Level Six: It All Makes Sense...But Not Really
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Thrust out into the fog once again, Jenny stumbled about with her arms flailing in front of her. She probably looked like a right imbecile, but it wasn't like anybody could see her, so why should she care? After a fair amount of tripping and bungling, Jenny thought, Why not? And took a bight of the mushroom chunk clenched in her hands. No sooner had she swallowed the fungus than the haze around her started to dissipate, revealing the path she'd wandered off of about a quarter mile away.
Like her vision, Jenny's mind began to clear was well. It was akin to that first instant waking up in the morning—the switch up of dream logic for one's real world mindset. Except in this case, Jenny was still in the dream. Or whatever this was.
Damn Julian to the lowest level of hell, Jenny thought furiously, because it was now painfully obvious that her shadow-stalker was the one behind this whole trippy debacle. Well, either him or psychosis. Jenny decided to assume the former, because it was marginally less unpleasant.
She remembered everything now—the prom, Julian's return, the second game, Audrey's disappearance...WAIT a minute.
Audrey! Jenny thought, memories flashing through her brain like strobe lights, Snarks and boojums! "Alice in Wonderland!"
And there it was. Jenny didn't care how inane that trail of thoughts sounded out of context, because she was finally starting to put it all together. All of her experiences since reawakening God-knows-how-many hours ago could be traced back to that damnable book. Alice in freaking Wonderland. The man on the mushroom was like the hookah-smoking caterpillar; the two kings could be seen as Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum; the guy in the fur coat must have been the White Rabbit. And of course, Julian was playing all the parts.
But...why?
Sure, it was just the kind of crap Julian loved to pull, but what could he really be getting out of all this? What was his goal? What was he expecting from Jenny, anyway?
It doesn't matter, Jenny thought as she began stomping over toward the path, whatever game he's got in mind, I'm NOT playing.
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Julian just had to laugh. Even thrashing through the mist like an escaped mental patient, Jenny Thornton was absolutely adorable. At last, she took a bite of the toadstool clump he'd so nicely given her. It was a mystical mushroom—you know, in the literal sense, not the sense that really means "drugs"—which Julian thought should have been obvious from its sheer size. Really, how many mushrooms in your neighborhood are large enough to pose as a poofy, somewhat sticky chair for two people?
Now he could see the fungus work its peculiar magic (once again, nothing to do with drugs...as far as Julian knew; he wasn't entirely clear on how these things worked.) He watched as shock, confusion, understanding, and fury took turns occupying Jenny's face. These expressions were the visual equivalent of music to Julian's ears, like having a front row seat to his favorite show. Julian wasn't sure which of them he liked best on her; they were all so entertaining, and, Julian thought with a grin, she really is fun when she's angry.
Then, when Jenny stormed off the the trail, Julian saw his love's beautiful face set in that mask of determination she wore so well.
Now that one, Julian thought, has got to be my favorite.
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"Feel." "Touch."
So said the two signs Jenny faced upon reaching the next fork. Which path Jenny chose was probably of importance to this game, and since Jenny most emphatically refused to play along, she closed her eyes, spun around eleven times, and marched onward. When she reopened her eyes five paces later, Jenny didn't even look back to see which path she was on.
When it seemed that all signs pointed firmly away from sanity, leaving things up to chance couldn't hurt, right?
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Level Six Complete
Ahem. So yeah, short/boring/crappy filler chapter is short/boring/crappy. But don't worry, I promise the next chapter will be longer and much more eventful! Want a hint? It's Cheshire-Cat time. I'll leave it to you to wonder what sort of spin I put on that...
