'Oh my God, he's right behind us!'� gasped Jesse. Fey gave a squeak through her heavy panting, as the two ran side by side. 'They're so fast! I don't see how we can make it out of here alive...'�
Fey didn't say anything. The two continued running through the dimly lit city. The tall buildings seemed to encase them such as a large maze. They had no knowledge of the city and were running blindly away from the unseen enemy. 'Where are they?'� Fey asked hoarsely. Jesse didn't answer; he was wondering the same thing himself. Just then, Jesse tripped and fell. Fey stopped and offered him a helping hand.
'I can't run anymore! This is suicide!'� Jesse shouted angrily.
'Sh, they'll hear,'� Fey whispered with fright.
'I don't care!'� Jesse yelled wildly. 'Let them find us! We know the truth! How can we go back to the way things were, now that we know the truth?!'�
'I don't know, Jess,'� Fey pleaded, trying to hold back her tears. 'All I know is that I don't want to die here. Please, get up.'�
'No,'� Jesse gasped defiantly. 'You go on, if you want; live life, if you can. Even if I made it out of this, I couldn't go on living life, knowing what we know now.'� Fey gave him one, last, long look through the tears in her eyes. 'Go, Fey. Get out of here.'� Tears began streaming down her face as she ran away from him into the distance. Slowly, Jesse arose to meet his match, face to face.

Jesse yawned and stretched as he awoke that morning. Today was just like any other day. Jesse got up and got ready for school before going downstairs to eat breakfast. After that, he met up with his friends, Fey, Sky, Jay, and Sage. They all lived fairly close to one another and spent a lot of time together outside of school, which was strictly forbidden.
These five misfits were part of a community called Blue. The people of Blue were kept in the dark most of the time (no pun intended), and any sign of curiosity would get you put away. No one really knew where you were 'put away' to, but they knew they didn't want to go there. The law was very strict and was followed very closely. No one was allowed to leave the city or ask any unnecessary questions about it. The city was tightly enclosed by a large wall. There was only one gate that led out of the city, but it was solid built, so no one could see beyond it.
The people of Blue were forced to wear black every day. There was very little color in the city because everything had to be black. The buildings were black, the trees were all dead, the grass was nonexistent, and mirrors, fire, and light sources were strictly forbidden.
But, the strangest part about Blue was the atmosphere; it was constantly pitch black there. There was never any moon, stars, or daylight . On a rare occasion, the city would experience rain storms, but there was no lightning, only thunder. The people of Blue had no cause to believe in any of these absent elements because they had never heard of them. The people were completely ignorant of everything that happened around them. The city counsel took care of all important matters, and the citizens had no say. The people were expected to live their dull lives either going to school or work. The only recreation allowed in Blue was either playing cards or sports.
The unique thing about Blue was the lighting that they were allowed to use. Blue was the only known city to use light, permitted, of course, by their counsel. The lights were an extremely dim blue that usually came in a small, crystal ball either in a hand held or installable fixture. No outside electricity was needed to power the light, for they emitted their own energy. There was something in the element that made it glow; whether it was safe or not was unknown.
Jesse walked up to Jay, waiting in their usual spot, but the others hadn't arrived yet. Jay was always early, and Jesse was unusually early today. Jay had dark brown hair and matching eyes. He dressed pretty normally and was incredibly cocky. He was the sort of conceited type that pretended to be extremely humble. It was really quite annoying. Jay thought he was the best fo the group because his father, Louis Bradlees, worked for the council. Sometimes, he would sneak world maps and news scraps out of the main offices and show them to the others.
Jesse was a very laid back kid. He was too nosey for his own good, and he hid it well from those that didn't know him. He had long, shaggy black hair and dark red eyes. He always wore baggy clothes and rarely cleaned up, like he was told. Some council members were suspicious of Jesse, but Jay always convinced his father that he just cared less than most people. This seemed to please his father.
