It was strange, one minute he was in his bed and the next he was lying in a large open field. He had closed his eyes, ready for the relief of sleep to wash over him, but when he opened them again, he was alone and scared in the middle of nowhere. Manny sat up, his back stinging from the sharper patches of grass that had been digging into his skin. He looked at his surroundings, confused, terrified and curious. This small amount of curiosity grew when he spotted a large wood not far away from where he sat. He shakily got to his feet and started to walk towards it. Maybe that was the way home. As he approached the looming trees, he started to recognise where he was. It was the wood next to his house, where he had that delicious picnic with Harry and Robin. He liked Harry and Robin, they looked after him when his dad was busy which was a lot of the time. Harry would usually play little games with him and Robin would read bedtime stories to him, they were like a family. He wanted them with him right now, he wanted to hold both of their hands and let them lead him to the safety of home. He wanted his dad, his dad was his friend. Even when he wasn't around, he loved his dad. Even when Harry and Robin tried to explain why they thought he was a bad man, he loved his dad. Even though he knew his dad had hurt him in some way, he loved him with all his heart. His dad was his best friend, like Harry and Robin was. He wanted his dad to hug him and tell him he'd be okay, he'd never done that before. Manny didn't realise he was crying until he felt the tears trickle down his face. He wiped them away and continued his journey home. He found it strange that it was daytime, before he went to bed it was dark and he could see the stars twinkling in the sky. Right now, the sun was out, being occasionally blocked by clouds that moved along the blue sky. Usually, Manny would enjoy a day as beautiful as this but he knew something was wrong. It was never this bright, it actually hurt to keep his eyes open so he had to blink quite often. The bushes and trees he passed felt fake and like plastic, he tried to rip a leaf off a branch but found it hard to do so. Finally, he started to notice large holes open up around him. They looked rather inviting and they popped up wherever he went. They must be a sign, maybe this was his way home. He crept over to one he spotted by a large tree and looked inside. It was very dark and he couldn't see anything that was masked in the pitch black. He sighed to himself, maybe it was a normal hole. Just as he was about to get up though, he felt someone push him roughly. He fell forwards into the darkness below. He started to scream but stopped himself when he kept on falling. He frantically looked around, confused. Different objects floated around him, a heart, a plant, a large knife, stars, an apple and an all too familiar calendar with the date June nineteenth on it. He didn't know what to feel. Confused, surprised, happy, sad? He started with relief, maybe for once he wasn't going to die. Maybe he was just going to fall forever, away from the danger of his teachers. Then he felt happy, this was it, he was free from the torture. Then he felt sad, he wasn't going to see his friends again. They weren't going know where he was, they were going to worry. Suddenly, Manny regretted even going near this rabbit hole. He didn't want his friends to worry about him, it made him feel bad. This hole didn't feel very safe anymore. Out of the corner of his eye he saw something. It was the end of the hole. He was falling very fast, he was going to hit the ground really hard. He was going to die. Panic kicked in at this sudden realisation, Manny twisted in the air, his arms and legs flailing around. He tried to grab onto the sides of the large tunnel but every time his hands would slip away from the earth he managed to touch. He was getting dangerously close now. The adrenaline was slowly leaving him. It was pointless to try and stop it. Manny could see two figures at the bottom, one tall and one short. His eyes lit up when he saw that they were Harry and Robin, both of which were alive. He tried calling out to the, but he couldn't. His voice was just a hoarse whisper which barely left his throat. Both friends were just watching him fall, they didn't move to help him. The last thing he saw before hitting the ground was both of their feet and the light from above...

He woke with a start, his heart pumping faster than ever. He could feel the sweat running down his forehead and the tears in his eyes as he tried to slow his breathing.

"Haha were you having a bad dream?"

Manny looked up to see his bedside lamp, grinning at him. It giggled as the bulb in its shade flickered a little.

"N-No! No bad dreams!" the boy sobbed, hiding his face in his sheets.

"You're silly! You don't know how to have dreams but don't worry, you will one day!" he heard the lamp say.

Then it disappeared, Manny had no idea where it went. He pulled his duvet off his his legs and tip toed out of the room and down the stairs. Robin and Harry were still downstairs, watching their show about bad people who hurt others. The last step let out a little creak when his foot touched it. Robin turned his head a little.

"Manny, what are you doing up so late?" he asked.

"B-Bad dream," he muttered, sniffing a little and wiping his eyes.

Harry sighed and paused the tv.

"Come over here and tell us all about it, kid," he said, patting the stool next to his arm chair.

Manny nodded and sat down on his little stool. He felt safe with his friends, they protected him and he knew that they would never let him get hurt. So he was going to tell them about his nightmare and they were going to make him feel better and he going to go to bed a happy boy.