Colin woke up in a total daze, wondering what in the world happened last night. All of it just seemed… unreal. Too unreal for Dreamworlds.
Getting captured and rescued in Gardens Dreamworlds seemed clear enough. Getting stuck in Cody's Inner World seemed less plausible, but understandable. Buying clothes for disguises and escaping the mall afterward seemed a bit hectic and panic-driven, but still comprehensible.
What happened during their grav-car ride to the 'hospital', however, was beyond comprehension. {That} part seemed totally unreal. None of it seemed to make any sense at all.
{The Green Gate! What happened after the Green Gate?!} Colin didn't remember. As far as he could tell, they went through the Green Gate and then… nothing.
{Have I just lost another few hours of my memories?!} Colin gulped.
"COLIN!" mom's voice made him jump. He spun and stared at her wildly, completely surprised to see her there.
"Mom…?" Colin blinked, still blur.
"What's taking so long?!" Mom demanded.
"Huh?" Colin didn't know what to think.
"You're late for school!" Mom scolded. "Your alarm's been going off for half an hour!"
Colin turned to find that she was right. {I didn't wake up. My alarm went off… my Dreamworlds Headset should have triggered the Wake Up sequence… but I didn't wake up…}
"Hurry up! You're going to miss breakfast!" Mom barked.
Colin looked around his room in the waking world and still felt like he was dreaming somewhere. Even {this} felt unreal.
"MOVE!" Mom tugged him out of bed.
Colin realized something then. Something he'd most definitely never expected to realize so easily, so clearly. "Mom? What's wrong? Something's wrong, something you're not telling me. Something that's making you panic."
Mom stared at him, eyes wide, as if frightened that her son had suddenly become so perceptive. {Why? What could possibly make her so worried? She was back in Gardens Dreamworlds…}
Which reminded him. The last thing he did in Gardens Dreamworlds before the ground fell away…
Colin felt blood drain from his face. "Where's dad?"
Mom fled.