Rystelle

shadows.

Sophia felt--somewhat guiltily--a sense of relief when Tim said that he would tell her later what had happened in the bathroom in the other apartment. She wanted to know what happened so that she could hopefully help soothe his fears more easily. Somewhere in the back of her mind was a creeping suspicion about that place, but she didn't say what just yet. She didn't really want to talk about that place right now. "No need to apologize. Just tell me whenever you're ready, Tim," Sophia said, giving him a soft smile. She then wandered over to her bookshelf and took a look among her video games. She pulled out Left 4 Dead and popped it into her X-Box 360. "Zombie killing game," she stated, holding the case up for Tim to see. "It can be a little spooky at times if you suddenly get swarmed or a zombie appears out of nowhere, but other than that it's good. I enjoy it, and shooting fake zombies is a nice way to vent your frustrations." Sophia grabbed two controllers and handed one to Tim as she sat down on the couch beside him again. She got the game started up and ready for two player mode with split screens. Sophia chose Zoey as her character, while Tim chose Francis, leaving Bill and Lois to be run by the computers. She chose the first level and put it on easy. At the beginning of the level Sophia explained the controls to Tim until he had a hang of it, and then they started to advance. While the two played together Sophia slowly forgot her earlier fears. She got really into the game--jumping when a zombie suddenly appeared, declaring happily when they made it to a safe house, stiffening up whenever she heard a Witch crying--and was enjoying herself. There were a few times when Tim died and she had to go rescue him from a closet when he re-spawned, but other than that he appeared to be doing pretty well. Occasionally Sophia would glance at him out of the corner of her eye to see how he was doing. It took them an hour to complete the first level. At the end Sophia put the controller down and stretched out her fingers. Feeling her stomach getting ready to growl for want of food, Sophia turned to Tim and asked, "Would you like some breakfast?"

shadows.

Sophia noticed Tim's recurring movement to his arm. She couldn't tell if it was just some sort of reflex or something so she didn't comment on it. Instead she gently assured him, "You don't have to apologize, Tim. It's not your fault any of that stuff happened. If anything I'm sorry. I shouldn't have even suggested we go there, wherever there was. I promise we won't go there again." As Tim buried his face in his hands Sophia felt utterly distraught. He wouldn't tell her what had happened in the bathroom, and she didn't want to push him. All she could do was offer him whatever comfort she could provide. She put her drink down on the coffee table and she started to say, "It's gonna be ok," while gently putting her hand on Tim's shoulder in a reassuring gesture. As soon as Sophia's hand touched Tim's shoulder he jerked away as if burned. Sophia felt kind of hurt. She thought they had been making some progress in their friendship and Tim getting used to physical contact from her. But she knew that Tim was under extreme duress from whatever had happened to him, and she had to reason with himself that he just needed some space to calm down. Sitting down on the couch across from him while keeping some distance between them, Sophia tried to soothe him by saying, "It'll be alright, Tim. We're safe in my apartment. We'll never go through one of those tunnels again. You don't have to worry anymore. Why don't we do something to take your mind off of it? I can put on a movie or a game, or you can read something or take a nap if you'd like. Whatever you think will help you feel a little better."

shadows.

"Come on then. Let's go," Sophia said as she stood up. She turned to Tim and waited for him to get up. When he made no move Sophia grabbed him by the hands and, with some effort, pulled him to his feet. With one of his hands in hers she went to the front door. Suddenly remembering what had last been behind the door Sophia peeked out of the spy hole nervously. Everything in the hallway appeared to be normal. Still when she opened the door she opened it only half an inch and peered out. The hallway was indeed normal. Sophia locked the door to the apartment and led Tim to her car parked next door at the cafe. Soon they were in her apartment, the door locked behind them. Only then did Sophia begin to relax a little. Walking into the kitchen she opened the fridge and grabbed two bottles of cold coffee then walked back into the living room. She handed one of the bottles to Tim, opened her own, and gulped down half of it in one go. Sophia let out a huge breath and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. Looking to Tim, Sophia said, "You're more than welcome to stay here today, Tim. In fact, I insist." She took a swig of her coffee, a thoughtful look on her face. Lowering the bottle Sophia slowly ventured, "You can stay the night too if you need." She saw no reason for him not to and felt that it might actually be better for him to stay the night for the sake of his sanity and health.

shadows.

When Tim didn't want to tell her what happened, Sophia dropped the subject all together. She didn't want to push him and make him even more upset that he already was. She couldn't stand to do that to him. Instead she continued to try to comfort him in any way she could, but she knew most of her efforts went to waste. Still she tried, unable to let Tim stew alone in his misery. "We'll never go back there again," Sophia stated with a determined forcefulness. "Never again. If any of those tunnels ever appear we'll just ignore them. It'll be ok, Tim. It'll be fine. We're safe in your apartment." At least, she hoped they were safe. Sophia never wanted to see one of those tunnels again. If she could she'd throw a stick of dynamite into the next one and would happily watch it blow up. Wondering if Tim might feel more comfortable somewhere else, given that he had just had some sort of traumatic experience in the "other" apartment, Sophia asked, "Do you want to stay here or would you prefer to go to my place?"

shadows.

