A girl lies curled up on her side, crying softly into a pillow. She is no more than eleven years old with short black hair that looks as if she cut it herself.

  Even with the door to her room open, no one comes and checks on her. She shivers in pain and cold, even though the temperature is rather warm for this time of year.

  Why does this keep happening to me? Why can’t I just be normal? I don’t want to see these people die, I don’t want to feel their pain.

  She clenches the pillow tighter and cries harder while trying to muffle the sound. It had been more than a few years since she had been seeing and feeling the emotions of several other people.

  At first, she thought they were just dreams or imaginary friends, but the more often it happened, the more vivid it got. The other children and even the adults at the orphanages or group homes she was at just thought that she had an overactive imagination.

  Things got progressively worse when she felt the young blonde girl’s deep fear. The ghastly spectral creatures had begun to show up then.

  At first, they were just around her; the sight of them scared her, and she had told everyone she could about them. The adults labeled her as hyperactive, over-imaginative, and 'special needs,' while the other children simply found her weird.

  The creatures never stayed for too long, but there seemed to be an endless stream of them. Once a year or so had passed, they had started trying to interact with her.

  Most of them seemed vicious and tried to harm her, scaring the daylights out of her. This, of course, led to more concern by everyone around her as they did not see what was happening.

  They couldn’t actually harm her, though. At most, she felt slight pinches or discomfort as they mauled and tried to eat her. Finding that no one was going to do anything or help her, she withdrew into herself.

  She even learned that while it was quite disconcerting, she could continue whatever she was doing, even while the spectral monsters attacked her.

  Another year passed, and in the eyes of the adults around her, she appeared to be ‘improving’ though in reality she was haunted day and night by creatures they couldn’t fathom. Her grades in school were low but passing, and she never grew very close to anyone.

  Passed around from group home to group home, orphanage to orphanage, she simply tried to survive. Never did she mention the things she saw or felt to anyone after the way they had treated her the first time.

  Things had started to look up this past year, though. The creatures seemed to come slightly less, and the emotions she felt weren’t too extreme. Then she felt that blinding pain that coursed through her skull, causing her to scream out.

  The class she was currently in had many other children present when the commotion happened. The Teachers heard her screams and had rushed over to her to see what was wrong.

  The pain had seemed to last unimaginably long, but had only lasted a few moments before a searing pain erupted in her chest. Her group home had been called, and they had taken her to the hospital, where they had found nothing wrong with her.

  She never told them about the boy she saw or the indigo light that had filled her vision. She didn’t tell them about how she could feel the energy ripping through her, tearing every portion of her soul apart.

  She kept quiet about how the boy had thrown an axe at her and how it had pierced her chest. About how the energy had suddenly stopped and reversed back through her, or how her vision had faded as she saw the boy fall to his knees.

  Thinking about it later, she knew it hadn’t really been her, that she had been feeling someone else’s emotions again. This time had been far more vivid, and she had even seen what they had been seeing. Her chest still ached hours later, but shortly after she had finished her dinner, she had experienced a fresh horror that she wished to never feel again.

  This time, the pain was unlike anything she could describe. If anyone had walked in on her when she was experiencing it, they would have thought she was having a seizure.

  At first, it had just been fear, more fear than she had ever felt before. It had been some time since she had felt this kind of aching fear in the back of her mind or heart, wherever these other people’s emotions came from. She just tried to block it out and had started to get used to it until it had reached a new extreme.

  When it calmed down inside of her, she had just felt shaken and unsure of what had happened to the person she was connected to, but was worried for them. It hadn’t been long after that small rush of hope that the overwhelming pain began. It was as if time had stopped, and she writhed in agony.

  She had seen another face, a soft, beautiful man with long dark hair in a dark room with flickering light. There was a weird shine in his eyes that spoke of cruelty and darkness. She watched his beautiful smile spread across his face as the flames had coursed through her.

  She couldn’t breathe; she could feel his hand tighten around her neck to keep her from screaming. It didn’t feel as though it was someone else's emotions; it felt as though she was dying here in this room.

  Struggling, she had reached out to him, trying to stop him, trying not to die, that was when she saw what remained of her hands and arms burning away. She wanted it to stop, the pain, the fear, everything; she just wanted to die.

  Then it was over, and she was lying on the floor in a puddle of urine and frothing drool. She didn’t even know how long she lay there before she cleaned up her mess.

  No one paid her any mind as she moved like a lifeless zombie, as she cleaned herself and her room up. Once she was finished, she climbed into her bed and started sobbing.

  This isn’t the life she wants. She just wants to be normal. The memory of the pain still makes her entire body ache. She never wants to experience that again.

  ? ? ?

  Max stands in the hallway for some time, staring up at the ceiling tiles of his school. I’m back. How? Why?

  What is going on? I felt something… It was Liz, she screamed in a terror I had never heard before, and I felt… something… some kind of energy surge in the distance. What happened to her?

