I toss and turn groggily feeling like the world just hit me at light speed, batting my eyes barely awake, but im not in bed—no. I’m falling. My body quickly becomes aware of the burning sensation of metal friction against my skin that’s only covered by dark-blue boxers. Wind blowing through my hair and face succeeding at knocking me out of my jet lagged state as I make my way down this. . . Slide?

This white slide, barred and roofed on a hot sunny day. Surely I’m dreaming, right? Surely I’ll be waken up any second now and get on with my day like _normal. _But as I descend my way further and further.. and further down this slide, I reasonably lose grasp of the reasonable thought that this is a dream. My sweat becomes palpable and my nerves creeping into panic attack stages at the thought that this might just be real, the concrete is becoming visible and it wouldn’t be long until I’d either be propelled into concrete, my last memory of existence sliding into death (literally) or I’d wake up in the comfort of my bed and be relieved by the fact that this is indeed all a dream.

The wind screams. I find myself closing my eyes; silently praying to whoever I might be met with in the next few seconds. To whoever’s listening, please, please let me live. the words in my head become the only thought I can muster as I cling desperately to the bars. Hoping, praying that this will stop. When I feel dusty concrete beneath my feet it becomes painfully clear this is my last. . . Shards of rock dig into the soles of my feet and I let out a screech. What had I done to deserve this? How? Why? So many questions, that I’d never get answers too because well… I’ll be dead.

Deep breaths turn into shallow breaths, shallow threats turn into desperate grunts as I claw my way through my sheet, my skin burning like coal on a furnace. . . It was a dream…. It was a dream OBVIOUSLY. __ _ Sorry for any typos or punctuation errors this is unedited _

The Little Caesars commercial is out guys!!

https://youtu.be/2DI4On4Zm9U?si=TCHsfT4IiGgLY54P

this is the link to it 😉

I’m going through changes It comes in phases I’ve been putting out blazes As I wander alone with my thoughts

I’m going through changes

Make myself small Build a slight wall Release the stress No more mess

Realize yourself Not on the shelf Living a full life Avoiding the strife Tessa🦋

“I hate this!” “What’s going on!” “I don’t know! But I’m scared!” “Just hold onto me!”

I didn’t want to take the first step so he grabbed my waist and pulled me in from any further damage. I looked into his beautiful blue eyes as he looked into mine. We shared the moment together, the moment that will hold a special place in my heart. Our first kiss. He moved his hand onto my cheek and leaned in. Then his hand moved to the back of my head, my hair flowing beneath his fingers, and our lips touched.

We were connected for what felt like forever. Forever until we plunged to our deaths at the end of the slide.

The huge, bearded man peered over me.

"You ok?", he asked.

I lifted my head slightly and winced as everything began to spin.

"Woah, woah, gently does it now. That Portal Elixir never does you any good does it?" he smiled apologetically.

It was Bernard. And I had just passed out again. Urgh. Why was I the only one who couldn't stay conscious when I drank that stuff?

"I'm alright," I croaked, "I'm conscious now."

Bernard gave me an unconvinced look, "Just about, Will. You were out for a good 30 seconds, there!"

"Okay, okay!" I said, waving my hand, "No need to rub it in."

Bernard stood back up and folded his arms against his chest, "Mission then?"

I paused and waited for my fuzzy mind to clear a little. What was my mission again? Oh yeh...

"Blue Mountain," I began, a little more sure of myself. "Arrival at Blue Harbor Market portal. Mix in with the locals, sight unseen. Locate Dr Sommersby. Explain situation but divulge only on need-to-know basis. Extract and head back to headquarters. Timeframe 90 minutes before discovery."

Bernard paused, eyeing me suspiciously. "You don't look..." he began.

"Oh just get on with it!" I snapped.

Yeh, okay, it was uncalled for. But it had been a long day. And I’m sorry to say that, no, I’m not an angel. And I'm also more than a little embarrassed that I keep passing out whenever I drink that Portal Elixir - that might have something to do with it too.

Bernard sighed and took a step back. "If you say so," he murmured, pressing the button on the side of the chute. "Be safe," I heard him begin to say.

As his words faded away within milliseconds, I whooshed down the chute, gaining speed as I shot down, and down, and down. The buildings around me sped past me as I fought to catch my breath.

I hated this bit. Feeling as though I'm choking is never a favorite past time of mine.

I braced myself as I neared the puffy, cloud that was the portal entry-way. And just before I entered, I took in huge gulp of air and squeezed my eyes tight.

And then - for a few seconds - floating - silence - nothing.

And wham! Back in the room. Well, not ‘the room’. Blue Harbor Market, to be exact.

