A Dream So Dark

by L. L. McKinney

“U-um, you should know that I get—” Before Alice could finish, gravity loosed them, flinging them into the unknown.

  Alice’s insides tumbled about as wind rushed in her ears and stung her cheeks. She squeezed her eyes shut tight, biting back a whimper that was lost to the roar of sound.

  Open them, something whispered inside her.

  She shook her head, resulting in a wave of vertigo.

  Open your eyes.

  Against her better judgment, she pried one lid up. The other quickly followed, and her eyes widened.

  Wonderland spread out beneath her, growing smaller and smaller as they shot into the air. She swallowed thickly, her feet dangling, the wind tugging at her limbs, pressing them to her sides.

  To Alice’s left, Haruka was in a similar position, her eyes closed. To Alice’s right, Romi had her arms folded, her eyes open, gazing at Alice with an expression she couldn’t quite read, though it made her insides squirm a bit.

  Tearing her gaze away from the Gatekeeper, Alice lifted her head and nearly screamed as the bright pink of the Wonderland sky came toward them at a rush. She threw her hands up in defense, as they blew right through it.

  Nothing happened.

  They just kept going, the wind screaming in Alice’s ears, the roar rivaled only by the thunder of her heart. Wonderland had vanished beneath her feet, replaced by the cracked earth and unending abyss from before. She recognized the distant darkness of the Nox, the glittering towers of Legracia, the metallic glint of downtown Atlanta, all crowding the horizon. This was the In-Between.

  They were quickly rising above it, shooting toward the lightning streaked clouds overhead. They barreled through them, light erupting as they reached the other side, blazing so bright Alice had to shut her eyes again.

  Something solid pushed up beneath her feet. Her legs went watery, and she dropped to the floor with a pained grunt, flopping against the hard surface. Her left hip and side ached where she’d landed on them, the same leg tingling where it was pinned beneath her at a less than comfortable angle. She groaned as her stomach roiled and the energy bar Haruka gave her climbed toward her throat.

  With the sour sting of copper just behind her tongue and a gurgling retch, she threw up. Pressing her fingers over her mouth did little more than make sure she ended up covered in it.

  The lights clicked on. Alice blinked to clear her vision.

  Either Haruka or Romi sniffed in disgust. Embarrassment rolled through Alice, turning her insides even more.

  “Ugh, s-sorry…” she whimpered, her voice abandoning her. She wiped at her mouth.

  Romi said something in Japanese, her already deep voice dropping slightly in pity. Haruka stepped away. A door creaked open behind Alice, and Haruka’s quick steps rushed away, leaving the pungent smell of dust and pine behind her.

  Alice kept her eyes down, looking herself and her mess over. Her embarrassment spiked, and she felt the sting of tears against the backs of her eyes.

  No, no! She wasn’t going to cry on top of all this.

  A hand fell to her shoulder, and she jumped. Romi crouched beside her, leaning in to catch her eye. “The passing is rough on you.” Her voice was quiet but matter-of-fact.

  Alice nodded, swallowing, and instantly regretting it as the bitter taste of sick coated her tongue. It was almost enough to make her retch again.

  Steps pounded toward them, and Haruka pushed into the little space, calling out in Japanese again. Romi nodded at her, answered in turn, then rose and stepped aside. Haruka took her place, holding out a pink towel that smelled heavily of bubblegum.

  “Here.”

  Alice took it with murmured thanks, wiping her mouth and hands as Haruka dumped a bottle of something over the mess. The scent of citrus filled the air as the substance bubbled up and over it all. Haruka then took a second towel and started mopping it up.

  Now, on top of feeling embarrassed as hell, Alice felt guilty for Haruka cleaning up her mess. “Sorry,” she said again.

  “No real harm done,” Romi said from somewhere over Alice’s shoulder.

  She turned to find the woman taking another drag from a different vape device, this one a bit bigger. The smoke she blew into the air swirled yellow, with faint sparkles dancing through the cloud.

  “Haruka will show you where to get washed up. And we’ll get you some clean clothes.” Romi looked her up and down, her amber eyes bright with intelligence and something judgmental that made Alice shiver. “Then she’ll bring you out front and we can chat.”

