Wonderland | The 5th Wave

Dreamland; Freya

I dreamed that I was running. My feet flew over the earth, the landscape flying past me in a blur. My breathing came in short, sharp gasps. Running, running, running. Away from something... Or someone. But I couldn't tell. But something in my heart screamed DANGER. All I felt was fear. Adrenaline pulsed through me like a shock of energy. I did not know what I was running away from, but it was approaching fast.

I wanted to turn my head, just to see what it was. Did I really have to run? But I couldn't. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't look anywhere but in front of me. Scared, I run faster, but it was always on my heel. Never catching up, never slowing down. Just always a step behind me. I couldn't outrun it, whatever it was. This thing. This threat. This...shadow. But I was losing my energy. I kept running, but I was so tired...so, so tired...

I jerked awake in a cold sweat. Perspiration was streaming down my back, and I shuddered at the sensation. What the hell was that? I remembered the fear, the adrenaline that came with the dream. Lately I'd been having the same dream, I should be getting used to it. But something about it unsettled me. Was it the thing that was chasing me? Or was it that having the same dream over and over should be telling me something? Maybe I'm just being paranoid. Shaking my head, I wipe the sweat from my brow and look up to the sky. It was still dark. If I squint, I can just see a sliver of light far in the horizon, signalling dawn was nigh.

I should get going well before the sun rises. Better get to this Wonderland place sooner rather than later. Grabbing my new best friend - the M16 and slinging my pack over one shoulder, I continue my long trek through the trees. Walking, I realised overtime helps calm my nerves. Maybe it's because I have time to think and block out all but my own thoughts. Sometimes, I don't think about anything at all. But nowadays, I've come to realise that that's all I've been able to do. Think.

Now my thoughts wander to Vosch's words - the very words that would determine my fate. And the reason why I'm even out here in the first place. It seemed like an eternity had passed since my last meeting with the Colonel. Is it true that I'm humanity's last hope? Where is this safe haven place? After all that had happened since the first wave struck, I've been asking myself the same question, over and over again: is there even such thing? And if there is, is it worth all the pain and suffering? Was it worth fighting for?

After all, I'd lost my family. My friends, all I've ever known in my seventeen years of living. Even if I found this place, wherever and whatever it was, I would have no one. Nothing to live for, nothing to die for. The thought created a knot in my stomach that refused to untangle. It felt like I had a demon trapped inside me that was just waiting for the right moment to unleash itself and destroy all in its wake.

I shake my head, desperately trying to rid myself of the emotions that were building up within me. Get it together, Park, I mentally chide myself. I had to stay calm and on the alert if I wanted to stay alive. As if on instinct, I reach for the M16 that was slung over one shoulder. The polished surface of the weapon felt soothing against my calloused hand. So far I hadn't gotten myself into a situation where it was needed, but something told me that I would very soon.

Strangely, the forest seemed quiet today. Apart from the occasional chirp of a bird in the trees, nothing told me that there was any sign of danger. Shaking an uneasy thought, I continued trudging on for what seemed like an eternity with nothing but a single thought in my mind:

Wonderland.