I tumbled out from under a short, hessian curtain and scrambled to my feet as quickly as I could, pretending to look like I was just hanging out - nothing to see here. Nothing to see.

Crowds of suntanned locals ambled around with their colorful shopping bags, all none the wiser. I breathed a sigh of relief that no-one had noticed my unrefined entrance. Thank goodness for that. Entrances have never been my strong point.

I looked behind me to see where I'd come from - the underside of a fishmonger's stall.

'Lovely,' I thought under my breath, 'they just keep getting better and better.'

My watch beeped twice and I rolled my eyes. Bernard, no doubt. I glanced at my watch.

'Will you get a move on? 90 minutes remember?'

My eyes narrowed. Bernard could see everything I could see. No privacy in this line of work. Which... was sometimes a comfort, especially when things got dangerous. But more often than not, it was just annoying.

"Excuse me," I said to the nearest passerby, an old lady carrying two very heavy looking market bags, laden with oranges and pineapples. "I'm looking for Sommersby Observatory..."

The old lady nodded towards the mountain ahead of us, "Right there, dear. Don't you see it?"

I followed her gaze and sucked in a breath. There stood an enormous glass sphere, on the edge of the lush green mountain. It was huge - the size of maybe ten houses wide. It reflected the sun so brilliantly that all I could see was a bright light, depending on the angle I looked at it.

I thanked the lady and began to walk, not moving my eyes from my destination. My watch beeped again, but I ignored it.

"I'm going, I'm going!" I mumbled to no-one in particular. Bernard couldn't hear me - it was a text only device.

If only I'd read my message. Maybe things would have turned out differently.

As it turns out, the message on my watch read, "Urgent : Location changed to Cafe Azure in Blue Harbour. Assassins on their way. Five minutes to assassination."

Oh dear.

I’m no longer alive, I’m dead The soles of my shoes are red From stepping in my own blood Underwhelmed by the flood Of supposed tears that care Passers by don’t even stare Why am I so easily replaced After all the demons I faced Cultivated strength wasted Forgotten victories tasted Forsaken memories wedged Poised on a knifes-edge Destined for so much more Yet here I lie, lifeless on the floor

Moments of disconnectedness flooded my consciousness, stirring panic from within. There wasn’t much time left. The end, as I knew it, was upon me. All that meant, though, was that a new beginning was about to start. It was a journey reserved for the chosen few. Years earlier, it seemed unfathomable that my internal struggles would ever be rewarded. Counseled by clergy, I shunned the sentiments of imprisonment voiced by atheist friends. Each had his own opinion, which I respected, just as they supported the decision to follow my heart.

The void of the great beyond was just minutes away from being realized. After crossing over the threshold into the unknown, I believed everything experienced during my so called “before life” would pale in comparison to the enlightenment felt afterwards. I had faith in that reality. Unable to be dissuaded from the path chosen, salvation awaited me at the end of the corridor.

Walking in the warmth of light isn’t appreciated in full until time has been spent wandering in the soulless shadows of darkness. A life once lived, cast aside long ago, would soon be replaced by the opened arms of protective warmth. There was a unquestioned willingness to protect me, to sacrifice their own life, if only to resurrect forgotten beliefs, as if such proof was necessary.

If anyone had to prove themself then one need only look at my woefully insufficient yardstick. In comparison, my deficiencies should have prevented entry into this somewhat exclusive club. Instead, without hesitancy, the gentle gaze of acceptance stood waiting for me, to build from the existing foundation of shortcomings. It comforted me. As much as I wanted to run towards my fate, breaking protocol seemed inappropriate. Patience encouraged the ability to savor every moment of this one way trip. There’d be plenty of time to lift a chalice of wine and toast the good fortune of everything hereafter. Destiny awaited me.

Of all the days to be summoned, today might’ve been the worse.

For once I was comfortable, happy even. I had worked to the bone everyday for the past 35 years, half expecting the organization to knock at my door at any second and ask for my assistance once more. But as my energy fizzled away and my bones grew crumbly with age, I figured that maybe, they wouldn’t need me at all. What use would they have for an old geezer with poor memory and even poorer vision?

One assignment when I was fresh out of collage was all they had needed me for, I assumed. I had thought that the parting, “we’ll call on you when we need you again, Herring”, was just a polite sentiment to shoo me out the door quicker.

But it just so happened- rather unfortunately- that the day they chose to call on me was also the first day of my retirement trip.

The glorious day meant to be spent alcohol soaked under the Mexican sun would be what it had been for so long- an idyllic, unrealistic daydream.

I had been lounging on a beach chair (though at my age ‘lounging’ usually meant having a quick nap) when it happened. One minute I was baking under the sun and the next, I was floating through that familiar infinite tunnel.

