Dreamland

Maybe that was why Lola's parents have been keeping a tight leash on her lately. She didn't even go to school, even though her burns weren't that severe. They were probably afraid she might do something reckless.

Due to the accident, they'll lose some money, but things could get worse for Lola since she'll likely have to face some consequences for driving without a valid permit. Her permit wasn't completely valid yet; she had passed the exams, but the license wouldn't become fully valid until she reached the age of eighteen... unless there was a licensed driver sitting beside her. Having to deal with those consequences could make her feel like her world was coming to an end, and who knows how she would react to that.

Now, I think I could help her, but what if my plan doesn't work? I know I'm a bit crazy; I'm already talking to myself and doing all sorts of foolish things, but was this not too much of a crazy thing?

Trying to walk into the police station and use magic to create a driver's license for myself!? Then tomorrow, I'll just casually present it and say, 'Ta-da! Look, I have a driver's license.' But what if they discover later that it's not valid?

I sighed, feeling torn.

Alright, this madness would only involve me. If this scheme gets uncovered, I'm the only one who'll face the consequences. Her situation can't really get worse than it already is, so yeah, I can give it a shot; it's just for my own amusement, after all. If it works, Lola's problems are solved. If not, well, we'll both have our share of troubles.

I studied my reflection in the mirror. Guilt weighed on me for what she was going through. She had only tried to help me.

So yeah, I decided I was going to go through with it.

I changed out of my pajamas and into regular clothes: pants, a blouse, sneakers, and a simple jacket. This should do the trick. There's no public transportation available at this hour; it's past two in the morning, but I can walk. It'll take less than an hour to reach the central police station where they issue driver's licenses. I wonder what Flo will do once she's there. What could she possibly do? Well, regardless, I'll be there to stop her if she attempts anything too risky.

I took a deep breath, trying to summon all my courage. Damn, I'm not used to wandering around town late at night, even if it's supposedly safe here. It's a whole different ballgame compared to strolling through the neighborhood. Oh well, whatever, it should be fine.

I strolled over to my window, ensuring that no prying eyes were watching, and indulged in my favorite tree gymnastics once more.

"Hey, how about I get rid of those burns for you?" she suggested.

"Why? Shouldn't I keep them in case someone spots me?" I questioned.

"I don't like them. They're like a clear identification mark," she replied.

Hmm, it seemed my alter ego had ideas straight out of an action movie.

"I think my face is distinctive enough without the burns," I reasoned.

"I can fix that too!" she exclaimed.

"Really?" Now, I was genuinely intrigued, so I let her take the lead.

"Alright, let's see what you can do!" Maybe I shouldn't have said that. In the blink of an eye, a transparent mirror appeared in the air, and she chuckled.

A young, naked, devilish figure looked back at me.

"Quite the funny sight. Do you plan on strolling around town like this without raising any eyebrows? It's not carnival time!" I quipped.

She simply shrugged. "You wanted to see what I can do. I just had a bit of fun."

Now, she resembled the lady from the weather channel, appearing much like an innocent young woman.

"Uh, okay, that's genuinely impressive, but what happens if someone asks me for identification?" I wondered.

She reached into my pocket and retrieved my student ID. The same face grinned back at me from my ID: Sonja Appletree.

I couldn't help but laugh at the name; she was definitely sticking to her tree theme.

"I hope you can change it back? It's my only ID," I inquired, a bit concerned that I might have to request a replacement for my ID.

She laughed joyfully, "Of course. It's just a visual trick, a magical layer over the previous one."

"But what about the microchips? Some IDs have them," I asked.

She shrugged, "I can tinker with those too, but it's usually best to fry them. We'll handle it on a case-by-case basis."

With her leading the way, I couldn't help but stifle my laughter, even though I felt the urge. It seemed my alter ego had developed a fondness for frying chips.

I continued walking through the deserted streets, and I noticed something interesting: I would have been frightened if I were alone,

but I wasn't alone, and with her by my side, I didn't feel that way.

We encountered a few sketchy individuals, but nothing truly alarming. I spotted several police cars on at least three different occasions. I hadn't realized our police force was so active during the night. With so many police officers patrolling, I should have felt safer.

