I can't do summaries (urrrgh). A group of teenagers find themselves on the other side of the world (the world is flat remember?) Not only do they have to fight for survival but each other as the madness of one world seeps into another. It is a story of hope, Youth, Loss of innocence, Friendship, betrayal and love in this War time Wizard of oz inspired fan fic. enjoy and R&R

Valerie woke up the bittersweet sound of merry children reciting a rhythm rung in her ear; it was that damn dream again

Valerie woke up the bittersweet sound of merry children reciting a rhythm rung in her ear; it was that damn dream again. She slowly pulled her heavy head up from her soft pillow, her long black hair swaying lazily in the cold air. She turned in a slow movement to look at her alarm clock, 00:01, it read. It seemed that the dream enjoyed plaguing her at this time. To make it worse whenever she had the dream she struggled to remember it, only pieces survived the night. She rolled back both in to her original place and sleep.

‘Christ you look tired, Chris exclaimed as a tired Valerie sat besides her on the base of a grassy hill. Valerie closed her eyes and breathed out. ‘I hope that’s not the new look, First your obsession with corsets now this? You’re going to end up looking like the corpse bride’ Valerie scoffed. Valerie was a Victorian Goth, chokers, high heels, corsets you name it she would have it. Despite this she normally wore bondage trousers, tank top, cons and multiple necklaces (as she did today). Her black hair lay behind her head on the grass like a hand spread out wide. Her raccoon styled eyelids flickered open revealing her dark brown eyes.

‘Hey what’s wrong with Emily the corpse bride? That’s a good look’ she joked. ‘And besides she was a bride have you forgotten I’ve got no male interest at all?’ Chris shrugged.

Chris was the same age as Valerie, both had been best friends for a good part of their fifteens years. She (unlike the rest of Valerie’s friends) was not a Goth. She had long blonde hair, pretty looks. She had on a pair of black/navy skinny jeans on with a white jumper with multi coloured stars and black cons. Chris’ full name was Christina but she disliked anyone calling her that.

‘So what’s this not sleeping about may I ask?’ Chris asked casully. Pulling out a pair of fashionable shades Chris looked at her.

‘Nice shades’ Valerie said, Chris smiled ‘I’ve kept having this weird dream.’

‘oh?’ Chris asked and Valerie shrugged. ‘What about?’

‘I actually don’t know. Some creepy kids, some guy who you only get to see from the nose down smiling saying “you remembered after all this time”, a wheat field. Just random stuff. Ya’ know?’

The two girls sat on the bottom of the small hill sunbathing and chatting for twenty minutes. The usual meeting place for all of their friends was in the town’s park. It was basically woodland with small parks dotted about it and a river that run through it.

‘So how is everything with Henry?’ Valerie asked slyly. Henry was two years older than them and Chris had a huge crush on him, as it turns out he has a huge crush on her too but he was leaving school and moving at least half-an-hour away.

‘He wants to be with me’

‘Well that’s good you deserve to get together’ Valerie said putting a brave face on it. Valerie was a typical hopeless romantic. All she wanted was to find someone to love; she dreamed of love and valued it above everything. But she never found it and she never had any admirers. But there was one obvious reason why. She wasn’t fat and she was quite pretty (more and more so by each day) no, the reason the she had no male attention was she didn’t acted like a tart. She flirted by she didn’t sit on a guy’s knee. It left her terribly happy for her friend but it broke her heart to know no one would love her. Chris nodded her agreement on the subject of her own love life.

‘Hi guys!’ a happy voice called out, The Figure of their friend Helena appeared. Helena was quite over weight, but which she lacked in figure she made up for in her looks. Helena was extremely pretty, perfect complexion, big wide blue eyes, long lashes the lot. She walked over to them in her typical pirate styled red and black dress with black cons and her newly purchase necklace; a Sweeney Todd razor blade. Her long black hair flowing behind her as she skipped over to them hurriedly.

‘Hi Helena ‘they chorused, she hugged them and sat besides them. One after another their friends and their friend’s friends arrived.

After hours of chatting joking and cuddling (like Valerie’s good friend Twilight and her long term Boyfriend Craig. They had been going out for over a year now and still were madly in love and devoted to each other. They were inseparable to be frank, always in that loved up state, glowing in that trance of devotion.) Jim stood up.

‘Hey guys who wants to go to that haunted house?’ Jim called out. Jim was eccentric and flamboyant and an odd ball that had went out with most of the girls. After a minute or two of ‘Yeah’s and ‘Whatever’s they left. It was odd of Jim to brave anything, he was a huge coward. His bravado must be alcohol fuelled Valerie thought sarcastically. The whole group of about twenty Goths, skaters and odd balls travelled clumsily through the woods to the haunted house.

The haunted house can still be visited today although there are plans to convert the land into flats. The house had been a family mansion despite the town only been sixty years old. Until recently it was an old folk’s home but it had to be closed. so it lay in the woods alone and eerie. Other than the oddly high number of bird bodies found there and the supposed ghosts, it is a hide out of junkies.

