Kimberly stumbled down the Western dorm stairs taking them three at a time, nearly tripping along the way and stumbling into the lobby door. She tore the door opened and rushed into the lobby, "NATALIE!!" She cried out desperately searching for her friend. Kima jumped to her feet, "Kimberly?!? What is it?" She inquired, sensing the worry in her twin as she rushed to the girl's side. "Is something wrong?" "Jenn..." Kim panted as she tried to catch her breath, "She's in trouble." Kima helped her double to the couches, "Natalie and Kris are on looking for her. She will be fine." Kim shook her head and took a deep breath, "May's back!!" She declared fearfully. "What?" Kima exclaimed in confusion, "But those Sisters took her, didn't they?" Kim nodded, "But I saw May with Jenn in a dream." She explained frantically, "She's trying to convince Jenn to come with her." Alyson sat up from her spot on the couch, "It might be a fragment of her memories trying to trick her." She explained calmly, "My brother probably triggered something in her mind when he met her. Hopefully Natalie and the others will get to her before him. They should be able to rescue Jenn." "But we can't just wait around here." Kimberly exclaimed. "Yeah," Kima agreed, "May seems like the type that would do anything to get her way. I mean she even tried to kill us just because we entered Jenn's dreams before." "But how do we get to her?" Kim inquired desperately, "Something pushed me out of her dreams like I was nothing?" "Something pushed you?" Alyson inquired eager to learn more, "What could shove someone from a dream? Only the dreamer should be able to force another out of a dream." "I don't know." Kim explained frantically, "It was a face made out of coloured glass. It told me to leave then I was thrown backwards." "That means a direct route is out of the questions." Alyson commented as she scanned the room in search of some clue to how they might get around such a force when her eyes fell upon Penny and Jessica, "You can use them." She nodded at the sleeping girls, "If you jump into their dreams you should be able to work your way around to Jenn's dreams. " Kima rushed around to Penny's side with Kimberly close beside her, "How do we do that?" She asked frantically, "I have never entered someone dreams on my own." "It has always been by accident." Kim concluded her twin's statement. Alyson shook her head in frustration, "You two have been wandering through dreams without even knowing how?" She rubbed her forehead as she tried to force down the anger that started to surface, "Maybe this is not such a good idea. Sling shooting off someone's dreams can be dangerous and I can't come with you like this." She gestured to her leg and arm. "We have no other choice." Kima stated, getting more agitated by the moment, "Please tell us what we need to do." She begged. Alyson shifted in her seat so she faced the girls, "You sure about this? You do realize the dangers you could be up against." Alyson warned, "We found a bugbear in that girl's room and where there is one there are sure to be several more inside her mind." Kima nodded firmly, "I will kill every last one of them if I have too." She declared with a gleam of hatred in her eyes. Alyson turned to Kim, "What about you?" She inquired, "You willing to fight through yet another nightmare for Jenn?" Kim's face grew long as she recalled the first time she encountered May, then she remembered how Jenn fought to protect her from Lauren even when she did not really know Kim. Seriousness crossed her face and she gave a stern nod, "I will do anything for Jenn. I've hurt her to much and wish I could at least try to be there for her as she was for me." "Alright then." Alyson said, satisfied by what she heard, "You've already got the heart. You just need to follow it. You both experienced her dreams first hand." She stated pointing at Penny, "Now you just need to close your eyes and concentrate on the emotion you felt while you were there. If your intent is clear, and your mind not clouded, you should easily pass through the girl's dreams. When you are there you will need to find the door that leads to the Hall of Mirrors. It is a maze filled with fog and lots of strange looking mirrors." "We know of the place." Kima assured giving Kim a broad grin, which Kim returned with a weaker smile, "Kim knows how to reach Jenn from there. Right, Kim?" Kim reluctantly nodded as she recalled the dark path she would need to walk once again. "Good." Alyson remarked, "Then I do not have to explain what you may have to face there. Just try to find Jenn as quickly as you can and get out of there right away. Understood? Do not linger in that girl's dreams longer then you need too and try not to get too