  Grabbing the sides of his head in frustration, Max let out a growl. Then he heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Shit, someone is here.

  Glancing around, he noticed that the school seemed to be empty and closed. Through the window on the door leaning to the courtyard in front of the gym, he could see that it was starting to get dark outside.

  Just how long was I gone for? Last time it felt like I hadn’t been missing for more than a few minutes, but this time it is definitely longer.

  It had been around noon when I had left this world, and it is dark out now. Is it even the same day?

  Shit, shit, shit. What should I do?

  I might be able to get out of here without being seen, but then what? I’m sure even if it is the same day, my mom is worried sick and will have probably called the police by now.

  How can I begin to explain this?

  The footsteps continue to get closer and seem as though whoever it is will round the corner any minute.

  Think, think!

  Max’s eyes widen, and he grins before dropping to the floor like a rag doll. He closes his eyes but not too tightly and pretends to be unconscious.

  The footsteps finally round the corner, and he hears a gasp as someone rushes over to him and touches his shoulder, shaking him.

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  “Hey, come on, wake up? What are you doing here?” The janitor shakes the kid on the floor and looks around the hallway.

  Max ignores the man and continues to act as though he is unconscious. Seeing the boy not responding, the man grabs his radio from his side. “Boss, this is José. I was just checking A building one last time, and there is a kid here now.”

  “Well, what is he doing? Catch him, I’ll call the police.” The voice over the radio sounds exasperated.

  “Boss, it isn’t like that; he is lying on the ground, not moving.” The janitor shakes his head and can’t help but think about how lazy his boss is.

  “Don’t touch anything. I will be right there.”

  It isn’t long until an older gentleman in the same janitorial uniform approaches the scene. He sees one of his subordinates kneeling beside a boy, probably a student, lying motionless on the floor.

  Before approaching the two of them, he looks around to see if any of the doors are open or windows are broken. Finally, he heads over and looks at the boy.

  “Is he alive?”

  “I think so, he just doesn’t appear to be responding to anything.” José shrugs at his boss.

  “I already called the police before heading over here. They will come and see what is going on.”

  Faking a groan, Max turns toward the man speaking and opens his eyes. “W-where am I?”

  José jumps back from the boy, startled, and looks at his boss, unsure of what to do. The older gentleman kneels down before speaking to the boy. “Who are you? What are you doing inside here?”

  Max looks around, trying to act as groggy as he can, and even lifts a hand up, holding his head. “Who are you people? Where am I? What am I doing here?”

  Looking around, he focuses on some lockers near the side of the hall and tilts his head to the side. “Is this… school?”

  The janitors look at each other helplessly before shrugging at one another. The older man motions for Max to not try to get up when he sees that is what he intends to do. “Just stay here, the police and medics are on their way. Do you have any idea how you got here?”

  Trying his hardest not to smile, Max puts on a dumbfounded expression and shakes his head. “Last thing I remember…”

  Trailing off, Max pauses for effect, acting as if he is trying to remember something he has forgotten. “I was leaving gym class and was at my locker. It is just blank after that. Who are you guys?”

  “We are the custodians of the school. We found you lying here just a while ago and called for help. Just wait here patiently.”

  “José, watch him, I’m going to go head out front and lead the police in.” With that being said, the man turns and heads back the way he came.

  José looks uncomfortably at Max lying half on the ground, rubbing the back of his head. He can’t just stay silent. “Do you need anything? Water? Are you okay?”

  Max just shakes his head and stays silent. Figures that they would call the police. As long as I can convince them I don’t remember anything, I should be able to feign ignorance on going missing for however long I have been gone.

  First, I need to find out how long it has been. I don’t think my mom will question it much. She will just be happy that I am okay and that I am back.

  Luckily, these two are buying my act. It would have been much harder if I waited for someone competent to show up. I bet the police would have seen through this little act. Now with them backing my story up and me no longer having to fake being unconscious, it should be easier to bluff my way through this.

  Why does my life always have to be so complicated?

  The police do not take long to arrive. After the janitor leads them over to the boy, they start investigating the area while questioning him. Max does his best to play the role he decided on.

  “Son, what are you doing inside here? They said that they found you on the floor, unconscious. Do you know how you got here?”

  “No, sir. The last thing I remember was it being the first day of school. I was going to my classes like normal, and after gym ended, I changed my clothing and headed to my locker to put my things away before lunch. After that…”

  “It’s just blank. I… I can’t remember anything after that until these people found me.”

  No matter what they ask, he just pretends he has no idea what has happened to him since gym class. Truthfully, I don’t really know what happens to me when I go to that other world.

  Does my body here just vanish into thin air? Am I really moved from this world to the other, or am I just projected there or something?

  All of this jumping between worlds makes no sense. I mean, I was just in my leathers with my fur jacket and armed with a bunch of weapons, and yet here I am in just my school clothes.

