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Sean didn't awaken until nearly noon. When he did he felt more alive than he had in weeks. He couldn't remember any dreams and he felt completely refreshed. He took a quick shower and got dressed, and then cooked up pancakes for breakfast. Slathering on butter and peanut butter and pouring maple syrup all over it he dug in with a will. He was unusually hungry and had to mix up more batter to make enough.

After cleaning up he walked over to Jill and Mike's apartment. He started to knock, then remembered their insistence that he come and go freely and opened the door. Mike was doing some kind of exercises in the living room and Jill was sitting in the kitchen finishing off a sandwich. "Hey guys, hope I'm not too late." He said.

Mike stopped what he was doing and looked over at Sean with a smile. "Nah, you're not too late! We've got plenty of time. Have a seat and I'll get ready to go." He replied.

Jill waved from the kitchen and quickly polished off her sandwich. Sean sat on the couch and Jill soon joined him. "How are you this morning?" she asked with some concern.

Sean smiled and replied, "Much better! No strange dreams and I slept like a baby!"

Jill smiled in relief. "I'm glad to hear that. I was starting to worry about you." She said.

They heard the shower turn on. "Sounds like we've got a little time before Mike's ready." Sean noted.

"Would you like something to eat?" Jill asked.

Sean shook his head. "No, I just ate a couple stacks of pancakes. I'm fine."

"A couple stacks?! You must have been hungry!" Jill exclaimed.

Sean shrugged. "Yeah, I don't normally eat that much. Guess I needed the calories to help me recover from the last few days."

They heard the bathroom door open and Mike walked out of the bathroom and into his and Jill's bedroom stark naked. "I wish he wouldn't do that when I'm here." Sean groaned, looking away.

"I wish he wouldn't do it at all!" Jill laughed.

"I wouldn't have thought it would bother you." Sean said curiously.

Jill shrugged and said, "I'm just not as comfortable with casual nudity as he is. Besides, if he didn't do it all the time, he wouldn't do it when we have company. I'm surprised it bothers you, though. Didn't you see that sort of thing a lot in high school?"

"Not really. Everyone but Mike assumed I was gay and they banished me to the farthest corner of the locker room. I didn't take any more PE classes than I had to, so I only really had to deal with the locker room a couple of years. I guess I'm not comfortable with casual nudity, either." Sean replied.

A few minutes later Mike returned fully dressed and they left for the miniature golf course. The nearest one was about a thirty minute drive, so Sean had brought a book. He read in the back seat while Jill and Mike talked in the front.

Halfway there Mike noticed something in the rear view mirror. He took a closer look and thought he saw a forest through a small hole in the air next to Sean. He jerked the wheel a little but managed to not alert his passengers. He kept one eye on the hole as he drove. It seemed to grow over time, but it disappeared shortly after they arrived and Sean put his book down. Mike decided not to tell the others as he was afraid he was loosing his mind.

The three friends had an enjoyable round of miniature golf and Mike trounced Jill and Sean ruthlessly. Sean didn't seem bothered, even though Jill beat him handily as well. He'd never been very competitive.

It was only three o'clock when they finished so they decided to give it another round. This time it was a closer competition between Jill and Mike, but Mike still won. Sean was trounced again, but didn't mind.

After the second round they decided to get some fried chicken and take it back to Sean's apartment. On the way back Sean was reading again. Mike moved the mirror so he couldn't see the area next to Sean and concentrated on the road. The change in the mirror's orientation allowed Jill to see it when a new hole formed, though. She was shocked to see it and wondered what it could mean, but said nothing.

When they got back to Sean's place they set up in the living room with the chicken and watched a movie. It was fantasy and Sean found himself thoroughly enthralled by it. Mike was, too, but Jill was not so distracted that she didn't see the hole in the air appear next to Sean to reveal a scene right from the movie. She began to think she knew what was going on, crazy though it sounded. She decided not to say anything about it, yet.

After the movie it was time for Sean's daily chat with Erica, so Mike and Jill returned to their own apartment. "You saw it, didn't you?" Jill asked Mike as they were sitting down on their living room couch.

"Uh, what do you mean?" Mike asked nervously.

"C'mon Mike, there's a reason you turned that mirror away from yourself. You didn't want to see it again, did you?" Jill countered.

"See what?" Mike asked, trying to act innocent and failing miserably.

"The same thing we saw yesterday! I saw it on the way back from miniature golf, and again while we were watching the movie. You saw it on the way to miniature golf. That's four times so far that this has happened!" Jill answered.

"You saw it during the movie, too?!" Mike exclaimed, forgetting that he was pretending not to have seen anything at all.

Jill just nodded, "Yes, I saw it then too. I know it's crazy, but I think Sean is somehow causing it! And I don't think he's aware of it."

"But what is it, or are we just losing our minds?" Mike asked worriedly.

"There's no point questioning our sanity on this, we both saw the same thing. Even Sean saw it yesterday! If we're crazy, then so is he. So let's just assume we're not crazy and try and figure this out." Jill answered.

"Okay, well it's only happened near Sean, and only when he's reading a book or watching a movie. I guess that's something." Mike said thoughtfully.

"That's more like it!" Jill said happily. "It also didn't happen, I think anyway, when we went to the theater. Why would that be?"

Mike thought that one over for a moment. "Maybe it has something to do with his level of concentration? He wasn't too impressed with the movie at the theater, but he was totally into the movie we watched here. And he was very involved in his book, too. Maybe it has to be a story he really likes or something?" he suggested.

Jill nodded. "That's a good start." She agreed. They continued to discuss possibilities, but had to admit that without further experimentation they weren't likely to come up with any answers. They also agreed that getting Sean to see what was happening was necessary for that.

---

 
Sean chatted with Erica for over an hour before logging off for the night. He still didn't talk about the strange things that had happened, but he wasn't as ignorant as Jill and Mike thought. He was aware it had happened again, multiple times. He never saw it, but he felt it. It was confusing and terrifying him, so he tried to ignore it. Just as he ignored the sword and feather.

He couldn't help taking a peak to make sure they were still there in his closet. Seeing them tucked away in his closet he wondered what was going on, and if the holes in the air and the strange artifacts were somehow connected. Shaking his head he resolutely closed the door and went to bed.

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 To Be Continued…