*Ahem*

Dear fans (if any),

I love comments with a passion! Seriously! If you love the story, comment. If you hate the story, tell me why. If you have a suggestion, inform me. I will listen! Comments make writing worthwhile!

In other news, the movie is coming out TODAY! EEEEPPP!!!! –Spaz- In case you haven't noticed, I'm really excited. YAY! (Logan Lerman is HOTTT! 3) So yeah. Thanks for reading my (tiny) rant. LOVE YOU! :D

-Lauren

P.S.- Yes, I have to end every chapter with a cliffhanger. ;)

Back to the story…

I didn't waste time mourning for my birdie friend. I swallowed my fear and ran straight towards the noise. The trees had grown faces and were swaying, singing a terrifying, frantic tune. Clocks were shattering around me, but the glass didn't hit me. The metalwork bent out of shape and the hands flew off of the clocks like tiny arrows of death. I kept on running towards the scream, though. It was blowing the trees back aswell as my hair, making it hard to run. The ground started rippling underneath me again like sound waves.

It was Atlanta's scream.

I kept running until I saw a cave. My entire being wanted me to turn back. It wanted me to jump up in the air and out of the whirlpool from whence I came. What propelled me foreword I have no idea, but I'm glad it did. I kept running into the pitch dark. The scream had stopped by now, but it did not remove the fear. I couldn't see anything, and the darkness continued. I kept running and running until I saw a light in the distance. I heard the scream again, and ran faster. It took me awhile before I realized that, sitting under the light, was a single lonely toucan, screaming Atlanta's exact scream. I ran right up to the bird and clawed his eyes out. I heard a sickening screech coming from the bird, and then he turned to dust. I looked up to see where the light was coming from.

It was a ring, glowing like a thousand suns. I could barely look at it. It provided enough light for me to see that to continue, I needed to turn right. I did just that. It was another five minutes before I saw another light. This time I ran towards it, knowing I had to kill whatever was under it.

It was a little black lab puppy. He was wagging his tail and barking at me playfully. "Aww!" I said, running up to him. "I'm not gonna kill you!" I reached my fingers into his cage and he licked them. I scratched his side. "I'll come back and get you after I kill the fox, okay?" His demeanor changed when I mentioned the fox. He started growling and barking, his hackles up. "He put you in here." I accused. The puppy dog nodded. I didn't think it peculiar that he understood me after all I'd been through today. Curiosity got the best of me, though, and I looked up to see what was making the light. It was a sword.

"Achilles sword." I guessed, and then continued on to the left turn. When I saw the next light, I ran. When I got there, the sight was strange. "A steak?" I said aloud. It was a hot, delicious smelling prime rib, sitting on a plate on a stool. I was about to dig in until I remembered that nothing here was as it seemed. It could poison me, or worse- it could be like underworld food: One bite and you're trapped here forever. I knew without looking what was making the light: the belt. I confirmed my suspicions anyway. I continued on, growing somewhat weary from hunger. I saw another light in the distance finally. I ran to it.

Under the light was a small fox gnawing at a pile of bones. I tried not to think what species they were from, but I was pretty sure they were people bones. It caught my eye.

"Zenia," He said in a deep, menacing voice, "You have finally arrived."