• During my battle, I came to a clear realization that the strange things I was beginning to see were some things that should never have to be repeated on the surface world. This sight, as plain as it may seem, was the first.

    I caught glimpses of a black shadow that flashed at the sides of my sights as my bike curved one way and another, trying to avoid the bullets and the canyons all around me. The shadow was a dog, a large scruffy Deerhound with midnight black fur. However, this dog had eight red eyes, bright as fire and as evil as they shone.

    I had to blink a few moments before I finally came to the realization that this dog was running alongside me, giving me glances and jerking its head to a leftways direction. Because of my preoccupation and my growing impatience with the battle, I decided that it had better given me a good reason why it wanted me to go left.

    I veered sharply and sped on, following that dog until I could finally match its speed. I turned to it and commanded, "Where are we going?"

    "Underland," answered a deep, viola-toned voice. The dog looked to me, the red eyes alight in laughter as it jumped over a boulder. It sped to the right, and I followed suit.

    Underland? What was it? I had no choice but to follow until the frustrating howls of the remants echoed distantly in my ears. The dog had been clever as to lead me away from the battle, but as I slowed dow, I found a strange crevice that cut deeply into a hillside like a festered wound from a spear.

    "In here," said the dog as it clambered up the hill and stood at the mouth of the conspicuous-looking cave. I tilted my head. Why?

    "What's in there? Why did you bring me here?" I asked the dog. I received no answer as the dog suddenly wedged its way in and was gone in a black flicker of its tail.

    I blinked in disbelief. this...was NUTS! Oh sure, trust a black eight-eyed dog to lead you to a cave and then leave you there. I shook my head and rolled up my left sleeve. Along my arm a brownish-purple bruise webbed over my shoulder and down my elbow. I winced; the d**n stigma gave me some pains, and i was beginning to wonder how much pain it would cost me to crawl into such a narrow cave.

    I edged into the cave and slowly wriggled my way in. Before I had any realization of if I was fully inside or not, my hand slipped, and all sense of gravity grasped me as I tumbled down the hole. Around me furniture, trinkets and other household assortments rushed by me along the walls of the tunnel.

    My back struck thin rock as I collapsed and rolled to what looked like a candlelit chandelier. I shook my head and rose to my knees. I blinked, looking at the chandelier. As if an hourglass was flipped I then fell back onto a checkered floor. I groaned, then rose again on my hands and knees.

    "That's gonna hurt," I grumbled. I looked around, finding myself surrounded by five doors and a red velvet curtain. I tilted my head; was this a joke? Why would I be surrounded by five doors and a curtain? How did I even come here in the first place.

    I had no idea that this was the entryway to the mystery world of Underland, where my life would be changed forever.