Weight presses against my body, making my muscles feel tight and my stomach churn. It comes as quickly as it goes. Two steps. Two steps and I am on the other side of the portal. It was as though I walked through any other door, well apart from the strange heavy feeling.

Just as I think that it wasn't too bad, my stomach flips. Before I can even process what's going on or where I am, a bucket is shoved in my face. It arrives just in time for me to retch and vomit. I splutter and cough, my stomach continuing to flip and heave. Then, it is over.

I spit into the bucket as though that would get the horrible taste of bile out of my mouth. Unsurprisingly, it doesn't work.

"Here," a gruff voice says and passes me a bottle of water. I eagerly snatch it out of their hands. I use the first mouthful to rinse my mouth before spitting it into the bucket. Then, I am gulping the water desperately.

"The first time through a portal is always a bitch," the voice continues. Beside me, Connor retches into his own bucket.

"Someone could have warned us," I grumble. That is met by a chuckle.

I ignore it and look around. We are in a small, dark room. A single light bulb glows from a damp ceiling. The light is dull and a strange orange colour.

Against one of the brick walls are large, old, wooden barrels stacked on shelves. On another wall is a metal shelf. This one has silver barrels and cardboard boxes with labels on them. From these containers, little tubes lead up out of the room.

I frown and narrow my eyes, trying to figure out what all these boxes are and what the tubes do. The sound of a throat clearing behind me has me spinning back around. Connor gestures back to the portal.

I look back into it, seeing the woods that we were just in on the other side. Officer Daller is there, and he waves at us. I smile and wave back. An unnerved shiver spreads through me at how unnatural this all is. In two steps, we have been transported to an entirely new world. I've understood the theory of the portals all my life, but actually using them and seeing them in person makes my head spin.

The man who gave me the bucket grabs my arm and gently pulls me away from the portal. Then, he closes a thick door. My eyes widen as I watch him lock it not with a key, but with some sort of contraption that scans his eye. As it flashes green, a wall appears over the door, completely hiding it all from view.

I face Connor. He looks at me with his mouth hanging open.

"Come on, let's get you two out of here," the man says.

"Please," I say, the smell of the damp and dust not helping my unsettled stomach.

I look at the man closer. As the confusion from travelling through the portal wears off, I start to really examine him.

He is an older gentleman, perhaps in his late sixties. His short, grey hair is cut and gelled neatly. His wrinkled face is cleanly shaven. Great, bushy eyebrows sit above dull blue eyes. In his left earlobe, is a single gold ring.

His thin lips pull into a tight smile. This reveals two gold teeth. One on his top row and one on the bottom.

"This way," he says, his voice deep and his accent strange. Well, not strange, normal for this country in this realm. Despite Connor and I having spoken the language with the accent for a month, it sounds odd hearing it in person.

He gestures to some creaky-looking wooden stairs. I frown. So far, none of this looks too dissimilar from our realm. Still, I do as instructed and walk up the stairs and through a door.

My mouth nearly drops open as we enter the main floor of a restaurant. Everything is so sleek and smooth. It is so...

I shake my head, unable to form the right word to describe what I'm seeing.

The man pushes me forward and leans down to whisper in my ear. "Try not to look like you are seeing all of this for the first time," he hisses.

I gulp and quickly stop staring, following him to one of the tables near the bar. As I take a seat on the black chair, I have a quick peek around the restaurant once more. I can't help but stare at all the shining ornaments, and strangely shaped lights. A great mirror, surrounded by smooth golden features, sits along one of the dark grey walls. It makes the restaurant look bigger.

Connor nudges me once more and I jump, turning back to face the man. All around us, the sound of low chatter and the scraping of cutlery fills the air. My eyes flicker away to look at a smartly dressed waiter passing by, carrying a tray of tall glasses and some sort of touch-screen device. My eyes widen as I look at it. I lean over to Connor.

"Is that one of those mobile phones they told us about?" I whisper.

"It's a tablet," the man tells us, rolling his eyes.

"Oh," I reply and gulp. I still have a lot I need to learn. How am I going to do this? My hands shake with nerves and let out a trembling breath. Connor reaches out under the table and gives my hand a squeeze. When I look up at him, his expression is as wide-eyed and daunted as mine.

The man snaps at a waiter.

"Two shots of whiskey," he orders. The waiter nods his head and rushes over to the bar. The man starts talking, but I drown it out, staring at the smooth black bar with its shelves of gleaming glasses and colourful liquids. The man clears his throat and I turn to face him.

"The pipes that were in the boxes in the basement," I begin, my voice slightly shaky, "did they lead to those drinks taps on the bar?" I ask, unsure. The man smiles and nods.

"Yes. See, you're picking things up already. Trust me, this realm isn't as complicated as it first seems," he assures me. I nod my head and smile weekly, not convinced.