Sky was the next to approach the awaiting friends. He was a very tall, thin boy. He had short, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He dressed a lot like Jesse, but he was honest about how lazy and careless he was. Sky was the oldest and was considered the wisest of them. He usually kept to himself and stayed out of things he shouldn't be sticking his nose into. He and Jesse didn't see eye to eye, but, they had been friends for so long, it was hard for them to break that bond.
Finally, after several more minutes of waiting, Sage and Fey approached the group. Fey was very shy and quiet. She was probably prettier than Sage, but she always let her long, black hair hide her face. She had light grey eyes and very soft features. She usually wore very odd clothes that were purposefully torn or sewn strangely. Kids at school made fun of her and called her a loner or a vagrant. Fey ignored them and was always writing on scratch paper. She only hung out with the others because they were the only people in the entire school that didn't judge her; that and, she had a severely hopeless crush on Jesse...
Sage was the most desired of the group. She had long, curly, blonde hair and light brown eyes. She dressed in a very upstanding fashion, and she was somewhat stuck-up and immature. Sage, like Jay, thought a lot of herself, but she was very open about it. She wasn't afraid to speak her opinion, and she didn't care what anyone thought of it. Ironically, she believed that Jay thought too highly of himself, and it annoyed her.
'Sorry, we're late,'� Fey apologized softly.
'Where the hell have you guys been?'� Jesse asked casually.
'Probably Sage, spending about two hours on her hair,'� scoffed Jay.
'Shut up! You all know, I look fabulous,'� Sage replied snidely, twirling her finger in her hair.
'I really couldn't care less why they're late,'� Sky cut in, 'we just need to go, now.'� The five friends started walking, more quickly than usual, towards the school. The high school was only about three blocks from where they met in the morning, but, when they were late, the walk seemed like miles.
'You know, I can't exactly be late to class,'� Jay began complaining, as he normally did, when they were late. 'If I'm late to class, it'll make my father look bad. I can't have Father looking bad. I mean, I have a family name to uphold, you know?'�
'Give it a rest, Jay,'� Jesse said with exasperation. 'You won't be late to class. Even if you are, you know Sky'll take care of you.'�
'You know, I won't always be here to save your scrawny necks,'� Sky reminded offhandedly. 'You guys need to stop counting on me for stuff like that; it'll get you into trouble someday.'�
'Oh, whatever, Sky,'� Sage giggled flirtatiously, moving closer. 'We know you'll always be loyal to us. Even when you graduate, you won't abandon us for some job.'�
'That's what you think,'� Sky muttered under his breath. Suddenly, Fey jerked a piece of paper out of her notebook and began writing aimlessly across the page. It looked as if the whole page was completely full already, but somehow she managed to find a tiny spot to write whatever she was currently thinking. No one paid her any mind; this was quite a normal occurrence with Fey.
'What are you writing, Fey?'� Sky asked kindly. The only time Sky treated anyone softly was when he talked to Fey. He saw a deep wisdom in her that no one else did, and he admired it. Fey continued writing, ignoring Sky's question. Sky said nothing more to her.
Everyone arrived at school just moments before the bell rang. The five of them scattered aimlessly to their classes, not to associate until the end of the day. After school, the friends would meet by an old tree off of school grounds. Every day, they would walk home together and go off into the dead woods near their houses. There, they would converse and contemplate the conspiracies that their government held so dearly in secret. On this particular day, Jesse had come up with an idea that, though everyone saw it coming, made his friends gasp at the thought.
Everyone went to their usual hangout in the woods that evening. They had a circle of black pillows around a small, handheld blue. They all sat down to start their evening meeting. For a moment, no one had anything to say. Jay was looking rather nervous, and Jesse looked very determined. Sage looked bored, Sky looked lazy, and Fey was frantically writing things down on scratch paper. 'Guys,'� Jesse said boldly, almost shouting. Everyone looked lazily at Jesse, except for Fey, who continued writing. 'I think we need to leave Blue.'�

