All she could feel was an intense burning on her face when she awoke. Through the pain of raw skin wrinkling against raw skin, she pulled open her eyes. Around her seemed an immaculately clean room, with a single large window behind her. There was a chair and a small table nearby the large enclosed bed she was laid in. She moved to stand up, but found herself tangled in a mess of rubber tubes, all of which somehow attached her to a sort of moving slate. Several lines and symbols seemed to move across it. She began pulling the rubber tubes off, but jumped when a loud noise filled the room, like a horn playing many short notes in succession. Startled, she jumped up, ripping off all the rest of the tubes. One stayed in her arm, though, and it hurt to move. It attached her to what looked like a coat rack, with a pouch of water hanging off it. She reached out and grabbed it, holding it somewhat close, as it didn't seem to be directly hurting her. With it in hand, and desperately searching for the source of the noise, her eyes darted all over the room. Incidentally, her gaze fell upon the window. She didn't get to see much, only a brick road and some hulking monoliths on the other side. This moment was cut short when she heard the door click. Immediately, she wielded the rack like a staff, ready to swing at whoever approached her.

The door to the room opened, and two people stepped in. They both were startled by her stance. They seemed to be dressed in clothes just as clean as the room they stepped into. One was dressed in a long white coat; the other, wearing denim pants and a brightly-colored loose undershirt. Something took her off-guard, though. The two people that entered, sure they were shaped like people, but their heads were those of a dog and a cat. They had long tails, and fur covering their whole hands. It was as if the animals had simply stood up on two legs.

"It's okay. You're safe here," the cat assured her, as it put down its writing board, "We are not going to hurt you."

"I will not go back there. You freaks can't take me," she barked at the two.

"We're not taking you anywhere," the dog told her.

"Then why am I here? Where am I?"

"You are in ze hospital. You have suffered radiation burns to your face and shoulders."

"What does that mean?"

The dog whispered to the cat, then began speaking to her. He asked the last thing she remembered. She told him she boarded a train, and must have fallen asleep on the ride.

"Okay. So, to put it real simple," the dog began, "That train caught on fire, the engine exploded. You were knocked out by the fire and explosion, so we brought you here to make sure you lived through it. I'm not sure if you'll ever go back home though."

"Where am I, though?" She repeated.

The dog thought for a second. He muttered to himself for a little while before speaking again, "You are in Nevada. An American state- a free state- in the far West."

"And what are you?"

The cat spoke this time, "Well, if zis one is telling ze truth, we are your successors. Like grandchildren. We are as you are; people, with animal blood running through our veins."

"That cannot be. You cannot fall asleep with no children and then wake up to your grandchildren."

"That was just an example, but yes, you have, in a way, been asleep that long," the dog replied. "We just took a shortcut, so it feels like you've been asleep way longer than you actually have."

"I still don't understand."

"I'll cut to the chase. You have been, uh, whisked away by an angel, to the future. You boarded the train in 1865, and the year now is 2017. A lot has happened, but the point I'm trying to make is, you're free. There is no more slavery. You'll never have to work a field again."

Her eyes widened, and her stance eased for a second. She couldn't believe what she'd just heard. She knew the war was going on, but it couldn't have been resolved by the time she woke up. He must be lying. She tensed right back up.

"You are trying to fool me. This is only a dream. I am going to wake up in a carriage, and I'm going back to the farm."

"No, look outside, look at the people walking around, look- look at that!" The dog pointed to the magic slate, "This is an EKG monitor! We were using an electric machine to listen to your heart! We have telephones, and typewriters that send letters across the world in seconds, and sanctuaries like this, that specifically house people like us, to keep us safe from the people who want us to be slaves again!"

The cat cut him off, "Zach, you're overwhelming her."

"Here, just, pinch yourself, so you know you're not dreaming. Tug on your fur or something. We'll leave you alone."

The two left the room, the door closing behind them with a thud. A few minutes passed of her standing, still ready to beat anything that came at her. Not long after, though, she set the rack down on the floor, and pulled again on the tube in her arm. It hurt. She looked out the window, and saw dozens of animal people outside. Horses, dogs, cats, a cow, a bird. She sat on the bed, waiting to wake up. Even as day turned to night and she laid her head down to sleep, she stayed grounded in this world.

The next morning, she awoke to a bowl of soup and a cup of clear water sitting on the table, next to the dress she was wearing just the other day. It was at this time she realized she'd been stripped almost bare, wearing only a blue paper gown. She quickly dressed and made herself modest.

Days passed in the clean room, where she was fed and told about this new world, and she would look out the window at the people below. Around day 3, she noticed that none of the animal people were working. There were no crops, no steer, the few carts she saw seemed to be pulling themselves. Beyond a distant wall, she couldn't even see any fertile field, just dry dirt as far as the eye could see. A nearby flagpole flew a Union flag, except with many more stars than she'd ever seen on one. Perhaps the dog was right. Perhaps she'd crossed over into a free state. Maybe the free states had won the war, even. She'd see rows of lights on strings, people's faces lit up by small slates, and the aforementioned self-pulling carts. Sometimes she'd hear strange music, but never hear or see any band. Perhaps she was in the future.

All these things she didn't recognize, the electricity performing what looked like miracles, the mere cleanliness of the room, and the fact that she hadn't even been summoned in the three days she'd been here; surely, she must be in the future. She must be free now. She'd escaped.

Her heart lifted in her chest once all the dots were connected. She felt as if she had grown wings, and was flying as she danced across the cold floor. She had made it! She was free! Everyone was free! She sang and danced and cried in joy for hours on end, overjoyed with the idea that she'd never again have to face the horrors she had endured over her entire life up to this point.

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Juneteenth art on the 29th, right? When have I ever been on time for holiday art?

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This picture would have cost $150!