Lacking the elastic quality of Garret’s library entrance, I can’t simply forcefully squeeze my way through this thing. Can I make it bigger? Creating a new twist beside the first, something deep inside suddenly screams at me to stop. This will be making a new hole on a different, unconnected piece of space near the first. It won’t go to the same place. Or will it go anywhere? I’ll be mixing two unrelated holes, not growing the original. That seems wrong. Very, very wrong.

  Then what? I can’t create a twist inside of the existing hole. It’s too unstable. Can I stabilize it first? No, no, no, that makes no sense. Stabilizing the hole would mean closing it! I’d just be recreating the same, small opening all over again.

  Can I stretch it? No, the ripped space doesn’t respond in the same way that the natural fabric does. It’s broken. No, it’s changed into something else. After all, what’s the stuff inside the hole if not more space? Agitated, unhappy space that’s been forced to behave against its normal wishes. Maybe I just have to agitate it even more?

  Recalling the dreams, Linus created some kind of tool with stable energy to create the tear. It was like a long knife, cleanly cutting through space exactly where he wanted. I’m certainly unprepared to make a proper tear, but does that really mean that I can’t cut space at all? Cutting the semi-normal border space around the hole’s edge would surely expand its size. Right? At least, my instincts don’t scream danger at the idea. What else could I do but this?

  Forming a connection from core to hand, I will a layer of stable energy to extend out from my skin. Fruitlessly batting at the space around the hole, I’ve created more of a club than a knife. This won’t work at all. Have to shrink it down somehow. Extending it out farther, I then condense it to be as thin as possible. However, it proves to be far too much energy for me to effectively shape all at once. Have to shrink it more.

  Kicking myself for not having been more clever from the start, I reduce the target of the connection, altering the path from core to finger. Then the entire exercise is repeated.

  Good! It’s far, far better, but I’m still only tapping against the hole’s edge. There’s no sense of cutting. No further ripping.

  “That’s very dangerous,” the mesmerized voice above me factually observes, still obsessively fascinating over me. “You will call their attention.”

  Whose attention? They all already know that I’m in here, you fool. Besides, they’re the reason why I’m getting this desperate. Who cares if they’re even more interested in me now?

  If this still won’t work, then I must make it even smaller. Concentrate it down to as fine an edge or point as possible. Focusing, I seize control of the channel and rudely force it further down my finger. Pushing it as hard as possible, I’ll only allow it to spout out of the very tip!

  Perfect! Immediately I extend the channels out to two more claws on the same hand, before urgently proceeding to violently slash at the edges of the hole. It works! The ragged, beaten space of the hole reluctantly expands.

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  So engrossed by my success, I almost miss the belligerent pounding at the door. Glancing over my shoulder, the door’s opening more and more with each strike, my rough barricade quickly scattering to the sides. They’re finally coming.

  Maddened by the escalation, I hop up to my feet. I slash and slash and slash. It’s slow going, but it’s working. Now close to the size of my head, it’s almost ready. Only need the minimum and a little extra to hop through. Extra so that I don’t get stuck. Can’t get stuck. Stuck is death, stuck is doom! Maybe even more than a little? Safety first.

  Exploding in a frenzy, I relentlessly attack, losing myself completely. Between every swipe, I marvel at the beautiful image of brutalized space flapping and pulsing due to my mad attacks. It’s nothing compared to Linus’ majesty, but somehow it also feels as if it’s not that far away. Could I one day surpass my dreams?

  “He’s blocked the blasted door!” the Kurt voice loudly curses through the ever growing opening, shoving hard against the barricade.

  “Regional head, are you alright?” another tiny voice shouts through the doorway with a deep concern.

  The figure hovering above me instantly snaps its bizarre posture and expression back into a convincing display of living humanity.

  “I’m fine, Clarence,” he replies in a commanding tone of long practiced authority. “Is everything taken care of downstairs with the asylum? Do we need to call in additional personnel?”

  “Th–there’s so many people, ma’am,” another, different voice shouts over the noise. “We’re running out of room!”

  Bang, crunch, bash. Rend, shred, slash. The door shakes and groans louder and louder against my failing blockage. Still, I remain at my duty, viciously attacking at the ripped hole. It looks big enough, but I must be certain. Can’t get stuck trying to shove myself through the rigid boundary, or else it’ll all be over. Attack, attack, attack! Bigger, bigger, bigger!

  A loud crash explodes behind me as my defenses crumble along with the splintered door. However, I mindlessly continue my sole job. It’s almost there. It’s almost ready.

  “Regional head!”

  “I said I’m fine, Sarah. Who are these two with you?”

  “Kurt, he’s doing something really weird with his energy again. Stop him!” the Padras voice cries with urgency, interrupting any further explanations.

  I sense the familiar figure of the strong one brutishly barreling towards me from behind, but ignore it.

  “Pup, you’ve made our lives very difficult today!” he angrily bellows mid charge.

  With a final, graceful swipe, I’m ready. I’ve beaten them! All that’s left is to step–

  “Guffah!” I uncontrollably expel as the strong one slams into me from behind.

  We tumble forward together as one, somehow both easily slipping through the ragged, ripped hole. After an incredibly disorienting transition, we’re suddenly suspended high up in the air. The floor and walls have all completely disappeared. For a brief moment, I witness the emphatic triumph in his eyes. However, it instantly dissolves into bewilderment the moment our eyes meet. My hood’s long fallen from the energetic scuffle, and my incredibly inhuman nature nakedly presents itself for the first time.

  “A gob–?” he manages to get out through the shock before we both slam hard into the dense mud.