“Sure,” he agrees, looking around as if he’s expecting something unpleasant to happen. “We’ve found the shiny thing.”
“Imma go touch that shiny thing. I’m going to go see what it actually is.”
I try to follow through on that intention, but it doesn’t quite work out. I run to the edge of the forest, and that’s fine. However, as soon as I hit the tree line, I come to an abrupt halt.
YOU CANNOT GO THIS WAY
The message flashes up before my confused eyes. Like sky writing, but not up high, just sort of floating in front of my eyes.
“What the hell?” I try to take another step forward, but I can’t. It’s like trying to walk into invisible jello. I’m just stuck. The world appears to keep extending beyond this point, but I can’t reach it.
YOU CANNOT GO THIS WAY
“Have you ever encountered this before? This border?”
“No,” he says, looking as confused as I feel.
“Ya think!?” I exclaim at the top of my lungs. “Nothing here is real. It’s all fake, isn’t it? It’s all been fake! I’m dead, aren’t I! Or worse, I’m imaginary! I was never real at all. I was just dreamed up by some fucked up…” I start to hyperventilate as my sense of reality crumbles and falls apart.
“We’re not fake,” Rex says, holding me by the upper arms, and looking into my eyes with a kind of intensity which makes me certain there’s something he knows that he’s not telling me. “Whatever happens next, remember I love you. You’re mine.”
Something is happening next.
The narrative is continuing. There is a plottedness to all of this. I can feel it. I am swept along in it, a helpless little minion in some greater game…
Creeeeeakkkkkk…
That is the sound of hinges. A door is opening before us. I couldn’t see it before, because I don’t think it was there. It wasn’t, and now it is. Or maybe it already was. Who knows.
“What is happening?”
“Don’t panic,” he says, holding my hand in his. “Everything is going to be just fine. You’re safe with me, remember that.”
“REX! What the fuck is happening!?”
He doesn’t answer me as he leads me down a dark hall. I can feel soft curtains brushing against my side, almost as though I’m backstage at some kind of theater…
A loud voice booms in a deafening manner.
CONGRATULATIONS! YOU’VE WON DINODOME!
“What the fuck is happening?”
There’s a crowd of aliens applauding us with big, beaming, what I guess are supposed to be smiles. There are screens with Rex’s face and mine, and images from what look like shots taken from drones or something. There’s a fucking montage playing, of me hiding from the T-Rex that was considering eating me when I first appeared, to meeting him, to our first kiss…
There is so much noise and light, fireworks and general shenanigans I find myself pressing close to Rex, terrified. For the last several months, I have heard nothing louder than the distant roars of various saurian species. The sudden chatter and chaos of a crowd feels absolutely unbearable.
“What is happening?”
“It’s okay. You’re safe. We’re both safe.”
We’re greeted on the runway podium thing by an alien in an evening dress. She’s thirteen feet tall and her breasts are like basketballs. She appears to be popular with the crowd, because her every move is met with great applause.
“The human bank robber, Kristine Morgan, and the bankrupt king Rex of Reptorlax-Nine!”
She extends her arms to us in a welcoming gesture, as if we’re not covered in mud and dinosaur dung, and as if we weren’t just standing at the edge of an impenetrable forest trying to uncover the secrets of the world we found ourselves imprisoned upon.
“Kristine, you’re our guest of honor,” she says, speaking to me as if she knows me. I detest the familiarity in her tone. I only come up to her belly button, so she has to stoop down to give me a fake embrace.
The crowd keeps on screeching, which puts me on edge. They sound like a pack of raptors gearing up to rip my face off, but less friendly.
I pull away from her and cling to Rex. I try to hide behind him and try to generally not acknowledge that any of this is happening. Is this a psychotic break? Is this a psychotic break on top of a psychotic break? Is it psychotic breaks all the way down?
Our hostess turns to the audience, beaming like a fiend.
“We’re going to give our contestants an hour to collect themselves, get cleaned up, and then they’ll be out for the first survivor interview of an actual survivor!”
The crowd goes wild with applause and whooping cheers. I hide from them, covering my ears and closing my eyes as we are guided off the stage by the massive lady and a bunch of burly creatures who are probably guards. I hold on to Rex for dear life. I don’t know what the fuck is happening, but I know it’s bad news. I always thought if I somehow escaped the dinosaur world I would be filled with relief. I am not filled with relief. Even a little bit.