Chapter 6:

The chimes of the bell shocked Skye back into reality. (Or as close to reality as this situation could get.) She began coutning, realizing that it was ten o'clock. That meant they all have seven hours to get to the sounded like more than enough time.

She began to take a step forward but stopped. She had no idea where to start. Julian hadn't left her any hints or clues of where to start. Should she check the houses in the subarbs or make her way to the city?

That's when she heard a noise from behind the bush. A light rustling that could've just been the breeze. Squinting, she saw a shadow on the ground of a figure. Was it one of those deformed creatures from Julian's "world"? Her heart rate increased.

"H-hello?" She called out.

"Yes?" She heard a male voice making her squeak in surprise. She jumped back a little and stared at the bush in shock.

"Who are y-you?" She stuttered again.

The owner of the voice stepped out. Squinting, she recognized him from the cards. Zachary? The one with the long blond hair and the distant gray eyes. "Zach." He sighed. "I'm here to help, I guess."

"Um, okay." Skye hesitated. "Where do I start? The city," She pointed towards the bright lights in the darkness. "Or here?"

"I would suggest going into town." Zach said, keeping a distance. He was staring at her intently, making Skye look down shyly. "No wonder he picked you. You look like her." He said the words to Skye but he seemed to be thinking aloud. His face was filled with grief, as if he lost someone special.

"Look like who?" Skye asked, quietly.

Zach snapped out of it. "No one, just start walking to town. Try the library first. It's closest."

"Oh, okay. Thank you." She began walking and noticed that Zach didn't follow. "Aren't you coming?"

"No." He said.

"Well, uh, thanks." She said, slowly and walked down the street.

Skye walked away from Zach and further into the subarbs. She noticed that most of the houses here had lights on. Did actually people live here? Is this a real town? Would she have to break in to the different buildings just to find her friends?

Although the lights were on, it didn't seem like anyone was home. Unlike the picture on the game board in her living room, the only sound was the breeze hitting the trees. There weren't any little girls walking there dogs or kids playing football on their front lawn. No cars were driving on the street, causing Skye to not bother to move off the road.

It was eerily calming to just walk through the breeze. Knowing that she could die should scare her enough to just run into Julian's arms. But then again, her friends would have to stay with her here as well and she couldn't do that to them. So instead, she soaked up the warm breeze of the summer night, hoping to relax her enough to get her through these next few hours. It couldn't be to hard, right?

Looking down, she remembered that her skirt had ripped. The breeze uncomfortably hit against her bare legs. Maybe there was a clothing store nearby that she could just drop in and grab something quickly.

Skye noticed that the houses turned into more stores. Just like the houses, all the lights seemed to be on but no one was home. She spotted a clothing boutique and ran over to it, her skirt ripping off up to her thigh. She stopped in front of it.

Should she break the door open? It was glass. Or maybe, it was open? She put a small hand lightly on the doorknob. Biting her lip, she turned it to the left a little and it went with her. Smiling, she pushed the door open.

All the lights were on but most of the clothes were gone. Stepping over to find a new pair of pants, she realized that there weren't any jeans. The only thing left were a couple pairs of short.

Deciding that she didn't have time to look somewhere else and she couldn't stay in this skirt, Skye grabbed a pair of the shorts and pulled them on under her skirt. Discarding the poor skirt, she tucked in her loose blue tank top and found a pair of sneakers. She couldn't find any hair ties and quickly left the building.

Luckily, she wasn't that far away from the larger part of town. She finished the walk, begging that it hadn't taken her long.

The streets were much wider and their were a few apartment buildings around her. There weren't any houses. She spotted the movie theater, the school, the library, and town hall. She could hear the waves from the beach since she was closer now.

Taking Zach's suggestion, Skye ran towards the library first.

She spotted the benches just before entering through the big double doors. They were also unlocked.

Trying to not get distracted by the urge to find a book, curl up, and read until time ran out, Skye looked around. "Hello?" She yelled, hoping one of her friends would be there.

"Hello?" She heard a male voice call back. This voice was more familiar than the one from the bushes. "Skye?"

"Blake? Where are you?" She ran towards the voice.

"I'm in my room!" He yelled back.

"Your-," She started, then stopped and stopped running. "Your room?"