involved this time alright?" Kima flushed lightly, "I'll try not to kiss anyone is that is what you mean." She stated with a roll of her eyes. "Kim?" Alyson glanced to the girl, "You know what to do?" "Y... yes... " Kim stammered, she was uncertain about what exactly they were going to do but trusted that her other half would know when they got there. She laced her fingers between Kima's and closed her eyes. Kima smiled one more time at her twin then glanced down at Penny and a frown crossed her face, "I'm sorry..." She apologized, then closed her eyes and lightly set a hand upon Penny's forehead. Instantly she could feel Penny's emotions rush through her fingertips, like wild fire it raced over her body engulfing her heart in a series of emotions. Before Kima was even prepared a wave of darkness enveloped her hand and quickly crawled over her skin. Kima tried to pull her hand away only to find it stuck fast to the girl. She felt revulsion as something slick and wet coated her arm moving across her chest. Within second she could feel cold fingers all over her flesh and she needed to clench her muscle in an attempt to keep herself from running away. Abruptly she recoiled from the girl and fell to the ground, her mind reeled as the sensation of a million hands crawled over her skin overcame her. She felt a well of disgust fill up in the pit of her stomach and she could taste vomit rise up in the back of her throat. It took every ounce of her strength to keep herself from throwing up. She trashed about upon the ground in an attempt to regain control of her body and shake the crawling feeling from herself. Finally tears began to stream down the sides of her face and she let out a terrified scream. "Are you alright?" A voice cut through the haze that flooded Kima's mind, a soothing and familiar voice. Kima reached out her mind towards whoever it was and forced herself to open her eyes. There knelling above her was Penny. She rolled over on her knees and let out a dry cough that felt as if her entire insides were about to drop on the floor in front of her. Her mind raced as it tried to piece together what had just happened to her. She had not felt that awful since the last time her father touched her and even then she usually had some control over her body. This was like something else entirely. Her eyes darted to Penny and the long expression upon the girl's face, "P... penny..." She chocked as she reached out for the girl only to have her pull out of reach, "P.. Penny... wait..." She called out and tried to get her body to stand only to find her legs not responding and she fell to her side, curled up in a ball. "A... are you alright?" Penny repeated, moving timidly closer. Kima rolled over on her back and sucked in a shaky breath of mouldy air and for the first time she realized that they were in the dank basement again, "I... it worked..." She panted, staring up at the beams that crisscrossed the ceiling. She placed a hand to her forehead and tried to shake the feel that had overcome her, "What the hell was that all about?" She asked no one in particular and then forced herself into a seated position and glanced around, "Kim?" Penny cocked her head curiously at Kima, "Is that your name?" Penny asked. Kima scratched the back of her head, "Sort of." She replied, "Actually I was referring to my... ummm..." She considered how to explain her relation to Kimberly and decided that lying would probably be the best road to travel, "She is my twin. We can here together." "She might be with the others." Penny explained sadly, then sat upon the ground with her back against a wooden crate, "Only the bad girls are sent down here." She explained dismally. "The bad girls?" Kima massaged her legs and rubbed her arms, which still felt as if something was crawling over her skin, "What did you do?" Penny pulled her knees up close to her chest and buried her face in them. "Hey, are you alright?" Kima inquired as she crawled over to the girl, forcing her limbs to move even though they didn't want to. Lightly she placed a hand upon Penny's shoulder and again Penny shrank away, "I'm not going to hurt you." Kima assured the girl. Penny peeked out from over her knees, "Really?" She inquired sceptically. "Don't you remember me?" Kima inquired, "I was at the ball." "The ball?" There was a puzzled look upon Penny's face as she scanned Kima eyes. Kima glanced at herself to find she was still in her pyjamas, "I guess I don't look much like I did back then." She remarked remembering for the first time that she didn't have a chance to change yet, "I was dressed in red with a red mask and you were wearing the most beautiful golden gown and there were golden leaves in your hair and a yellow feathered mask over your eyes." She