two were a blast. Carlos was loving every bit of it, the way they did things, their style of talking, the way they talked to each other — everything was alright by Carlos. Even when G and Digger would get Carlos and Niko a ride, they kept up the energy like it was no one else’s business. Truly, Carlos viewed these two guys as his own friends. If Carlos was ever back in this realm, he would love to have these two to show him around the town.

When Carlos and Niko rode the bikes, Niko slipped the blue helmet on and Carlos got the teal helmet on. They were off down the street and all four of them(well two at first) were doing tricks, and shouting out cheers and whoos so loud that some people would yell at them to quiet down. However, they were all long gone before any of them would hear the party-poopers.

When they headed down a street, Niko even seemed to be getting into the spirit and he was speeding up on his bike, telling Carlos that the last one there was a rotten egg. Carlos smiled and licked his lips. “Fine, but you asked for it.” He said zipping through the street, passing Niko, and doing an ollie with his bike. Yes, despite his looks, Carlos knew a few bike tricks.

He would look back to Niko and stick his tongue out. He was laughing and laughing. Digger saw him having a blast. “That’s the spirit, yo!” He said giving Carlos the thumbs up. Carlos laughed and smiled to Digger.

The four of them eventually came to The Dark District and it had its name for a reason. There were very little lights on. The only form of light that it had were from the stars above, but that wasn’t much. “Geez, no wonder they call it the Dark District.” Carlos said as he rode on his bike, peddling one leg at a time.

---

As Lenore and Audrey sat on the bench that had a wall that Lenore could rest her head on, she would hear her classmate and new friend ask her if the streets they’ve passed along the way looked familiar. Lenore would move her eyes to Audrey and release a “hm?” sound. Audrey would continue by saying that the street that the cops were on looked like Kingwood Street and that the street that they’re on now looked exactly like Seventh Street. Lenore thought about it and she noticed the similarities, yes.

“Now that you mention it--” She said as her words stopped when she saw two males(?) sit down on the bench. They had human bodies, but they had Tv’s for heads. “Okaaay..” Her voice trailed off into awkward silence and she could sense the fear that Audrey was feeling. Lenore would look at the one that waved to Audrey, showing a yellow smiley face and pointed to it. “Okay, that’s creepy.” She murmured.

Lenore looked at the other one and he too was waving at her, and as he/it would press the power button, it did not show the yellow smiley face, but rather The Fonz and it said ’eyyy”, it even showed the hand gestures that made The Fonz so famous. Lenore would wave and laugh nervously at the one that had The Fonz on his head. He would then, in The Fonz’s voice, speak. “Hi there Human, I am The Fonz. A pleasure~” He said as The Fonz’s picture went to static.

Lenore shook his hand nervously. “Nice to meet you, The Fonz.” Lenore said as she looked to Audrey. “What do we do now?” She moved her lips in such a way, but no sound came out.