Free The Dream Sanctum: Beyond The End by Kay Solo

kitchen.
Having decided to fall asleep early and get a move on – partly to spend more
time traveling, but mostly to get some time to themselves without Hercules –
they had appeared back on the ship before the Sanctum’s sun had risen.
    The kitchen was comfortably lit, and they sat around the long table.
Every so often one of them would go over to the small control booth to check
what was going on outside, but as it was too dark to see far beyond the ship,
nothing appeared on the camera displays.
    This came as neither a surprise nor a disappointment. They fully expected
not to see anything worthy of attention for quite a while. The only landmarks
on the map between them and the border appeared to be small islands or other things
that were simply part of the world itself, and nothing special at that.
    “What do you suppose is out here?” Lindsay asked suddenly. When Kwin
looked up curiously, she added, “I mean, what do you think lives out here in
the ocean? There must be some ocean life, right?”
    “I am not actually very knowledgeable about what lives out here. It never
entered my studies. However, I would assume that because every part of the
Sanctum was created with such intricate detail that there is sure to be at
least something out here,” Kwin replied, looking interested herself.
    “Got that right,” Alastor said, walking back from the booth. “There are
plenty of things out here that put Earth creatures to shame – at least in terms
of size.”
    “Size?” Lindsay asked. “Are they a lot bigger here, whatever they are?”
    “Oh yeah. You have no idea,” Alastor replied, smiling encouragingly.
“Don’t worry. People have been sailing these waters for ages, and there aren’t
any dangerous creatures out here that I know of.”
    “That you know of,” Kwin repeated with a sly grin. “Of course, we’ll be
going further than anyone has ever gone before. Who knows? Maybe the border was
created to show people where to stop to avoid the dangers beyond.”
    “Dangers?” Lindsay inquired in a hushed voice, focusing intently on
Kwin’s every word.
    “Yes. I heard rumors that the border was created to stop sailors from
venturing too far out into the ocean. It is said that no ship that ever crosses
that point ever returns. We can only guess as to what horrific creatures, if
they can even be called that, rest beneath the waves of the unknown.”
    “Oh will you knock it off already?” Alastor sighed, gently smacking her
shoulder as Lindsay began to look worried. “Scare the poor kid to death before
we even get anywhere why don’t you?”
    “I would be more successful if you didn’t insist on jumping in every time
I tried,” Kwin retorted. “However, one part of what I said was true. We are not
technically the first to cross the border; others have tried, but none have ever
returned. I doubt they met any danger, but they are probably still out there
somewhere.”
    “What do you mean?” Kai asked, feeling a chill down his spine.
    “Quite simply that if you get lost, you are out of luck,” Kwin answered
absently, twirling her hair around her fingers as she looked out the windows at
the dark sky. “This is a dream world, but as you know, you always enter the
world from where you woke up last. If you get lost out in this massive ocean,
no matter how many times you wake up, you will always return to the same place.
If you get lost, the only way to make
it back is to find the way yourself. Many do not think about this before
starting a voyage. There are no teleporters out at sea.”
    “Couldn’t they fly back?” Lindsay asked quietly.
    “Only if they knew how. Even if you can fly, and even if you have a
strong sense of direction, there’s no guarantee you could find your way back to
land. The entire land mass of the Dream Sanctum is nothing more than a small
island compared to the size of the ocean.”
    The group fell quiet. What had started as a light-hearted conversation
had now become quite