CHAPTER#34

Beth tossed her briefcase on the counter, pausing in her kitchen long enough to grab herself a glass of wine. Stripping out of her clothes, she greedily swallowed the contents of her glass, smiling at the soccer field outside of her apartment. Tonight, a swarm of red and black moved back and forth on the field, the enthusiastic crowd somehow cheering her up. They had figured out what was missing, and now the next step would be to visit with Mike. She used her phone to send an email, asking when would be a good time to stop by.

Sliding into a pair of panties and a nightgown, she brushed her teeth, hoping to rid her mouth of the aftertaste of wine. The cheap stuff was good, but left a nasty aftertaste. Feeling like her luck was looking up, she wandered over to her closet, pulling out a small briefcase hidden within.

Her phone dinged. Standing up, she walked to her nightstand to check. Mike had already replied.

Tomorrow morning would be great, he wrote. The sooner, the better!

"Some other time then," Beth said, pushing the briefcase with some regret to the back of her closet. She would have to get off some other day. Closing the closet door, her eyes slid sideways to the mirror that faced her bed. He sat on the end of her bed, leaning forward and bracing his weight on his cane.

"I'm afraid you're about to become a victim of circumstance," Sebastien told her. Beth spun on one foot, a scream building in her throat. Sebastien stood, placing the tip of his cane in the middle of her chest and giving her a push. Beth fell backwards into the mirror, expecting her world to become bathed in broken glass. Instead, the mirror cushioned her impact, the softened surface gripping her like a thick glue.

"What is happening?" Beth asked, her body slowly sinking into the mirrored surface. She struggled to break free, but that only sped up the process.

"You're about to become my ticket into the Radley home," Sebastien said. His face twisted into a sneer, and he pushed her even harder. Her stomach flopped, the gravity of the room shifting. Even though she was standing, she felt like she was on her back, and her one free hand reached out to grab something, anything. Behind him, a lump was forming beneath the covers of her bed, an unseen figure slowly sitting up."I'm afraid that I can't have anybody finding your body."

"I don't understand!" The silvery liquid clung to her skin, working its way up over her face. The figure on the bed now sat upright, the blankets sliding away to reveal a mass of blank flesh. Its skin rippling like water, Beth watched in horror as the thing on her bed opened its mouth and took a deep breath. Breasts formed beneath its chest, and hair grew down to its shoulders. The thing on the bed stood, slender legs forming beneath it. It stuck one hip out, its horrible face settling into a shape that was instantly familiar, yet strange. The scream in Beth's throat froze when she saw that the thing had become her.

"I don't care to explain it. Through the looking glass with you." With one final shove, Sebastien pushed her through. The world around her popped, and Beth was falling, the mirror above fading into the distance as she tumbled down the rabbit hole. Throwing out her arms, she was able to stabilize herself, her rapid descent slowing. Somewhere far beneath her was a soft red light, her destination slowly growing larger. The walls of the tunnel slowly opened up around her, its surface lit by the glow beneath.

"This has to be a dream," she said, unable to convince herself. The warm rush of air across her legs and face was far too real. Perhaps she had fallen into a drunken slumber, and this was a type of fever dream? The stress of her week must have finally gotten to her, and seeing that creepy lawyer was her brain tossing detail into this bizarre fantasy.

She had plenty of time to contemplate these things as she fell.

…

Beth tumbled gently to the floor beneath, flipping her body at the last second to land on her feet. Staring up, all she could see were the clouds she had passed through on the way down. She had several red marks on her left arm, each one from a nasty pinch that she gave herself to try and wake up from this strangest of dreams. Now that she was on the ground, she saw that she stood in a beautiful garden with a large marble gazebo in the middle.

"How peculiar," she said, expecting her voice to echo, or come out low, or do anything that would make her realize that she was, in fact, lying in her bed. Her sanity had already taken too many hits recently, and she felt like she was one crack away from using a safety crayon to write legal briefs for dead celebrities. Turning in place, she realized that the garden itself was a giant floating island. Walking to the edge, she frowned at the large amount of sky beneath. Whatever ground existed was somewhere beneath the distant mists below. Squinting, she thought she saw the ripple of waves through the gaps in the fog.

Smoothing out her nightgown, she turned to the garden.

"Okay, dream logic. Clearly the gazebo is meant to be my destination. Probably reminiscent of my latent sexual frustrations or my father's inability to express his love." Beth turned toward one of the nearby hedges. A small statue of a bird with a top hat turned its head to face her. "What do you think Mr. Bird?"

"Nevermore?" The statue shrugged its wings. Beth saluted the bird statue, who returned the gesture in kind. Beth wandered through the shorter hedges, stopping to smell the crimson flowers that sprouted above their clipped tops. They smelled of cinnamon and sulphur, the scent burning Beth's nostrils. Other small statues of animals in top hats greeted her, removing hats or waving pleasantly when she walked past, her nightgown catching on some of the thicker branches.