'Hello, ma'am; my name is Louis Bradlees.'� The tall man in the black suit stood and shook hands with the young woman. Louis had dark brown hair and matching eyes. He thought very highly of himself, but he acted as if he had no idea. 'I understand that your son, Jesse, has gone missing?'�
The two sat on opposite sides of a large, wooden desk in a brightly lit, white room. The woman looked fairly confused and upset. Her makeup had run, where she had earlier cried, but now her face was hard and full of questions. 'Do you know what's happened to my son?'� the woman asked with resentment. 'Tell me what you know about my son!'�
'Ma'am, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down,'� Louis said with little sympathy.
'Why did the police send me to you?'� the woman continued. 'My son is missing, but they said that you're in some secret service or some bull. You still have yet to tell me where the hell my sone is!'� Louis rubbed his temples with his hand irritably.
'I will try to explain to you where your son is, if you will have a bit of patience,'� Louis replied, his tolerance running low. He sighed heavily before complying with the woman's request.

'What do you mean, you think we should leave Blue?'� Sage said with disgust.
'You know, I've tried to have your back for years, Jess, but you're going too far with this one,'� Jay snapped. Sky was simply shaking his head.
'I mean this is just completely insane!'� Sage nagged. 'It's irresponsible. It's foolish and ' and ' irresponsible!'�
'How can you want to leave Blue?'� Jay went on. 'My father would have a fit, if he found out I was friends with a revolutionary!'�
'Would you all shut up?'� Sky mumbled petulantly through the complaints, but no one seemed to hear him.
'What the hell are you thinking?!'� Jay blabbed. 'How do you even plan to leave the city? Where do you think you're going to go?!'�
'Shut the hell up!'� Sky snapped impatiently. 'It's not like he's asking your permission. Give him a chance to speak for himself.'� Sky turned to Jesse. 'Okay, Jess. Just what is it that you want to do, now?'�
'Have you ever wondered why we're here?'� Jesse questioned. 'I mean, why do we live in a society with too many rules to breathe? Blue can't be the only place in the whole world to live, right? What if we just leave? What's the worst that can happen?'�
'Um, you could be attacked by some ravenous beast and die,'� Sage exasperated wildly, giving him a look like he was stupid.
'Oh, come on, Sage!'� Jesse shouted defensively. 'Do you really believe that load?! What if there's a better place out there?'�
'What if there isn't,'� Fey murmured through her writing.
'Jay has been digging stuff up for years from his father's offices,'� Jesse reminded them. 'Have we all forgotten that half the crap we're made believe is a complete and total lie?! I mean, this place is a hellhole, and, if we question it, we die! What kind of a world do we live in?'�
'A safe one,'� Sage garbled. Jesse sighed.
'Does no one agree with me?'� he asked desperately. Jay was looking nervous again. Jesse shook his head. 'What are we doing here, then? Why do we hang out and meet every night? Just so we can bitch and complain about everything and do nothing?'� Jay interrupted him with a heavy sigh.
'There's something I haven't told you guys,'� he stammered. Everyone turned to Jay, including Fey. 'So, I was listening in on one of Father's meetings the other night, and I overheard something that I wasn't supposed to hear. As you all know, the council constantly talks of the fourth dimension and some place called 'Image,' right?'� Everyone continued staring at him. Jay gave another heavy sigh. 'Well, I heard Father say something about a connection between Image and 'the other world.''� They all started looking at each other with great interest.
'Why hadn't you mentioned this before?'� Sky asked calmly with a hint of irritability in his voice.
'I didn't want you guys doing exactly what you're doing right now!'� Jay shouted angrily.
'What is this 'other world?''� Jesse cut in, ignoring them.
'Well, I'm not exactly sure,'� Jay stammered. 'I mean, that's just what they said. I'm sure they know what it is, but they didn't say much about what it was.'�
'What else did they say?!'� Jesse urged wildly.
'Well,'� Jay stumbled on, 'Father said they were getting too careless. 'More and more people go to Image, looking for answers. There is more and more danger of the worlds becoming intertwined. If our world becomes part of theirs, we will disturb the delicate balance of that world, causing us to no longer exist.' That's what he said.'�
'Yes, but ' '� began Sky, but Jesse cut him off before he could speak.
'This is brilliant!'� Jesse exclaimed.
'This is what?'� Sage scoffed. 'Sounds to me like we're in some sort of danger.'�
'No,'� Jesse snapped viciously. 'It means that we've been right all along; there really is a government conspiracy at work on our lives!'�
'Maybe it's for a good reason, Jess,'� Sky added gently.
'I knew I shouldn't have told you,'� Jay said snootily, crossing his arms. 'I knew you'd just go looking for trouble, if I did.'�
'Jess,'� Sage said pitifully. 'Don't go, getting into a mess.'�
'So, none of you are backing me up on this,'� Jesse stated accusingly. 'I can't believe it!'�
'What can't you believe, Jesse?'� Sage asked perceptibly. 'This is ridiculous! It's completely out of our league!'�
'What are we doing here, guys?!'� Jesse asked furiously. 'Are we not here to prove that our government councils are controlling our lives and keeping us in the dark? The second we are actually onto something, you all want to back out!'�
'Hey!'� Sky shouted, suddenly. Everyone jumped; Sky rarely raised his voice. 'Calm down, Jess.'� Jesse's face changed suddenly from anger to defiance. 'Maybe there's a good reason why we're kept in the dark. You need to stay the hell out of things that could endanger or harm others.'� Sky paused, lowering his voice back to normal. 'The reason we have these meetings is to express some freedom that we need. It's like stretching your legs after sitting for several hours. Sometimes, you just need to step into the light.'�
''Step into the light?' Are you kidding me?!'� Jesse shouted.

'Ma'am,'� Louis Bradlees began. 'Your son is not missing, for starters. He has crossed into the fourth dimension to meet his other half. I've never been much for sympathy or delicacy. Ma'am, your son is dead.'� The woman looked at him like he was a lunatic.
'The fourth dimension,'� the woman repeated sarcastically. 'Are you kidding me?'�
'Before you start yelling again,'� Louis cut her off irritably, 'you might wait for me to explain.'� He paused for a moment. 'Ma'am, what level of math did you complete?'�
'I took advanced Calculus in college,'� the woman said snidely.
'Well, then you would know all about dimensions,'� Louis replied with a sarcastic smile. 'As you probably know, there is an equation used to find dimensions in Advanced Algebra. Text books will only show you up to three dimensions, of course, because that is all that one is able to graph, yes?'� The woman didn't move but continued to stare hard at him. 'The equation 'ax + by + cz' is the proper equation for graphing in the third dimension. What they don't tell you about in text books is the theoretical equation 'ax + by + cz + dw'.'� The woman pursed her lips apathetically.
'What are you getting at?'� she asked distastefully. Louis ignored her and continued.
'Many believe that this equation is proof of a fourth dimension,'� he said intensely. Then, his voice became very low and quiet. 'Many believe that the fourth dimension is time. 'Perhaps you can move freely across time, using the fourth dimension?' The fifth dimension, maybe, but not the fourth...'�
'How are you so certain it's not the fourth, Mr. Bradlees?'� the woman asked patronizingly.
'There is another group of people that believe the fourth dimension is depth,'� Louis added quickly, losing his patience with the rude, inquisitive woman. 'Those people are closer to the truth than they think.'� Now she was looking at him like he was crazy. 'You see there is a third, much smaller, group of people that know exactly what the fourth dimension is. For you see, my dear, I am one of those few...'�

'Okay, Jess,'� Jay began, but Jesse had his head resting in his hands, his fingers grasping tightly around clumps of his own hair. 'Even if we decided to leave, how in the world do you plan to get out of the city? There are guards at the gate every single day and night. They'll take you away, if you try to get past them.'�
'They fall asleep,'� Jesse replied dully without looking up.
'What?'� Jay asked, furrowing his brow.
'The guards fall asleep every night at 3:29 AM,'� Jesse shouted, looking up at them with a new hatred. Jay looked surprised that Jesse actually had an answer. Sky gave Jesse a suspicious, sideways glance.
'Okay, how do you think you're going to slip past the street watch at night?'� Jay asked thoughtfully, trying to stump Jesse. Jesse only looked at him square in the eye with another quick response.
'I have figured out the routes of the local street watch,'� he said bitterly. Jay was now looking a bit puzzled and pale.
'Well...'� Jay stammered a bit. 'How do you plan to get out of your house?'� Jesse pursed his lips.
'Jay, I sneak out all the time,'� he replied, getting bored with his questions. Jay shook his head with frustration. Sky looked over at Jesse again, this time, not taking his eyes off of him.
'What?'� Jesse snapped.
'How long have you been planning this?'� Sky asked knowingly.
'Years,'� he replied boldly. Sky's eyebrow twitched.
'Why didn't you ever mention it before?'� he asked almost defensively.
'For this reason exactly!'� Jesse started up again. 'You guys freak out, when I start talking about taking action!'� There was a long, awkward silence.
'I've got it!'� Fey shouted suddenly, scaring everyone. They all turned and looked at her quickly. Fey had never spoken like this before. 'It's all here in my equations.'� Fey handed her notebook over to Jesse. He began flipping through it, and what he saw amazed him.

'So, what you're telling me is that you know what the fourth dimension is,'� the woman said with a snigger. 'And, you are trying to tell me that my son somehow fell into it and has died...'� She stifled a laugh. 'I knew this was a waste of my time; Mr. Bradlees, if you can't tell me where my son is, I'm leaving.'� She began to stand up, but Louis pushed back on her shoulders, forcing her into her seat again.
'No, you can't leave,'� Louis told her darkly. 'You already know too much. Before the end of the night, you'll know everything, and, once you do, you either join us or die.'�
'Who the hell do you think you are?!'� the woman shouted furiously. She tried to get up again, but he forced her back down.
'A little help, please,'� Louis called. Two more men in black suits came rushing into the room. They took cuffs and pinned her arms to the chair she was in. She fought furiously, but it was no use.
'What is this?!'� she cried desperately.
'I'm sorry, Ma'am, but it's the only way...'�

Jesse was not staring at pages of doodles, poems, and odd writings, as he had expected, but he was staring at pages and pages of equations and theories. 'Fey,'� Jesse began slowly. 'What exactly is all this?'�
'It's my life's work,'� Fey mumbled timidly. 'It's everything you need to know about our world and the other side... It's not completely finished,'� she added quickly. 'I still haven't figured out the exact equation for the fourth dimension. I'm sure I could plot it somewhere at the end, but I really couldn't figure it out unless I was to go to Image.'� Jesse scoffed with amazement. He continued thumbing through the pages. Jesse stopped on a page that looked as if a bunch of equations had been meshed into a picture.
The picture consisted of a large map, showing a vast amount of countries and cities, just like Blue. In the center of it all, there was a much larger city called Image. Blue was only one town over from Image, which excited Jesse immensely. The equations looked like mappings and proofs to how this map was made out. The neat thing was the equations actually were drawn out to form the map. All of this impressed him greatly, and he looked upon Fey with a new perspective.
'I thought maybe it would help you,'� Fey whispered shyly. Jesse pulled his eyes away from the equations and quickly looked over at her. He nodded slowly.
'Yes, Fey,'� Jesse replied. 'It helps a lot.'�

'Mr. Bradlees?'� asked a timid woman from the dark doorway. Louis looked up from his paperwork. There was a small blue dimly lit on his desk over which he was pouring his time into. 'May I come in?'�
'Of course,'� he said kindly. 'What can I do for you, Ma'am?'�
'It's my son, Jesse,'� the woman began, walking slowly into the room. 'I got up this morning, and he wasn't in his room.'� Louis looked somewhat disturbed by this. He didn't speak, so the woman continued. 'His friends weren't waiting for him by the tree this morning either. I think something's happened to them, sir.'� Louis looked deep in thought. Suddenly, he grabbed the phone and punched in a few numbers.
'Hello? This is Mr. Bradlees. Yes? Yes. I was wondering if my son had shown up to school this morning. Uh-huh. Yes. Okay. How about Jesse, Fey, Sky, or Sage? No? Okay. Thank you, sir.'� Louis hung up the phone quickly and began rubbing his temples. 'Ma'am, can I ask you a few questions?'�
'Why, of course, Mr. Bradlees,'� she said kindly, sitting down. 'What is it? Has something happened?'�
'I'm afraid that our children are dead...'�

'If you don't let me go at once, I'll kill you!'� the woman screamed, struggling.
'Oh, really?'� Louis asked cynically. 'And, how are you planning on doing that?'� The woman pulled at her cuffs, but it was no use. Louis crossed his arms impatiently until she settled down. 'Alright, Ma'am, here's the deal,'� he began coldly. 'Everyone on the planet has a double in another world. These people make us who we are; they are our shadows, our reflections, our features... they provide the tiny details and expressions that make us human. In order for this to happen, they can not come in contact with anything that can make them have human qualities. This means, they can not be near light, bright enough to show their shadows, they can not be near any sort of mirror that can show their reflection, they can not have pictures taken of them, they must always remain in the darkness, and so on.
'These creatures live in another third dimension, as we do, but the place where the two worlds connect is known as the fourth dimension. This place is only accessible in their world through a city called 'Image'. This city contains mirrors, bright colours, light, and anything forbidden among the people of that world. If one of those creatures enters into the city of Image, not only them, but their humans, here on Earth, will also be exposed to all of this information through the mind. Knowledge of the other world floods into the mind of each individual, and they become overwhelmed with comprehension. They will know about each other and the other world. The next moment the human gets near a mirror, they will see themselves in the mirror and get sucked into the other world through the fourth dimension. Do you comprehend everything I am telling you?'� The woman stared at him blankly, but quietly for the first time.
'This has happened to your son,'� Louis continued carelessly. 'The Jesse in the other world has become too curious and stepped into the city of Image. Your son became aware of everything, and he entered into the other world to fight his other half. The difficulty is, when one of them kills the other, regardless of which it is, the other will also die. One can not live without the other, and our worlds can not cross, or they will be rejected. When your son reached the other side, the world immediately rejected them both, causing your son and his doppelganger to merge in a battle to the death. The way this works is unknown, but the best I figure is, the fourth dimension sends waves into the minds of the two, causing them to panic and kill one another. It's all very speculative and complicated. None of it can be proven without death.'�
'Then tell me this, Mr. Bradlees,'� the woman said with hatred in her voice, 'how is it that you came to know all of this information?'�
'My double and I are in the same business,'� Louis explained. 'He is an official in his world too. He works to enforce the laws of their world to protect both of our worlds. We both had the same knowledge of the other and can communicate with each other through our minds. This has taken much time and skill, which brings me to my next topic: now that you know all of this, you must either join our agency or be killed by it...'�

'How did you do this?'� Jay asked Fey aggressively.
'I don't know,'� Fey replied timidly. 'It all just came into my head. I've studied all of the maps and things from you over the years, and the rest just sort of came into my head. I don't really know how it all happens.'� She looked back at Jesse. 'You aren't angry with me, are you, Jesse?'�
'Of course not, Fey!'� Jesse exclaimed. He glared at Jay, 'Shut up, Jay! You're making her feel bad!'�
'I'm not making her feel bad!'� Jay yelled back indignantly.
'Shut up, guys,'� Sky said impatiently. 'You do realize this isn't about your bickering right now? Fey has put her heart and soul into this, all for you people, and all you can do is argue. Why don't you all listen to her for once? I know none of you know how to listen, but you could try.'�

'Fey! Fey, what are you doing?!'� said a whisper from behind her. Fey was a young journalist, eager to make her impression on the world. She rarely spoke except when she was telling her assistant what to do. Her assistant was a young girl named Sage. She was very impatient and didn't much care about what the young writer had to say; she was just in it all for the money.
Fey had spent the last few years investigating the large government facility hidden deep in the forest of their small town. The place was very secure and made to look like an old, abandoned factory, but Fey knew better. She had spent her life tracking and investigating a man named Louis Bradlees, and she was determined to prove that this guy was no good.
'Fey! Answer me!'� Sage urged quietly.
'Shush!'� Fey exclaimed warningly, giving her a deadly glare. Fey had made her first infiltration beyond the highly secure fences surrounding the building. She was now balancing on the ledge of a dumpster with her assistant handing her notes from below. 'I can see a woman!'� Fey exclaimed. 'The room looks like some sort of lab...'� Fey paused. 'Are you taking notes?!'� Sage looked startled.
'Uh, yes, of course, of course!'� Sage lied, quickly jotting down what she had missed.
'She's in a test facility,'� Fey continued to whisper. 'She looks like she's running tests on a mirror. I'm not quite sure what else the room contains. Everything looks so much more advanced than what I'm used to seeing in these sorts of labs.'�
'What sort of tests is she ' '�
'Shush! Someone else is coming in,'� Fey snapped. Sage frantically began writing again. 'Oh my God... it's Louis Bradlees.'�

