CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

…!

…time…to…wake up!

Helen yawned and re-opened her eyes. She was in a big, beautiful bedroom with light blue wallpaper that had clouds painted on it…and the bed was soft and had pink sheets. Hopping out of it, she headed out the door and down the hallway, going deeper and deeper into the castle…

And deeper…

And deeper…

And deeper. And THEN…

She found herself in a hallway with many brick walls surrounding her. It was vaguely ominous, but she kept walking towards a set of double doors that had one door open. As she turned to look inside the room…

There was a boy there! He was wearing a teal and orange vest with two large pockets on the front and a red t-shirt with a khaki longsleeve undershirt underneath. He wore a dark khaki pair of cargo shorts and blue sneakers with yellow waves on the sides, and he had blond hair and blue eyes. He was really rather cute…

But Helen was nervous. She quickly flattened herself against the other door and called out from behind it.

"Hey…um…do you…live here?" She called out. "You're the first human being I'VE seen in this world!" She called out.

The boy shook his head. "No, I…I was sent here from another world!"

Another world? Her world?

"Something awful has happened to my friend and it's all my fault!" The boy said, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. "I've got to hurry and get back to my own world!" He begged.

"Your…friend?" She asked gently.

"Yes…he's waiting for me to help him! If I could just find the door…I would be able to get back!" The boy insisted.

Helen stepped into the room, making herself visible. The boy turned around to look at her as she spoke. "The door? I know where that is! That's how I got here!" She said helpfully.

"Really? Then please, take me there! I don't want to be a pain, but I don't know anything about this place and-" The boy began nervously.

"Don't worry, I'll take you there!" Helen said happily. "This way, follow me!"

She turned around…

The door had been locked. "Oops." She said. "Well, we'll go this way." She said, pointing forward. "I know this place very well…" And she should have, because she created it. She and the boy ran through the hallways, up a set of red stairs to a strange maze-like area with shimmering walls blocking off regions to their right and forward. Helen walked around the frontal wall by taking a route to the left, but found the place oddly…quiet.

"Normally there's always music playing…" She remarked. "I can always hear classical music coming from the castle…why isn't anything playing?"

"It feels cold in here." The boy said. "It's like the time I got lost in the park once and the wind started to blow more strongly…"

They continued to wind their way around the maze, going past the shimmering walls and big glass mirrors. Along the way they found several chests filled with Blue Drops, which Helen pocketed along with the boy, knowing they were useful in fending off Nightmarens.

Then it happened.

"Woah!"

There, floating in the air before them and blocking their path was a turtle-like Nightmaren monster with an ocean-colored body and a big green shell. It snapped it's beak at them and began floating towards them, but the boy was quick and tossed one of the Blue Drops at it. It whacked the thing in the face and the Snortise was stunned, blinking stupidly. They ran past it and down the hallway, making a right turn.

"This place just goes on forever!" Helen complained as they continued to walk and walk and walk. "Oh, I wish that-"

"AAA!" The boy shouted as another Nightmaren popped out from behind a corner. It looked like…the Sea Horse Nightmarens were back!?

Helen tossed another Blue Chip at the horrid thing and stunned it. Quickly they ran past it and into a room that was oddly similar to the room that the boy had first appeared in…only there were even MORE Sea Horse-style Nightmaren.

"Ooh, I hate these things!" Helen said as she tossed the Blue Drops at them. "Go away, go away, go AWAY!" She yelled.

BOINK-BOINK-BOINK!

Three direct hits! All of the Nightmarens hit the ground, groaning. Another set of double doors opened up, leading into another maze. Helen and the boy ran through it, going past mirror after mirror after-

"Hey, we've been here before." The boy said nervously.

Helen blinked. "What? No, that can't be right." She muttered quietly.

"No, look, see? That one stone's got a big crack in it, we passed it already, remember?"

Helen gulped. They were going in circles. This was bad…this was very bad. She held her hands over her head and felt an urge to cry rising in her…

Then…

A beautiful sound reached her ears…a flute…NiGHTS…

She looked up and turned in the direction it was coming, walking slowly towards it with the boy following. Sure enough, she was rewarded…they'd reached another big room, and this time at the end of it, was a large stone staircase leading outside! But the gateway leading out was closed…

Suddenly Helen saw a way to reach it. Beautiful glass cubes were appearing, lining up…to a big, round switch that was at the top of the gate. Helen quickly leaped up on top of the cubes, one by one as the boy watched.

"Be careful!" He called out as she ran across the cubes and leapt at the switch…

FWIP!

The gate opened. Helen jumped down…

WA-WHOOMP!

She landed right on a trampoline that had conveniently appeared.

"Thank you, Mr. Narrator." She thought.

"That was…odd." The boy remarked.

Helen just smiled. "Nightopia's filled with all kinds of odd things!" She admitted. "I'm sort of used to it…well, a LITTLE used to it."

"I know what you mean." The boy admitted to her, nodding. "I've seen some strange things in Nightopia too."

With the gate opened, they were free! Helen led the boy outside of the strange crystalline building and into a field of flowers that were right in front of…TA DA! A Nightopian door!

"It's the door! Oh, thank you!" The boy said gratefully. "Now I can get back to my world!"

"No problem!" Helen said politely. "I hope your friend is alright!"

The boy nervously rubbed the top of his head. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Will." He said, holding out his hand.

"Hello Will. I'm Helen!" Helen said cheerfully, shaking his hand. "Be careful out there, okay?" She added.

"I will! Thanks again, Helen!" Will said before he turned around and headed into the door…

Helen watched him leave and she smiled. She hoped they'd meet again…

Then she twirled around and started walking towards the sound of the flute that had guided her to safety…walking towards the sound of her friend.

Author's Note:

Aw, don't you love how good friends are always there for one another? Review please! And if you haven't already, check out the story "Hope into Dreams" by ERiN OPPEL. She's a great writer.