"Yeah." He answered. "But there aren't any doors. Where are you?"

"In a library." She answered looking around. "This doesn't make sense."

"Maybe," Blake hesitated. "This is just crazy."

"Yeah, I know." Skye said, walking towards his voice whenever he spoke. "Keep talking. I'll try following your voice."

"What do you want me to say?" Skye stopped walking as he stopped speaking.

"Uh, tell me a story."

"What story?"

"Tell me about the football game that you always brag about."

"Oh! Okay, so we were losing by ten and," Blake continued speaking and Skye kept following his voice.

"Louder!" She yelled when his voice started to drift a little.

After getting back on track, Blake's voice led her towards the kids section of library. His voice kept her going back towards the very last book case.

"And then we were winning by ten!"

"Okay," Skye stopped him. "I think you're behind this wall."

"No, Skye, I'm telling you, I'm in my room. I can see my backyard out the window and I can even see your house!"

"Blake, I'm not sure," She said, trying to think of the best way to tell him this. "Listen, I don't think you're actually home."

"I told you all it wasn't real!" Blake ignored her. Squinting, Skye noticed an open book.

"Blake, keep talking." She took a step towards the book. It had a picture of a room. A boy was lying on his bed, playing with a baseball.

"Alright, so," Blake launched into a story that was backgroud noise to Skye's thoughts.

She took a step closer to the book. Surprisingly, the figure appeared to be moving. "Hey, do me a favor? Just, stand up and walk over to your window or something like that."

"Uh, sure, I guess but how'd you know I was lying down?"

The figure in the picture moved, causing Skye's mouth to drop. "Blake, I found you." She said, quietly, placing a hand on the picture.

"What do you mean?" Skye ignored him, running a finger along the picture, unsure how to get him out. "Skye?" A little bump stuck out of the picture. Skye's eyebrows furrowed as she continuously poked at the bump. It felt like a mini doorknob. "Skylar?" Maybe she wasn't supposed to get Blake out. "Skylar Ann Belleveiw, answer me!" Maybe she was supposed to get in.

"Seriously Skye, this isn't funny. Where are you?" Blake's voice was frantic now.

Pulling on the doorknob, it opened. A bright light emanated from the opening.

"Skye!" Blake yelled. "Skye, are you okay?"

"Blake," Her voice cracked a little. "I'm fine. I'll be there in one second."

"Oh, Skye!" Blake sounded relieved, while Skye poked her finger into the light. "I thought you were gone, I thought he-"

The light took over Skye's body, pulling her in. It was the strangest sensation. It felt as if needles were poking her body but it didn't hurt. The light encased her body, making her feel strong and filled with love. Then, the light was gone and Blake's arms took its place. Even stranger than having the light around her, the feelings never left.

"I thought he hurt you." Blake's voice whispered into her ear, sending a chill down her spine. Not like whenever Julian spoke to her, where she felt scared. Instead, she felt safe.

"I'm okay." She whispered back. EVentually she pulled away, knowing they couldn't spend too much time here. "We have to go, though. There's a time limit." She began looking around.

"A time limit? For what?" Blake asked, incredulously. "And since when do you where shorts?"

"I'll tell you as soon as we get out of here." She peered under the bed. Nothing was there. "You need to face your nightmare, or something weird like that."

Blake said somehting udner his breath but Skye didn't bother asking him what he said. He pulled her up off the ground. "I told you, there's no way out. There isn't a door."

Skye looked around again. "Yes, there is." She pointed to the oak door on the opposite side of the room.

"That's to my closet."

Skye rolled her eyes and walked over to the door. "Come here." SHe pulled the door open.

Inside was another room and another person. A woman with hair cropped so close to her head it looked like little nubs of black velvet on her skull. She was dressed in a fatigue jacket and was sitting on the bed. She was as beautiful as an African Priestess, and she was grinning wickedly when she saw the door open.

"Jenn-" She stopped and jumped up into a stance that seemed defensive. The door shut behind that two kids and it disappeared. "Who are you and what are you doing here?"

Hello little chickadees!

I think I like this chapter. Some parts I'm like eh but overall I like it. And I loved writing it.

I hope you all enjoy it! Anybody expect that? Anybody know what's going to happen next?

Until next time... :)