Alexander woke up from the reoccurring dream he had been having recently drenched in sweat. He reached his hand up to feel his cheek, expecting to feel his skin, just like normal, but he could actually feel where the tree had scratched him as he ran. He felt his stomach drop. That wasn’t normal, and neither was the note that certainly hadn’t been on his desk before.
Glancing at the alarm clock, Alexander saw it was only ten minutes before he was supposed to wake up for school anyway, so he first went to put a band-aid on his cheek, hoping his dad would think it was from…he wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like he played any sports. At least the mark wasn’t too big.
The next thing he did was turn on the lamp he had on his nightstand, shedding light on the note his dream said would there. Alexander’s heart was pounding as he read. This couldn’t be happening to him. He was the average somewhat-nerdy kid; he wasn’t supposed to get sucked into other-dimensional problems. Was Wonderland another dimension? His head hurt just thinking about it. Just then his alarm clock went off and he jumped, before turning it off.
Alexander got ready for school just like usual, trying to pretend nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He managed to evade any questions about his new injury, and got out of the door quickly. He started his crappy old car, and looked at the clock. “Oh shit! I’m going to be late!” he muttered. “Again.”
He hurried off towards his highschool, parking in the parking lot. Just before he walked inside, he found a website where people could post things about weird occurrences, and wrote a quick summary about what had happened to him. Maybe someone will come forward and say this happened to them too, he thought. Then I can know I’m not going crazy.
Then the bell rang, jolting him from his thoughts. He was officially late. The universe had an annoying sense of humor.
Locke sat up quickly as he woke up from the dream. He was panting heavily. He felt his arms burn. He pulled up the sleeve of his pj's and found a scrape he had gotten from falling off a small cliff. He sighed and got up, noticing the noteam at the foot of his bed. He set the note on his desk before going to the bathroom and wraping up his arm.
When Locke came out he read the note. He sighed as finished the note. "Flower, Rabbit, Cat, and Teacup." He repeated. He looked at the blue caterpillar he doodled on the baxk of his hand. "And I'm the Caterpilliar." He reread the note again before setting it down.
He had woken up in plenty of time to get to school so he decided to get on his computer for a bit. Locke scanned over a website that people posted about the supernatural and weird on. He scanned over it before seeing a post about an experience someone had similar to him. He pricate messaged the person.
"Hey. I have had a experience very similar to yours. Would you be willing to share your experience and I will share mine?" He sent.
He then proceeded to get ready for school. Hi's parents weren't home, like usual so he wouldn't get any quistions. He quickly got ready before heading out the door. He only live a few blocks away from the school do he walked quite a bit.
Locke entered the school and got to his class early. He was in junior classes even though they were incredibly easy for him. He sat down and opened the book he had brought with him. "I should get Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland." He mummbled. That way he could prepare himself.
(yeah they know which one they are)
Anna woke up, looking down at the cut on her leg from the dream. "Goddamit…" She muttered, reaching for the first aid kit she had learned to keep by the bed. She patched herself up, and reached under her pillow. Her dream said something would be under there. She pulled out a folded letter. Everything leaking over to the letter. But she didn't have time to read it right then. Because she would be late again otherwise.
She threw herself together, hair in a high, messy pony tail, teeth hastily brushed, an oversized cardigan and tee shirt dwarfing her upper body, and skinny jeans bunched up in random spots. She slipped on her beat up sneakers, grabbing the letter and her bag before rushing out of the door.
When she did get to school, she went straight to class, taking her back seat and finally opening the letter.
During first hour, it was hard for Alexander to concentrate. Having algebra in his first class of the day meant it was hard enough to pay attention normally, but the dream gnawed at him until he finally raised his hand to go the bathroom, just so he could check the website.
Once he had been released from class, he got on his phone the second the bathroom door swung shut. The knot in his stomach increased as he saw that he had gotten a private message. He quickly typed up a response:
Yeah, but first I need to make sure that you’re serious. What dream did you have last night?
Alexander had gone talked about the note and the reoccurring dream, but hadn’t gone into much detail about exactly what the dream entailed beyond something vague about the Lewis Carroll book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. If whoever it was could answer that question, it would at least help some of Alexander’s anxiety. As he stared at the screen, he was struck by how dumb his username was, having made it up on the spot.
I can’t believe that time-is-chasing-me was the best I could come up with, he sighed inwardly. Oh well. At least it’s better than the crap I came up with when I was like twelve. He hoped the person who had messaged him would reply soon, so he could have some kind of confirmation before he had to go back to class.
Maddison skipped down the school hallway to her second class with a broad wild smile on her face as always. She didn't really care if she was late or not. Not crazy wild Maddie, no sir. She didn't even care much about how her ankle was hurt. Right now the only thing she did care about was the note she had currently placed under her ball cap… which was under her green hoodie, which was under her fedora. Hats weren't really allowed in class but that was after the bell. In between them, it didn't matter. The note said she would have four new friends! Maddie laughed happily at that thought.