I let her stay in the lead since she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the walk. She observed everything with interest: buildings, bus stops, taxis, banks, and even closed shops.

She stepped into a 24/7 convenience store and grabbed a juice. The store's owner, an elderly Chinese man, offered me a discount on some Chinese food, and since I was hungry, I ended up dining on Chinese cuisine in the 24/7 shop.

By the time I reached the police station, it was already past three in the morning. There was some commotion around, but Flo confidently headed straight for the entrance.

I started to panic. "What are you doing!?"

"Calm down; they can't see me."

That statement left me stunned. I was strolling right through the middle of the police station's parking lot with other people nearby, yet no one paid me any attention. Was it because she was walking so casually, or was it true that they couldn't see me?

"How is this possible?"

"Ever heard of prisms? You've seen how I can create magic mirrors in the air, right? I can also manipulate prisms and more!"

I was still baffled, but she took pity on me and explained further, "I basically redirect light a few times, making it curve around you. It's as simple as that to become invisible."

She maintained a careful distance of about two meters from everyone, but it became more challenging as we approached the entrance.

As we walked, a couple approached us. They moved past us on the side of the parking lot and entered the building through a revolving door. The revolving door had space for only one person at a time. I assumed it was activated with a keycard or something similar, as it revolved, sealing the person inside. When it opened again, the person had vanished. The second person followed, and Flo sneaked in behind her.

"What are you doing? Be careful!" I exclaimed.

Suddenly, as we neared the woman inside, the wall around her began to expand, and she fell to the ground. Panic set in as I looked up and saw two giant policewoman's feet looming above me.

"Heyaaa!"

"Stop screaming in my ears; it's okay."

"Okay? What have you done? Why is she so gigantic?"

"How romantic," the policewoman remarked, looking at me.

A door on the other side opened, and she lifted me from the floor.

"Surprise, surprise!" - she exclaimed walking

"Wait, what? What is this? What have you done to me?" - I wondered while White Flower only giggled.

An older policeman who was walking by, holding a steaming cup of coffee in his left hand, turned to look at the policewoman.

"What do you mean?" - he asked.

"I mean this White Flower. Look how pure and beautiful it is!" - the policewoman answered.

The policewoman placed me next to her ear and wrapped me in her hair. She took a few steps and glanced at herself in a mirror. A lovely young woman's face appeared before me, with incredibly blue eyes, brownish hair, and what looked like a delicate white rose tucked behind her left ear. I was a flower!

"What have you done?" I exclaimed.

White Flower laughed at my surprise. "You're a flower!"

"Are you crazy?" I protested.

"No, not at all. We can switch back whenever we want, but I suggest we don't do it right now."

"But, but..."

"Relax. Trust me," she reassured me.

I sighed inwardly. "This 'trust me' is starting to make me nervous."

"Oh, don't worry too much. By the way, did you notice how her eyes sparkled? I think this young girl has a natural affinity for magic. Quite an interesting case!"

Her explanations were making me anxious. "What does that mean?"

"Stop overthinking every word you hear." - White Flower responded - "It simply means she has a natural inclination for magic. Learning magic would come more easily to her if she were given the opportunity. That's all."

I would have rolled my eyes if I could. The older policeman chuckled:

"Flower? Sam, do you have a secret admirer who comes here at night?"

"Hmm, Max just went through the door. Could it be him?" - she quipped.

"Max?" - the old man sounded somewhat disbelieving but admitted, "Yes, I saw him pass by when I went to get my coffee."

"Did you see him place the flower?" she inquired.

"No, I didn't pay attention. I just went to grab my coffee."

She smiled at him. "And it wasn't you?" - she asked, raising a brow.

He shrugged and wore an apologetic expression. "I wasn't feeling that inspired, and besides, Greta would be furious if I gave flowers to my young colleagues. It was either Max or Houdini himself."

They both laughed and continued walking together. As I was 'tied' to her, I had to listen to their conversation.

"Alright, I'll keep the flower as a thank-you to my anonymous admirer. I just had an argument with Max and was wondering why he didn't wait for me. Is this his way of apologizing?"

"This doesn't sound like Max, but who knows? It's a truly rare and beautiful flower!"