  Romi left the room, glittering smoke trailing behind her.

  Haruka continued pouring that liquid and mopping it up. As she worked, Alice glanced around the room. It was bigger than the broom closet at the pub, but not big enough to be much use as anything else. Unlike the closet, it was completely empty, the dark walls bare, the wood floor equally so.

  “Finished,” Haruka said. It took two towels, which she dropped into a bucket Alice hadn’t noticed her bring in. She grabbed the handle with one hand, and caught Alice’s elbow with the other, lifting them both as she got to her feet.

  Alice was grateful for the help; her legs were still wobbly, but they held. Haruka looked her over before letting go, though she hesitated as if waiting to see if she would stay standing.

  “I’m okay,” Alice said miserably, her stomach tumbling for a different reason as she avoided the other girl’s brown gaze. “Thanks.”

  Haruka nodded, then led the way out of the room. Alice followed her into a narrow hallway that was decidedly brighter than the little room, not just because of the sunshine pouring in through the skylight overhead, but because the high walls were covered in white wallpaper peppered with sakura blossoms. The paper was worn, torn here and there, and the carpet under her feet was equally weathered. Undoubtedly old wood creaked beneath her feet. Haruka ducked through a doorway, pausing long enough to beckon Alice to follow.

  Inside was a little nook where the floor dropped and then rose again to meet a door. Alice was confused for a second until Haruka started taking off her boots. Hurriedly copying the other girl, Alice set her shoes to the side, then followed Haruka into the adjacent room.

  A wide bathroom opened in front of them, all sharp, modern edges and earthy browns, so different from the hall. The rush of running water drew Alice’s attention to a tub set in the floor. The smell of roses wafted through the air.

  “Um.” Alice fidgeted, sticky fingers tugging at the hem of her shirt. “That’s for me?”

  “Yes.” Haruka poured the bucket of towels into a funky-looking washing machine tucked in a nearby corner.

  “I don’t think I need a whole bath.” Though she couldn’t say she didn’t want one. It was just weird to take one in some random stranger’s house, fellow Dreamwalker or not. That’s how people ended up missing, their pictures on the eleven-o’clock news.

  Haruka stepped over to the tub and turned off the water. “The bath’s not for washing. That is.” She pointed at a small, tiled area set into the wall. A shower, Alice realized.

  “The tub is for soaking afterward,” Haruka continued. “Figured you might want to relax after earlier.”

  “Y-yeah. Thanks,” Alice murmured, embarrassment rising up inside her all over again as she watched the other girl work.

  After setting a small tub on a nearby shelf, Haruka faced Alice. “Put your clothes in”—she pointed at the washer—“and hit start. First button on the left. Towels are over there. I’ll bring you something to wear until your things are clean.” She slipped from the room and slid the door closed behind her.

  Alice stood there for a second, just glancing around, not entirely sure what to do with herself. She was in a stranger’s house halfway around the world, without her weapons, with so many questions and no idea what the hell was going on. Frustration welled inside her, but she swallowed it down and took slow breaths.

  Breathe, Baby Moon.

  Okay, first things first. She couldn’t go wandering around looking and sme
lling like this. Checking the door for a lock and sliding it into place, she peeled out of her clothes, grimacing as the cloth slid, slick with sick, against her skin here and there. Careful not to let any bits fall off onto the floor, she threw her shirt and jeans into the washer and hit what she hoped was start. The machine started up, filling with water.

  Glancing at the door and the lock, still firmly in place, she undid her bra—careful not to touch too much of it with her sticky fingers—then stripped the last bits of cloth off and hurried over to the shower. There was a rag and what smelled like vanilla soap waiting for her, that she used to scrub at her skin. Once she was certain she was good and clean, she rinsed off, then waddled over to climb into the tub. The water sloshed a little bit as she sank into it, the bath rising just above her chest. Its heat soaked into her as she eased her way down. Warmth spread over her, the smell of roses and something spicy growing heady. Her skin tingled faintly.

  Much as she wanted to linger, and even with Haruka’s invitation to relax a little, she figured it wasn’t a good idea. Ten minutes. She’d give herself that long, then she needed to go figure out how she was going to get home. Ten minutes to rest her eyes.

