-O-

-O- Chapter Three: First Day Dreamer -O-

-O- Day One -O-

There Zach stood, in the middle of the forest, a perplexed look on his face. There was no wind, no sound, just an eerie silence. The trees and sky fizzed strangely. The silence was becoming very uncomfortable, so he decided to break it. "Where…where am I?"

Zach walked around for a few minutes, observing his surroundings. He noticed that everything, including himself, was in grayscale. He looked straight in front of him and saw a solitary well in the middle of the wood. He walked up to it and peered down into it. He noticed the lid was off to the side of it. He leaned over the well, holding his balance with his hands. Unfortunately for Zach, he didn't notice the soft sound of footsteps behind him.

All I wanted was you…

Before Zach could turn around fully, all he could see was a darkness surrounding him, the sound of a plastic-like rustling filling his senses. His world then fell to blackness…

-O-

Zach's eyes shot open as he awoke from his nightmare. Upon realizing that he was awake, he sat up quickly and felt himself, making sure everything was real. Once he was sure it was just a dream, he let out a relieving sigh. He glanced at his clock. 9:47 A.M.

'Too early for a Saturday…´

He held his head in his hands for a minute before finally getting up and getting out of bed. He picked himself up and walked into his bathroom, but hesitated after walking through the doorway. He took a second to look at the mirror before recognizing himself in it. He sighed again before continuing to get cleaned up for the day. He decided to skip on a shower for now; it was Saturday, after all. He didn't have anything to really get cleaned up forso he settled for changing into some baggy, ripped jeans, a dark blue t-shirt and some sneakers, and a quick comb of his hair. With that, he walked out of his house and made his way across the street towards Theodore's house.

Zach sighed as he walked up the familiar porch to his friend's door. "Why do I have a feeling that last night wasn't the last of this?" Zach was about to knock, when suddenly, the door burst open and there, standing a mere couple of feet away from him, was the girl. Zach jumped back with a scream and fell backwards down the stairs from whence he came, his head making contact with hard pavement. He looked up to see the girl's aged dress fading out of existence; the only thing to remain was the hair.

'Dore fell backwards onto his porch laughing hysterically, the black wig on his head shifting off his head as he did so. "Oh…my…GOSH! You should…of seen…your face!" 'Dore let out between his insane giggle fit. Zach sat up and stared out into space for a minute, his eyes wide with fright and his skin now pale.

'Dore noticed the sudden change in his friend's demeanor. "Hey bud, you alright?" he waved a hand in front of Zach's face.

Zach finally awoke from his little 'nap'. "Y-yeah, I just didn't…sleep very well last night is all"

'Dore folded his arms. "You sure you're okay, man?"

Zach blinked, taking in his current surroundings. The color had returned to his face by now. "Y-yeah…" Zach got up rather messily and brushed himself off.

Theodore was still unsure, but accepted the explanation for now. "Alright. So, what do you wanna do today?"

"Eat?"

'Dore laughed. "You mean you still haven't eaten breakfast?!"

"I told you I didn't sleep well…"

"Hey, no worries, man" 'Dore knew something was up, but decided to keep it to himself. It was probably just Zach having one of his 'out of it' days or something. "So, what did you have in mind?"

"Let's eat out for breakfast… I haven't felt like cooking lately..."

"Okay, let's head over to Dennys."

"…Alright…"

'Dore crossed his arms and smiled wryly. "Hey, don't worry. I'll drive us"

Zach chuckled. "'Dore, please! My night's been traumatic enough!"

'Dore pat his friend on the shoulder warmly. "There's the Zach we all know and love!"

-O-

'Dore had been inhaling his food for the past couple of minutes. He must of swallowed at least three entire pancakes whole by now, and he showed no signs of stopping. Zach, on the other hand…

'Dore stopped for a moment, his fork up to his mouth with another full pancake occupying it. He looked over at his friend's slumped posture, how he supported his head with his arm, which was resting on the table's edge. Zach seemed to be dazed, looking off into nothing. The only motion he showed was that of torturing his poor breakfast by giving it a slow death-by-poking.

'Dore couldn't bear to watch any more food suffer such a horrific fate. "Alright man, spill. What's the matter with you?"

Zach had an instant attitude change as he looked up at Theodore and flashed him a large, goofy smile. "What?" he said with a chuckle. "Nothing's wrong, 'Dore!"

Theodore folded his arms. "Oh yeah it is. It's not like you to mope around like this!" Zach' admitting defeat, looked down and away from his friend, as if thinking it could actually hide his emotions from him.

"Did something happen last night?"

"…Yeah…"

"What?"

"…I…can't tell you…"

'Dore laughed. "Oh sure, you can't tell me because it's 'something I won't believe', right?"

Zach looked away even more, but then gave a small nod.

'Dore's expression instantly changed to that of surprise. He laughed. "Come on, man, tell me!"