'These things just come into my head,'� Fey explained timidly. Jesse looked intrigued. Sky looked careless, and the other two looked skeptical. 'I can't really explain it... it's like, suddenly, my mind is overcome with information. Every time something else pops into my head, I write it all down in this notebook. You can have it, if you want, Jesse,'� Fey offered shyly, hiding behind her dark hair. Jesse continued flipping through the pages carefully. He wanted to understand all of it, but everything was something that had to be seen.
'She's crazy,'� Jay whispered to Sage. 'I've always thought so, you know.'�
'Hey!'� Sky snapped viciously. 'Shut up, Jay!'�
'Don't tell him to shut up!'� Sage hollered back half indignantly.
'You can shut up too,'� Sky said darkly with a glare. This made Sage turn red and look away quickly. Jesse was ignoring all of them. He continued looking through the amazing notebook. Everything he ever wanted to know was here, if he could only understand it.
'I'm leaving tonight,'� Jesse announced suddenly. Everyone stopped their arguing instantly and turned to Jesse. 'Don't try and stop me; I'm leaving tonight, and that's that.'�

'Dead? How can they be dead?'� the woman asked Mr. Bradlees desperately.
'Well, our children seem to have traveled to Image,'� he explained delicately, leaning forward across the desk. 'Image is a place of horrible things that can't even be imagined. Our children will die there.'� Tears welled up in the woman's eyes.
'Is there nothing we can do?'� she squeaked sadly. Louis stood slowly and made his way around the desk to her.
'I'm sorry, Ma'am,'� he said gently. He helped her up and gave her a polite hug.

That night, Jesse met at their normal spot; only this time, it was in the middle of the night instead of early morning. Either way, it was still pitch black. Jesse knew exactly where every night guard was at the precise moment. He waited patiently at the tree. At exactly 3:00 AM, Jesse was leaving the city forever. He had told the others this earlier, and they were welcome to follow.
Jesse looked down at his watch; it was now 2:53 AM. There was no sign of life except him. He sighed heavily, crossing his arms. It made no difference to him if they came or not, but he wanted to share this with them. It was their choice whether or not to follow him. He glanced at his watch again at 2:54 AM. Just then, he felt someone coming upon him. He turned his head back behind him and saw Fey and Sage, walking up from the distance.
Jesse said nothing to them, but he turned back to face ahead. Sage and Fey walked up to him and stared at him, as if waiting for direction. He held up his watch so they could see. They seemed to understand because neither asked questions, and they both leaned against the tree like Jesse was. At 2:58 AM, Sky came lurking up from the darkness ahead.
As usual, Sky looked careless and casual. He walked up and patted Jesse hard on the back. He nodded to the girls in acknowledgment. Fey looked down, and Sage game a weak smile. At 2:59 AM, Jesse watched as his clock hit 3. Jesse stood up from against the tree. The others began to follow. Just then, they heard footsteps, running quickly towards them. Everyone stopped and turned: there came Jay over the hill. He was panting hard. Everyone grinned, when they saw him. Jesse then proceeded to lead the way.

'I have to find out what they are doing in that lab,'� Fey said to Sage in her office that night. A lamp dangled over Fey's desk in the dark room. Sage sighed and shook her head. 'Sage, I have to!'�
'I don't care what you think you have to do,'� Sage said levelly. 'All I care about is that I don't get mixed up in all of this, and I don't want to know about any of the information that you're collecting.'�
'Sage, I need someone to help me keep my notes straight,'� she said in appeal. 'Listen,'� she started, leaning forward across her desk, 'if you help me, I'll take you to the top. If I get this story out, we're going to be the most famous journalists in the world! If you help me uncover this story, I will take you to the top with me.'� Sage shook her head doubtfully.
'Something about this just feels wrong,'� Sage answered softly. 'I don't want to be a part of this much longer. Just make sure I'm not associated with it unless it comes to money...'�

The five friends peaked around the corner of a large, black building near the gate to Blue. Sure enough, the guard was looking very groggy and had already taken a seat against the wall. Jesse looked at his watch; it was 3:26 AM. At exactly 3:29 AM, the guard's head fell to his right, and he was out like a light (no pun intended). Jesse signaled for the others to follow him. They snuck up to the gate, keeping close watch on the guard. Jesse lifted up on the heavy handle of the large door. Once the handle was lifted up, the door swung in with relative ease.
The five friends tip-toed out the door, closing it tightly behind them. When they got outside, they were surprised to see a very open, green field, strewn out as far as the eyes could see. They had never really seen grass before, and it had been a rare thing to see much colour. Of course, the sky was still black with darkness, but, all the same, it was a sight they had never seen. They stood for a moment, admiring the scene in awe, before heading out towards Image.
'Fey,'� Jesse stared. 'Where does the map say we should go?'� Fey flipped through her notebook, studying each page through squinted eyes. She pointed strait ahead.
'It's that way,'� Fey whispered. 'It should only be a mile or two.'� They started walking swiftly across the grassy fields, enjoying the soft breeze, coming from the north. It was somehow very biting and empty, like it was dead. Everything was unnaturally quiet, but they didn't seem to notice.

