Authors Note: The next chapter probably wont be up for a week and a half. I'm going on a trip with no internet so I can't write any more. Thats what the half of the week and a half is for! Enjoy!

Casey was getting used to the idea that this old woman was a witch. But she'd never get used to the idea that she and Derek suddenly were in a strange world with real magic, fairies, giants, and even unicorns. There was no way this was real. Casey sat up once again and watched Derek sleep in the bed. There were only two beds in the Witches house so Casey decided to take the sofa-ish thing. it was really just a pile of blankets on some hay. But Derek needed the bed right now. He had apparently managed to hold her up and stay alive in the freezing cold river.

"Um... Ms... How did Derek get us here?" Casey asked. She just realized she didn't know the woman's name.

"He didn't. I found you in the forest just a walk away from the river. Both of you shivering in your sleep. He was clutching to you pretty tight. You must be very close." Casey burst out laughing.

"Derek and I close! HA HA HA! No, we are very distant. We hate each other." Casey replied.

"I can see that now." The witch said. "But you might change your minds later on. Being alone together can do strange things to young boys and girls."

"Men and Woman." Casey corrected.

"Don't correct me young one." The witch responded warily. This scared Casey so she went over and sat on the edge of the bed. It had only been half a day since the Witch brought them there and already Derek was running a high fever. Casey put her hand on his head and ran it through his hair. Just then a hand shot up and clasped her wrist. Derek's eyes were open and Casey jumped back startled.

"Derek... Don't die on me! If you die and leave me in this strange place alone I'll bring you back then kill you myself." Casey sobbed to a barely stirring Derek. She figured being alone with Derek beats being alone entirely. Besides if he died how would she explain to George and her mom what happened when she got home. Where ever home was.

"Um... Ms. Witch person... How do we get home?" Casey asked.

"Well first you wait for me to heal the boy then I'll tell you." She replied.

"YOU CAN HEAL HIM!" Casey exclaimed.

"You can call me Madlin if you want to. That's my name. Most people call me mad Madlin though." Madlin explained.

"Okay Madlin. Do you need any help healing him?" Casey didn't like feeling useless.

"Nope. But its about time I get started. He is almost at the peak of his warmth." Madlin explained.

"DO you mean the highest point of his fever?" Casey was now getting annoyed by the woman's lack of common knowledge.

"Fever? Funny word. If that's how you want to say it you are welcome to your strange ways." Madlin was mixing herbs and things all through the conversation. She added something white to the mixture then water. She then walked over to Derek and got him to drink it. Soon enough he was sitting up and chattering away about the dream he had had. Casey wasn't paying much attention to his babbling. She was off in her own little world trying to figure out what was in the potion that made Derek better.

Casey sat in silence waiting for Madlin to get back from her shopping trip into the town, which apparently they had in this weird world. Derek was sulking over the fact that he would be slowed down in getting home by the fact that he would have to lug Casey around, with her tripping and what not. He shouldn't have saved her from drowning in the river. But he was over come by compassion at that moment. He would never admit it but deep, deep, deep, deep, deep down in his tiny ice cold heart he actually cared what happened to Casey when it came to life or death situations.

"Y'know Case... You never did thank me for saving your butt back there." Derek said thoughtfully.

"I'd rather you have let me drown." Casey retorted smugly.

"So that makes two of us." Derek smirked.

"DER-EK!" Casey was expecting him to be nice for once. Being in this hell hole for a week already must have been driving her crazy. Thinking Derek would be nice to her for even one second was a real stretch. Not to mention the fact that they had been actually getting along the whole week. Well getting along for Casey and Derek. Meaning less fighting. But now things were starting to calm down a bit. Less talking to one another.

"Derek... What are we going to do if we can't get back home?" Casey asked.

"Casey we WILL get back home. We HAVE to. I can't spend the rest of my days HERE with YOU." Derek taunted.

"DER-EK! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU! I TRIED to have a civilized conversation with YOU but you RUINED IT!" Casey yelled.

"You two stop fighting and listen to what I have to tell you." Madlin said as she walked through the door levitating her bags. "I'm going to tell you how to get back to your strange land." Madlin continued.

"Go on!" Casey's eyes brightened up.

"You must travel through the forest toward the purple sun and find a cave. This task will not be easy, for there is a town amidst the woods that you must avoid. If the princess gets wind of strange folks you will never get home. The princess is very stern about new folks in these parts. Now after you pass along the out side of the gates around the town quietly you will come to four caves. They are not the one you are looking for they are many days apart but you must make it passed them by the time the sun turns blue or the thirty day snow storm will catch you. Never talk to a pixie, unicorn, or fairy. Dwarfs and Elves are fine though. They are good with Directions. You will leave here in five days. Once you pass all of the caves you will notice the sun turns pink, when you see a ray of pink sun going into a hole in a tree fallow it. At the end there will be a meadow at the end of which will be the cave filled with knee deep water that will get you home. You will need to kill deer and bears to survive. I will supply you with blankets and enough food for fifteen days. After that for food you are on your own. The journey should take you seventy five days if you don't get caught by the storm." Madlin explained.

Derek and Casey's jaws both dropped when they heard all of the hardships they would have to go through to get home. But it was nice to know there was some hope of getting there. Eventually. There was no way that they would both live to tell the tale though. On of them would kill the other before the end of the first month and it would most likely be Casey killing Derek. Although Derek is stronger than her she is smarter and more easily annoyed.

Casey figured she'd try to get along with Derek for as long as she could because it would save them from losing time. She was doing pretty well despite the fact that Derek was trying to pick fights with her the whole time. It had been maybe an hour since they'd left Madlin's house and already Derek had managed to push her into silent insanity.

"Spacey are you sure you don't want to play a game while walking?" Derek asked genuinely.

"No, Derek. It would slow us down and we want to get as far as we can while its still day light." Casey replied. She knew Derek was doing this to make her flip out at him. But she managed to keep her cool. Derek on the other hand was losing it. He was desperate to hear Casey yell his name. Having her being nice was too weird for his liking. So he picked up a pile of snow and threw it at her.

"DER-EK! YOU ARE SO IMATURE!" Casey screamed. Wiping the snow off of her face. She just kept walking as did he. Neither of them said much to one another. For most of the day until they found that the time left before dark was limited.

"Derek I'll start a fire you set up the blankets okay?" Casey instructed.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Derek saluted then marched over to the bags and set up the blankets in one big bed like thing. That's the way Madlin told them to sleep. To share body heat, it would keep them warmer.