December 16, 2008~

The snow falls so lightly against the ground; it seems to block out all other sounds of the woodland area. But my ears, they hear the faint rustle and chug of a train. My eyes weakly flicker open, and as I hastily glance at the right of me, the railroad tracks streaking through the forest. The sleek, silver passenger car disappears over a bridge further down, and I begin to tremble at the memory of what I had just escaped. The snowflakes fall for what seems like forever from the white sky above. The black and white lace of trees dances across the ashen sky, with occasional splashes of pine green from the fur trees. I feel so alone, so bitter in temperature that I wish I could just bury myself in the rising snow drifts and come out three hundred years later.

Then I remember something—someone.

Kerry.

"Kerry?" I call out pathetically into the tense silence. "Kerry?"

"I'm here…," a voice moans.

"Kerry!" I suddenly spring up with every ounce of strength I have and limp over to a pile of snow up against a bare oak tree. "Kerry," I cry, "are you okay?" I struggle to haul her feeble body out of the snow drift, but eventually wrench her out and land in a huddled mass a few yards away from the newly-snow-dusted tracks.

Kerry grumbles and stands up, the snow sprinkling her blonde hair. "We just had to jump outta that train, didn't we?" she moans sarcastically.

I brushed the flakes off my arms and put a hand on her shoulder. "Yes, we did. We escaped a guy who wanted to kill me…"

"That Edward guy?"

"Yeah, don't trust him; he's a stupid, unreliable vampire."

"Uh, ok."

I shudder, hearing the train's loud whistle echo throughout the mountains and swirl through the valley. "Let's just get out of here."

"Whatever." Kerry shoves her hands in her pockets and trails behind me into the woods.

The mysterious forest is almost like the setting of a wintry movie, like the wardrobe scene with Lucy and the goat man in the Chronicles of Narnia. Or maybe, if Edward suddenly appeared from behind a tree, a scene out of the unknown Twilight sequel or something of that nature. But the sudden thought of Edward popping up in front of me scared me greatly; his pale face blending in with the snow, his jaw rigid, his eyes piercing. I think I would have to go jump off the cliff or something.

That reminded me—the cliff.

Right after Kerry and I had jumped out of the moving train, it had crossed over a bridge, which rode over a precipitous gorge with a wide river and steep, jagged cliffs racing down the sides of the mountain. It had to lead somewhere.

I grab Kerry's wrist quickly. "What?!" she asks, frightened. I can feel her heart beating rapidly. "Is your little Edward friend back again? Please don't tell me he wants to eat me too!"

"No, Kerry," I tell her excitedly. "Over there, by the edge of the woods, where you can see through the trees, there is a river!"

"Uh, congratulations. Why are we getting so worked up over water?" she asks, unenthusiastically. Suddenly her voice is back to normal; that same old drone of a voice.

"Because, Kerr, it can lead us towards civilization. That river definitely meets up with a place somehow. I don't care if it's a Native American village, but there are people there!"

"Wait, I think I'm getting this," she says, then snaps her fingers and points at me. "All drains lead to the ocean! Got it!"

I just stare at her. "No. Just follow me."

She shrugs. "Okay…"

Part II:

We built a boat. Not like a pirate ship or a gondola or a row boat, but a boat. A raft, basically. But for us, it looked so sweet just to see that little scrap of tree trunk, which meant our only escape pod from these infinite woods. I placed it near the dark silver water, gushing by us with white caps foaming on the wave tips, tumbling over the rocks and down dips in the flow. It licks the bank wildly.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Kerry asks, a little doubtful.

"Positive."

She purses her lips and then steps on the raft. It rattles and wavers a bit, but once Kerry sits, it appears fine. Then I hop on and take hold of the steering notch in the front of it. "Let's ride!" I shout, and Kerry whoops and cheers as we glide faster downstream, leaving the bridge over the gorge and the cliffs and the empty forest behind for eternity.

But I didn't realize that this "trip to civilization" would take an eternity.

Neither Kerry nor I know how long the trip was, until our raft sailed into a muddy "dock" on the side of a creek near a field with overgrown grass and horses grazing in it.

The sun makes the water sparkle like diamonds, yet only in a few areas because the trees dim the shallow clear water with their shade.

I pull the steering notch with all my might and slow us to a stop on the mucky riverside. It smells of stinky swamp and fish, and I hold my nose as I climb off the raft. I help Kerry leap to shore. "This is gross," she declares, then trots off into the pasture.

There is a road. I see it even before Kerry shouts out, "Look! A road! And it looks like an Interstate highway! We're saved!" She dances across the field, the faded green grass swaying in the gentle breeze. Large brown horses with night-black manes graze peacefully in the thicket. The sun is a dazzling gold color, shining brilliantly in the pale blue sky. It is about three o'clock; therefore the sun is on the west side of the sky. The clouds are spread across the blueness, puffing about like cotton balls, the golden light illuminating them to look like gold thread was spun through the cotton. Kerry casts shadows as she runs excitedly around the field, chanting, "We're saved, we're saved!"

"Hey, wait up, Kerry!" I holler to her, and eventually she slows to a stop and falls on her back into the sun-streaked meadow. I approach her, taking my time, absorbing all of the beautiful foliage and scenery of the area. It is the perfect temperature, tepid warmth flowing through the air. Yet it is Christmastime, which is weird, because as I help Kerry to her feet, I realize exactly where we are.

