Free World's End by Jake Halpern

that his friend must be in serious pain because he rarely if ever complained of discomfort or even showed any signs of weakness.
    "You started getting these headaches after your eyes turned white?" asked Alfonso.
    Bilblox nodded. "Just give me a few minutes," he muttered. "I'll be all right."
    Alfonso said nothing more. Instead, he tried to fall asleep, but this proved impossible. Eventually, out of sheer boredom, Alfonso grabbed the rosewood box that he had found in Alexandria and opened it up. Once again, he studied the thousands of tiny indentations that covered the bottom of the box. He eyed them with great frustration. Alfonso knew that if he just entered hypnogogia he might be able to decipher what hidden patterns or codes were embedded in these markings. For roughly two years now, however, he had avoided entering hypnogogia. He had been too afraid. Afraid that he might wind up back in the hospital. Afraid that he'd break his bones or end up in a coma again. But now, suddenly, he felt disgusted with himself. He was tired of being afraid.
    Alfonso composed himself. He took several deep breaths. His heart rate began to slow. He relaxed his eyes and then focused on a single indentation. His mind became totally clear. Then something clicked deep within his consciousness—clicked almost like a key turning in a lock—and milliseconds later, Alfonso was in hypnogogia.
    Right away, Alfonso could hear the faintest of noises—the sound of individual snowflakes colliding, the drip of water rolling down Bilblox's boots, and the slight groan of a metal screw loosening from the wall of the plane. He could smell everything, too—the odor of jet fuel leaking into the snow, the twang of paprika in the freeze-dried chili, and even the scent of iodine in the medical kit.
    But there was no time to waste on any of this. Alfonso didn't want to stay in hypnogogia for long. Immediately, he directed his attention toward the rosewood box and the pattern of indentations. Some of the indentations were octagons (eight-sided) and some were nonagons (nine-sided). When he blocked out the octagons and focused only on the nonagons he saw that the nonagons clearly formed a doorway complete with a handle. There was no mistaking it. Then, to Alfonso's utter astonishment, the doorway actually swung open, as if the bottom of the box had transformed into an animated cartoon. The shock of this realization made Alfonso sit up and snap out of hypnogogia.
    "What's wrong?" mumbled Bilblox. He had heard Alfonso stirring.
    "You wouldn't believe me," replied Alfonso breathlessly.
    "Go to sleep," muttered Bilblox. "We're gonna need our rest."
    Bilblox instantly drifted back off to sleep. Kõrgu slept next to her master, with her head in Bilblox's lap. Alfonso shut the rosewood box, pulled several blankets over himself, and closed his eyes.

    ***
    The mysterious currents of Alfonso's sleep whisked him into a dream. It was an unpleasant dream and one that he had actually experienced several times in the past few days. Alfonso and his classmates were about to enter the Eiffel Tower. They were on the ground below, among the hawkers selling wind-up plastic birds and fluorescent wristbands. Everyone wanted to take the elevator except for Alfonso. Instead, he took the stairs, climbing upward floor by floor. It was thrilling to be so exposed to the wind and sun, and to go up a different way than everyone else did.
    Alfonso kept walking, cheerfully ignoring the shouts from his friends. They'd be quite impressed when he met them up above. In fact, he'd probably be waiting for them, since the line for the elevators was quite long. The wind and sun blew in his hair and he could see the distinctive Haussmann-era apartment buildings shining in the light of a crisp, clear day.
    Then the dream took an unexpected turn. The sky clouded over. The wind abruptly became colder and Alfonso started to shiver. He looked around and noticed that the Eiffel Tower had begun to