A/N

I love the ending of this chapter.

Enjoy and review.

Gaz stepped back. "But, Miss Reed—!"

"Come with me to my office, Gaz," Miss Reed replied, pressing a hand against Gaz's back to lead her away. Then to Zim, she said, "I'll take care of her. You should go back to class."

"I'm not going to leave my love pig," Zim growled. "Especially now."

"There's nothing wrong with me," Gaz said, removing her hand from her back.

"From what I just heard, there seems to be more than I know," she retorted.

"You were listening to our conversation?" Gaz accused.

"I was looking for you. When I found you missing from my office, I didn't know where you went. I was about to go to your classroom when I happened to hear you talking." She sighed. "Gaz, please just come with me. We can work this out. I'm on your side."

"I've heard that before," Gaz mumbled. She faced Zim and pulled him to the side. "I don't think she's going to let up. I'll be fine," she stated, even though she could not believe it herself. "Go back to class. I'll see you after Skool."

He shook his head. "I'm not leaving you."

"You're going to have to for a while. If I don't go with her, she won't get off my back or worse, she'll call my dad and tell him what's been going on. Just go ahead and go. For me."

He sighed, glaring at Miss Reed. "I'm here if you need me," he muttered before stomping down the hall, checking over his shoulder every other second.

"Fine, I'll go with you," Gaz grumbled, "but don't expect that I'll be willing to talk. Lead the way."

When they got to the office, Miss Reed slid the door shut and flicked on the lamp, even though the lights on the ceiling were in full working power. She pressed down on Gaz's shoulder to seat her at the chair. She sat at her desk.

I guess it's serious business if I'm not sitting on the couch, Gaz thought grudgingly.

"Gaz," Miss Reed sighed, "I don't even know where to begin. What was all of that? What did I just hear you talking to Zim about?"

"Which part?" Gaz raised an eyebrow, arms crossed tightly.

"Wonderland—how about we start with Wonderland." She glanced down at Gaz's folder before turning it upside down, the black scribbled name no longer in view. "Why were you and Zim talking about the last time you went to Wonderland?"

"In my dreams, I went to Wonderland," she lied. "Now, my nightmares consist of going to a nightmare version of Wonderland. That's it. That's what I meant when I said I went to Wonderland. It was only in my dreams…"

"Are you lying to me?"

"No."

"Then why is it that you said a monster cut your arm, and now you have blood staining your dress and covering your hands?"

Gaz glanced down, wishing she had scrubbed the crimson away sooner. The counselor was cornering her and she was well aware of it. She wanted to question Gaz until she ran out of answers, ran out of lies to provide her with. And that moment was quickly nearing.

"Well?" Miss Reed demanded.

"I don't have an answer," she replied softly.

The counselor sighed. "I'm sorry," she said, shaking her head. She pulled a red sheet of paper from the desk drawer and snatched her pen. "I wanted to respect your privacy by not demanding that your father be involved, really I did." She signed the slip and stretched her hand out to give it to Gaz. "But now we have no choice."

Gaz glared at the paper, then up to the counselor. "We have no choice, or I don't have a choice?"

"Gaz—"

She stood up, the chair plunging to the floor. "You said you were on my side. Even if I wanted to tell you, you wouldn't believe me. No one believes me, except for Zim." She shoved the slip away, staggering back to the door. "I'm going to the one I know I can trust. I won't make the same mistake of thinking that you can help me."

"Gaz!" Miss Reed called after her, but she flung the door open and tore out of the room.

Gaz ran as fast as she could, ignoring the desperate calls of the woman following her. She rounded every corner, took every step, and opened every door to lose the counselor. She jogged down one flight of stairs, and climbed another two flights—whatever it took to get away. Finally, she sprinted out the back door, glad that it was not one of the exits guarded by the fire alarm system.

"I've got to get away from here," she panted. Her sides were beginning to hurt, a sharp pain digging beneath her ribs and up to her heart. She saw stars from the thick humidity smothering the air.

She looked over her shoulder and found that Miss Reed was nowhere in sight. She slowed to a stop and headed into the entrance of an alley. The skin on her back stung as she glided against the stiff bricks of the building. She did not care.

Closing her eyes, she breathed heavily and dragged back the hair sticking to her face. Even with her eyes closed, the sun shined through her eyelids, causing her vision to turn red. And then the sun began to die down. She assumed it was simply the clouds deciding to roll in. She could smell a storm, after all. But then it grew darker.

She stepped closer to the wall when she opened her eyes and found the light around her dying. Slowly, the sun dried and completely disappeared from sight. A great blanket of black rested over the town where a trail of fog snaked through the streets, hiding the unknown in its misty tide.

It was only 1:15, yet it looked like midnight. No, it was darker than nighttime. There was not even a moon in the sky. There was no light anywhere.

Her hands still pressed flat against the brick wall, she could feel the building itself change. The cement sidewalk beneath her feet slowly cracked as it, too, distorted.

Wonderland was returning.

"No, no, no!" she cried, her head jerking to the left and right. "I can't go back. I just got out!" Yet her pleas went unheard as the world around her warped.

She could not see. She could not run. There was no way she could run with the thick shadows resting on the city. Her hand swooped in front of her face; she could not see it.

Her knees buckled and she slid down to the ground, jagged rocks cutting into the skirt of her dress. She covered her eyes with her hands, yet jumped when she heard something limp past. She listened for a moment, then felt a tail drag along her arm. She pulled away, her hands prying at the ground to move her away.

Her fingers hit something. Hard and plastic, she scooped it up and rolled it between her hands. Could it be? She found the button and flicked it on. The flashlight spit out a dim ray of light that barely shot across to the other side of the alley, but it would have to do.

A shadow crept across, causing her hand to dart the flashlight's beam to the wall opposite of her. She could make out ears and a dangling tail. Its head was hanging low to the ground. Its feet scraped at the concrete, flinging up chunks of cement with its claws. And then it left.

"Great," she sighed, standing, "I'm not alone."

A/N

At the very end, when she is in the alley and grabs the flashlight in time to see a shadow, you will see this character soon, but not just yet.

Well, with another chapter written and updated, I shall see you next time for Chapter 14.