let out a sigh at the thought of the sight of Penny in that dress. Penny's head popped up a bit and squinted at Kima as if she were trying to remember something, "Red?" She inquired curiously, "I remember a girl in a red dress but she had longer hair." Kima blushed in embarrassment, "Ummm... That was my twin..." She stammered, "I was in a suit with red gloves and a ruby mask." She shyly explained. Penny blinked for a moment then lightly touched her lips, "Y... you kissed me..." She remarked with a flush, "But... your..." Penny glanced up and down Kima's body, "You're a girl, aren't you?" Kima's blush deepened and nervously scratched at the back of her head, "Yeah... Sorry about that. I could not resist." She stated, feeling even more uncomfortable by the second, "You were so beautiful." She admitted then gazed into the girl's eyes, "You are beautiful." She corrected herself. "No I'm not." Penny retorted and preceded to bury her face between her knees again, "I'm ugly. A nightmare that would scare anyone away." Kima wrapped her arm around Penny's shoulder, "No, you are not." She said into the girl's ear, "When I saw you my heart raced. I never wanted to kiss someone as much as I did you." Penny peeked up again, "D... do you... really think so?" She stammered. "Very much so." Kima stated with a nod, "So much that just looking at your sleeping face made my heart pound. I wanted nothing more then to just hold you in my arms and protect you." Penny stared at Kima dumbfoundedly, "Y... you w... watched me sleeping?" She exclaimed aghast. Kima raised her hand in protest, "It's not what you think." She hastily explained, "You passed out and we took you to the lobby to get help. I have been watching over you ever since." "Why?" "Because... Because..." Kima could not even understand her attraction to the girl or her need to protect her. In truth Kimberly was the caring one, the one who felt the passion of love and the longing. Kima simply held the sexual lust, or that was what she thought she was and what she had been told. Was it even possible for her to even feel love? She did not know, however when she set her eyes upon Penny's as they peering over her knees Kima could feel her heart ache in a way she had not felt in years, not since she first kissed Jenn. She rubbed her forehead as her thoughts rushed about, she always told Kimberly what to do when Kim knew better than herself how to deal with these emotions. Kima always acted like she knew everything when she was as lost as her other half. Right then she wished the twin were there to help her, no matter how much her double hated her Kima needed the girl at her side, she did not feel complete without her. "Kimberly, where are you?" She wrapped her arms around her head as she became overwhelmed by a sense of loss. She suddenly realized that she was without her other half and she did not know what to do with these feelings that were haunting her. Then she felt Penny's hand lightly set upon her knee. "Kim?" Penny asked softly, Kima glanced up to see Penny staring at her with concern in her eyes, "A...are you alright?" The girl inquired. Kima smiled up at the girl, "I will be." Kima stated softly, "I just need a moment." "A.. alright..." Penny removed her hand and Kima wished that the girl would return it. Kima glanced around the basement; a small narrow window high off the ground, too small for even a child to crawl through, told her that it was night outside. She saw a set of stairs leading up and pointed to them, "Where do those lead?" She inquired curiously. "Upstairs." Penny replied. Kima got to her feet and brushed the dirt off her pyjama bottoms, "Well that looks like the only way out." She started towards the stairs then turned to see Penny did not make a sign of moving, "You coming?" Penny shook her head, "I..." She became silent yet again and her eyes nervously flickered over the room. Kima returned to the girl's side and knelt beside her, "What is it? Is there something wrong?" "I..." Penny lowered her head, "I was searching for something..." She rubbed her arms as she quickly glimpses around the room. Not like she was looking for something, it was more like she was afraid of something, something in the shadows. Kima held her hand out to the girl, "Let's get out of here." She stated boldly. "But we can't leave." Penny anxiously explained, "We will be punished." "I will not let anyone hurt you." She remarked soothingly, "Maybe I can help you find what you lost?" She beaconed for the girl to take her hand. Penny watched the hand warily then gingerly placed her hand in Kima's and nodded. "Good." Kima smiled at the girl, "Now what are we looking for?" ***** To be Continued . . .
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