‘Is this it?’ moaned Selina. Selina was a mixed race girl with an Asian appearance and long wiry brown hair. Wearing baggy trousers and a jumper and someone’s hat she clung to their friend Ryan. Selina was a quite pretty girl but she had a major clip in her shoulder. If anyone’s view weren’t the same as hers she rejected and insulted it. Clearly she wasn’t amused.

‘Yeah’ said Ryan ‘Why did you want us up here Jim?’. Jim turned to the group.

‘To go in of course! Think we could film it and put it on youtube. People would actually believe there are ghosts if we film it right.’

Valerie enthusiastically piped up.

‘But there are!’ Selina turned to her and looked at her dismissively.

‘No there aren’t, don’t be so stupid.’ To prove her point, Selina walked in front of the gates. ‘Hey Mr Ghost why don’t you come out I dare you!’ this comment was met with intended laughter but it made Valerie’s skin crawl with embarrassment. ‘See no ghosts’ Selina said triumphantly.

Just as the group settled into chatting there was a loud crack. It was defiantly a twig but something heavy snapped it. The woods that were flooded with noise fell silent as the sound echoed. Everyone shut up, even the cockiest and bravest Valerie among them.

‘What was that?’ Their friend Twilight (a Punk Goth with a Mohawk) whispered only then being told to shut up. Even Selina lost her cockiness.

‘it’s probably a deer’ Selina said uneasily trying to act cool.

‘That’s not a deer’ Chris whispered.

The sound was distant but it scared all of them, not to mention that the sun was shaded by the thick trees making it terribly dark. Just as they started to relax the sound of twigs snapping was heard although it was much closer and in the opposite direction. The whole group lost their nerve and run for it. Whatever had been following them decided to chase them down the hill.

Screaming, yelling and heavy foot steps were heard. The group run as fast as they could some falling and screaming one last time. They were the ones that looked back.

What was left of the group run down though the woods. However this turned out to be a big mistake. The woods were a mixture up huge hills and big dips with some flat land in-between. The house was on top of the highest hill that was at normally ground level. Running down from the house they reached a muddy cliff over looking the river and just farther than that some land. But it was a large jump to make it across from the cliff to the land at the other side. Caught between the thing and the cliff it was time to decide. Ryan jumped first and despite his small sizes just made it having to pull himself up from the opposite edge. Next were two fifth years guys they made it to. Twilight jumped next but fell into the river.

‘Nooooooo!’ screamed her long term boyfriend who really bravely dived into the filthy water to save her, but the current dragged them further apart and further away. Helena fell too. Chris made it across and motioned for Valerie to join. Here goes she thought glumly.

Valerie felt the pressure of the air as she leaped across the gap but she felt like she was in a curtain of silk and was rolling out of it as she fell. She fell on her left hand side into the murky water. Trying not to breathe in the dirty water she used her leg and arms slowly to keep her afloat. Her ears rang with the sound of wild water whipping her also with the sound of splashing and yelling. Then there was another noise like an elephant trumpeting but more like a shriek of horror or rage. It was an unreal noise something terrible that dampened (is that were any more possible considering she was in water) mood when she heard it. She spun around as the fast current pulled her along. She saw the back of Helena’s head struggling in the water.

‘Helena!’ she yelled her throat aflame with determination ‘Helena!’. The current grew faster still and if it had been a normal day she would have enjoyed the fast pasted ride, not today .The water hit her across the face as she felt the water deepen.

‘Helena! Hold on!’ she yelled. Eventually they reached a pond, it’s waters still and undisturbed. Twilight was holding her boyfriend Craig up. She was crying as he murmured in pain. After catching some air into her lungs Valerie asked her what had happened.

‘He cut his leg off something’ she whimpered. Twilight and Craig loved each other and had been going-out for years despite him only being sixteen and her only being fifteen, it looked like it was going to last.

‘We should get him out the water god knows what’s in it’ Valerie muttered. Twilight nodded as Valerie swam towards them. Helena was holding onto a tree root that came out the mud for support. The screeching noise was heard again.

‘Oh please no’ Helena pleaded. Valerie turned to Twilight.

‘Is his bleeding?’ Twilight shook her head .Thank god thought Valerie that’s all we need, a god damn trail. Helena went to swim over but her necklace became caught on the root and fell into the water.

‘Damn’ she mutter and dived under. She emerged again, her glasses eschew, ‘Val, ‘light you’re not going to believe this. There are pictures on the sides of the pound and some weird lock thing at the bottom. ‘Twilight raised her hand from the water letting it fall through her fingers.

‘And it’s clean too’ Twilight added. Valerie dived down under the water.

They were both right. The water was clean and there were images on the sides of the pond also the fact that there was a small fountain shaped locking system in the centre. Valerie looked around the bottom of the pond and found Helena’s necklace. She looked at it then the lock then popped up again.

‘Hey Helena? Your necklace looks like it fits the lock, where did you get it?’

‘ummmm Claire’s ? Why do think it will work?’ Valerie nodded and Helena dived down and placed her necklace into the lock.

‘Done ’she smiled happily. They waited for a few moments before the pond’s floor opened up and swallowed them into darkness.