A/N: Hi guys! This story just came to me (in a dream) and I couldn't help but write it. I don't know how it'll turn out but I hope you guys like it!

Surviving Wonderland

Prelude:

The Beginning

"Can't you see the faces melting as the sun rains from their eyes
Who are you to keep your head with the hearts that you hang behind
Look at yourself, look in the mirror, don't you see a lie?
That you tell yourself again a thousand times
And the truth that makes us laugh will make you cry"

- The Poison, The All American Rejects

…

Chloe Saunders had never had a problem with being who she was. She was pretty but never beautiful. She was honest but never bold. She was kind but never popular. She did okay in school but never great. She was, by all means, normal.

Normal all depends on how you view things, though.

To the world, Chloe Saunders blended into the crowd of students that attended A.R. Gurney, but her life had never been easy. She had lost her mother at a young age and with a father that spent little time at home – she was very independent compared to any other eighteen year old girl.

Lately though, it had become more than just being able to cook for herself that made her special; she had been seeing things. Lightning fast images that flipped inside of her head and disappeared as fast as they came. It was hard to know exactly what she saw but once she could have swore that she saw a girl with short black hair with blue sparks flying out of her hands.

For once, blending in to the crowd did nothing but relieve her. She didn't have to worry about people catching her blinking furiously in the middle of a hallway trying to regain her sight; because no one was looking at her.

There was a new pull inside of her – a sort of web tangling into her heart and trying to get her somewhere. It sounded insane but she was sure that the images were trying to tell her something. Just like she was sure that the tug in her heart was pulling her towards something important. And just like she had a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that said things are only going to get worse from here.

Those feelings were right.

.

.

.

Closer. Closer. Closer.

Those words were hammering inside of Chloe's head as she furiously tried to shut them out by humming Day Dream Believer the highest she could without causing any disturbance to the rest of the students sitting in the library.

Closer. Closer. Closer.

Chloe groaned and smacked her forehead into the book she'd been reading. "Shut up," she murmured to herself, agitated.

Each time the words repeated themselves in her head it was like a shockwave running through her. A pound in her head with every syllable. After just a few minutes it was becoming torture.

CLOSER. CLOSER. CLOSER.

"Shut up!" She yelled loudly, pressing her hands tightly against her temple in a frantic try to make it stop.

It did. The shockwaves suddenly slowed down until they were nothing but shots of adrenaline shooting through her body.

She could feel people in the library staring at her "Freak," she heard one girl mutter under her breath.

This is it, Chloe thought to herself, scanning her eyes across the room, meeting the eyes of several stunned students. I've gone utterly insane.

She roughly gathered her books in her arms and rushed out of the suddenly quiet library with tears stinging in her eyes. To her surprise there were no laughter trailing after her but instead a dead silence and muted whispers.

She didn't take her gaze off of the ground as she walked. She didn't return to her locker to drop off her books and she didn't attend her next class. Instead she went straight out of the school and into the parking lot.

The black BMW was easy to find and she was lucky that she always carried her car keys in her pocket instead of leaving them in her locker.

She climbed into the front seat and threw her books into the backseat, not caring that one books landed recklessly on the car rug.

When she pulled out of the parking lot she had every intention of going straight home but instead she found herself driving in the opposite direction. It didn't feel like something was compelling her to do it, more like urging her to. And every sense in her body wanted to keep driving. Even though she didn't know where.

Chloe wasn't sure for how long she'd been driving but it must have been for a while because soon the roads changed from clean asphalt to muddy trails. A lofty green mass of forest covered the sides of the road, blurring into a mess of emerald as she drove by.

How did I come to this? She asked herself silently. How did I go from being a Buffalo loser to driving through the forest without a second thought?

She didn't have time to even try to answer her self asked question before she halted the car, sliding it to a stop at the side of the road. She pulled the car keys out of the ignition and opened the car door.

Instantly, the fresh smell of the forest hit her. It smelled like trapped sunshine and rain.

She placed one foot out the door, gently touching down her green Converse hi-tops onto the cold damp surface. She frowned down at her shoes, sure she had many more pairs at home but it seemed like a waste to ruin them. Rolling her eyes at herself, she stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind her.

So this is where you ended up, huh? A voice taunted inside of her head.

"I'll just check it out and then leave." Chloe said quietly to herself.

Closer…

Chloe gasped as another shockwave shot through her in synch with the word that was shooting through her brain. But this time the shockwaves echoed out of her, into the woods. In the back of her head she knew that it was insane to follow through with this but it would be insane to stop now so she started walking.

It was difficult to manage through the thick forest, not only because she was a complete klutz, but the twigs, roots and bushed would have made it difficult for anyone to manage through. She couldn't count how many times she told herself that this was insane and completely asylum-worthy but she never broke stride.

Closer.

Chloe froze, the constant vibration that had been leading her forward had now disconnected. She took a deep breath, placing her hand on one of the branches of the thick tree in front of her. She pulled the branch out of her way and ducked her head under it.

A meadow. It had gorgeous green grass with specks of lilac flowers sputtered at random locations. And in the middle of the fairytale like meadow, four other teenagers stood, now looking her way.

Chloe saw two boys and two girls standing there, all looking at her expectantly, like they thought that she had something to say. Not knowing what else to do and following her heart at the same time, she paced over to where the teens were standing.

They all glanced around at each other, all looking thoroughly confused.

"Who the hell brought me here?" A slightly Asian looking girl asked snarkily.

They all turned to stare at Chloe who looked back at them timidly. "D-don't look at me," she stuttered.

"Well someone must have do-" The girl began to argue again when one of the boys cut her off with a low "wow".

Suddenly, a shadow cast over the kids. Chloe looked over at the blonde boy who had spoken and notice that he was staring up at the sky in awe. She frowned but tilted her head up anyways.

What she saw next, she would always remember. The sun looked like it was burning! A black mass was covering the sun and red flames whipped around it.

"Oh my God," she heard someone whisper but she didn't care enough to find out who.

One of the boys, the one who really stood out, spoke up. His voice coming out a harsh, low rumble. "This is impossible." He muttered.

The snarky girl instantly replied. "No shit, Sherlock. We all just ended up at the exact same spot in the woods and none of us brought the other ones here."

The big, dark haired guy shook his head. "Yeah, but that's not what I was referring to – I was referring to the fact that the next full solar eclipse isn't supposed to happen until November thirteenth 2012."

Chloe looked up at the boy, questioningly to how he knew this.

He just shot her a quick shrug and a sheepish smile. "I read a lot."

Chloe nodded swiftly, accepting his answer. "What the h-hell is going on?" She asked no one in particular, just voicing the thoughts that were streaming through her head.

"I have a feeling that we're about to find out," the girl who'd been quiet the entire time said and then… darkness.

One thought flew smoothly as an ocean breeze through their minds…

Five ancient powers reawakening.

And then the big guy who apparently read a lot, burst into black flames right next to her.

.

.

.

A/N: What did you guys think? I know that you're probably confused but please let me know what you think. This was just sort of the preface after all…

Please leave a review telling me if you liked it and if you would like me to continue it!

/Annabel