Sometimes Daisy pisses me off more than usual, and now is one of those times.

“Where are we?”

“I don’t know,” she says with a grin.

‘I don’t know’, my ass. Who was the one who said we should go out looking for my parents? She’d led me to the seldom-used lift for transport between layers (which was half a mile away I might add), pressed the button for layer 1, whistled merrily as we traveled down, and stepped out into the nearly identical hallway, all as if she knew where she was going, the faker.

Each layer has a very similar setup, but the layouts are very different. For example, one layer could use sector 1 for schools, but another layer might have hospitals there. Apparently, it’s designed that way to reduce the danger of someone on one layer easily terrorizing the people on a different layer, though it’s not like anyone down here is that mentally unstable, since we’re all either extremely vetted or born down here. Except me, possibly. I still don’t know where that hallucination came from. Well anyways, because of the different layout we’re currently lost, and there isn’t anyone nearby we can ask for help. This place is practically deserted. I stop walking to look at the wall, and see a sign saying ‘S5-1’. Sector five, layer one. Judging by the hallways lined with doors and the occasional placemat, this is their living sector.

“Why are we looking on a different layer? I would imagine if my parents did travel they wouldn’t go that far, and even if they did we wouldn’t know which layer to look on, much less which sector.” I’m getting sick of being lost, and I doubt we’ll ever find my parents down here.

She turns around to face me, looking extremely tired for a brief instant, when we hear a thud from further down the hallway. I look over as Daisy turns around, and we watch a man stumble down the hallway towards us as he scratches at the mangled sockets that were once his eyes with his bloody hands. Both of us start screaming immediately, but realize he’s harmless when he trips and falls, but keeps scratching after a brief pause. It’s almost comedic. Almost.

Daisy rushes towards him after a moment of pure shock, and I start to follow, but stop when I hear a high-pitched whine coming from behind me. Turning my head slowly, eyes wide, I see a skinny black dog sitting a couple feet away. Looking closer, I see that it’s eyes are slightly human-looking, and now that I think about it so is its nose, and its ears…and suddenly I’m looking into my dad’s eyes. Oh no. This is the second hallucination I’m seeing in the span of 30 minutes. I squeeze my eyes shut as I faintly hear Daisy running over to the collapsed guy and shouting. I open them again to see my dad’s head attached to a dog’s body, clear as day. This is insane. Trying to blink, I find that my eyes now feel like they’re glued open. My hands absently reach up and start scratching at my eyelids.

Wait. I look over at the guy still scratching at his already-gone eyes, then at my hands, and quickly drop them back down to my sides. I do not want to become like him. I will stay in control. In control in control in con-

“Tera!” Daisy’s voice snaps me out of my daze, and I find that I can blink again. Blinking rapidly to get rid of that earlier feeling, I turn away from the dog and towards her, seeing she’s keeping the now-unconscious guy’s hands away from his eyes, and ask, “What?”

“I need your help getting this guy on my shoulders.” Oh. Wait, we’re taking him with us? I point at him, then at us, and raise my eyebrows.

“Yes, we’re taking him with us. At least as far as the emergency clinic, at least. I was able to get a general direction of where it is from him before he passed out. Come on, help me. Please.” The man groans.

I relent, nodding my head, and start to head over when I remember the dog. Gasping, I swivel my head so fast I swear I got whiplash, and see that it has disappeared. I sigh in relief knowing that this hallucination is over, but tense when I hear the man groan again. His hands shift upwards to his eyes-or rather, what were his eyes-, but Daisy keeps them pushed down. She then turns towards me and, with huge pleading puppy eyes, asks again. “Please?”

Staring into her eyes, I feel a blush coming on and quickly look away, muttering “Fine,” then walk towards her and help get the guy up onto her back. After making sure he isn’t going to crush her if she collapses, we head to the emergency clinic.