The pair were met by a soft, orange-gold glow and a crisp, cool breeze. They stood on a cobblestone path that stretched off far into the throng of glowing red and orange trees. Lanterns lined the path with faint-glowing flames. It was the perfect autumn scene.

“Fall was always Sandie’s favorite season.” The Author laughed. “I haven’t seen him in a while so this reunion should be nice. Just up ahead there should be a train station that will help us find him.”

They walked the cobblestone path as it wound through the plethora of trees until they came to the train station made of deep redwood. A family of birds chirped from a nest above them housed on one of the crossbeams.”

“Is this right?” Sam enquired. “There’s no tracks.”

The Author only smiled as his eyes shined. A bellow from far off rang out. Within moments a golden light in the shape of train tracks stretched out before them. Not long after that, a great, silver steam train appeared before them, venting steam as it stopped. The train was made of three parts; the engine car, an open passenger car, and the caboose.

“All aboard!” The Author exclaimed and the duo boarded.

“This train is special in that it can find Sandie no matter where he is in this room.”

He commanded the train to do so and it took off in a flash. It wound through the trees and past where the trees ended; into a haze of purple, sparkling fog. A light beamed out in front of the train and behind it, the golden tracks raced with the train as if trying to catch up.

The train rumbled through the fog until it came to a complete stop in the middle of empty space. The Author opened the door and stepped out into the void.

“Interesting. It’s here where all of Sandie’s Sleeping Sand is made. I wonder why he is here.”

He then descended down an invisible set of stairs and Sam followed behind, albeit with some hesitation. He stopped suddenly and Sam ran into him. She hadn’t noticed how close she was and quickly apologized. He grunted and fell to one knee.

“Something is wrong. Please help me, young one. Same as the door to get in, I can’t do it by myself.” He grunted again. “There is something really wrong going on behind that door.”

The pair reached their arms out. Sam could feel something trying to push her way, but she concentrated as hard as she could on the opening of the door. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead and hands. It took almost all her strength, but just as she was about to give up, the door began to creak as if to open.

She lowered her hands and breathed heavily. The Author used her shoulder to lift himself up and they crossed through.

They entered into an open, four-walled white room. In the center of the room was a crystal clear hourglass, the sand inside golden and floating. Against the far wall was a line of children, two of which Sam recognized to be Isaac and Bella.

A group of children stood lined up in front of the hourglass. In between them and the glass stood a man in black slacks, a white dress shirt, and a golden vest. He had light brown hair, wore small circular glasses on the bridge of his nose, and had a beard in the shape of a star.

“Sandie.” Whispered the Author as his eyes darted to the man.

Around the Sandman, four Nightmares poked and prodded him with their sharp claws. With disdain on his face and a glazed look in his eyes, the Sandman reluctantly turned towards the hourglass. The glass rippled as he reached his hand in and scooped a handful of sand then sprinkled it over the next child in line. Two Nightmares appeared out of the ground and dragged the sleeping child to the wall with the others.

The Author gasped and started towards the group.

“Cease this immediately!” He cried.

The Author grabbed his brother, who was paralyzed and frozen in place. The Nightmares rushed off to the far corner, where a blackish, purplish pool of darkness swirled. Sam ran towards her brother when an unsettling noise stopped her in her tracks.

“Oh, the savior has come!” A plethora of overlapping voices said.

All at once, hundreds of Nightmares came pouring out from the dark pool. They rushed the Author and his brother. He began fighting them off whilst shielding his brother.

“It’s no use trying to stop us now!” The voices mocked as they kept coming.

Sam, frozen in fear, stood helplessly by as the Nightmares overwhelmed the Author. He was pushed back as the creatures circled his brother and leaped upon him.

There was not a thing either could do. They watched, frozen in horror, as the Nightmares completely overtook Sandie’s body. The last remnant of his humanity was that of a crooked grimace before it was replaced with the sticky, black mask of the new creature that stood in his place.

The creature was slender and dark. It had yellow, flame-like eyes that were lit with an eerie glow. All the kindness of the Sandman’s figure was now gone. The creature checked out its long, black claws and laughed.

“Yesssss. Thisss hasss worked perfectly. What a host!” It then turned to the Author.

“You've been trying to stop us for quite some time. But, oh, how the tables have turned!” The creature grew as it spoke each word.

“There is nothing you can do to stop us. Soon we will have this castle and in the end we will destroy this world of dreams, for we are Apnea.”

The monstrosity near touched the ceiling as he stared down at the Author. He didn't know what to do. He felt the tugging of his jacket, turned and saw Sam clutching for dear life; fear flashing in her eyes.

“Sam, I need you to run. Get away from this place. Find the unicorns and tell them what happened.” The Author pleaded.

Her head swam with thought as she absorbed the instruction.

“But...I..I can’t leave my brother!” Her voice trembled as tears ran down her cheeks.

On my life, I promise no more harm will come to these children. Please, go. It's up to you now to restore this world.”

He took some sand and placed it on her eyes then covered them with his hand. She saw a vision of a field of flowers swaying in a light breeze. Then a beast jumped from within and roared in her face. She jumped back, but instantly the fear melted away and was replaced with repose.

The Author raised a hand and made an opening to a hallway with a light at the end of it. Sam was reluctant to leave, but she felt she could trust the Author to protect the children. She gave him a hug and began down the hallway.