‘Where am I this time?’ Nathan mused inwardly as he looked around. Even if he included the nightmare’s past, the current scene won by far the title of the weirdest place he had been to so far.

Like an empty canvas, all Nathan could see around him was a pure shade of white. Be it the floor or the ceiling, all of it was just irritatingly white. If you added in the remarkable absence of shadows and the lack of a horizontal line to discern the difference between the two, Nathan would have been really hesitant to take a single step if not for the unsuspecting door that looked to be attached on a broken down brick wall, sitting quietly in the distance.

Having gone through so many different forms in one night, mainly speaking of ghost Nathan and the blob-turned-human, Nathan had to make sure of what he was this time. After all, this place couldn’t be the real world, could it?

Looking down, he was wearing the clothes he had on when the fight against the nightmare happened. Long black jeans, a pair of leather boots, and the remnant fibers of a white t-shirt turned red from all the blood he had spilled. Recalling how the fight went, his jeans were most likely soaked in blood too, but with them being black it wasn’t too obvious. As for the coat he donned earlier? It was most likely lost in the fight.

‘Hmm, this shouldn’t be another scene.’ Concluded Nathan as his gaze fell back on the door. If this indeed was yet another scene, it had to be part of the nightmare’s and, since the creature practically hated bright or illuminated areas, it most likely wasn’t part of its memories either.

With that thought in mind, Nathan walked up to the door and gave it a closer inspection. It wasn’t too big, nor did it look special in any way. Just a door. Mostly brown in color and entirely made out of wood, it had a golden doorknob and no keyhole. The only thing that made it look special compared to normal doors was the place it was attached to, namely the white space.

The red brick wall around it was pretty much its support. As all it did was hold the door in place. Like a frame for the gate that leads to another world or something, it blended quite well with the whiteness of the place.

Nathan was quite curious. The first question he had was ‘Is this the white room’s edge?’ quickly followed by, ‘Or is the door simply placed here?’ and finally, ‘Can I go behind it?’ With only one way to find out, Nathan stretched his hand towards one of the bricks.

‘It’s a brick alright…’ he jokingly thought as his hand reached further upwards and towards the white part of the equation. ‘It’s a wall…’ Turns out this was a sort of boundary. An invisible one, but a boundary nonetheless. Intrigued by his discovery, Nathan followed along the invisible wall, trying to make a guess of how big a place this was.

By the time Nathan reached the place he thought to be the opposing side of the door, he had already made a discovery. The white space was in the shape of a dome, circular and carving inwards. It was a mystery whether this would be helpful or not but, since Nathan had the time, he might as well check. Or at least, that’s what he thought.

Taking one step at a time, making sure his steps were approximately 1 meter each, Nathan quickly made it to the door. ‘About 20 meters.’ Using some basic calculations he had learnt in middle school, Nathan quickly came to the conclusion that this place was a bit over 300 square meters large.

‘Haha, this is almost 8 times bigger than my house…’ Nathan let out a big sigh at the sad comparison and turned his focus on the closed door once more. ‘If only I lived in a house that big as well…’ His thoughts took a strange turn, as the figure of his sister appeared in Nathan’s mind.

‘No… This isn’t the time for that.’ He quickly suppressed the emotions that would one day be his ruin and placed his hand on the doorknob. If there was one good thing the nightmare’s memory had achieved, it was that its feelings had helped him repress his own, making for a temporary solution. ‘It will have to wait until I truly wake up from this dream.’ Taking in a deep breath, Nathan turned the doorknob and lightly pushed the door open.

Dense mist squeezed in from the other side and broke into the white room as Nathan stared in disbelief at what awaited him.

~~~

“Hum~~ Hum~ Hum~~”

In the dead of night, the sound of a man humming a tune echoed in the empty streets of Oakwell. Every now and then, a homeless man, a cab driver, or just a random passerby would turn their heads at the sound, only to be left speechless, staring at his figure as the man moved along in a slow manner.

He was tall, way too tall. Standing a little over 2 meters tall, the man’s thin figure made a great contrast to his height. But that was not all; his overall looks were just too weird for this time’s standards. A massive coat was draped over his shoulders as he leisurely strolled, his hands stuffed into his jean’s pockets.

With a golden monocle equipped on his left, ambery brown eye, all the man was missing was a top hat and a cane to complete the set. This was none other than Elliot Goodsky, the self-proclaimed dream specialist.

“Hum~~ Hu…”

Elliot’s footsteps suddenly came to a stop. The tune came to an end and one of his brows was raised high. ‘Was it around here?’ He fished out a piece of paper from one of his many pockets. ‘Tsk. I should have asked Mei Mei for the address.’ But it was too late for regrets, both in timing and in the time of day, and Elliot wasn’t a man to cry over spilt milk. Without any hesitation, he pulled out a talisman from yet another pocket and chanted in a strange ancient language.

The talisman, as if it were alive, began floating in mid-air, silently waiting for commands. “Hello little one, can you take me to this person’s place?” Elliot’s voice echoed and the talisman moved up and down, indicating that it could, indeed, lead Elliot to the homes of strangers. “Thank you,” he added and took out a small bead from another pocket. Unlike the one he had been polishing back in his store, this one was even tinier, no bigger than the size of half a pinky’s nail.

“Will this suffice?” He asked and the talisman made a happy circle around him, procuring a small chuckle from the man. “Okay then, show me the way.”