The old man said this, his gaze fixated on me. I felt quite uncomfortable, while Flo seemed amused.

The young policewoman grinned, "Ahem. If you keep staring so blatantly, you might get in trouble, not only with Greta."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" The man was caught off guard and attempted to explain himself. "It's just such a rare flower; I haven't seen one like it before."

"Oh, you were admiring the flower?" They both laughed, and he let out a sigh.

"You know I have a passion for flowers and beautiful eyes..."

In the next minutes, it was hilarious to see all the eyes that the flower attracted, but what do I do if this woman keeps the flower indefinitely?

Actually, it was not that bad. There were too many people around; I did not expect this activity at three fifteen in the morning. What is this all about? How should we search for the driver's licences area with all these people haunting the environment? And it looked like more and more were coming.

Sam joined a group of people; they were talking, mostly speculating on why they had all been summoned for a three-thirty meeting. Couldn't they wait until seven in the morning?

A young man came:

“The captain is here; the meeting is starting earlier; please join us in the conference room.”

The conference room was relatively spacious, with a long table surrounded by approximately twenty chairs. Sam entered with another girl and chose to stand behind the row of chairs instead of taking one of the remaining seats.

As time passed, all the seats were occupied, and the room continued to fill up until it held around forty to fifty people. A hulking man positioned himself on the right side, roughly in the middle of the room. I had a feeling I recognized him as the person who came with Sam. This had to be Max. What caught my attention more than his imposing stature was the intense, almost venomous gaze he directed at me. He looked at me as if he could discern something about me. Those eyes! It was as if he wanted to shoot daggers at me. It reminded me of a hungry ogre spotting a thieving goblin sneaking near his soup.

Sam gestured to Max in a friendly manner, and he responded somewhat, but his eyes remained fixed on me. Whatever issues these two had between them, I had no desire to get involved.

All at once, the commotion subsided, and I noticed two individuals entering the room: a diminutive man who appeared to be around 50 years old, accompanied by a tall young woman.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen," he greeted.

There were some groans in response, and then Max shouted, "Good morning, Sir!" His greeting didn't earn him any friendly looks; it seemed he wasn't particularly popular here. The older man, seemingly unimpressed by the reaction, headed straight for a table and turned on a projector.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a code red alarm. As red as it can get."

The ensuing silence hinted at the gravity of the situation. A map appeared on the wall. The man gestured to the woman beside him, who continued speaking.

"I am Agent Sewod. What you see here is Bounty County."

Someone from the back of the room interjected, "Yes, we can see that!"

Unperturbed, she continued, "The reports we have are conflicting. We don't have a precise understanding of what's happening, but we suspect a terrorist group is operating in the region."

This time, several voices chimed in, asking, "You suspect?"

The captain appeared to want to speak, but Agent Sewod continued.

"Yes, we suspect. We know very little at this point. You'll receive more detailed information soon. It's crucial to register anyone coming out of that region. They will be picked up and taken to specially organized camps for this purpose. There should be no operational unit consisting of fewer than five persons. Is that clear? You must report any behavior you find suspicious."

A voice from the crowd piped up, "What constitutes suspicious behavior?"

Agent Sewod replied, "Anything that you find suspicious."

That earned her some huffs and chuckles, but she did not specify further.

"But what about the fields around? If we're only guarding the highways..."

"The fields are already occupied by our special forces. The National Guard is mobilized and will establish a second line behind you. We've also called in all police officers from neighboring counties to block the other roads over there."

Another person questioned, "But why involve the police if you have the special forces and the National Guard?"

Agent Sewod responded, "The military might be deployed as well. We want the police to maintain contact with civilians. I must caution you we are dealing with a ruthless group. Their numbers are estimated at around one hundred. They are highly organized, act in coordination, are reckless, and seem to possess extensive knowledge of the terrain, although we have yet to uncover any local connections."

Someone else asked, "What could they possibly want inside Bounty County?"

Agent Sewod explained, "There are several potential targets, including the nuclear facility in Boca-Raton, the chemical factory in Bytons, and three of the five largest software companies in our country, which are located there."