That night, Fey and Sage made their way up to the test facility. Fey climbed up an old ladder that she made Sage carry up to the building. Fey peeked into a tiny window to see a woman locked up in a dark room. There was nothing in the room except for the woman, lying all alone in the floor. Fey tapped her fingernail on the window gently.
'Fey!'� Sage whispered loudly. 'What are you doing?'�
'There's a woman locked up in there!'� Fey whispered back. She tapped on the window again. The woman jumped, jerking her head towards the window. The woman went to the window and cracked it open as far as she could.
'Who are you?'� the woman snapped.
'My name is Fey, and I'm a journalist,'� she whispered back. 'Why are you locked in this room?'�
'Because I know the truth,'� the woman replied darkly. Her eyes were empty and careless, but they were glistening with tears.
'What exactly is the truth?'� Fey asked slowly.

Suddenly, as Louis Bradlees was hugging Jesse's mother, she started screaming. Louis did not seem surprised but began squeezing her tightly as she scrambled to get away. She started crying and babbling in a wild panic. Two men came in to take the woman away.
'What's happening to her?'� asked a young man, new to the government.
'Her other half just learned the truth about our world,'� Bradlees explained casually. 'The sudden rush of information and knowledge caused her to go into a temporary shock. She will be locked away until she can be disposed of.'� The young man looked horrified; Louis looked up and saw this. 'Don't worry; it happens sometimes. That's why we're here; to make sure it doesn't get past this room.'� He sneered darkly and walked out.

'Is that it?'� Sage asked, pointing at a large, black wall in the distance. Fey nodded lightly. The five approached the gate cautiously. It took all five of them to push the gate open, but it was worth it. When they got inside, they were overwhelmed by what they saw:
The city was completely lit, but the light wasn't bright enough to hurt their delicate eyes. The buildings were all different colours, and there were plants everywhere. Everyone was standing in awe and amazement. Fey was the first to walk forward. She walked over to one of the buildings, followed by the others. She opened the door, and the entire room was made of mirrors. None of them had ever seen their reflections before, and they were overtaken with astonishment. They stared at themselves for a few moments before Fey left the room and walked to another building. She opened that door; the others followed her soon after. Behind this door was a very bright, glowing ball. It looked like a miniature version of the Earth's sun, which, of course, none of them had ever seen. They shielded their eyes, unable to handle the amount of light. Quickly, they closed the door and left that building.
'This is so weird,'� Jay commented after a while. 'This place is so ' weird.'�
'It's amazing!'� Jesse shouted excitedly. 'Our world has never known any of this! We need to show our world what it's missing.'�
'Jess, did you ever think that maybe it's for our own good?'� Sky asked with concern. 'We don't know anything about any of this. It could be dangerous.'�
'How could this be dangerous?'� Jesse argued. 'This stuff is amazing!'� Suddenly, all five of them grabbed their heads and started screaming. Each of them collapsed into a pile on the ground, crying hysterically.

Fey listened to everything the woman had to say. She was stunned that everything she believed turned out to be true. It was only a few days ago that she'd had a painful headache and felt this rush of information in her mind.
'So, what happens if we look into the mirror?'� Fey asked again.
'Apparently, you get sucked into their world,'� the woman replied weakly. 'Our other half responds more to the rush of information because they aren't allowed to be exposed to as many things in their world as we are. I suppose it's a great shock to them in their world. We are able to handle it because our world is far more advanced; we're allowed to advance, after all.'�
'This is just completely crazy,'� Fey sighed, deep in thought.

After the five friends had gotten over their shock, they tried to stand up. 'What the hell just happened,'� Sky gasped, trying to breath.
'I think it's time to get out of here,'� Jay said anxiously.
'I'm going to have to agree with him,'� Sage added quickly.
'Not yet!'� Jesse yelled.
'How can this place just be the byproduct of another world?'� Sky asked.
'So, we're, like, not even real,'� Jesse murmured conclusively.
'I think we're real; we're just more the reality of someone else,'� Fey corrected softly.
'How is this even possible?'� Sage cried, throwing her arms in the air. 'This is cruel! It's cruel to everyone that lives in this universe. And, what about this place? What is this place?'�
'It's where the two worlds meet,'� Jesse answered distantly. 'That means ' '� Suddenly, there was a loud crash, causing everyone to jump. They all turned to look behind them hesitantly. A door to one of the buildings was opening slowly. Everyone was waiting in anticipation to see what was behind the door.
Before the door opened, there was another loud crashing sound. Another door was opening. Through the first door came Sky, and through the other door came Jay. Everyone gagged with sickening realization, including the other two doubles that had just popped out of the buildings. Fear ensued, and everyone took off running in different directions.
The new Sky went after the Sky that they all knew, and the same went with Jay. The other three hadn't had their double come out yet, but they were trying to get out of the city nevertheless. Jay was panting heavily as he stumbled through the bright alleyways, continuously looking behind him to see if his double was coming. Sky was running until he could come up with a plan to kill his other half. Though he knew it would kill him too, somehow he didn't care in that moment.

