Chapter One- 'Down, Down, Down'

Finally, a day off- well technically it would be a night off, either way Alysse didn't have to work which meant a lot of time with herself, some long awaited sleep, and then the beach.

After getting home from the bakery at eight in the morning, she immediately changed into her pyjamas and fell asleep till two in the afternoon. Relaxed and happy, she got up and made her a lunch and watched some reruns on their tiny television. Then she couldn't resist the temptation the outside world was calling to her and she changed into her bathing suit, grabbed a towel, a good book, and a lot of sunscreen before venturing down to the beach.

Now when selecting where to settle on the beach one has to consider many things. There was one area that was a high tourist area with a small pier, good restaurants and shops, and some beach volleyball nets set up. Avoid that area, for that also means far too many kids. Then there is the surfer area, where groups of surfers gather and hog the waves and often get in fights with other people and fellow surfers. These guys have been known to put up shark warning signs just to get people off the beach, so no not that area either.

Depending on how far you want to walk, Alysse's favourite spot was quite the trek to a beach right next to some cliffs. This area was popular in the morning with dog walkers and joggers but after ten in the morning, hardly anyone came this far down, but for Alysse it was worth it to get some peace and quiet and to be by herself.

She laid her towel out, lathered up the sunscreen, and then ran straight into the water. Then she ran right back out because this water was always cold. Why do you think the surfers were always wearing wet suits even during the summer. It wasn't sunny Southern California, this was Northern California where typically inland would get hot but the ocean breeze would keep the coast cold, and let's not even get started about the weather in San Francisco.

Alysse quickly ran to her towel and laid down on it, allowing the sun to both heat her up and dry her off, and once she felt comfortable she opened her book and began to read at the first page. She would always try to finish one book while on her day off, but usually she would fall asleep. Then slowly during the week she would finish the book either on her breaks or before she headed to work.

Today was no different. The distant call of a gull, the tranquil roaring of the ocean waves breaking on the sand, fall off sounds of children playing and surfers cheering were more than enough to put someone asleep and soon Alysse allowed her eyes to close and she drifted off to sleep.

"I'm up!" she cried, sitting up abruptly as someone ran past her spraying her with some sand and waking her from her slumber. She looked around her and noticed that the sun had just gone down and she was still laying on the beach. She looked at the person who kicked the sand up and could only see platinum blonde hair and long, black coat trailing behind him.

"Oi!" she shouted wanting to teach someone a lesson about kicking sand up on people. She chased after him but soon lost him among the rocks. Knowing he could have only gone forward she followed her assumption and soon found herself at the entrance of a cave. "He must be in here," she said and with one quick look behind her, she walked carefully into the cave.

The floor was very uneven, which wasn't unexpected for a cave, and soon one of her flip-flops got caught in a crack and she fell forward. It must have been an area that sloped because she kept rolling until finally she came to a stop as her legs wrapped on something. She peaked one eye open and noticed that she was hanging upside down. Feeling by her knees, Alysse found a metal pole that her knees were bent over holding her up and upside down. She grabbed it and swung off, landing with a 'thud' on the floor below. A light shone to her left from an opening and she heard a noise come from that area.

"I am going to get that person," she mumbled in what she thought was a threatening tone before crawling out of the hole and down the ladder. She was taken away by the sights before her, things not commonly found in an Oceanside cave. There was a stone fountain in the middle and a fallen chandelier, portraits and a bed, some chairs and various other things that made no sense. The light was being emitted from several metal trash cans that had fires inside.

"Do homeless people live here?" she asked herself as she walked passed a trash can. She heard the noise again, like a curtain fluttering almost, and she saw a shadow quickly dart away.

"Wait!" she shouted charging after it only to find a dead end, "great. And how do I get out of here?" she asked as she sat down on a rock. Her stomach then rumbled and she sighed putting a hand on it. "I'm thirsty, and hungry, and tired, and really wanted to yell at that person for covering me in sand."

Alysse was in quite a peculiar conundrum. She couldn't leave the way she came in since she had fallen most of the way in, so honestly her only chance was to find the sand kicking guy and getting him to tell her how to get out. Maybe he was one of the homeless people who lived in this cave.

She let her eyes wander around looking for anything when she saw a glass bottle resting on the stone fountain. It was covered in jewels and stamped metal and had a curious red liquid inside. She got up and walked over to see a note attached to it, and from the looks of it, a very quickly written note at that.

"Was that the noise I heard? Someone writing this note?" she asked before picking the bottle up and taking a sniff of the liquid. She removed the bottle from under her nose quickly. "Smells strange," she said taking a look at the liquid. "Should I trust the note that says 'drink this' or should I just let it be and try to find a way out?"

