Harper turned to the hallway with a dramatic and aggressive twirl, pulling on the string as she did. As she headed towards the front door, Atlas had no choice but to follow against his own will. As much as he tried, he couldn't garner any resistance against the pulling force. It was as if his feet were drenched in oil, he had no grip on the floor. The panic started to set in, and he cried out a plea.

"Harper! Stop! Where on earth are you going? We're not done here! Please stop!"

Harper gave him no response, no side-eye glance, nothing. She just kept moving on, eventually stepping out into the evening light once more. Atlas could feel his nerves rising like a billowing smog around his brain. He was honestly very cowardly, he admitted to himself. If he had guts made of iron, he would have pulled away from her in an instant.

"Hey! Hello! Someone help, I'm being abducted??"

He called out to the barren night-time street and was disappointed to not even receive an echo. Even the people who were close enough to hear him gave no reaction and this only made Atlas panic more.

Harper stopped and planted her feet at the edge of the walkway as she gazed down the street at the approaching bus.

"The number 67, on time as always."

She mumbled to herself as she tugged on the string once again, pulling Atlas to her side like a lapdog on a leash. As much as he tried to cut the tie between them, it was ultimately hopeless. He swiped his hands at it, and they simply phased through with a soft watery effect of a hologram. He barely even noticed the bus turn up when it did, far too concentrated on trying to make some sort of contact with the environment around him. He tried to break the tie on the bus stop sign, for it to only sting at his wrist. It wasn’t going to break so easily.

The bus door opened, and Harper hopped inside the vehicle quite calmly for someone in her situation. Atlas followed purely because he was dragged along with her.

"You don't need my name, just take the cash."

She threw a twenty-dollar note at the driver and surprisingly he caught it. With a shrug and no further questions, he took it as payment and the doors closed behind them.

And so, they boarded the bus together. Together, yet also so separate in nature and desires. Atlas couldn't help but feel further away than he ever had been to the girl he called his dance partner. Even though they seemed to be permanently tied now, he couldn’t help but tremble in dread at the future for the both of them.

He couldn't wait to wake up from this nightmare.