'I've looked in plenty of mirrors since the other day,'� Fey commented. 'How was I not sucked into this other world?'�
'I don't know,'� the woman replied honestly.
'Perhaps,'� whispered Sage from below, 'your other half made it out of the city before you looked into a mirror?'�
'It's possible,'� Fey thought hard, 'but I really have no way of knowing for sure.'�

Jay finally hit a dead end. He turned abruptly to face his match, and sure enough it was right behind him. Jay panicked instantly and ran at him to fight. Both Jay's began battling it out in the alleyway. They both seemed to predict the other's moves, so neither of them were really getting anywhere.
Meanwhile, Sky was running quickly to another of the buildings. He quickly opened the door and ran inside. The entire room was made of mirrors. Sky was mesmerized at first by his won reflection, which he had only seen the one other time just moments ago. Just then, the door began to open again. Sky, knowingly, turned around, as his doppelganger tore into the room. As he ran at Sky, Sky grabbed the back of his shirt and threw him into the wall of mirrors. A part of Sky had hoped that his twin would be sent back into his won world, but, instead, the mirrors shattered and broke all over the two of them. Sky's twin was knocked onto the ground, and both of them now had cuts all over them.
Jay attempted to punch his double in the face, but he seemed to know every one of Jay's moves immediately. They began fighting pointlessly, causing little to no damage to the other. 'What are you?!'� Jay's twin demanded through their senseless battling.
'I'm me; what are you?!'� Jay said indignantly.
'I'm a human!'� he replied.
'Well, I'm ' '� Jay stopped fighting. There was a long pause. 'I'm not exactly sure what I am anymore.'� Both Jay's looked off into the distance thoughtfully. Suddenly, they both shrugged and began fighting again.

Late that night, Fey and Sage were sitting in Fey's office, putting together everything they had heard that night. They had written down every account that the woman had made, and compared it to everything that had previously researched on the case. 'It's so strange that my other half is the one that went to Image, when I'm the one working on this case,'� Fey stated.
'It makes sense,'� Sage replied. Fey looked up at her. 'I mean, our minds share information, right? That's what the woman said. Our minds are connected somehow and can transfer information. So, what if all of your research lead your other half to seek out her own research. Maybe you gave her just enough knowledge to get to 'Image'.'�
'You know, that's very good!'� Fey acknowledged, writing again.
'Fey,'� Sage began again, this time a bit more uncomfortably. Fey looked up again. 'I think I've had this happen to me as well.'� Fey's expression changed to shock and interest. 'I felt that rush of information and had a headache the other night, when you did. I've looked in plenty of mirrors since that night, and I'm still here too. What does all of that mean?'� Fey didn't know what to say.
'Maybe you were right,'� she replied distantly. 'Maybe our doubles made it out of the city before we looked into a mirror.'� Sage nodded slowly. 'But, you're absolutely right. I don't know what any of this could mean.'�

Sage, Fey, and Jesse were running down the main stretch of road out of the city. Suddenly, they heard another crash near them, but none of them turned to see who it was (it was Jesse's double). Sage panicked and ran through another alley. 'Oh my God, he's right behind us!'� gasped Jesse. Fey gave a squeak through her heavy panting, as the two ran side by side. 'They're so fast! I don't see how we can make it out of here alive...'�
Fey didn't say anything. The two continued running through the dimly lit city. The tall buildings seemed to encase them such as a large maze. They had no knowledge of the city and were running blindly away from the unseen enemy. 'Where are they?'� Fey asked hoarsely. Jesse didn't answer; he was wondering the same thing himself. Just then, Jesse tripped and fell. Fey stopped and offered him a helping hand.
'I can't run anymore! This is suicide!'� Jesse shouted angrily.
'Sh, they'll hear,'� Fey whispered with fright.
'I don't care!'� Jesse yelled wildly. 'Let them find us! We know the truth! How can we go back to the way things were, now that we know the truth?!'�
'I don't know, Jess,'� Fey pleaded, trying to hold back her tears. 'All I know is that I don't want to die here. Please, get up.'�
'No,'� Jesse gasped defiantly. 'You go on, if you want; live life, if you can. Even if I made it out of this, I couldn't go on living life, knowing what we know now.'� Fey gave him one, last, long look through the tears in her eyes. 'Go, Fey. Get out of here.'� Tears began streaming down her face as she ran away from him into the distance. Slowly, Jesse arose to meet his match, face to face...



Want to know what happened? Well, Fey and Sage in the fourth dimension ended up making it out of Image before their other halves in the real world looked into a mirror. They made it back to Blue, and they pretended as if nothing had happened, of course, to protect themselves. Fey and Sage in the real world ended up trying to publish their finding, but Louis Bradlees caught word of this from a worker that had been listening in on Jesse's mother and had overheard the conversation between her and Fey. He sent in a team to find them, tore into Fey's office, and killed them both. This, of course, killed both Fey and Sage in the forth dimension, as well. Jesse, Jay, Sky, and their doubles all killed one other in Image. As usual, the government covered the entire story up, and no one ever know about it.
I'm the last known person outside of the government, that knows about all of this. I am Jess's mother. I've been sitting in this cell for about a week now. Louis is still waiting for me to tell him whether or not I will join his team. I'm not sure, but I think I have been communication telepathically with my other half for some time now. She too is locked in a cell somewhere in Blue. I think we're both decided that we'll join their government. When the time is right, we'll make our escape and share our story, and the stories of our kids, to the entire world... No, we'll share them with both worlds...

It will never truly be...
The End

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