  Knuckles tapped against the bathroom door, and Alice jolted slightly. “Y-yes?”

  “Are you all right?” Haruka’s muffled voice called. “You’ve been in there for nearly an hour. I’ve got some clothes for you.”

  “What!?” Alice flailed, sloshing water a bit, as she clambered out of the tub. An hour? How did—damn it, she must’ve dozed off! “Sorry! Sorry, I’m coming.”

  “No rush. I just wanted to make sure you hadn’t shriveled up. Or drowned.” There was an amused lilt to Haruka’s voice that made Alice’s face warm. Again. It needed to stop doing that.

  “Nope! I’m good. And … not drowned.” Alice snatched up a towel and wrapped it around herself before hurrying over to the door. She fussed with the lock for a second, then slid it open. Haruka offered up folded swaths of cloth that Alice took with thanks.

  “Um, I don’t wanna be rude or anything, but I was wondering if you had some lotion?”

  Haruka pointed to the mirror over the sink. “Do you need anything else?”

  “No, thanks again.”

  “You’re welcome.” Haruka wandered off, and Alice closed the door.

  Setting the clothes down, she went searching for lotion. The medicine cabinet was full to the brim, with plenty of labels that mixed both English and kanji. She wasn’t sure why that surprised her, but it did. Throwing on some deodorant and what she’d assumed was lotion—but considering how watery it was, she was having second thoughts—she went for the clothes. Thankfully Haruka had included a single pack of new underwear with the plain white T-shirt and a pair of shorts that were almost too small. If her mom ever caught her in something like this, it would be her ass.

  She stepped out into the little nook to pull on her shoes, then ventured further into the hallway. The right led back to the doorway where the gate was held, so she went left and around a bend. There were a couple closed doors along the way, but the hall eventually emptied into a somewhat large room with tall walls and a stained-glass dome overhead depicting a cluster of colorful mushrooms.

  Books covered every surface where there wasn’t an old painting or a funky lamp jutting out of the wall, casting a cone of light along one of the black metal walkways wrapped around the room. There were two, the first looking to be at least ten feet above the floor, and the second ten feet above that. A few spiral staircases here and there provided access to the additional levels, and set into those levels, Alice could see tracks for rolling ladders. The room itself was neither square nor round but more oblong, bowing in and out like Play-doh that had been stretched wide and snaked along. It curved the walls here and there, making it look as if books could just fall free in a couple places, or that the patrons perusing the shelves would lose their balance and topple down, but they didn’t. A man moving along the first level shifted to where he was walking almost parallel to the floor for a second, before being righted as the wall straightened, not missing a step.

  At the center of the warped space sat a circular desk with some old-timey lamps along the surface, like from old-day libraries. Settled inside was Romi, her orange hood dropped against her shoulders, revealing thick, steel gray waves of hair pouring down her back. She sat puffing away on a kiseru now as her eyes played over the pages of a huge leather-bound tome. Alice ducked around a couple of girls perusing a paperback with a parasol on it and headed that way.

  Romi glanced up as she approached, looking her over again. “All cleaned up?”

  Alice’s face heated, and she fought to keep from fidgeting. “Yeah. Sorry about the mess … and thanks for the clothes.”

  Romi waved a hand. “It’s just a loan. Your clothes should be ready soon enough. Thank Haruka, if you’re going to thank anyone.”

  Nodding, Alice glanced around the oddly shaped room once again. It was actually pretty neat, like something out of another world. And the instant that thought entered Alice’s head, she felt ridiculous. Of course this place looks like—shut up, Kingston. “Nice place.”

  “Thanks,” Romi rasped before taking another drag and blowing out the closest thing to normal smoke Alice had seen this entire time, only the cloud took the shape of a rabbit and bounded off through the air, leaving tendrils of vapor trailing behind it. The air was suddenly thick with the smell of blueberries. “Welcome to the Hon no Mushi, or the Bookworm.”

  Alice turned from where she had been staring after the bunny and blinked wide eyes. “Aptly named.” So the Western Gateway was a bar, and the Eastern Gateway was a bookshop. She wondered what the North and South were.

  “I let Addison know you were here, and in one piece.” Romi puffed out a blue cloud. No animal emerged, to Alice’s slight disappointment. “He was thrilled to hear it.”

