Ray had bitched and bitched and bitched in his head when that damned wolf had insisted on following them to the arcade. He couldn’t shake the feeling that Delirium had sent it because she didn’t trust him to take care of Daniel on his own.

With hindsight, perhaps she wasn’t totally wrong.

He wasn’t sure where letting himself and the boy get run through by a laser and ending up in an alien world ranked on the Worst Things To Do To Someone Else’s Kid list, but he was eternally grateful that the wolf was there with him to share the blame.

Having Daniel with him kept him calmer, meant he had to think beyond just himself. It wasn’t easy to keep to the darkness when everywhere they looked, intense neon lights shone back at them. But if Ray had learned anything over the past day, it was that they had to keep a low profile.

He wasn’t sure what the time was – no sun, no moon, no watch – but judging by the way Daniel was asleep on his shoulder, a deep troubled furrow between his eyes – Ray figured they had to have been here more than 24 hours, at least. Too long for a little boy to keep his eyes open.

Crouched, wolf just in front, Ray held his breath as the ominous sound grew louder. A giant machine hovered over the ground with two huge pylon legs and a crew of men more menacing than their plane. He tried to block out the memory from hours before, when he’d seen a man captured against his will and flown away, screaming in terror about some games.

“That’s not gonna be us, okay,” he whispered, once the machine had passed. Daniel wasn’t listening but Ray said it anyway, hoping it gave him some comfort. “I’m gonna figure out a way home.”

He just didn’t know how or when.