The Lucid Effect

Chapter Five

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<3 deo

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Alice found herself crumpled up in the middle of a dirty street. She was also surrounded by a crowd of people, who were looking down on her, whispering.

"She just appeared out of nowhere—"

"Did she fall from the sky?"

"She looks so strange!"

She felt like hell. Squinting up at their faces that were shadowed in the bright afternoon sun, Alice managed to moan, "Go away."

The crowd jumped back, realizing she was awake. She slowly sat up while everyone watched in curious silence. Still squinting— it was too bright in this damned place—she tried to take stock of where she was, what on earth she was doing, what was going on—

She remembered the running, the shadows that grabbed at her and made her scream, the darkness of the collapsed elevator and the nightmare that tried to kill her. Frantically, Alice pulled down the collar of her shirt to inspect her chest. There was no wound. Not even a scar. She realized her hands were shaking. What happened? Where was—

"Arin!" she jumped to her feet then, looking around frantically for her imaginary friend. At her sudden movement the crowd took another step back. Yet they still surrounded her, watching her cautiously like she was a wounded animal in a cage.

She went to take a step forward but vertigo latched onto her, dragging her to the ground. But she couldn't stop, she had to find him. She dragged herself back to her feet and stumbled through towards the crowd, the world spinning on its axis. She felt like she was going to be sick.

A pair of hands latched onto her, holding her steady. "Whoa there—hold on there miss, don't push yourself."

Alice groaned, looking up. A fellow with a dark complexion greeted her, a friendly-yet-cautious-smile peeking out from behind his beard. He looked normal enough, but there was something about him that felt off. She glanced around at the others nearby, noticing that they too were normal looking, but there were small things, like little threads of their existence that clued Alice in that wherever she was, it wasn't the sort of normal she was used to. Their clothing was strange and colorful, many people had markings covering their bodies, and strange jewelry ornamenting their faces. Everything was so subtle, but to Alice, who was used to the color gray and the standardest of standards, the sight actually hurt her eyes.

Or perhaps it was the blazing sun refracting off of the white stone walls of the surrounding buildings. The dust being kicked up by people in the street made her throat dry and her eyes itch. Maybe she died and this was her own personal hell. Strange people and a hot, dry place. Alice wanted to go home.

She tried to brush off the man that caught her, but he had a strong grip on her arm. "Let go," she commanded, but instead of complying to her wish, the man's grip tightened.

"I said, let go!"

The man leaned in and whispered, "I'm here to help. Listen."

"I'm not going to listen—I need to find Ari— ow!"