Cheshire Girl

Ch. 25

I was back in school… except it was dark.  I was running.  I was scared.

                Oh, crap—was this another dream?

                I knew I was back in school, but I wasn't familiar with the place I was in.  It was cold, everything made out of concrete.  I just knew the nearest exit was too far away and he was going to get me.

                I found an exit!  It was dark outside but it didn't matter.  I just had to run.

                Wait—Cheshire High was almost in the middle of the town… so why was I running around in the woods all of a sudden?  It's at least two miles away from the school in every direction but that didn't matter to my dream-self—or my brain.  I was still hauling ass.

                I was wearing flats, but not any flats I owned.  I was also in a dress, a light blue one that practically glowed in the dark.  I couldn't tell if someone was still chasing me, but I was pretty much an easy target—

                Lights!  A house!  My house!  Except it was white, now, but that didn't matter!

                I ran up the steps and started banging on the door.  "Let me in!  Beatrice, let me in!"

                Wait—that's not my voice.  I'm not Beatrice?

                Am I Charlotte?  She sounded like Charlie.  I raised my arm and banged the door.  The skin was light brown like Charlie's in the porch light.  I was Charlotte Jones.

                I turned to look back in the darkness, didn't see anyone, and then turned back to the door, banging on the door and—

                Wait—now my arm's white again.  I—I as in me, Bella, not dream-person—looked down and I found myself in unfamiliar modern clothing, covered in dirt like I'd rolled around on the ground.  I looked back up to the house and it was brown again, like it was today.  Who did I change into?

                She—me—I turned back around.  Someone was standing close enough that I could tell it was a man in the dim light.  This person felt dangerous—I was fucking terrified of him.  It definitely wasn't Ethan or even Ian Walker.  This person felt older—

*

My phone went off with its loud, ugly and generic ringtone I never bothered to change.

                I sat up, completely disoriented. 

                Right… in my backseat at school….  It was safe to say that I wasn't tired anymore. 

                Perfect!  How was I sleeping tonight?!

                Kids were pouring out of the gates.  I texted Charlie I was still in the lot if she wanted a ride home.  She replied sure.  I searched through my backpack and found my last mint gum.

                I got out of my car and stretched, immediately hating the cold.

                Who was the new girl?  Was she important?  It had to be someone alive now, given that my house changed to its current form when I went from Charlotte to New Girl.

                I felt my face grow hot and I got into the driver's seat.  Was Beatrice warning me about a new victim?  Was New Girl in danger right now?  Who was she?  How was I supposed to help her?