Zach simply sighed in response.

"Oh please! Please please please!"

Zach sighed. "Will you shut up about it if I do?"

'Dore made a slicing motion across his heart with his right hand while he held his left up in the air. "Cross my heart, man".

Zach sighed. "Alright…"

-O-

"Would you stop laughing?!"

Zach and Theodore walked out of the Denny's together, though both wore completely opposite faces. 'Dore had found the entire ordeal humorous to him, and had been laughing for the past fifteen minutes. Zach, on the other hand…

"I said stop!"

'Dore managed to halt his laughter for a minute. "I'm sorry, man, but come on! A little girl? Your seriously afraid that there's somebody stalking you?"

"Or something…"

'Dore laughed. "Oh come on, man! Like a girl anything would stalk you!"

"Ha ha, you're a real riot"

"Yeah, I know"

Zach playfully punched his friend on the shoulder, though his expression remained stagnant. Once the joyful moment had passed, Zach stuffed his hands in his pockets and stared down at the concrete below him. 'Dore was worried for his friend, something just wasn't right, and he wanted to know what.

"She didn't feel right…"

'Dore looked over at his friend. "Who?"

"The girl…"

"Oh…" 'Dore looked down at the sidewalk. His friend wasn't acting like himself at all. Sure, he had his moments, but never anything this intense. Not in awhile, anyway. "How so?"

"I'm not sure…She just felt like she didn't belong…Like…She was rejected and meant to stay that way…"

"That's deep, man"

Zach remained silent.

The silence continued uneasily for a few minutes as the two climbed into the car and drove off. It was then that Theodore realized something that needed to be answered.

"So…Where are we going?"

"I…don't know, actually" Zach chuckled.

'Dore smiled. His friend hadn't gone completely AWOL on him. "Wanna go see a movie or something? I heard the second Pirates of the Caribbean is s'posed to be really good"

Zach responded with a sad smile. "Okay…"

-O-

The trip on the way was relatively silent, which was a first for them. When they got there, the theatre was jam packed with people, families and couples filling the spacious building. The ticket line was relatively short, however, so they got through it fairly quickly. It was the snack that was the problem child.

"Move it!" 'Dore shouted at the line.

Zach ignored 'Dore. Being in a public place hadn't made him feel any more comfortable. His eyes leapt from one person to the next every second, making a mental note of every move, every hand gesture. Despite this, however, he failed to notice his friend's hand landing on his shoulder. Zach jumped a bit when he felt it and almost screamed, until he saw 'Dore standing in front of him.

"Hey man, settle down! Help me carry our stuff will 'ya?" 'Dore picked up both of their drinks.

Zach nodded and looked over at the two large bags of popcorn sitting on the counter. "Y-yeah…" Zach picked up the popcorn and followed 'Dore to the room showing their movie. They spotted two empty seats in the first row.

'Dore was, to say the least, overjoyed. "Woo-yeah!" he ran and plopped himself down on the seat. "Front row seats, baby!" 'Dore slid both their drinks into the cup holders on the arm rests. "Come on, man!" 'Dore patted the seat next to him with his right hand. "Take a load off!"

Zach smiled and sat down. He handed one of the popcorn bags to Theodore, whom immediately began devouring it. Zach shook his head. "Man, your not gonna have any popcorn left by the time the movie starts!"

All Zach got in response was some incoherent mumbles. A second later, the movie started. 'Dore was cheering like a madman, but for some reason, he stopped suddenly. Zach didn't think much of it, however.

Static…

The movie screen began to blink in and out between static and the movie. Zach eyed the screen carefully. Suddenly, the ring appeared on the screen, and the low howl of a sound it made blasted through the surround sound speakers. Zach covered his ears. Before long, the scene switched to the well. The screech stopped and Zach let his hands slowly drop from his ears. A music box started playing, but it sounded different. It sounded eerie and unnatural. A little girl could be heard singing an indistinguishable set of lyrics, which only made the entire ordeal that much more scary. Zach looked around the theatre and noticed that he was now alone. He looked back toward the screen to see that he was no longer in front of it, but inside it. He was standing directly in front of the well. He could hear a steady pace of footsteps behind him, but his fear kept him plastered in that one position.

A chill went up his spine as he felt a cold breath against the back of his neck. He could feel himself being shoved into the well, but his body refused to respond. He smacked against nearly every rock in the well, until his body fell into the water. He could feel himself losing consciousness. He could hear the faint sound of stone against stone, and managed to look up one last time before falling into darkness.

He saw the ring.

-O-

Corner of Pranktitude: Yeah, I obviously got Fanfic working again. I hope you like this chapter, guys! Oh, and 'Dore is right. Second Pirates of the Carribean is good. Its better than good, its awesometastic. See it or I'll SICK SAMARA ON YOU.