"So, you think it's the same deer you hit?" Jackie asked after he had finished. Oren shook his head, his shaggy bangs falling over his eyes.

"I don't know why, but I feel like whatever he is, he only chooses to look that way to...taunt me," Oren explained.

"And he said we were in someone's 'domain'? Someone who takes runaway children?" Jackie asked Oren, who nodded in response. "Then, do you think it was Roland?"

"No, it couldn't have been. If he really was the one behind all of this, I doubt we would still be stuck in this place." Oren answered. "The Deer told me that 'even beings like himself have to follow the rules. They have weaknesses, they have limits. And in Roland's case, it seems like they can...die. If we can find this thing keeping us trapped here, then maybe, just maybe, there is a way to get out. Whether by reason...or by force."

"Where do we start?" Jackie asked. At that very moment, her stomach growled loudly.

"I guess we start by finding some food." Oren chuckled. "It's been a while since we've eaten." He peeked out the window to find that the rain had nearly stopped, drifting down in a faint mist. He crawled up into the driver's seat, turning the keys into the ignition.

The scenery had begun to change. The fields seemed taller, wilder, overrun by weeds. The trees were almost all bare now, their dark branches stretching up toward the sky. What disturbed Oren the most was the way everything seemed to twist-the weeds, the branches, the clouds, all turned in tight, neat spirals.

It was then Oren spotted the convenience store. It was a long, short building made of white brick. The strangest thing about it was that it looked perfectly normal. The windows were alight with the soft glow of white light. The red neon sign on the front glowed with persistent, buzzing electricity. The grass seemed to sway away from the store, growing cautiously around its perimeter leaving a small lot of dirt leading up to the front doors.

Oren parked the van and stepped out, surveying the area. The glow of the red sign stretched across the fields and over his face. He tried to read it, but found himself unable; the light was too bright to make out any letters, an intense crimson that made his eyes water if he stared at it too long.

Suddenly, the car door popped open. Jackie raced across the grass and into the store, the automatic doors opening a few feet ahead of her. "Jackie!" Oren called out, chasing after her. As he crossed the threshold, the automatic doors closed slowly behind him with a hiss of rushing air. Long, rectangular lamps hanging from the ceiling radiated a hot, white light. Shelves seemed to pop out of the ground at random, some entangled with each other, some placed at odd angles. Oren tried to navigate through the maze of shelves, but the further in he went, the more the walls seemed to shift or disappear.

The shelves were packed with random objects, but they were all a shimmery plastic material, and a single, solid color: A bright blue ball, a warm yellow boot, a neon pink block.

Even though there appeared to be no other people, there was a loud buzz of chatter. Oren's scenes were starting to fail him, seeing things that weren't there, shadows of people stretching across the floor before disappearing back into the light- that blazing, hot light.

The shelves were becoming more misshapen. One had towered above Oren, stretching up like a twisted ladder up into the endless ceiling. A cluster of them had formed, morphing into a star shape on the floor. Then, he finally hit a dead end, a wall of colorful boxes labeled in the same strange language he did not recognize. He turned around but was greeted by another wall he swore had not been there-that couldn't have been there because it was where he had come from. He turned again, and again, and again, and every time was greeted by a wall. He had begun to panic, his breathing becoming hitched and sweat growing across his face. The chatter was growing louder, and louder, more unified than before, almost in a chant. The shadows stretched and shrunk along the walls, depictions of people so disfigured they couldn't have been real. In terror, Oren peered upward. A shelf. Enclosed above his head, was a cluttered shelf. The floor was the same.

Oren knelt, cradling himself, plugging his ears to drown out the noise. Then, he felt it. A kind hand on his shoulder. He glanced up and saw Jackie standing above him with a worried look. He surveyed their surroundings: a completely normal convenience store. The voices had all gone, replaced by a faint jingle coming from the speakers.

"Sorry, I-" Oren got to his feet and took a step which should have only taken him a few inches, but as his foot hit the ground, he had crossed through the automatic doors. They closed behind him, the buzzing of the bright lights inside dying away. In his hands were several small packages of food.

"Oren!" Jackie yelled, scrambling out of the van. "You were in there forever! I was starting to get worried."

"What are you talking about?" Oren said. "I was chasing after you." Jackie's eyes went wide, and her pupils trembled slightly.

"Oren...I stayed in the van. You said you could handle it." Jackie said. They both glared back at the convenience store, its crimson light caressing their faces.

"Let's...go," Oren said, walking back to the van, keeping a close eye on Jackie.