BOO!

Alice turned over in her sleep, trying to ignore the banging on her door. When it didn't subside she sluggishly sat up and looked at her clock.

6:13.

Irked that she was being woken so early Alice got up slowly and walked to the door, her bare feet tingling from the sudden temperature change of the cold hardwood floor. She unlocked it to find Ashley on the other side with a worried expression tainting her features.

"Whats up?" Alice said tiredly as she rubbed her eye.

"Is everything okay?" She asked worriedly.

"Yea... everything's good...why?" Alice responded, finding it difficult to form a coherent sentence.

"When I got home the front door was wide open and its freezing in here!" She exclaimed as she rubbed her arms.

'Freezing?'

Suddenly everything that had happened that night hit her like a train making her stand there like a deer caught in head lights.

"Alice? Whats wrong, did something happen?" Ashley asked as she took note of her sudden stiffness.

"Uh...no, I just...can't believe I left the door open. Yup, very irresponsible" Alice muttered half heartedly. She wasn't sure if she could tell Ashley What happened without sounding crazy. Ashley flashed a look that said 'This is not amusing.'

"Why are your clothes all dirty?"

"What?" Alice looked down at her shirt and pants and they were indeed quite a mess. There were mud stain on her knees and dark smudges lining the edges of her shirt.

"Oh right. I went for a walk in that field over there." Alice said as she pointed behind her towards the grassy field.

"When was that?"

"I don't know...maybe 10:00...or 2:00...something like that." She said the last part quickly with a wave of her hand.

"Did you fall in the mud or something? You know your not supposed to go on his property." Ashley said seriously, referring to the old man an they liked to call Mr. Nebbercracker.

"Yea I know I was just going for a walk."

"Well next time do it earlier, you don't want to get attacked by some rabid dog in the middle of the night or something." She muttered as she turned around and started to head for her room.

"Wait." Alice said as she opened her door more.

"Yea-" Just as Ashley turned around Alice embraced her in a tight hug, hoping she wouldn't notice her shaking.

"Your getting me all dirty." Ashley said sarcastically as she hugged her back.

"Sorry." Alice muttered, making sure to wipe her eyes behind her shoulder before letting go and facing her.

"Do you need to talk about something?" She asked. Alice knew she was referring to Walter and decided it was time to retreat back to her room.

"No...I'm just tired." Alice answered before turning around.

"Okay then. By the way, do you want me to take the dog outside?"

"Oh...right, I forgot about that." Alice muttered before quickly walking back to her room. The furry pup was still asleep on the end of her bed, making Alice feel guilty when she woke him up and brought him back out into the hallway.

"Did you find a name for him yet?" Ashley asked as she took the dog and held him up to her face, making all sorts of adoring faces.

"Nope not yet."

"How bout' Tom Riddle?" She asked with a smile.

"Psh," Alice laughed, "We aren't naming my dog after Voldemort." The puppy impatiently nipped at Ashley's brown hair, apparently not a fan of being held for so long.

"Shhhh, don't say his name." Ashley whispered as she backed up.

Ashley turned around with a chuckle and walked down the stairs before disappointing from sight. After a couple of seconds Alice's smile faded and she stood there quietly.

'Could I have imagined all of that? Is my mind playing some kind of sick joke on me?'

Alice looked down at her clothes and without another thought she went back into her room and changed into a T-shirt and some pajama pants before walking over to the window. She opened it and leaned out onto the window sill, putting her cheek in her hand. Alice decided she would stay up since the sky was already starting to light up. She thought about the strange company she had last night and suddenly had an idea. She jumped onto her bed enthusiastically and pulled her laptop out from the her nightstand drawer and opened Google. She typed in "Sandman" and scrolled through the links. Nothing caught her attention immediately so she clicked on images, only to be met with book covers, super-villains, and an occasional movie actor. With a disappointed sigh she went back to the search engine and tried adding "Guardian" to the key words. Unsatisfied with the results she closed the computer and put it away.

'You'd think someone would know who they were, it's not like they don't attract a lot of attention.' At this thought, Jacks words crossed her mind from last night.

"Only the children who believe in us can see us."

'Children, huh? Does that mean I'm not supposed to see them?' She had certainly not giving fairy tales much thought before, not to mention faith. So if what he said is true, then why had she seen them? She liked not knowing the answer. For some reason it felt like a mystery. Her mind itched to know something, anything, that would help her know more, and she was determined to find out. Alice was so busy staring at the the wall she hadn't noticed Ashley come back with the dog until she put him on the bed.

"How bout' Sammy?" She asked.

"Sammy? Where'd you get that?"

"You remember that kid that tried to throw a brick at you in second grade?"

"Yes..." Alice narrowed her eyes. "You want me to name him after my child hood bully?" She asked.

"No, I was just thinking of that and I thought, 'Oh wow Sammy would be a name for a dog.'" She said with sarcasm.

"Well your right." Alice retorted as she picked up the shivering dog.

"Really? You like it?"

"Yea sure...why not?" She said as she held him up to eye level. "He kinda looks like a Sammy."

"Oh, and you might want to dress warm today, there's some snow out there so try not to fall on your face."

"Snow?" Alice asked, feeling the kid inside her mind jump with excitement. She got up and quickly walked back to the window, wondering how she had missed it. Glistening white snow softly blanketed her yard, making the scene look whimsical. "Cool." Alice breathed, noticing the water in her breath turn to vapor. Alice could't even remember the last time she had played in the snow, and it really wasn't that often that the snow actually piled where she lived.

"If by "cool" you mean icy roads of death then yes, its pretty cool." Ashley said sarcastically.

Alice couldn't help but giggle as she reached for her beanie and coat.

"Well I'm beat so I'm gonna go lie down." Ashley said as Alice wrapped her dark blue scary around her neck.