For several minutes, the situation appeared to be slipping into chaos, with questions pouring in, but Agent Sewod remained composed, responding promptly and succinctly.

"Software companies?" "What about surveillance? Where's that information? There are hundreds or thousands..."

"Surveillance failed. There must be some advanced electromagnetic devices that disabled every digital camera. Everything, including mobile phones in the area, failed, one after the other."

"EMP?"

"It's possible, but the outages occurred strangely, not all at once but gradually or in specific areas. What kind of EMP is this? Or a series of smaller EMPs? It's a technology we haven't encountered before. We're in the dark on this."

"Who could possess such technology? Must be a state actor!"

"Probably."

"Is this war?"

"We can't rule that out!"

"With whom?"

"That's precisely the question we're eager to answer as soon as possible. Right now, we don't know. Someone might be testing our response."

"But you can't just encircle them and let them run wild in an entire county? A hundred desperadoes, I don't know how you arrived at that number, but even we here should be able to handle them before morning. What the hell! Not to mention the army?"

The captain rested his knuckles on the table and spoke wearily, "Tom, please wait until you've seen everything."

"But, Captain? Any delay gives them more time to cause harm..."

Agent Sewod's voice sharpened as she looked at Tom with cold eyes, "Our best special operation forces are already in the field and will be in action soon. The army is getting ready to deploy as a backup."

The captain leaned in closer, his tone unwavering, "Leave the dirty work to the special operation forces. Your job is to receive the civilians, ensure they're all registered, and sent to the camp. No exceptions! I don't want a single bastard slipping away with the civilian flow. Am I clear enough?"

"Yes, Captain."

"But, but, what have they done?"

Agent Sewod shrugged, "So far, we've recorded 16 homicides, including 3 police officers in Boca-Raton... However, we've lost contact with all police units in the area. I'll show you scattered images and short videos, most of them cut off around the same time the respective cameras went offline. A few cameras briefly recovered before going dark again, so it may not be a permanent disabling function. However, most seem to be permanently lost by now."

A sequence of pictures followed as if taken from a horror movie. Then, the captain assigned teams and their destinations, concluding the session. While waiting for the room to clear out, I grappled with my alter-ego over what to do.

"Flo, we should talk to them, explain what's happening!"

Perhaps it was a good thing that I wasn't in control. I might have exposed myself instantly.

"And what would you explain, exactly?"

"That magic has entered this world? I could show them magic!"

"Is that really what you want to explain? Are you crazy? If I suddenly appeared here, they'd start shooting first and asking questions later. Have you seen those pictures? What do we actually know? We don't know what really happened, who's behind it, or why!"

Yes, I had seen the pictures, and that's precisely why I felt compelled to take action.

"But, but..."

"And explain what? Magic? Even Matt wondered if this was some kind of prank! Or that you, I mean, I came from a different world? How does that help them?"

"Well, actually, from a game..."

"That's even worse... If they don't shoot you on sight, they'll throw you in a padded cell and interrogate you for hours on end, trying to figure out how you pulled off this stunt and how you got into the building."

She was absolutely right to prevent me from revealing us, but I couldn't help but wonder how she possessed such knowledge.

"How can you be so sure? You're not from this world."

"It's not that hard to connect the dots. Even in my world, they try to restrict and control magic; look at the Denikan Kingdom. Do you think this world is any different? I'm afraid it might be worse. But tell me, you should know better."

She's my alter ego; why am I asking such foolish questions? What they mentioned about mobiles and cameras wasn't an EMP but magic. I could demonstrate this to them if Flo backed me up.

"Captain!"

"Yes, Sam? Is something unclear?"

"Captain, you haven't told us everything, have you?"

"Sam, who really knows everything?"

It seemed like she had a good rapport with the captain as she persisted:

"Captain, what's really happening there?"

"We don't know, Sam. We really don't. It appears as though some of these actions could have been carried out by locals... That's the most perplexing part. There have been no demands, no negotiations. Who's behind this, and why? It doesn't make any sense. We've overheard some inexplicable conversations in a language that we don't understand, so we still don't have clear answers. I don't know more. Honestly, I'm not comfortable with the situation; something about it doesn't feel right. This is pretty much all I know. Does that put your mind at ease?"