Sophia jumped as she saw the bathroom door slam shut on its own behind Tim. That was some horror movie shit right there, and every fiber of her being was screaming at her to run. But she wouldn't. Not without Tim. She tried the handle but it wouldn't open. She started to bang on the door, yelling Tim's name. Her voice got higher and higher as she began to panic until she was almost screaming. All Sophia could hear was muffled cries coming from the other side of the bathroom. Finally the door burst open, catching Sophia off guard and almost knocking her off balance. She caught herself, but she saw that Tim was not so lucky as he tripped backwards into the living room and fell to the floor. He looked like he had seen a ghost and he was crying, his hands covering his mouth as he labored to breathe. Sophia didn't feel much better. She rushed to Tim's side, a look of sheer panic on her face. Sophia had no idea what had happened to Tim in the bathroom, but now wasn't the time to ask. She grabbed one of his hands, forced him to his feet. She made to drag him out of the apartment. She opened the front door and a corridor of smooth stone embedded with glittering gems appear almost instantaneously. It was not a crawl space this time, but rather a full-sized hallway that began as soon as the door ended. Without hesitating Sophia pulled Tim through it. At the end another door appeared. Sophia yanked it open and they stumbled through the door into Tim's apartment. The real apartment. Sophia slammed the door shut as soon as she and Tim were through, making sure to lock it for good measure. Already knowing what Tim might need, she forced him to sit down on the couch before retrieving a glass of water and two of his pills--her hands shaking the entire time. Tim downed both of them quickly, but he was still an utter mess. Not knowing what else to do and still scared out of her mind, Sophia wrapped her arms around Tim's middle and pulled his head to rest on her shoulder. She hugged him tightly as they both sat there shaking.

shadows.

The changes were... unsettling, to say the least. Like walking into your old home after you've moved, or walking into an apartment with an identical layout but with a slightly different theme. Seeing how Tim was starting to lock up some, Sophia made her move before Tim could really start freaking out. She stepped forward until she was beside him. Putting one hand on his she managed to get him to loosen his fist until she could put her hand in his and lace their fingers together. Once more Tim clutched his hand tightly, but this time Sophia's hand rested in his and she squeezed his hand to reassure her that out of all of this she at least was real. "It's weird," Sophia wholeheartedly agreed. Recalling her thoughts of just moments ago she gently instructed Tim, "Just think of it as another apartment with the same layout but a different theme. The apartments in my complex are like that. It throws me off every time I visit with my neighbor." Sophia cast a glance over her shoulder and saw that the tunnel in the kitchen wall had disappeared. They would have to find another way out. Turning back to Tim she suggested, "Why don't we look around? See if there's anything of use or anything that might indicate whatever's going on. More of those runes, maybe. Or another tunnel that will lead us home."

shadows.

Sophia was right behind Tim and almost ran into him when he stopped. When he turned to look back at her she could see the worry in his eyes could hear his quick breaths. She couldn't put her hand in his this time to squeeze it reassuringly, so instead she reached out and gently pat the side of his leg. Sounding more confident than she felt Sophia remarked, "We'll be fine." They traveled through the tunnel for a while, longer than Sophia would have thought possible. Finally there was a light ahead and Tim almost tumbled out of the tunnel, but managed to catch himself. It was awkward for him to get out, given that the end of the tunnel had come out in the wall again. Eventually he made it out and then helped Sophia out. Together they stood in an apartment very similar to Tim's, except that there was no furniture and the colors were all introverted. There was something else different as well, but Sophia couldn't quite place her finger on it. Deciding to be daring she called out, "Hello? Is anyone home? We don't mean to intrude." She waited, but she only heard silence. She turned to Tim, a look on her face as if asking, What now?

shadows.

"Possibly," Sophia agreed as she peered at the hole with a mixture of interest and worry. "But we'll never know until we try. It could turn into something awesome. Could you imagine having a place akin to Narnia (but hopefully without the evil witches and stuff) that you could explore whenever you liked? That'd be so cool! And if we find out this place is bad news then we won't ever go back again. We'll just ignore the tunnels whenever they appear until they disappear." What Sophia didn't say though is that this one had been open for a while now, and she was starting to wonder about that. How long did it take it to close? Did someone have to go through it? Another question popped into Sophia's head. Turning to Tim she said, "I realized something. Everything we saw when we went through the one at the park... It looked exactly like the park, but it wasn't that. If this place really is like a mirror world, do you think we'll come out into an apartment that looks just like yours? Though it probably won't have your stuff, since the other place didn't have my car."

shadows.

Sophia made a big motion of rolling her eyes and letting out an exasperated sigh as if un-amused by Tim's laughter. But really it was all in fun and she felt her face split into a wide grin. She had never seen Tim this happy before, and he was even laughing! This was huge! "Well, it's not my fault you're taller than me," Sophia stated, playfully poking a finger into Tim's side. "But I'm glad you seem to be enjoying yourself. This is as good as I'm gonna get anyway. Ready to go?"

shadows.

"That would be great," Sophia said appreciatively. "Thank you, Tim." She walked into his bedroom and closed the door behind her after flicking on the light switch. Sophia looked around the room for a moment, her curiosity getting the better of her. There wasn't much there and it seemed like it was barely lived in. It made her wonder if Tim didn't just crash on his couch after working all night. She wouldn't doubt it. Finding Tim's closet Sophia picked out a pair of blue jeans and a simple black sweater. The jeans sat almost a little too snugly on Sophia's waist, given that she had wider hips than Tim, and the pants legs were too long. The sweater was also a bit big on her, the waist and sleeves a bit long and the body a bit loose. Regardless it was better than pajamas and she was grateful for it. Sophia folded her pajama pants up and set them to the side, but the shirt she kept on under the sweater. Her jacket went back over the sweater again. The three layers were less for warmth and more that she had forgotten a key piece of a woman's daily outfit in her rush to get to Tim and as such needed them to feel a bit more secure on their impending adventure. Putting her tennis shoes back on she returned to the living room, the sweater peeking out of the jacket and the cuff of the jeans sitting over the top of her tennis shoes, giving Tim an indication of how much smaller than him she was. "Ready!" She declared with a grin, feeling both nervous and excited at the same time.