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Excerpts

Pushing through Midlandia was a great thing if you knew how to do it. Some had to force their way through as Perilynn just had, but it was believed that some could make the ground open up and welcome them.

Although they had crashed through dirt, grass, and rock, Louis and Perilynn were now falling gracefully through air, and Louis felt this place all around him, as if it were embracing him like it cared about and needed him. A few glowing colorful lights took a moment to travel in front of Louis's face and examine him. They took off after saying unspoken hellos and good-byes.

Soon, Louis and Perilynn landed on a path, and it was like they were underground but not. They were in a huge expanse, yet Louis sensed that everything ended just beyond his range of vision. There were many other pathways around them -- some interwoven, some not.

There were upways ascending and downways descending.

There were sideways winding on their sides and slantedways on a zigzag.

There were oldways coming apart and newways being built.

There were frontways in full sight and backways somewhat hidden.

There were rightways leading to good places and wrongways leading to bad places.

There were all sorts of ways but oddly there were no doorways...

Perilynn found a way, grabbed Louis, and they were off.

"Where are we? Where are we going?" Louis asked, staring at everything around him.

"This is Midlandia and I have to get you to Olivion's Gate, but before that can happen we must find the other children...," Perilynn said from behind his silver mask, which reflected all as he led Louis with quick steps down a shiny metal pathway.

Each time their feet touched the ground, tiny glowing sparks flew up. They were moving through what could only be explained as "it all." They were actually inside of Midlandia, traveling through the fabric of existence. It was if they were walking through an invisible fog, pushing through something that was tightly woven yet contained loose patches at the same time, and it gave Louis an odd, prickly feeling. Marvelous!

"Other children...like me? I saw them when I first got here. There's another boy and a girl," Louis said, trying to keep up with Perilynn's pace.

"You were with them? Why did you separate? That was the worst thing you could've done."

"We didn't separate on purpose. I was with them one minute, and the next I was flying through the sky and you know what happened after that.... You saved me. Thanks."

"We're not safe, so there's no need to thank me yet." Perilynn was trying to figure out where they should be going among the many paths surrounding them. Louis realized now that he'd been hearing a faint background noise ever since he'd arrived on Midlandia. The sounds were becoming louder in Louis's ears as he was becoming more accustomed to this place. It seemed as if everything had a sound as identifiable as its appearance. The interwoven melodies comforted Louis.

"Always remember that the best and only way is your own way and you should never be afraid to take it." Perilynn had hardly finished speaking when he leaped, pulling Louis with him, to land on a platform that met his feet as if it were called to him. There were more, and Perilynn was leaping from one to the next with Louis in tow. Upon each landing a shock tore through Louis's body, vibrating his insides with an exciting, energizing tingle. Louis didn't know it but the effects of a celestial virus were being accelerated. He was becoming more in tune with Midlandia and it was becoming a part of him both here and in his body back home.

Louis Proof's Celestial Infection Rate = 19% and Rising

Louis didn't notice but he was also becoming thinner and more muscular. He was distracted by the realization that colors were different here. They seemed to be living entities that chose to bring color to objects as sort of a cool job. They radiated this place with patterns that were unpredictable yet complementary, as if this were a wondrous painting accented with blackness.

The platforms read each of Perilynn's moves, pivoting with his steps. Some even catapulted him forward when the next one looked too far to be reached by just jumping. Of course Perilynn could clear just about any jump, but nonetheless he always appreciated assistance.

There were no more platforms, and they came to a complete stop. There seemed to be no way to go forward in the darkness. "Hold on," Perilynn said. Louis braced himself for Perilynn to leap into the unknown but he didn't jump.

Hearing the sound of running water, Louis looked down to see a stream of illuminated water rise up in front of them. Perilynn smiled. The water took on the shape of a woman's face, which had to be over ten feet tall. It didn't speak as it looked Louis and Perilynn over. Finally it smiled and opened its mouth. Instead of a tongue a stairway rolled out and met the platform. The woman's mouth kept opening wider and wider until there was no more face left. There was only a massive liquid passageway. It beamed with light and Louis could feel its warm invitation.

"I'm pretty sure this is the way, but if not...well, hey, we won't worry about that!" Perilynn said as they began to climb the stairs that led to an illuminated waterway.

It seems that Louis and Perilynn did indeed find their doorway.