Chapter 23

'You ready?' Alyssa asked.

'Absolutely not.' Conor replied. 'But, ain't got no other option, right?'

'Nope.' Mr. Atlas said. 'You already agreed on this mission.' He continued while smiling rather peculiarly.

'Oh well, when are we getting to the hole?' Alyssa asked.

'Soon enough lady, be patient.' Mr Atlas replied. Conor sighed. He couldn't believe he was doing this. A month ago, everything was going just fine, with no issues. And now, he somehow has agreed to go into an unknown reality again. Whether it's the same reality, he has no idea.

The last month went very harsh on Conor. He had to go undergo tons of briefings, tests, checks, all the preparation before a mission. He was sorely tired and was very in need of a full weekend worth of sleep.

NASA, unfortunately, didn't see things the same way. To them, the faster they go on the mission, the better. This made Conor a little suspicious as if NASA knows something but shook that thought off.

Once on the helicopter, Conor sat next to Alyssa. They both stared out of the window, probably thinking about the same thing; the mission. Conor stopped staring outside and let out a deep sigh. Alyssa looked at him.

'You alright?' She asked. Conor just nodded.

'What's wrong, tell me.' Alyssa continued.

'I'm just curious, why does NASA want us to go into the hole?' Conor asked. Alyssa raised an eyebrow.

'You don't remember?' Alyssa said. 'You told the authorities about your dreams and how you thought there could be answers in the reality.' Alyssa explained.

'So?' Conor asked back.

'Well, obviously NASA thought maybe there really is a solution in that reality so why not get it checked out? There are not many risks to do that.' Alyssa explained. Conor nodded curtly.

Soon, they arrived at the location. The pilot lowered the helicopter slowly and away from the exact position of the hole.

'Okay Dr. Sam, Ms. Brent, I wish you good luck!' said the supervisor who was also on the chopper. Both Conor and Alyssa nodded and jumped off, running towards the hole.

Conor was breathing heavily. His heart was pounding. Not from the run, but from his nervousness. He could see the hole- it was pitch black. Weird, the one he went into before wasn't visible at all.

He was closer to the hole. Alyssa was behind her. As he approached the outer rim of the circle, he jumped and dived into the hole. Immediately, all was silent and was dark. He could sense that he was moving but he couldn't figure out in which way. It seemed like he was falling down a while and then falling upwards a while and back and forth.

Sparks and flecks started to appear. Conor could feel things bump against his body. It got more and more intense as flashes of light appeared that blinded his eyes.

At long last, he finally hit hard ground facing upwards, and he passed out.