The World Beneath the Well

Alex lives on a small farm outside the big city. Their house is small and houses 7 people. Alex, her mother, father, and her brothers Jake, Max, Will, and Sam. They have two neighbors, also with large families and lots of sons. Altogether there are about 8 boys who all gang up against Alex.

Alex is a 16 year old girl with chocolate brown hair, hazel eyes, and fair skin. She often wishes that she could be whisked off to a magical land, away from all the horrors her brothers and their friends bring to her.

"Alex! You can't outrun us!" Jake yells, chasing her down the yard. The whole gang follows after him.

She pretends not to hear; she just keeps running. Deep down, she knows that there was no chance in her outrunning the gang. She knows that she's just... not fast.

She reaches the end of the yard and trips by the well. Luckily, she doesn't hit her head. The boys catch up. Two of them grab her arms and sit her up against the side of the well.

"Alex..." one of the boys say. "What kind of a name is that? Are you a girl or a boy?"

The boys all laugh. Alex doesn't reply.

"Aw, what's the matter Alex?" The same boys asks. "Did I... hurt your feelings?"

The boys all laugh again.

"Like she even has feelings." Alex's brother says. "You should see her when she's feeling brave. Granted, it doesn't last long, but she can be..." He pauses and kneeled down next to her. "Well, harsh."

"Someone needs to put her in her place." One of the boys says. All the others agree.

"Alright..." Her brother says. He looks around, looking for something to beat her with.

Then the other boy gets a better idea. "I know... let's throw her down the well!"

"Yeah!" Everyone agrees.

They grab her and start to push her over the top of the wall of the well. Alex's brother turns to the other boy. "We're not actually gonna go through with this, are we?"

"Nah. Just to scare her. That's all we're really trying to do, right?" He replies.

"Yeah, I guess so."

Alex tries to squirm her way out of the boys's grasps, but there are just too many hands holding her over the edge.

"Get her closer!" One boy yells.

"Yeah!" Says another.

"Woah, my hands are slipping!" Another exclaims.

"Quick, grab her!" Alex's brother says. "Watch out!"

But it's too late. The boys lose their grip and Alex falls down, down, down the well.

When Alex wakes up, she looks around. She sees a brook right beside her, trees all around her, stones, grass, moss, and all of it looks like a fairytale.

"Ok, this is not real. This is just... not real." Alex tells herself.

But then she looks up. She sees a ceiling of dirt, and directly above her is the bottom of a well. Her jaw drops. She looks around again. Still, everything looks the same.

"No... way..." she says out loud.

She stands up and brushes herself off. The green grass and moss and trees are so bright and happy looking. She looks down at the water. It looks so beautiful. She kneels down to touch it. It's ice cold.

Alex smiles. "I've finally found my magical land."

She takes off running happily like she's a disney princess. She spreads her arms out and runs like she's flying. She intertwines between trees and jumps over fallen logs. Suddenly she stops. She squints at a bush, trying to figure out what she sees inside.