  The way Romi’s tongue rolled over thrilled made the heat in Alice’s face intensify. “Good. I need to get back as soon as possible.”

  “That may prove difficult.” Romi lifted one finger when Alice opened her mouth to protest.

  The girls Alice had passed stepped up to the desk. Romi greeted them in cheerful Japanese with an equally cheerful smile. They conversed a bit as she rang them up on a register Alice hadn’t noticed tucked onto a lower surface circling the inside of the desk. Placing their books in a cream paper bag that sported a little fat worm chewing on a book, Romi waved as the girls headed for the exit.

  When she turned back to Alice, the smile fell away. “Fastest way to get you back to the States is by plane, but you have no passport.”

  She hadn’t thought of that, and now a faint spark of panic lit inside her. “You mean I’m stuck here?”

  “There’s always the way you came.” Romi clicked her teeth against the mouthpiece of the pipe, her fingers dancing along it like it was a flute.

  “Haruka said that would take weeks,” Alice complained.

  “And it will.” Haruka stepped up beside Alice and dropped an armful of books onto the upper surface of the desk. “Unless we take Chou.”

  Romi’s eyes rounded slightly, their color sharpening.

  “It’s the fastest way, and the safest, for both of us.” Haruka flipped open the cover of a book in her pile, placed a little sticker on the inside corner, then set it aside. She repeated the action with the others. “I’ll take her to the Western Gateway, then come right back. Three days there, three days back. Simple enough.”

  Romi sat back, an irritated look on her face. She puffed on her pipe again, loosing a purple plume. This one swam away as a school of fish. She said something in clipped Japanese that Haruka returned without looking up from her task. They went back and forth a few times, Romi sounding a little more terse each time she opened her mouth. Haruka grew quieter in turn, until the last thing she said was barely above a murmur. Romi sucked her teeth, and a wide smile spread over Haruka’s face. Apparently she won the argument.


  “He does not like strangers,” Romi murmured, still looking none too pleased.

  “But he likes me.” Haruka finished with the books and handed the pile down to Romi. “And so do you, so wipe that look off of your face.”

  Romi stuck her tongue out at Haruka’s retreating back. “It seems we found you a way home, though it will take an hour or so to prepare. In the meantime, you can catch me up on all of this nonsense going on with a Black Knight and the Eye.”

  “I mean, I’ll try, but it’s a long st—”

  “Question one.” Romi lifted a finger, and Alice sputtered into silence. “Who are you?”

  Alice blinked, glanced to the side real quick, then back to Romi. “I’m … Alice.”

  “Yes, yes, I know, but who are you?”

  Confused, Alice shifted her weight where she stood, not entirely sure how to answer because she wasn’t entirely sure what was being asked. “I … don’t understand the question?”

  “It’s fairly simple.” Romi tilted back in her chair and kicked her feet up. “Who are you? Who is Alice? You don’t seem like much, but looks can be deceiving.”

  Alice felt a ping of irritation, and a bit of wounding to her pride. “I’m more than you could imagine,” she said lowly.

  “We’ll see.” Romi puffed out more colorful smoke. “You’ll have to be, to ride my Chou.”

  “What’s a Cho?” Alice had a feeling she might regret asking.

  “A who.” Romi turned to more customers as they stepped up to the desk. A line was starting to form as the sound of bells rolled through the bookshop, followed by a soft voice speaking in Japanese.

  Alice didn’t understand the language, but she knew a “we’re closing soon” announcement when she heard one. She moved away from the desk to avoid standing there all creepy like and perused some of the titles on the nearby wall. She hadn’t seen where Haruka had disappeared to, and until Romi was finished checking people out, there wasn’t much more for her to do. She wanted to call Hatta, to call Courtney and her mom and let everyone know she was all right.

  After the last customer was rung out, Romi rose from the desk and followed the man to the door, locking it behind him. She flipped the sign in the window and strolled toward the side hall, beckoning Alice to follow. Opening one of the doors Alice had passed earlier, Romi stepped into another hallway, this one wider. The smell hit Alice first, hot and spicy, thick and rich, the scent of frying meat and vegetables. Her stomach gave an eager churn.