There is an old abandoned building made of stone that is crumbling terribly, and across the street, a diner. We rode past it on one of our field trips this year: "Hey!" I exclaimed excitedly, as the Coach Bus drove past a diner, a prairie field, and a dilapidated building. "I know exactly where we are!" Carrie turned around and gave me a funny look. So did Ethan. "You don't know where we are," he chided. I nodded. "Yes I do. I ate at that diner on my way back from picking out a Christmas tree last year. I know exactly where we are. How much do you wanna bet?" Ethan rolled his eyes but Carrie was undoubtedly fascinated. "Whoa!" she said, laughing. "You really do know where we are."

I managed to hide my glassy eyes from Kerry, recalling that sweet memory to Camp. The class of 2009 was all together then. Now, I was lost with Kerry and neither of us knew how we'd gotten to be hitchhikers or refugees or vampire escapees. I wish I could cram us into a space pod and blast us home again. But, realistically, that could not happen. Or unrealistically. Because, after all, I was in a dream. But I didn't want to wake up. I would when it was time for school, and resume it the next night. For now I can't abandon Kerry alone in the wilderness, even though she would be right there in school with me.

I smile to Kerry before we dash across the street towards the diner parking lot. "I've been here before," I announce proudly.

"Good," Kerry says grinning. "How's the grub at that diner? I'm starvin'."

"It's really good," I say slowly, trying to remember our trip here in 2007. "I got a Philly cheese steak sandwich, I think."

"Sounds great to me," Kerry says. When there are no cars, we rush across the highway and run up the diner steps. "We're only getting something quick, like a sandwich, then we head out," I warn her.

"Fine," Kerry mutters reluctantly. She opens the door and we walk in.

"Take a seat anywhere," the hostess grumbles, so we sit in one of the booths in the middle aisle.

"Ugh," Kerry pinches her nose. "This place smells awful."

I nudged her to keep quiet. "They ignore the non-smoking laws out here," I tell her silently. "Just ignore it like they do."

"Whatever."

A waitress appears at the side of our table. "Do you ladies know what you're going to order?" She readies her pen and pad.

"Aren't you gonna ask us what we want for drink?" Kerry asks rudely. I kick her shin and she yelps loudly. The waitress does not seem to care at all.

"We'll both have ham and cheese wraps," I tell her. "With water."

After recovering, Kerry turns to me and mutters, "I hate wraps."

"You hate everything."

"Only trains and wraps."

I laugh, but the dreadful remembrance of the train in my hometown throws me off. Edward is still out there, looking for me.

"Renesmee…"

For a second I thought I heard his voice, but it was just my imagination playing tricks on me. A new waitress arrives hurriedly with our food and clumsily delivers it to our table. One of the wraps spills on the plastic surface. She is different than the other one, and her light blonde hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail, her bright blue eyes filled with nervousness. She is much younger. "Sorry," she mutters, then scurries away. I hear the other waitresses snickering behind the bar counter, saying things like "rookie" and "greenie". I suddenly feel pity for the young waitress.

Kerry takes a bite out of her food. "Ew." She wrinkles her nose and throws the wrap back on the plate. "This stuff is nasty. I thought you said it was good."

"It's been a while…," I admit sheepishly.

"Whatever," Kerry says. She slides out of the booth and stuff her hands in her pockets.

"Where're you going?" I ask, poking at my wrap.

"I'm ditchin' this dirt hole."

"Fine; then I'm coming." I leave a measly tip on the table, and we shuffle awkwardly out the front door and down the stairs. The sun is inching towards the horizon now, off in an even larger field than before with low trees and shrubs and high grass.

"Oh my gosh, Charlotte, look!" Kerry whispers, pointing to three black bear cubs crossing the gravel lot behind the diner. "Have you ever seen wild bears before?"

"No, Kerry, I haven't."

"Let's go." Kerry races off behind the building. There is a wooden deck attached to the building, and against it are a few pick up trucks, probably the workers'.

"Kerry, wait!" I hiss, but it's too late. Kerry is already stroking a cub's small black head. "Look how cute!" she exclaims. "They're so friendly."

Another one crawls towards me, then rubs against my legs like a kitten. "Uh, that's nice Kerry, but hasn't your mother told you to stay away from wild animals?"

She is too distracted with the bear cub to notice my remark. The little one still nuzzles my leg softly, its eyes closed in delight. I kneel down to pet it, and it curls up into my lap. The other one still stands in between us, motionless. Then it bounds toward me and bites my hand, growling playfully.

"Ow!" I yip. "Stupid bear! Get off me." It tugs on my fingers like a puppy. It's not that its teeth hurt at all, it's just that usually when a bear is nipping you, it means that it has issues.

"Kerry, get this thing off me!" I shout, but she does not hear. "Kerry, you idiot; there is a bear biting my fingers! Get it off me!"

"What?" Kerry asks obliviously, still snuggling the other one.

"Ugh, this is pointless," I moan, the cub still yanking at my hand. Then, in a blur, the other, friendlier cub tackles the issued one and they tumble around, playing and teething each other. I examine my fingers, but besides a few marks, I'm fine.

"Ok, that's real cute Kerry but we have to go."

"Alright." Kerry puts the cub down and follows me out of the gravel lot, leaving behind three little cubs wrestling and playing with each other like first graders on the playground having wrestling matches for Pokémon cards.

We continue down the Interstate road, following the pavement as it winds through the deep woods, the sun setting on the western horizon.

"You know," Kerry jokes, "I thought you had a way with animals."

I shoved her a little. "I do, but, you know, anything can happen in a dream."

"Huh?"

I laugh and pat her shoulder. "Never mind, Kerry, never mind."

Then, I woke up.