The waiter comes over and we all go quiet. He puts two small, curved glasses in front of us. A tiny amount of dark golden liquid sits at the bottom. The man slides the glasses to me and Connor.

"For your nerves," he says, smiling. I reach out for the glass and lift it to my mouth. I sip at it. My lips twist and I shudder as soon as the burning liquid makes its way down my throat. An intense, smoky taste fills my mouth and I put the glass back down quickly, shaking my head and clicking my tongue.

"That is vile," I say, sliding the glass away. The man laughs.

"You'll get used to it," he says and looks at Connor who is finishing his off.

I shudder, wondering how he can be enjoying that. Though, as the warm liquid hits my belly, I do relax a little. Slowly, my mind comes to terms with everything.

We really are in a brand-new world.

I look around wearily, remembering our lessons on CCTV cameras that I had been warned about so much.

"This is a blind spot." I am assured by the man. "Anyway, shall we get down to business?" he asks.

Connor puts down his glass and grins.

"Absolutely," he replies.

The man chuckles and nods his head. "Call me Gates," he says. I know it isn't his real name.

"Nice to meet you, Gates," Connor says. "I'm Nathan."

Despite having called him Nathan for the last month, it is still jarring to hear it come out of his mouth.

"Ivy," I say myself. Gates nods his head. He knows they aren't our real names too.

"Good to have you both here. Your language and accents are excellent," he says. I smile, feeling a small bubble of relief. "But I'm going to put this out here now. This is dangerous. I don't exactly agree with agents being sent here who have only just come out of training and who don't have the necessary experience. Most agents live here for many years before they actually start working." He pauses and shakes his head, his lips pulling into a tight line. "It only takes the smallest mistake for your cover to be blown. Don't get so absorbed in this new world that you get lazy."

"We won't," Connor assures him.

"Good, because most agents who leave through those doors never come back." He stops and the sentence hangs in the air. I feel the colour leave my face and in my chest, my heart thuds. Gates smiles softly. "Look, kids, they wouldn't have sent you if they didn't think you were capable. Trust in your training and in your skills."

All I can do is nod my head. Gates looks to the side and then reaches down for a bag. He passes us each a box. It is wrapped in some sort of decorative paper.

"They are your graduation gifts," he says wearily, and I remember our cover story. Both of us are recent graduates looking for jobs in the big city.

"It is best you open them when you are somewhere more private," Gates warns, cutting through my thoughts.

"Got it," I say and tuck the gift under my arm.

"Now, before you both go, I have to explain to you one thing. I am the gatekeeper so to speak. My job is opening and closing the door to the portal and keeping it from being detected. You come to me only if you need to go through the portal back to your realm. If you don't have to do that, I do not expect to hear from you or even see you. You will not come to eat or drink here, you will not contact me for aid in any way. My only job is the portal. Once you leave this restaurant, I do not want to see you until the day you are leaving this realm. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Connor and I say at the same time.

"Good. Now, I was told you would already have your next instructions."

"We do," I tell him. He nods his head.

"I want you both out of here within the next ten minutes." With that, he is standing and walking away to take his place behind the bar. Once there, he doesn't even look at us again.

My eyes meet Connors. I gulp and bite my lip nervously.

"This is it," I say to him. "When we walk out of that door, we officially don't know each other."

He nods his head and clenches his jaw. "Good luck," he says to me.

"You too," I whisper nervously. We give each other reassuring smiles then I stand. I take in a deep breath to try and calm myself.

My eyes find Connor's and I almost want to cry. The thought of walking through those doors all by myself sends bolts of fear shooting through me. My stomach churns uncomfortably and for a second, I can't find it in me to move.

"It's going to be okay," Connor says, his voice deep and reassuring. "We'll see each other in a few weeks." I gulp and nod my head quickly. My mind twists with horrible thoughts of being discovered and captured before then. What if I never see Connor again?

Gates' words ring in my mind. "It only takes the smallest mistake for your cover to be blown."

I close my eyes and push those thoughts away. I think about my mother and all of her lessons. If she saw me panicking like this, she would be so disappointed. I tell myself over and over that we won't be captured and that everything is going to be okay.

When I open my eyes, Connor is staring down at me with a soft smile. "Go on, Ivy," he says softly. "Our next adventure awaits."

I smile and nod my head. "Okay," I whisper. "I'll see you soon," I gulp and before I can think about it any deeper, I take the gift, turn and walk away.

Our instructions were to leave the restaurant at different times. As I walk toward the door, my shaking fists clench so tightly that I can feel my nails cutting my palms. Then, I uncurl them, forcing myself not to look as terrified as I feel. In my head, I tell myself repeatedly not to look like I'm a tourist, seeing all of this for the first time. I need to blend in. I need to make sure it looks like I've lived here my whole life.

I reach out and push the glass door open. My heart thunders in my chest. Then, I am standing outside.