"Kay then. Get some sleep."

"Yadda yadda." Ashley said tiredly as she exited and walked down the hall and disappeared into her room. Alice grabbed her black gloves before turning her attention back to her dog.

"Dang, you sure sleep a lot." Alice muttered over Sammy before tucking him into the blanket.

As she slipped on her gloves Alice noticed something shimmer in the morning light from underneath her pillow. She lifted it up to see a box with two buttons on it. She picked it up and stood there for a second, not sure whether to be relieved or disturbed. 'At least now I know it happened.' She thought unhappily before sticking it in her coat pocket.

With her mind buzzing she quietly slipped down the stairs and out the front door, her warm cheeks quickly met with a chilly breeze. The yard outside was sparkling with patches of snow, sections of it already starting to melt. 'If the temperature doesn't drop soon this will all be gone in a day...' Alice thought sadly as she closed the door behind her. She walked out into the frozen grass, savoring the sound of the crunching snow under her boots. She scooped up a handful and squeezed it together before chucking it at a tree, making a small group of birds flee. She chuckled and walked down the driveway, turning onto the sidewalk and deciding to go for a walk. Alice used to hang out on an old bridge about an hour from here with Walter when she was younger, and even dim memories of snowball fights and hot chocolate began to creep into her mind. She felt her eyes start to sting with tears, and the chilly breeze on her face wasn't helping, but she was determined not to get down today. After quickly wiping her eyes with her sleeve she noticed she was almost there and watched as the bridge slowly come into view.

It was quite beautiful bridge at one time, one that didn't see much action anymore, but it wasn't completely forgotten. It's wood that had once been crisp and stiff now creaked and groaned and most of it's brown paint had already peeled off. Alice expected if it could talk that it would tell many tales of forgotten travelers and complain how it joints don't hold it up like they used to. Even with all of this it was beautiful none the less and it was the perfect place to clear your mind. The trail that followed the bridge led into a Forrest full of long slender trees, most of them dead and without leaves, that twisted and thickened as you walked farther in. Alice had been in there before, but the deeper she went the darker it got and the trail would start to disappear, making her turn back in fear of getting lost. She finally reached the bridge and slowly walked towards the middle, sliding her hand on the old wooden rail. Stopping half way, she leaned over the side and studied the frozen water beneath it.

Just as she started to drift into her thoughts she heard a strange sound and her ears pricked with curiosity. She stilled herself and listened more closely hoping their wasn't some stray dog lurking around. The air was quiet for a minute when suddenly a screeching sound echoed through the air from beneath her. She instantly leaned over as far as she could and peered below the bridge. A little black animal was directly below her, scrambling on the ice before looking up and her. The black cat froze in it's spot as her eyes met with its shining yellow ones. She stood back up and thought for a moment, not sure if it was worth the risk.

"Oh, what the hell..." She muttered and quickly walked to the corner of the bridge, already having convinced herself to help it. She liked cats, although she never had one of her own, and the thought of it freezing to death on the ice was unacceptable as.

Talk about bad luck...' She thought, given the cats superstitious nature. She carefully climbed down the frost covered dirt wall of the stream and stopped just above the ice, cautiously tapping it with her foot. Looking from side to side, Alice picked up a decent size rock and threw it down onto the ice as hard as she could. Satisfied with the sturdy clunk it made, she cautiously placed her right boot onto the ice and slowly stood up. After standing still for a few moments she carefully looked up to see the furry black cat shrink in as she lifted her head. She almost didn't notice the black collar around its neck.

"It's okay..." She said softly, trying to soothe its fears as she slid a foot forward. It was a quick movement that almost cost her her balance. She righted herself and tried to slowly move the other foot out. No matter how hard she tried to leisurely move her feet, her movements were always quick on the slippery surface. After a few more tries she was beginning to get the hang of it. Appreciating the fact she was wearing boots, Alice found herself gradually getting closer and closer to the shivering animal. Just as she started to get confident, her right foot slid out to far and her feet flew out in front of her making her heart skip a beat. She fell back fast, her bottom hitting the ice quiet uncomfortably.

"Dang it..!" She muttered as she sat there, grateful she didn't hear any cracks.

"Well that wasn't attractive." She said to herself as she looked up to see the cat's reaction. The sudden movement frightened it and it tried to run even though it made no progress on the slick ice. It went still again and stared at her with wide eyes as if she had just formed some elaborate scheme to try to kill it by falling on her rear. She sat up on her knees and studied the ice around her, making sure there were no cracks. Satisfied with her inspection, she slid on her knees and slowly approached the cat, who was now staring at her in horror.

"Oh stop it you idiot, I'm not trying to kill you..." She muttered, not happy with her soaked knees.

She stopped in front of it and carefully reached out her hand, not wanting to get scratched. After a couple sniffs the cat seemed to relax and stood up, its face almost smiling mischievously It meowed and walked around her in a circle, making sure to brush along her back tauntingly before emerging at her right side and climbing into her lap. It lightly stroked it's tale under her chin before sitting there and staring at her with golden eyes.

"Wait a second, do you mean this whole time you could walk? I just did all that for nothing?" Alice said irritability knowing very well she was talking to a cat in the middle of a frozen stream.

The cat purred in response and pushed it's head under her hand, making her lift it and pet the feline with an unhappy groan. It looked up at her again with shimmering eyes and sweetly meowed again before dissolving in her lap. Her eyes widened as she held a black pile of sand in her hand where it's head as just been.

"What the..." Alice said as sat there in shock. She stared at the black substance on her with a look of horror and shock, not noticing the soft footsteps that approached her.

Hmmm...yea I did that kind of fast...hope I didn't make to many errors. :/

lol I imagnned that kitty with a troll face the whole time xDD

Anyways, review my people...review and rejoice!. :)