Her stomach answered her with another grumble. She groaned and against her better judgment took a sip of the liquid. As soon as the liquid was down her throat she put the bottle down and stepped away.

"Smells strange and tastes strange. It wasn't marked poison, but could it be that?" she wondered allowed before feeling a little light headed. Needing to sit down she sunk to the floor and rested there. "Great now I'm sick and stuck in a hobo cave." She grabbed her stomach as it grumbled again, clearly disagreeing with the liquid, before she laid down on the floor and that is when she saw a box that looked very familiar.

"This is from my bakery," Alysse said pulling it towards her. She wasn't happy about it but her bakery was fairly expensive, no homeless person could afford it. Opening the lid she saw three cupcakes from yesterday morning's display and she couldn't help but reach in and take one.

"I'll make them another one, I just need something to eat," she said before taking a bite. Once the cupcake was gone, her stomach had settled and she no longer felt light headed, apparently all she needed was some food in her system.

"Okay," she said standing up and wiping her hands on her shorts, "now to find a way out."

Deciding to listen to the waves, Alysse headed towards the sound and was delighted to find that the roar was getting louder. She nearly jumped for joy when she came to the cave's entrance and walked out, but instead of jumping, her flip-flop got stuck again and she fell down into the tide.

"Great," said Alysse once she broke the surface and spat out the salty water, "this has been a most unusual day off." She said before swimming to the nearby beach and getting out. Sadly, that is when she noticed that she was on the other side of the cliffs than her things were on. She groaned and started the hike to the other side of the cliffs.

She was walking down the beach to get to the flat land above the cliff when she saw the flash of platinum blonde hair and long coat.

"Hey!" she shouted and began to chase after him. She was running so fast, holding her flip-flops in one hand, that she didn't have time to stop before she crashed into the guy who now stood firmly before her.

"Yes?" he asked gruffly. Alysse straightened herself up before glaring up at him.

"Did you not hear me chasing you all evening?" she asked.

"That was you, was it? Sorry about that, but I've been late for something, in fact I'm still late," he said, not seeming sorry at all.

"Then let me make this fast-" she started but before she could even finish he had turned around and run off again. Alysse blinked at the sudden interruption and he had completely vanished from sight.

"GAH!" she shouted and threw her flip-flops in the direction the guy had disappeared. In a huff, she fetched her sandals and continued her trek to the other side of the cliff.

She had reached about the half way point, just at the top of the cliff where there was an old, twisted tree. Climbing a hill in the sand in flip-flops was very tiring so Alysse decided to take a break. Sitting below the tree and resting against the truck she took in a deep breath and held her head, it was pounding a bit but she figured it was just a bit of dehydration and fatigue.

"You look tired," came a voice above her that made her jump out of her skin. She looked up and saw a guy laying on one of the branches and looking down at her. How could she not have seen him when she sat down? And how did he get all the way up there? And why was he grinning at her like that? It was very Cheshire cat like to the point of being creepy.

"Well I am," she said trying to keep her cool and rubbing her forehead a bit.

"Climbing that hill looked very tiring, why did you do it?" he asked shifting his position a bit so he was facing her.

"Because I'm trying to get to the other side of the cliff," she said looking back up at him.

"Why do you want to go there?"

"Is this twenty questions?" she asked now looking at her feet and brushing some of the sand off.

"Maybe," he replied now dangling upside down right in front of her, making her jump once again when she turned to look at him.

"If you must know, I am trying to get to the beach over there to collect my things so I can go home."

"I see," he said bringing a hand up and biting at his thumbnail before removing it, "well I wouldn't go that way."

"Why?" she asked leaning back into the tree so she wasn't quite so close to this strange guy. She couldn't help but look at his patchwork coat and feel a bit of familiarity to him.

"Not safe. You could die," he said followed by an even wider grin, if possible.

"Then would you know a safe way?" she asked. He looked at her for a while before swinging down and landing right in front of her.

"I do," he said grinning at her and fixing his jacket, yet his white undershirt remained bunched up at his mid-torso.

"Would you show me, or at least tell me?"

Without a word he held his hand out to her and she put her flip-flops back on before taking his hand and allowing him to pull her up. Once she was upright and steady on her feet, he turned and began to briskly walk away from the edge of the cliff. Because he still had a grasp on her hand she had no choice but to follow, or as it more was, to be briskly pulled along.

…

A/n: Now I would like everyone, while you read this to remember all that you can about Alice In Wonderland because I pretty much just Frankentstien-ed that story with the Lost Boys' story.

Thank you reading.

-Charlotte