~~~

‘This is…’ Nathan’s eyes were wide open as he stared in amazement. Along with the mist, a cold and chilly current had burst into the white space, sending an unprecedented chill down Nathan’s spine and pulling him out of his stupor in the process.

Taking a single step outside, Nathan was greeted by the oddly familiar silent street. The old bench, the street lamp, everything was exactly the same. Well, almost everything. There was one key missing component, and that was his tormentor, the nightmare. ‘Did I just cross over to the nightmare’s world?’ was the first thing to go through Nathan’s mind as he moved closer to the lamp.

*Clink*

With a sharp turn of his head, he witnessed the door to the white space closing behind him. ‘No! Am I an actual idiot?!’ Nathan cursed in his mind as the wall along with the door disappeared right before his very eyes. “FUCK!” As if letting the door close wasn’t enough, it appeared that whatever god or devil was out there; was playing a cruel joke on him. Unlike the first time, he instantly regretted shouting as his voice echoed in the distance.

*Fuck… Fuc… Fu..*

Nathan tried to cover his mouth with both of his hands but it was already too late.

*Awooo! Woof!*

Alarmed by the sound of his voice, what appeared to be barking sounds echoed madly from all directions around him. But they were too deep, and too ferociously aggressive. These were no dogs. ‘This is bad… This is really bad.’ Nathan could feel cold sweat drenching his back as he turned to look at the distant buildings. That’s right, the houses he had always seen stretching further and further away from him now stood motionless, as if they were mocking him.

They couldn’t be further than a few tens of meters away, and Nathan didn’t hesitate to make a mad rush for them. Having reached the front entrance, he briefly marveled at the architecture. The buildings were neatly stacked next to each other, leaving no space in between them, like a castle’s wall. There were rectangular windows with semi-circular tops on each and every one of them, making their upper parts look similar to one another. If not for the different entrances at the bottom, building heights, and some of the windows protruding outwards, Nathan would have mistaken them all for copies of the same structure.

*Grrrrr*

‘Victorian?’ was the first thought to pass through his mind, but this was no time for sightseeing. The growling sounds were too close for comfort and Nathan had no time to waste. Picking the one closest to where he stood, Nathan knocked heavily on the door. “Hey! Is anyone inside? I need help!” He pleaded while banging loudly on the door.

No one answered and Nathan made an attempt to turn the doorknob. ‘Figures…’ It was locked. Turning around, he thought ‘Might as well try the next house in line,’ but when did anything go as planned?

*Grrr*

‘Are you fuckin’ serious?’ His eyes opened wide in disbelief as he looked at the pitch-black puppy blocking the stairs. It was no bigger than two soccer balls placed next to each other as it growled at Nathan with its toothless snout. Its pair of glowing red eyes made it look like a little devil, but it only further enhanced its charm.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Nathan squatted in an attempt to lure the little bugger closer. “Come here, buddy. I won’t hurt you.” He smiled and patted his knees. Nathan was really fond of dogs, the strays around his neighborhood always made his day a little brighter. Whenever they saw him they would get all cuddly, even though he rarely had any treats to spare for them.

*Grrrr Woof!*

“Ah…” Taking a closer look at the dog, the adorable sounds it let out were no longer as appealing to the ear as he first thought them to be. Why? Well, that’s simple. Its parents decided to show up, and they even called his uncle to the party! ‘Fuckin’ Great…’ Had they been mere dogs, Nathan wouldn’t have been so worried. But, when it came to wolves in dog’s clothing… He was no longer certain.

They surely knew how to scare the living shit out of him, as the trio decided to take things one step further. ‘I take it back… Wolves are plain adorable compared to you guys…’ Each of the three dogs had a total of seven piercingly red eyes burst open one after the other, intently staring at Nathan’s figure. With a grand total of twenty-one eyes locked on him. No, if you added the little one as well, make it twenty-three… Nathan thought as he took another glance at the little doggy.

Just then, five more piercingly red eyes opened on top of its snout as they all glared together at him. ‘Make that twenty-eight…’ Nathan took two steps backward, reaching for the door again. “HELP!” He shouted and banged the hardwood louder than ever before. A quick glance behind revealed three hungry snouts filled to the brim with shark-like teeth and dripping with saliva as they hungrily climbed up the staircase.

‘Fuck, I’m dead meat…’ Thought Nathan but shouted, “BACK OFF!” There was not much he could do in this situation. It was one against three… Four, if you counted the little one.

Two of the pitch-black dogs launched themselves straight at him, making it impossible for Nathan to dodge both of them at the same time. All he could do was kick the one flanking him from the left, hard in the snout and sending it flying back down the stairs. As for the other one? He tried blocking it with his forearm.

Needless to say, Nathan screamed in pain as he felt the blood being sucked straight out of his arm. ‘The heck is it doing?! A bloodsucker?’ Nathan thought as he kneed the seven-eyed monster on the chin, effectively freeing his barely bleeding hand from its snout. Against all odds, the monster didn’t rip his arm off as it should. Instead, it moved back in alarm, but it didn’t retreat either.

As for the one in the middle, it showed no signs of partaking in the fun, it was most probably guarding the little one or making sure Nathan had nowhere to run. You know, just in case it crossed his mind. Asshole.

“Fuck! If this is how I am going to die… Then, don’t blame me for taking one of y…”

*Clink*

It was a beautiful sound, magical even, the sound that signified a door getting unlocked, and Nathan’s sole hope of surviving.