Chapter 1
Alice - Avril Lavinge
I worked hard to get here. So why do I feel so alone and sad? I should be excited, proud even, but I feel like nothing is going to get better. I am standing in the middle of an abandoned town in the middle of bumfuck nowhere. I shouldn't have fallen asleep on the bus, otherwise, I'd know where the hell I am.
The ground was dry and cracked. The cold fall breeze was adding to the spooky vibe. This town was small and empty, I guess it was the perfect place to hide for a while, even though I had no one to hide from. The buildings seemed shabby and a bit unstable, but I couldn't stay out in the open all day. So walking towards the town was my best bet.
As I approached the town I noticed a small sign that read "Frasierville; home of the best potato soup in Clayton County." That didn't help me. I have no idea where Clayton County is and anyone can make potato soup at home, so why would they come to a dumb place like this to get some?
"I guess that's why this place when to shit," I muttered under my breath and kept walking. Lots of the buildings were locked or looked too creepy for me to waste my time in. However, I noticed a small saloon-looking building towards the middle of town that had an open door. It was dark and roaches scattered from shadow to shadow. If there were roaches during the day, this place must have had a serious problem. Living homeless in Chicago got me used to gross and nasty. Rats are more of my fear than some tiny roaches. I walked around the saloon and up towards the bar. Most of the alcohol looked to have been stolen a long time ago. However, some old tin cans of tuna and beans sat untouched and lonesome with a rusty can opener. I had been used to hungry so I didn't even think that I was until my mouth started watering.
I picked up an old, splintery chair and shooed some roaches away as I took the can opener and forced the cans open. I scooped the tuna and beans into my mouth with my hands. Shoveling it down fast and when they were empty, I knocked them off the table for the bugs. I wiped the bean and tuna juices off my hands onto my matted jeans. I needed to find a place to sleep for now before it got dark, and somewhere I wouldn't wake up with diseased creatures.
I began to walk further until a large bricked building sat at the end of the road. An old, glossy plaque read, "Frasierville Townhall; public library and records." The building seemed secure, so I pushed the door open and was surprised to find it opened. The door's lock had been broken by force. When I peeked in there were books and papers scattered everywhere. One of the newspapers that added to the messy collection had a headline that caught my eye. It read:
Frasierville Façade: Beloved town actually a sanctuary for gypsies, Voodoo kings/queens, and other dark magic users!
One of the oldest landmarks of Clayton County has been a coverup for an elaborate society of dark magic users, cults, and Satanists. They have been actively practicing and using their magic throughout the past forty years. Their coverup was blown after some extensive tax fraud raised suspicion and brought local police to the town in an unannounced visit and caught the evil witches and wizard practicing in the public eye.
I stopped reading after I realized how entirely biased and crappy this article was. The date on the newspaper was April 22, 1959. This place had been abandoned for almost twenty years. It was sad to see that this was once a place for people to be who they were without anyone rejecting them. So much for freedom of religion. I wished I was born twenty years earlier so I could have seen what this place was like while filled with people.
I continued to walk through the building there were old magic books and history books thrown about. It was hard to not step on any of them. Towards the back of the first room, there was a small podium with an open notebook and a pen. At the top of the page, it read, "visitor sign-in". I smiled gently and took the pen and wrote in it.
Catherine Martin, 14, Chicago IL. October 7, 1979
I tried to make the handwriting neat. It was a good addition to this sad town. I hope wherever they went was somewhere safe and happy. I'd like to think that their kids are my age now and that they are continuing to be who they are despite what hateful people think.
There was a rustle behind me. I whipped my head around and didn't see anything. I was hoping it was just a breeze from the open front door, but I heard it again in a different part of the room. I took a large book from the floor and held it ready in defense. I tiptoed around to see if I could find anything. There was nothing, but I knew I heard something. Another rustle came from the far corner of the room behind some large shelves. I backed myself against a wall and waited for someone or something to show itself. After several gut retching seconds, a shadow across the room moved towards me. I screamed and threw my book as hard as I could, and to my relief, a small black cat dodged my throw just in time.
I slowly approached the cat and held out my hand. It seemed startled but then perked up towards my hand and gave it a lick. It must have still smelled like tuna. I began to pet it and calm it down. Once it had enough of my attention it began to walk away. I wanted it's attention even more now.
I quietly followed it as it slipped through a crack in a door blocked by broken furniture and garbage. I dug through and pulled everything out of my way, enough to climb through. The inside felt like a science lab. It had spells, magical recipes, and alchemy circles covering the walls. It was hypnotizing seeing some of their actual work still here.
The cat played around, hopping on old desks and shelves. This room was huge and went back further than I thought the building was. I continued to follow the cat throughout the room until I reached the back wall. On the floor was a large shattered mirror. The frame still hung on the wall and it was massive. Some of the shattered pieces were huge. I approached them closer and looked examined them.
To my surprise, I didn't see my reflection. I saw a sea of clouds blowing and reshaping themselves in the wind. It felt like I was looking up at the sky. I saw birds flying and the sunbeams shining over the bright blue. This has to be some sort of illusion, like a television. But televisions were big and bulky, this was thin and there weren't any outlets nearby. I moved my face closer to get a better look. Some of my stray hairs fell and tapped the glass and small ripples echoed their touch. I jerked my head back and stared as it calmed itself again. I reached out carefully and touched it with my finger, and again a ripple followed it but my finger didn't have any moisture or residue. I decided to be a little more daring and place my whole hand on it, but it slipped through like thin air. My hand felt the cool breeze on the other side. It felt thrilling. I crouched onto my hands and knees and pushed my face through with closed eyes and felt the cool breeze on my face. I pulled my head back out. I wanted to get a good look around, maybe see if there was some grass or something around the area I was looking up at. I took a deep breath and dove my whole head through.
I looked at the beautiful sights and began to turn my head. My hair was sticking straight up and my head felt heavy. I didn't see any grass, I just saw more sky. I wasn't staring up at the sky, I was staring down at the sky.
I felt something jump onto my back. Startled I reached one hand back and swatted at whatever was there. I felt soft fur and realized it was the cat. I tried to push it off my back but I felt a deep scratch over my hand as it jumped off. I jerked my hand back to look at it out of reflex. Right afterward, I leaned too far in and the gravity of the sky sucked me complete into the mirror.
I was free-falling at an unknown altitude. I screamed for help and for someone to hear me. I looked around at everything I could, but all I saw in the distance was a floating island with what looked like a little town on top. I was falling too fast and too far away for anyone to see me. I didn't know what to do. I worked hard to get here. I wasn't supposed to die now. There was nothing I could do, and if I survived who knows what life is to come from this?