HUMAN WORLD

Hu: In less than a heartbeat, the hotel room disappears as the portal swallows us whole, but not for long. We land hard on the coal tar. Ginger hesitates to stand as I try to help her. The sound of a blaring horn hits me, and my senses activate. I hear tires screeching against asphalt as bright light floods our faces. Then I realize we are standing in the middle of the damn road. “Shit!” I hiss, yanking Ginger to my side just in time as a car flashes past, its bumper brushing my side. More vehicles follow, speeding by like we’re ghosts they don’t see. “Hu!” she calls out in a shaky voice. I don’t think. I drag her to the sidewalk, her boots stumbling as I pull her against my chest. My pulse is racing, her breath ragged in my ear. The portal zips shut behind us, vanishing into the air. “I’m fine,” I answer, but her brows do not let up. “What the hell?” she pants, eyes wide. “Where—where are we?” I step back just enough to look around. A smile spreads across my lips, knowing I got what I