Wonderland: Escape From The Mad House [Book One]

Chapter One: Nightmares and Reality

"Nate, Nate, Help!" she screamed. Her tiny fingertips clawing at the dead earth. Another dark tendril wrapped around her leg, joining the ones around her wrists, torso amd neck. I still hadn't seen the creature who held her. I ran to her, dodging the same shadows to save her. I was only steps away, but I was too late. A silver tipped blade of pure black impaled her, directly piercing her heart. Her face held an expression of pure terror as she coughed blood and her eyes grew cold, and dead.

"No," I cried, tears quickly filling my eyes as I fell to my knees in grief. One of the tentacles coiled aroind my neck, and suspended me. I struggled and tugged at the thing, gasping for air, but what was the point. The one thing in this world that I cared about was now a corpse laying by my feet, and I wasn't fast enough, wasn't strong enough, to save her. I soon gave in, and became absorbed in the darkness.

And then, just as my eyes were about to close for good, I saw him.

Dressed in all black, his cold eyes stared me down. being hung gave me more height, yet he proceeded to tower me. His skin was pale, his eyes were pale blue and lifeless, a long scar across the right, and his hair was bleached to whiteness. Besides his black robe and hood he wore, the only color came from the two black rings at the corner of his mouth and the top of his ear. He stared inquisitively at me as my eyes scanned the scythe who's circular blade rose over his shoulder. I remember seeing his cold grin as I entered my final rest. The sad thing is that even in death,  I could still hear her echoing screams for help. "Nate, Nate..."

"Nate," Chance yelled. I bolted up with a scream.

She eyed me wildly. "Are you okay?" she asked, her light and worried voice like a whisper. She looked at me with concern in her hazel green eyes.

"Yeah," I said, ruffling her long, dirty blond hair. "I just had a nightmare, that's all. No need to worry. Why are you up so early, we have school in the morning." She looked away, her cheeks tinted pink. "Oh," I realized, "You had a bad dream too, huh."

She nodded.

"Well, if you want, you can sleep here tonight, but only tonight. Okay?"

Her entire face lit up with joy as she gave me an ear-to-ear grin. "Got it," she replied, not hesitating to climb into the bed. She was quick to drift back asleep, as I lazily wrapped my arm around her back, and began to close my eyes.

This was simply how life was, after the accident.

After one of my dad's infamous drinking sessions, he drove home. He swirved into the garage door with crippling force, taking both his and mom's lives. Chance and I were just getting off our buses,  hers a bit after mine. If you think you understand how scared we were, seeing police at our house, sirens blaring as their bodies were wheeled into ambulances, and having all of their pitiful eyes on us, if you think you know how that feels, your dead wrong.

Suddenly having to fend for myself and having to take care of Chance,  I got a job. being eighteen with little to nothing to put on my resume, I became a cashier at a restaurant. I don't make much, but enough to scrape by. With this in mind,  I often wonder how she stays so optimistic. We have no parents, no money, and no future. But, against all odds, she always comes home from school with the biggest smile, telling me how great her day was, and all the things she's learned. Such hope and sheer happiness is contagious.

I woke up to the blaring alarm, and got ready. Kaza glared at me distastefully. Kaza Sani is Chance's cat, but lately I find that I'm more attached to him than any person. I envy him sometimes. How he can laze about and recieve all the adoration he wants, and can walk away when she doesn't want the attention.

I wear wristbands, not for style,  but to hide something. I drive to school,  where I'm happily ignored. People pass by, not giving me a passing glance. They talk about me, I know, but I don't extremely mind. I just continue on, thankful that this is our last day here. I've even caught wind of a festival, not that I intend to go. Anyway, we get our marks today. Every one else gets A's, maybe a few B's scattered here and there, but not me. I get nothing above a C, but nothing bad enough to keep me from graduating. When I get back home, Chance soon follows with a grin. "Hey Chance," I say, letting a smile pass by me. She practically jumped at me with her hug.

"School's over," she smiles. She shows me her report card, with nothing below an A.

"Good job," I say, "I'm proud of you." Her eyes gleamed and twinkled like stars in the otherwise dark night sky. Realizing a way to celebrate, I smiled. "You know what," I asked. She stared back in excitement and curiosity. "We're having a little carnival for grads today, and they say that siblings are welcome.  I wasn't planning on going,  but how 'bout you come with?"

Her eyes widened as she beamed a smile twice as big as any before. "Really?" she questioned.

"Yeah,  you earned it."

She squealed with delight as she ran to get ready, and I realized that I should probably get ready too. I tied my long brown hair in a ponytail, leaving bangs that covered my light blue eyes. I put on a simple T-shirt, along with some shorts. I'd usually wear a jacket despite the heat, but what the Hell. This is a special occasion, after all.

"Ready," I asked.

"Let's go," she replied,  cheerfully. Kaza meowed and yelped, strutting in front of me as if to block my path. "It's okay, Kaz," I comforted, picking him up and petting his slick black fur. "We'll be back soon." His tail twitched as he purred, and I finally set him down. "See you soon," I said, as he meowed in response.