Project Fantasy

Chapter 2

"You know what?" She declared. "I don't need them to validate me." Lilac stood up and walked confidently towards her desk, where she grabbed a few items from her drawers, including extra snacks she had brought and some of her supplies.

As she walked over to a bag in the back of the room, Mark stared at her with confusion. "What are you doing?" He asked. Lilac didn't answer, putting all her things in the bag. Finally, she set the bag over her back and walked towards the portal.

"Wait a minute, you're not planning on going in right?!" Mark asked hesitantly. Lilac could see the subtle fear in his eyes as he stared at her so close to the portal. She smiled at him, the kind that you'd give when you knew you were going to break some rules. One that showed excitement, thrill even. Mark tensed at the expression, slowly bracing himself to stop whatever it was she planned to do.

"I'm going to show them, Mark. I'll be the one to tell them what's on the other side, and it'll be me! I'll finally be able to prove my point!" Lilac was yelling now, and Mark noticed the passion in her voice. Lilac turned and faced the portal.

"Now now, you don't have to do this! We don't know what's on the other side! It could be dangerous for all we know!"

"I don't care, Mark. This could be revolutionary! And maybe it'll shut them up for a bit!"

"Lilac please! Don't-"

But Lilac already started walking in. Mark sat in shock for a few moments. He couldn't believe what his partner had just done. But there was no time to think. Before another thought crossed his mind, Mark ran into the portal after her, hoping to catch her and bring her back to her senses.

"God, Lilac. What have you gotten yourself into?"

As soon as Mark stepped foot into the portal, the light overwhelmed him. There was nothing but blinding white and a sharp sound that could make your ears bleed. Mark had to cover his ears and close his eyes when he went in, stumbling for a moment before regaining his footing. The wind he felt before blew even stronger.

After a few moments he began to walk forward again, the light still blinding and the sound still unsettling. There was no sign of Lilac around. How on earth did she get passed such horrid circumstances?!

Nevertheless, Mark persisted, walking forward blindly with his hands on his ears. He seemed to start getting used to the sound when all of a sudden he hit something and tripped onto the ground.

"Ow!" He yelped. He looked over to what had tripped him, but instead of seeing a rock or something of the sort, he saw nothing there. Instead, a bundle of flowers stood in the place where he had fallen.

"There's... there's no way that a couple of flowers tripped me," he thought to himself. His eyes stared at the flowers for a moment before realization hit. He scrambled to a sitting position.

"Wait a minute. Where... where am I?" He looked around. No more was there endless white and no more was there a high-pitched noise. Instead, the endless white was replaced with a dark, but oddly colorful, forest, and the noise was replaced with the sound of a gentle breeze. Mark's eyes wandered in his surroundings. Around him were bunches of flowers. As he kept looking, he noticed the moon shining on a few trees. Everything looked the same, and there was no way of telling where he was. Unable to comprehend what had just happened, he tried to steady his thoughts.

Shakily, he stood up and began to call for his friend.

"Lilac! Lilac, where are you?!"

Meanwhile, Lilac was transported to a different, but identical location. When she was surveying the surroundings, she heard Mark's voice calling to her. "Mark!?" Lilac responded. Mark turned to look deeper into the forest. "Lilac?!" "I'm over here!" She responded, and Mark began to run towards her voice. To him, this place was an endless maze of twists and turns, every leaf and stone seeming to repeat. Mark began to feel dizzy, and he felt no closer to Lilac than when he first started. Her voice seemed to be coming from all directions.