Once class was over, Locke checked his phones, seeing that it had vibrated during class but he waited till it was over. He saw that the person he messaged had replied.
"I was in Wonderland in my dream. This is a dream I have been having for the past few weeks. I'm wandering around and I get a feeling like a need to run. So I did. When I was running I slipped and tumbled off a small cliff. I scraped my arm but I kept running. I woke up not long after and the scrape was still there. I also got a note telling me to find a rabbit hole and some people." Locke sent. He knew he probably shouldn't give everything out but he needed to know and his curiosity was getting the better of him.
Just as Alexander was heading back to class, his phone vibrated. He quickly read the message detailing the dream. So he sent a reply:
Yeah, sounds exactly like the dream I had! Sometimes I think there might be something chasing me, but I don’t know what. So did your letter give you a specific symbol or something? Because mine said something about a rabbit…
Alexander slipped into class and stared at the clock impatiently for another few minutes until the bell rang and he could head to band. He stopped at his locker to get his books, glancing around at the other kids in his school. Any of them could be in the same boat as him…or none of them.
Just for the heck of it, Maddie attempted a cartwheel as she exited her most recent class. Of course, as soon as her weight was on her sore ankle, she went down.
”Ow! Dang flab it!” That was another thing about Maddie, she rarely swore. If she ever actually did… It meant things were serious. Same if she wasn't smiling unless she was just pouting… That didn't count.
No one was looking so she swept up her fedora and stood with a bow as if she was a street performer at the fair instead of a student in a hallway. She took out her phone to listen to the song Tightrope by The Score and walk to class in the same manner.
Locke had study hall next so he wouldn't need to worry about texts since he could text at any time.
"So you're the trumpeter. I'm the Catterpiler also known as the genius. Do you know of anyone else in the same situation?" He asked. He pushed up his glasses as they slide down his face from looking at his phone.
Alexander got his stuff out of his locker and shut it before turning around and heading to class. He was anxiously loading and reloading the page, trying to see if there was a response. At last his phone pinged with a reply. Alexander smiled and wrote his own.
Not right now, but hopefully soon. Since if the note is real, there’s five of us.
Unfortunately, since he was staring at his phone, he wasn’t paying attention to where he was going.
He bumped into someone, which sent them both tumbling. “Oh my gosh I’m so sorry I wasn’t looking,” he apologized, fixing his glasses and picking up his phone.
(Who'd he bump into? Locke or Maddie?)
(whoever, it doesn’t matter)
(I’ll do it. Get everyone together.)
Maddie was winded by the fall but she still laughed as she went down. ”That was fun!” She smiled standing back up before offering her left hand to help the young man. ”Up for a trip down the rabbit hole, little bunny?” She giggled, a slightly mad sound she often used.
Alexander took her offered hand to help him up. “Um…thanks.” Her comment had definitely shaken him, truth be told. “What do you mean? Rabbit hole? Like Alice in Wonderland?”
”Uh-huh. One of my favorite stories.” Maddie nodded with her broad grin. ”The dreams however… not so much.” She gave a slight shiver before actually looking at the boy next to her. ”Name’s Maddie by the way. Who are you?” She poked his nose lightly as if to emphasize that she was talking to him.
Alexander stiffened when she touched him, blinking. “My name is Alexander,” he replied, before quickly adding, “Dreams? What dreams?” He put his hand up the band-aid on his cheek, almost in response to the word ‘dreams.’
Anna was struggling to get through the crowd, letter clutched with her books tightly, head swimming. And leg throbbing slightly. She gasped a bit when shoved a bit roughly, books and letter slipping from her grasp. She swore, a bit loudly, dropping to the floor to gather her things. Shit, the letter!
Kai had stayed home that day, his legs were bothering him too much for him to be able to move. He was going to bring his wheelchair to the park later, he needed to think about the note he had found under his pillow. It was strange and he didn't like it, but he didn't have the time to think about that right now, he needed to get work done.
Locke was on his way to study hall when he heard someone cuss as a paper scatered to the floor. Seeing that he was the closest to it he picked it up.
"I belive this is yours." Locke said, finding the girl and handing the paper back. When he went to give it back his Caterpillar on the back of his hand was visible.
Anna looked up, taking the paper. "Thank you." She said, taking the letter back. Her eyes darted to the mark on his hand. Like in the letter… "Sorry, what's your name again? I swear I saw you before, but my brain isn't working to well today. Didn't get much sleep." Wow, Anna. So smooth…
"Locke." He introduced. "We're both in honors English. You're Anna, right?" He asked, even though he knew he was right.
((I'm gonna say English))
"Yeah." She said, smiling slightly. She adjusted her grip, sweater sleeve slipping down enough on her right hand and showing off her birthmark.
