Chapter Twenty-Two

I spun back to where Charles had been standing; he wasn't there. I was alone.

Everywhere around me was blanketed in a thick grey, like I was looking at the world from deep under water. But there remained no traces of my apartment or the outside world, no indication that there was anywhere but here. As I tried to regain control of the panic in my lungs, it occurred to me that, now, this wasn't the other dimension. Now, the normal world, the only place I had ever been, had become the other. The thought felt heavy in my mind, weighted by implications.

Charles appeared in front of me. "You did it!"

"Yeah." I was still shaken. "Yeah."

Charles looked around, appeared to be searching for something. I looked too but saw only layers of darkness. "So ... is this it?" I asked.

"Pretty much," he said. "You can see why we just got bored of it."

"Well," I ventured, "it does look like a nice place to be alone. Like you said."

"Trust me," he stated flatly, "it gets boring." He was still searching the area around us. "And the only time it wasn't boring after that..." He didn't finish the sentence, considered, uttered instead a grim breath of a laugh. "You want it to be boring."

I knew that signaled the end of that line of conversation .Changing the subject, "Charles, what are you looking for?"

He cast a few more glances to the space around us. Dejected, he replied, "They aren't here."

"Charles, I still don't know what you want me to do."

"I don't know!" he exploded, high-pitched. He turned away quickly, but I could hear ragged breaths fighting back tears.

I stood there for a moment, thinking; there was nothing else we could do here. I stepped closer to him and put my hand on his shoulder. "Charles?" He turned to me, his face warped by frustration. Fear too, I assumed, fear that this might not be fixable. He didn't say anything. "Charles, there's somebody who might be able to help us. Somebody I think you should talk to."

He knew exactly what I meant. "This isn't in my head, Adam."

"I know," I said, wondering at the same time if agreeing with him was the right thing to do. "But maybe he can tell you why they're here. Maybe he knows something about them."

Charles stared at me. It was a weak excuse, and we both knew it. But I could see resignation settle into him. "Fine," he sighed.

"Okay, let's go back," I said. I looked around one last time. Having gotten somewhat accustomed to it, it actually was a pretty nice place. I stepped out. Charles had been right; it was easier getting back than it had been getting in. A lot easier, in my case, eight years' worth of easier.

Charles immediately stumbled into the room behind me. I realized it had probably been a mistake to go first and leave him there alone. I turned to him. "Sorry."

"It's fine," he replied. "I don't know what I was expecting to happen." He was still referring to me banishing the shadows back to their own dimension, apparently paying no mind to my oversight in leaving him behind. All he seemed to be focused on was solving the problem.

As I reached for the phone in my pocket, I was all too aware it was the line to the only real plan I had left. If this didn't work, I wondered, if Dr. Lee couldn't help him, what then?