  Hell, even the wound that I received from that bishop of Eschaton is gone. Max absently touches the side where the wound was and doesn’t feel anything.

  It isn’t like anyone would believe me or that I have any proof that all of this isn’t just happening in my head. They would definitely think I was either on drugs or was going crazy.

  If I just leave out all the time that I spent in the other world, my story isn’t really a lie, is it? I came out of gym class, checked my locker, and then vanished into thin air only to reappear in the same place later. What happens in the other world best stays in the other world.

  Max grins at that thought before shaking his head and the grin away, before continuing to answer their endless questions. His mom arrives, apparently, the police had called her. She rushes over to his side to check on him.

  “Max, baby, are you okay? You had me scared to death! When you didn’t come home from school, I was so worried, even more so when I got the call from the school saying that you had missed your afternoon classes.”

  “I didn’t know what to think! I called the police, and they have been out looking for you for hours! Where have you been?”

  “I-I don’t know, momma. All I can remember is after my gym class, I had put my things into my locker, and then everything just went blank. I don’t remember anything until the janitors found me. I’m sorry momma!” Max gives her the same vague story and buries his face in her shirt, apologizing repeatedly, trying his best to win an Oscar for best actor.

  She comforts her son and helps to keep the officers from badgering him with the same questions for what seems like the fiftieth time. So it hasn’t even been a day. That is good, it would be a lot more difficult if it was a longer period of time.

  Sure, it is very strange that I just vanished with no memories, and I am sure that this investigation will last a bothersome amount of time, but at least there won’t be media attention or having to try and come up with details of where I have been. Blacking out and losing several hours is a lot more believable than blacking out and losing several days.

  Still, they will probably have to take me to the hospital and run a bunch of tests to see if there is anything wrong with me or if anyone did anything to me. Short of a lie detector, I should pass all of the tests with flying colors, though, making this all even more mysterious.

  After insisting that he must be checked out at the hospital, and his mother agreeing, they take an ambulance to the hospital for them to give him a once-over. Max just is resigned to his fate and lets them do whatever they have to with him.

  They check his eyes and then take some blood samples before asking him the same questions that the police and his mother did. Then they take him off to get an MRI and a CAT scan.

  When they give him the clothes to change into and tell him to take off any jewelry he might have on him and put it all in the little locker, he starts to undress. To his surprise, he finds the compass that he had lost during the first battle with Eschaton returned to his belt.

  This thing is back? I could have sworn it was destroyed by that spell that they cast. Wait… if everything is returned to the state that it was in when I left, does that mean when I go back, that this compass will still be fine, or will it instantly be destroyed again since it has already been destroyed in that world?

  This is all so bloody confusing.

  As he finishes undressing and putting the robe on, he heads off to where the people wait for him.

  “Son, we said you have to take anything metal off. It will mess with the machine if you have any on you.” The technician sighs and explains it again to Max.

  “But I did remove everything. What are you talking about?” Confused, Max tilts his head, looking at the technician.

  The man points at Max’s neck. “You still have your necklace on.”

  Max reaches up slowly and touches the necklace that is still upon his neck. What the hell? How is this here? Nothing else has ever come across with me before?

  “Oh, umm, I guess I forgot about that. One second.” Max heads back to the locker, takes the necklace off, and looks at it.

  Sure enough, it is the double necklace Lady Rosalee gave me. It has her sigil, bloodstone, and pendant… wait! The pendant is my enchanted sword! Can I summon it? Max glances around the room before shaking his head.

  No, that would be a terrible idea here. I will have to test that out later. If the necklace somehow managed to come across with me, I might still be able to summon the sword. While I know that magic isn’t really known in our world, I don’t know if that means it can’t exist or if we just have lost the ability to use it or something.

  Max opens the locker again and hesitates before stuffing the necklace into his pants pocket. I hope no one noticed it. I doubt anyone was paying much attention to my neck, plus only my mom would know it was weird for me to be wearing something new. I need to keep that safe and hidden until I can come up with a way to explain its appearance to her and not have it be connected to my disappearance.

  Finished putting the necklace away, he returns to the technician, and they start the tests. He hates being stuck in that small tube, but puts up with it the best he can. What can they possibly find in my blood or with pictures of my head that will be able to explain my ability to move between worlds?

  Putting up any sort of argument or trying to fight against it will only make matters worse and give people reason to question my story. I should be just as curious as everyone else is, if not more, as to what happened to me.

  This truly is very bothersome. First, I got kicked out of the other world while we were in the middle of doing something, and now I’m just stuck here helplessly being passed around between people trying to figure out what happened to me.

  The tests take some time, and he almost falls asleep inside of one of them, but barely manages to stay awake. After they are done, he changes back into his clothes, they lead him back to the room where his mother is waiting, and he lies on a bed next to her.

  He and his mom sit there in silence, waiting for the doctor to return with the test results. At some point, Max drifts off to sleep, and his mom sits beside him watching him sleep. She wonders just what had happened to her son.