I knew from experience that at the end of this tunnel was no glowing heavenly light, but instead, a brand new time and location.

The sudden weightlessness of my body forced me to snap my eyes open in alarm, only to be met with a blur of whizzing colour. I had once likened the tunnel to a waterslide, and I was dismayed to see that that opinion had not changed since the last time I was in it.

That familiar queasiness filled my gut, increased tenfold by the alcoholic beverages I had spent the day consuming. I squeezed my eyes shut, willing the feeling to dissipate. The nausea only intensified as I moved faster and faster through the tight space, wind whipping painfully across my cheek.

I could barely take it anymore.

My lips pursed and my cheeks puffed as I used every bit of strength within me to restrain the bile tickling the back of my throat.

Anytime now we should be landing…..any-

My feet suddenly hit solid ground, so hard and fast that my knees buckled and I collapsed to the floor in a painful heap. Shock waves skittered up my ankle and towards my knee, holding the joint in a vice grip of pain.

I groaned, clutching at the aching bones and sucking in a deep breath.

Confirmed: this was definitely a lot easier when I was younger.

Finally, when the pain subsided enough for me to open my eyes, I took in the space.

All around me were stark white walls and in the centre of the room, a single metal table with two chairs on either side of it. I frowned, slowly getting up and looking around once more.

How utterly…..boring.

The last time I had been to their headquarters it had been so different, more reminiscent of a cozy baroque library than an institution.

I hobbled towards the table, the pain in my knees not gone completely.

Sitting atop the table was a single red file with two words stamped across the top in large blocky letters:

Herring Bellsworth

Curiously, I picked the folder up and pried it open.

Technically I wasn’t in the wrong by taking a peek inside, right? It did, after all, have my name on its cover.

Just as I was about to take in the words on the first page, a door behind me swung open.

I spun around quickly, nearly dropping the file in the process.

Standing behind me in the entrance of a door I had not seen earlier, was a familiar man in dark slacks and a wrinkled grey shirt.

“Dayton?”, I asked surprised. My recruiter- the one from my first mission- grinned and lifted his hand in a wave.

“Herring, how long has it been? Give or take thirty five years?”, he replied, strolling towards me.

My eyes widened in surprise as I took in his face, the youthful plumpness of his cheeks, his broad muscular shoulders.

Yes, it had in fact been thirty five years, but in all that time, Dayton hadn’t aged a day.

Instead of questioning him about it, knowing that with Dayton, I’d never get a real explanation, I instead asked the question I knew he would answer.

“So what year are we in? What big event are we changing in history this time?”

I was well aware of how bizarre of a question it was in most circumstances, but given my experience with the organization, this was a fairly standard introduction.

Dayton’s face grew uncharacteristically grim and he squirmed uncomfortably.

“Er…well this time we are in the future. It’s not going to be like your last mission, Herring”

I furrowed my brows at his response, surprised and perhaps a bit more nervous.

“What do you mean? We aren’t here to ‘save’ or whatever?”, I asked, lifting my fingers in air-quotes as a spoke . Though it would give us unequal footing, I slid into the closest chair and let the question hang in the air. My knees were still hissing in pain from the rough landing.

Dayton sighed and closed the gap between us, falling in the chair across from mine. He scrunched his eyes shut for a second in quiet contemplation, then peeled them open again. When he spoke again his voice was bleak, sapped of that witty tone he often liked to take on.

“I was hoping we would be able to get through the formalities before I got to this, but we are doing quite the opposite for this mission. This time we’ve been tasked with ending mankind, not saving it”

The cell walls move back and forth then they twist again as the indescribable yelling hits my eardrums my eyes feel hard to keep open the room once again move back-and-forth but suddenly a sensation like I’m sliding down starts happening, I hold my breath not knowing where I was going the indescribable yelling, the velocity of how far I was going and, and imagery that felt my eyeballs melt made me lose consciousness once again.

I wake up back in the same dungeon the same bars all over again it was the fifth day since I refuse to cooperate in having that evil wizard conquer my kingdom.

The whole room was anti-magic resistant however that only mattered if it came from myself however fairies were immune to these enchantments as they are not attached to only the mortal realm.

The wizard Anthony had tested his drug on me again. The feeling in my head and body was dull but my heart was resolute soon as soon as effects were wearing off I crawled over to where the jailer was, he happened to be sleeping on the job again I supposed watching over a drugged princess was not too exciting the 5th time.

“Perfect” I said.

I had had commanded my faeries fly over and take the keys from him and gave him the dream image of me submissive to his charms in a place only in his dreams that would happen.

Unlocked the door and planned my escape.