Page 39 of Barbie: Dreamscape

I am not giving up this easily.

I get to my feet and roar as I run back to the wall. I climb again—

And fall.

And climb faster—

And fall.

And drag myself up by the sheer force of my iron will—

And fall.

Until my nails are all broken, my clothes are more dirt than pink, and my bones feel as if they’re screaming at me.

My muscles are yelling too, saying, You don’t even do PE, how dare you?

Back on the ground again, I look up and the opening seems to be getting smaller. Like… like the surface is getting farther away by the minute.

Okay. It’s officially time to panic.

Magic—there has to be magic here, just like everywhere else in this world.

I feel around desperately, clutching the only other thing on Rock Bottom: a rock.

“You’re not a rock…” I say, sounding half hysterical, clutching it like a treasure. “You’re… you’re a birthday balloon!”

It remains, very stubbornly, a rock.

I swallow. “I’m thinking of… birthday parties! And merry celebrations, and bubbles, and birds!” I say, my voice taking on a desperate hitch. “You’re… you’re a helicopter!” I say, tossing the rock up, imagining it turning into a glorious bit of machinery.

But it only falls back down, then splits into a hundred pieces.

“Okay. Maybe… maybe you’re just a rock,” I whisper. “And maybe I’m… just a failure.”

At last, I let myself sink back down onto the hard ground, curling myself around my knees.

This time… I stay down.

Why did I think I could do this? Why didn’t I listen when Robin told me to remain within the mists?

She’s only ever helped me my entire life. She wasn’t trying to hide anything… She was only trying to protect me. My mother—my mother died because of the dangers beyond our heart-shaped borders.

Now… I might suffer the same fate.

Because I just couldn’t listen.

I couldn’t accept my Fate.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper into my knees, tears streaming down my dirt-dusted cheeks. But I know Robin can’t hear me. If she could, she would be here, saving me. I know that for certain.

Which means she can’t. It’s up to me to save myself.

But I don’t know how.

I sniffle against my skin, trying to wipe my tears away… and something rustles up ahead. My head lurches up, and I squint through the darkness…

That’s when I realize I’m not alone.