Nightmare Land

I checked over the list that Auth had given me. I had just finished putting back a monster that had gotten out of its book. Usually, monsters aren’t the priority; however, this one somehow managed to get into a new book. While there, it caused property destruction and nearly killed one of the main characters. Unfortunately, because I failed to find the monster before it was seen, it is now in that book.

Fortunately, no one saw me, or there would be even more complications. The monster is from my buddy Demon’s book. Auth doesn’t have a title for his book yet, but she knows she wants to turn it into a comic. Unfortunately, she can’t draw to save her life. Plus, it took her three tries to get the right book for him.

Auth created his character first, along with his cafe. I’m not sure if he still has a cafe in this new version. He still bakes, though. Which, if you ever met him, you would know it doesn’t fit his personality. You’ll get to know more about him when Auth writes his story.

I placed my focus back on the list in front of me, and I couldn’t help but grin when I noticed I was finally done. I shouldn’t be surprised because Auth has recently been assigning me less work. Not sure if things are less hectic or if I’m just not being given as much. Still, who am I to complain? I have more time to bug Demon and the others when I’m not working.

Actually, I should go visit him. Not knowing much about his new book just means I need to visit him more. I snapped my fingers, and instantly, one of my red portals appeared before me. Before I stepped through, though, I activated my hoverboot. Since Demon’s world is new and I haven’t been there, my portal will just pop me out anywhere.

The last time that happened, I fell straight down into a lake. Which was upsetting because my boots weren’t waterproof yet. Thankfully, I saved them. Starting from scratch isn’t fun. Luckily, everything else already was. My boots are waterproof now, but I don’t really like getting wet.

With that done, I stepped through the portal. When I stepped out of it, I instantly realized something had gone wrong. Even though I hadn’t visited Demon, I knew his world was set in the human world. However, the blood-red sky I was standing in was definitely not something you would see in the human world. I pulled at my right jacket sleeve, revealing a thin metal bracelet with the words fuck off engraved on it.

I tapped on the word fuck and instantly a holographic keyboard popped up. I typed the words book with red sky. I wasn’t sure why my portal took me here when I was trying to go to Demon’s book. So I wanted to know where here was. I’ve been taking care of Auth’s books for a while now, and I should know all of them.

However, I didn’t remember one with a red sky. This could be a new book, so I was checking the database. I waited for a second before getting a response; however; it wasn’t one I expected.

“What do you mean, no results? I’m literally standing in a blood-red sky.” I spoke to the database even though I knew it couldn’t hear me.

I tried again this time, typing in the words. Book, blood-red, and sky. Still, it claimed to have no results. Usually, I’m not one to give up so easily. However, the database is a direct link to Auth’s mind.

This could be a forgotten book, but usually, they completely fall apart after being forgotten. The sky would be the first to go to. This sky looks completely fine, no matter which direction I look. If a forgotten book were put together, it would still have traces in the database. Knowing it wouldn’t matter if I tried again, I snapped my fingers to form one of my portals.

Unfortunately, like everything else, I didn’t get the results that I wanted because a portal didn’t appear. I stared at the blank space in front of me before snapping my fingers again. Still nothing. Then I did it again. Still nothing.

Then again, and again until my hand started hurting. Which shouldn’t be happening. I mean, never in my whole life has this ever happened before. I know there’s a phrase that says there’s a first time for everything, but still. I pushed away any thought of panicking or overthinking. Something I’ve never even thought of doing until now, and I took a deep breath.

When I let it back out, I tapped on the fuck again to close the keyboard. Then I tapped off and spoke.

“Hey, Auth, this is Portal. I seem to be somewhere I can’t identify in your database that has a blood-red sky. I portaled to it without even meaning to, and now my portals won’t open. I know you’re busy out there in the real world, but please contact me as soon as you can.”

I clicked off again to send the message, hoping she would respond right away. She’s not always, but even if she isn’t, she should be able to hear this. So I waited. First, a minute went by. Then five.

Until I had been waiting thirty minutes with no answer. That was getting me a little worried. Though she doesn’t always respond right away, I’ve never had to wait thirty minutes before. I tapped off again.

“Hey, Auth, it’s been thirty minutes, and you still haven’t answered me. If you receive this message, please contact me soon.”

Once again, I clicked off and waited for a response. After ten more minutes of nothing, though, my worry grew. Before it could turn to panic or overthinking, though, I noticed a tiny flash of light. I glanced down and noticed the light on my hover boots was flashing. That light indicated that soon enough, the battery wouldn’t have enough power to support me.

I guess it’s not surprising since I’ve been using them all day. The battery needs to rest, even just for a minute, to charge. Still, usually it would switch to solar power, and I would be fine. Frowning, I took a glance around, looking for the sun. Which is when I noticed that there wasn’t one.

Meaning if I didn’t turn my boots off willingly, they would just do it when the power runs out. Realizing my problem, I glanced down for the first time since I got here. I stifled a yelp as I noticed I was thousands of miles above any type of building or ground. I don’t fear heights. I’ve gotten used to appearing in the skies of her books, so being afraid of heights never really felt logical.