The noise hits me first. I jump at the sound of horns and revving engines. Loud chatter surrounds me as people rush past. In the distance, I can hear the high-pitched ringing of sirens. I am used to noise. I've followed Mother into her giant metal factories with all the heavy and loud machinery many times. But this is different. There is something constant, and inescapable about this. All the sounds seem to just blend together into one, strange, indistinguishable mass.

Before I have a chance to process all the sounds, I am bombarded with smells. The stench of petrol singes my nose. I look at the huge road in front of me and all the cars on it. They move slowly as they crawl toward the traffic lights at the end of the street. A huge rubbish lorry sits amongst them. I can't help but pull a face as the putrid smell of rotting rubbish hits me.

I didn't think it was possible, but I actually miss smelling the smoke and soot of home.

Realising that I've just been standing here, I quickly start walking, taking a left turn from the restaurant as I was instructed in the brief before we left. Around me, people move in a rush. I had imagined I would stand out like a sore thumb. During the nights leading up to this mission, I kept myself up fretting and worrying. I told myself that surely they would be able to tell I wasn't one of them. Yet now, as I walk alongside them, none of them are paying any attention to me. They are either talking to the people they are with, looking at their phones, or listening to music with electronic devices I believe are called headphones.

I look back at the restaurant I had just come out of. Opal, it is called. It sits on the ground floor of a huge skyscraper that towers above me. My eyes follow it up. It is a smooth mass of gleaming glass and shining metal. It isn't the only one. The great buildings line both sides of the road. They all look unique and identical at the same time. The shapes of them are different, but the materials are all the same. It is a sea of metal and glass that looms over me, making me feel horribly tiny.

As I look ahead of me again, I jump, almost walking into someone. They shoot me a harsh glare but move around me, shaking their head. I keep trying to take deep, calming breaths as I walk. It takes all my focus to dodge all the people whilst also trying to block out the sounds and smells. How does anyone do this?

I move to the side and come to a stop. I lean against one of the walls, close my eyes, and take deep, slow breaths to try and calm myself.

Come on Rowan, no, Ivy. Come on Ivy. Just move with the flow.

I open my eyes and clench my fists in determination. I survived being waterboarded, this city is nothing to be scared about.

Pushing away from the wall, I walk down the street once more. This time, I focus on nothing but what I can see ahead of me, not wanting to walk into someone again. Soon, I am weaving around everyone with relative ease.

Okay, that was easy.

As I get into the flow of the pedestrian traffic, I allow myself to look around a little more and take in this new world.

In between the scrapers are smaller, brick buildings. I say small, but many of them are still ten stories at least. They look identical, made from plain brick and rectangular in shape. Neat lines of windows cover the front.

I pass other businesses. I stop for a moment to look at the flowers outside of a small florist. I pick up a deep red plant and smell it. The scent is very perfumed and strong. There is a strange sweetness to it, and I can't tell if I like it or not. I put it back and carry on.

My stomach rumbles as I pass a bakery and the smell of freshly made bread hits me. I pause to look in the window. Shelves of perfectly stacked baked treats stare back at me. My mouth starts watering.

At the end of the street, I turn left again. This street is even sleeker than the one before. It is all gleaming skyscrapers. The ground floors of them are all perfect shops. The displays have been set up amazingly and the clothes are spectacular. I pass a shop for high-end suits and another one for weddings. Then, I spot one for shoes and one for handbags. I reach a clothes shop and have to stop to admire what the mannequin has been dressed in.

She wears a black pencil skirt. Tucked into it is a deep red blouse and over all of it is a long, fur coat.

"Wow," I mutter to myself, and I actually start to feel a little excited about living in this world. Though even I know that the everyday person can't afford to shop here. Especially when my eyes fall on the price tag of the fur coat. I scoff and shake my head.

I walk away and find the taxi rank. I am so glad that the instructions on how to get here were clear. Waiting there are five taxis. They are average-sized vehicles. They are bland and boring looking, like most of the cars I had seen. They have nothing on the elegant vehicles of my realm.

These ones are black and boxy. An orange light sits above them with the words TAXI in bold writing. I scan the number plates.

DH776TRG. That is the one I need.

I rush toward it and open the back door, as I was told that is how taxis work here.

"Where to?" the driver asks.

"I'm new in town," I say, the words so well-rehearsed that I hardly even need to think about them as I say them. I catch the driver's eyes in his rear-view mirror.

"I assume you want to see the sights," he says, waiting for my very specific response.

"I would love to. I've heard a lot about the Frontier Building and would like to see that one in particular."

"I can take you that way," he replies with a nod.

"Thank you, sir."

The car pulls away and I let out a shallow, shaking breath and stare in wonder as we travel around this strange city.

No more fear or panic. From now, you act like a wraith. Calm fills my body as I set my mind on the task ahead. I will stop this realm from raging war against my own. No matter what.