Chapter 1

The University bus made its way down the long winding road. The road led toward an abbey, whose recent discovery had turned it from a lost fragment of the past into an object of intense study. Inside the bus was a small group of Oxford University students. They had been selected to partake in a class study of the beautiful ancient abbey. Most were either studying documents or typing away on their laptops, but Alex Hunter, a young African American student was doing something else. He was reading. And not reading just any book. He held in his hands a Redwall book. Alex was a typical young student, 20 years old, wearing blue jeans, a red shirt, and bottle cap style glasses that got him teased many times for appearing like a geek. For the most part he ignored the teasing. As long as he had his Redwall books, he didn't have a thing to worry about. Alex was so engrossed in his book he hadn't noticed the bus had stopped, and neglected to disembark with the rest of his class. Doctor Adam Rider, the professor, took count of his students and saw that Alex was missing. With a sigh of impatience, he trudged back to the bus. "Alex?" he called out. Rolling his eyes at the sight of the young man sitting cross legged in the back seat and reading intently, he walked down the aisle to where Alex sat. But when Doctor Rider saw what Alex was reading he was furious.

"Alex! Why are you wasting your time reading those silly stories?! I hope you don't waste this chance to study this beautiful architecture of the past by daydreaming about an abbey that isn't real!"

Alex quickly stuffed the book in his backpack. He looked a little worried behind his glasses.

"I'm sorry Doctor Rider, I was only..."

"Come on let's go!" Doctor Rider huffed, making his way back toward the front of the bus and the rest of his touring class.

Alex hurried down the bus steps after him. Lining up with the other students, he ignored the pointed stares and whispered jabs and looked around him. He studied the ruins of the abbey. The stones that once composed mighty walls were sun bleached but appeared to have been red stone at one time. Alex only had one thought: Redwall. But quickly he put it out of his mind remembering what the doctor had said. After receiving his instructions he set about looking for ancient items. It was not an easy task as vines and weeds had consumed parts of the walls and created a natural protection for the landscaping beneath. Alex walked carefully around the back of the abbey, where he could study in private and also daydream about Redwall. He ran his hands across part of the wall and jumped when he came across a loose brick. Carefully, he tugged it from its lodging place. He turned it over in his hands and blew off some of the dust. His eyes widened. It turned out to be a book called "The End of Peace" by Joy Fleetrunner, the last recorder of Redwall Abbey. Alex ran to tell Doctor Rider. He could barely contain his excitement. As he ran, he noticed other students had found bowls and beakers with flower designs on them. In Alex's mind, it reaffirmed his feelings about the ancient building's history.

Alex ran through the tall grass yelling, "Doctor Rider! Doctor Rider! I found this book and it mentions Redwall! I think that what Mr. Jacques wrote came true!I believe this is REDWALL!"

Dr Redwall ran his hands through his hair. He was a middle aged white man that had attended college with Alex's parents. They were good friends of his. However, at the moment, Alex was trying his patience, and he was regretting his decision to bring him along on this study. Impatiently, he grabbed the book that Alex held out to him. Skimming through the book, he said, ""Alex, your parents were friends of mine and that's why I allowed you to come on this trip. But what you are suggesting is impossible! You need to grow up! Next thing I know, you'll say that Brian Jacques actually visited the abbey and that's where he got the idea for the book from. GROW UP!"

Alex took the book from the professor and sadly turned and walked back toward the back wall, shoulders hunched in defeat. Around him, other students were taking a break for lunch and began making animal noises as he walked past. He hurried quickly past them, trying to leave behind their jeering laughs and calls. He felt terrible. He believed the works of Mr. Jacques, almost as if he had experienced them himself. He sat down and leaned against the wall, looking up at the sky above him filtering through the hanging limbs of the trees. What if one could experience the life of Redwall?

After the jeering of the other students, Alex really didn't feel like eating. He decided to look at the book he had found in the wall. As he studied it, he noticed that it mentioned the Redwallers had become extinct. They had defeated so many enemies that they thought that they could never be defeated. But alas, an unknown evil came and defeated the Redwall community. Alex thought about it for a moment, hardly daring to believe what he was reading. He wished his parents were there to give him some advice and wisdom. As he sat there in the grass, back to the wall adorned with dust and hanging strings of moss, he studied the crumbling structure above him and a tune began to come to his mind. He began to sing:

"I look around here and I want to feel

like the world is passing me

I just can't help but wonder

am I doom to a sad life?

And is it a curse I'm under to be this way til I die?

When I could be an explorer

traveling to distant lands

instead spending everyday just getting made fun

future looks like nowhere

that I want to be

there's gotta be something better than this for me."

All of the sudden a voice spoke through his daydream:

"You there, I could use some help."

Alex looks up to see a young man with orange hair, a green tunic, and red eyes standing before him. At first Alex thought it was his glasses, but when he cleaned them the man was still there. He looked curiously at Alex, who quietly said:

"Who are you? You're not part of the dig are you?"

"I'm not but I need help." the stranger solemnly replied.

Alex wouldn't normally trust a stranger, but there something about him that told him the strange man was to be trusted. So Alex followed him. The man led Alex to a cave where everything became dark. Alex looked around curiously. When he turned to question the man, in his place was a mouse!

"Relax Alex," the mouse said, chuckling at the shock on the young man's face. "I'm still the man from before, but in my TRUE form. I'm Martin. You were right that abbey was Redwall. You see the more Mr. Jacques wrote about the place, the more real it became. So much so, that even after his death, we lived. His death caused a rift between our two worlds so that the ruins of the abbey came into your world. I heard your wish to be in Mossflower, so I'm giving you chance to change what happened in Joy Fleetrunner's time."

The world began to swirl around Alex. All he could see were the quiet eyes of Martin still standing calmly before him. The word faded, and grew dark. Alex passed out.