Asleep

46 Employees Only

Nora~~

It's a week before I see Raymond on the streets, despite combing the city every day and having to lie to Tye that I've been working as a bartender at the Den. Avery and Ricky keep me supplied with food in exchange for trying to conjure it first.

At this point, Avery's conceded that I'm probably only a Class Two. I've created mugs and plates sans any food. I managed to conjure a hand gun after Avery showed me a diagram of its various parts and explained how they work together.

I almost didn't notice Raymond and most likely wouldn't have had I not been looking for him. His cardboard sign hangs in one hand at his side. The side that faces me has no writing.

He walks down the sidewalk across the street. We're only three blocks away from the Somnia Sentinel where I saw him last. At the time, I didn't think too much about him stopping Radia, but now I would give a great deal to know what he said.

From my side of the street, I keep pace with him and cross only when I get to the first intersection. I might not be able to die, but I don't relish the pain that would come with being hit by a car. This is one of the busiest parts of Somnia with hardly any break in traffic this late in the afternoon. How can all these people be asleep? Could some of them not even be real? That thought only makes me wonder if Tye is real. Maybe there's a reason he can so easily accept the realities of this world beyond not being Lucid. Like a character in a video game that believes they are just as real as the player, only they lack any freewill, all their interactions preprogrammed.

A pit opens in my stomach.

Raymond walks at a brisk pace, and not wanting to run and draw attention, I can't get any gain on him. I doubt Pace would want me meeting with this man. I don't need him to know I'm currently stalking his ex-employee.

I follow Raymond down into a subway station filled with the post-work rush and send Ricky and Avery a text about my location and what I'm doing. Raymond goes through a door labeled employees only. I crack it open to see a door at the end of the hallway it leads into closing.

The hall is empty, and I quickly cross it, easing the second door open when I reach it. There are three more doors inside the small room it opens into, all of which are closed. There's a metal cabinet in one corner and safety cones gathered off to the side.

"Why is he here?" a male voice asks from beyond one of the doors.

"I want him to have experience in more parts of the dream," a distinct charismatic voice says, the dark undertones a promise of a threat. Doctor Pace.

"How are they?" the first voice asks. Raymond's I'm assuming.

"Vroni's wedding was beautiful. Charlie was in attendance of course."

My breath lodges in my throat. Charlie.

I scold myself. I shouldn't be this surprised Pace would mention him. He's his son after all.

"Was Liliana there?" that other voice asks, a bit choked.

"She was a bridesmaid." Charlie. That's his voice. I need to leave. I know I should leave. But Raymond is the person whose help I'm supposed to seek. If he's working for Pace, I can't trust him. I need to know if he's partners with Pace or another one of his prisoners. "I'm . . . I'm sorry, Raymond."

"Do you wish to hear more?" Pace asks.

"Ye—no."

In the distance I hear a door shut. Possibly the one at the end of the hallway I just came from. In the case that it is, I need to hide. I can't risk opening any of the doors though.

My eyes land on the cabinet, and with a deep breath, I tuck myself into it. My heel digs into me as I reach for the door. I don't pull it shut all the way, not wanting it to lock me in, but I close it enough that I don't leave a crack to see out of.

I hear a door open and then footsteps, followed by the sounds of two doors closing.

"Dad," says another voice I recognize. My lips curl. Stefan Pace. He was there holding Charlie when I was interrogated. Charlie's brother. That's who he is. "We're needed in the lobby."

"Of course," Pace says. "Charlie, Raymond, you're dismissed."

Doors open and close, and I hear no more talking. I count a full four minutes before daring to crack the cabinet door. I don't see anyone, and I open it fully and proceed to untangle myself from the cabinet.

I ease open the door I came through and find the lights off in the hallway.

An image of me not being able to open the door at the end of the hall, that it's been locked, is answered by a twist in my gut. My phone is in my pocket though. If it is locked, Avery could figure out some way to get through the lock.

I feel for a light switch but am unable to find one.

With care, I ease the door shut, not wanting to make a single sound, and I'm left in darkness. Arms going out to the sides to feel the walls, I start walking.

A flashlight. I haven't tried creating one, but it's worth a shot.

Before I can, a hand wraps around my shoulder, and I grit my teeth as I'm shoved against the wall.

The lights flick on, and Charlie's there, in front of me, holding me against the wall. I'm no longer in the hallway though.

I'm in a very formal dining room.

"I didn't expect to see you today." Charlie's grip on me doesn't let up, his face inches from mine.

"I'm just as surprised as you are."

He tilts his head, his pine green eyes boring into mine. I didn't realize how familiar they had become to me. "Nora . . . were you spying?"

I'm so screwed.

Y'all, Nora and Charlie are talking.