The implications of what I witnessed and heard in this place left me utterly stunned. What on earth was unfolding here? Who could be lurking in that district, and what could possibly motivate them? And why this gruesome bloodshed?

Even if, by some random chance, a few individuals were to suddenly manifest magical abilities, what could drive them to such extreme actions? Perhaps a person or two might succumb to madness, but this butchery appeared to be a coordinated effort involving at least a hundred or more people.

Sam exited the room, and since I was still concealed as a flower tangled in her hair, I discreetly... stood there. I pondered how White Flower could subtly extract us from this awkward situation without revealing our presence. Would she wait until Sam would place the flower in a vase first?

In the meantime, Sam strode down a corridor, shaking her head and engaged in a monologue with herself.

"Why did I answer this damn night phone call? Why?"

I heard footsteps approaching behind Sam, but I couldn't discern who was trailing her. She appeared engrossed in her monologue and paid no heed. She walked into an office, only to be abruptly halted by a massive hand gripping her shoulder. She turned, and to my surprise, I found myself face-to-face with an ogre.

"Max? Oh, how considerate of you..." Sam began, but her words were cut short by him as he swiftly plucked the flower from her hair with a sudden movement.

"What's this?"

Oh dear, what a blunder. If the ogre named Max would have kept quiet, everything might have been fine. Sam seemed so pleased with the flower! She probably believed it was a gift from him.

She let out a startled yelp and stepped back, clearly taken aback by his actions.

"A flower. Wasn't it from you? I thought..."

Alright, he wasn't exactly an ogre, but his appearance and demeanor were a pretty close match.

“From me? Who gave it to you? Do you cross me?” - he said.

“What?”

“With whom have you been?”

“What?”

“Don't lie to me!”

“What?”

Each time she asked that, her eyes got wider and wider.

“What, what, what? If you say that again, I'll… I'll… ”

This time, thunders lighted her eyes.

“You'll what?”

He kept peddling his nonsense:

“You crossed me!”

Sam appeared to have reached her breaking point, letting out a frustrated sigh. She expressed,

"I have no clue what you're going on about, and my interest in finding out is waning by the second."

The ogre, now furious, bellowed,

"If you walk away now, we're through! Don't you dare turn away!"

Ignoring his outburst, Sam turned on her heel and took a few steps away.

He let out a thunderous scream and hurled the flower to the floor.

He crushed the flower under his heavy boots.

It felt as if each and every one of my bones had been mashed under a giant roller. As he crushed the flower further as if trying to integrate it into the floor, strains of pain invaded my mind from each and every piece of skin and bone, overwhelming it.

I was pain incarnate.

The man and the woman engaged in yet another intense argument, but I couldn't make out their words. Their exchange served merely as a backdrop to my overwhelming agony.

Pain consumed me entirely — my vision, my sensations, and even my hearing were nothing but a symphony of torment. Pain, pain, pain.

Then suddenly, it just went off. Only an empty void remained.

“Am I dead?”

“No, I healed you.” - White Flower answered.

How can so much pain exist and it did not kill me?

“You healed me? Why did you have to wait so long?”

“I had to wait for them to leave.”

“You had to wait? You let me suffer that pain until they left, even if you could have stopped it before?”

"What do you suppose would have occurred if the flower had suddenly reverted to its original state right before his eyes? I suffered the pain too….”

“I do not want… I do not want it anymore… I want to separate! Let me free! Let me leave! Free me, please!”

She sighed.

“I cannot do it. It does not hurt anymore, look, you are OK? See how beautiful you are?”

There was a small mirror hanging on the wall, and the reflection revealed the weather lady smiling back at me. For a brief, disorienting moment, I struggled to recognize the new face White Flower had bestowed upon me. It was quite perplexing not to see oneself in the mirror but a stranger.

This puzzlement, however, provided my mind with a welcome distraction from the lingering painful memory.

"It's still you," she reassured me, "your features, your physique—just a few subtle adjustments."

My mind drifted back to what had happened.

“How could you still think when you were just some flower goo?” - I asked.

She simply shrugged. "Let's not lose sight of our purpose here. We have work to do."