First Three Chapters of The Whithin

Chapter One: An Endless Field

"It begins..."

Above, below, and to all sides of the sleeping boy stretched a seemingly endless abyss. Withing the abyss unknown thoughts and feeling swirled around without form. The boy, stretched out on his back, legs bent and arms spread, slept suspended in this world without form. His name is Andrew, around the age of fifteen, with an angular face and semi-long dusty brown hair. His body slender, his arms lean and unmuscular. His normally tanned faced looked pale against the swirling torrent of color. He wore dark blue jeans and a short sleeve hooded vest which rippled as if a gentle breeze had been tugging at them. His hair was spread out in every direction and the boy looked as if he were submerged underwater.

Then he moved, his brow furrowed and his mouth curved into a frown. His fingers curled making a fist, and his body jerked violently. His eyes never opened, and he began to dream. The swirling colors all around him began to move faster. Becoming more solid, they were taking form. Like millions of tiny blocks they began to build on one another. Soon the boy was lying on the ground, which was blackened, rocks and small shrubs placed sparcely across the landscape, it looked like a desert. Andrew's clothes and hair stopped rippling and fell limp to the ground, though his body was still thrashing wildly. Above him the colors continued to assemble, the sky turned gray as dark clouds rolled across the desert. In the distance, a faint rumble of thunder could be heard. Andrew, eyes still closed, clenched his fists tighter, and thrashed wildly on the ground. Then he screamed, not out of pain, but out of anger. With his scream came a lightning bolt, it struck a nearby shrub, which ignited and burned brightly against the black ground. The lightning resulted in a crack of thunder so loud, it shook the ground. But it wasn't enough to wake him. All around lightning struck the ground lighting the dry vegetation on fire, and leaving even darker marks of black on the ground.

Andrew stopped thrashing, his body relaxed, and the lightning stopped. But his face remained the same, eyes closed, brow furrowed, and mouth curled into a frown. From the sky came a single raindrop, which hit him on the nose. Andrew's eyes snapped open and the rain begain to fall, a downpour so heavy he was drenched instantly. He screamed, startled, and sat up. He had been in his bedroom only seconds ago! Where was he now? His breathing became short, and fast. His heart pounded heavily as he turned his head from side to side, eyes darting around wildly. He wiped the water from his eyes hoping that this was all just part of the dream he had just had. No, he knew that this was no dream, it felt and looked all to real to be a dream. Not knowing what to do, and being scared to death, Andrew's eyes began to water, though you couldn't tell, the rain was still coming down hard and heavy. For the first time in a long while, Andrew felt scared. He pulled his hood up over his head, and burried his face into his arms, his legs curled up tight next to his body. His clothes were soaked, but he didn't care. He lifted his face to look around, he couldn't see anything beyound the sheet of water. He pressed his faced even harder against his arms, wanting to wake up, and feeling more scared than he had ever felt in his entire life.

He sat there for a while, not sure what he should do next. Andrew had seen this before, he had dreamt this all. It had been happening for a while now. For about a month he had been having these wierd dreams. He remembered the first one so clearly, how he had woken up, dazed and confused. And it had only gotten wierder as the day progressed, for school had brought an even bigger suprise. Emily, his friend, had confronted him about a dream she had had that very night. Andrew had listened, and as she continued he realized how much their dreams resembled each other. They had both found themselves in a room of white, bare and featureless. That part was the same, but then her dreams had taken a different turn. Andrew explained that he had dreamt the same dream. Emily had laughed, telling him not to joke around about these things. But he assured her that he had had that same very dream.

The rain continued to fall, and Andrew tried to remember what had happened next. His dark green eyes brightened as the memory floated back.

* * *


"Are you serious!" Emily yelled, after hearing that Andrew had had the same dream she did. She ran her slender fingers through her long, brown hair. "That's pretty wierd."

"Your telling me." Andrew sighed, looking down. "It had felt so real. It was scary." He had looked up, staring into her bright blue eyes. And he remembered how much he liked her. They had been friends for a while, as long as she had lived there, which had been six years. She had moved here after their parents had gotten a divorce, and since then, he and her have been inseperatable. He had always liked her, but it wasn't until just recently that Andrew realize that his "liking" for her had grown. He knew he should tell her, or ask her out, but, just like with so many other things, his insecurity had gotten the better of him. But he shouldn't be thinking about her, he had his own girlfriend.

Emily turned and noticed Andrew staring. He shook his head and quickly averted his gaze. He wasn't sure, but he thought he saw the flicker of a smile on her face in the corner of his eye.

Elizabeth, or Liz, was Andrews girlfriend. Liz had asked him out, explaining that she had always liked him since the first time she had laid eyes on him. Which was about five years ago, when she moved here, only a year after Emily had moved the town of Mosca, and two years after Andrew had moved there. They had been going out for a few months now, and already problems were beginning to rise. He noticed that whenever they were all together as a group she would go off on her own. Whenever Andrew would go out to find her, she would explain afterwards that she needed some time alone.

"But why?" Andrew would ask.

"To..."she would always hesitate, as it trying to figure out and answer,"think." And that was the only answer she would ever give.

Andrew also noticed that Liz would constantly be writing in a notebook. Whenever he would ask to see, she would get extremely defensive, telling him to go away. She rarely talked to him around others, especially Emily. She wouldn't spend more than five seconds around Emily before leaving. And when they did talk it was always on the phone, or in private. And even then she barely spoke. She always looked sad or upset about something, head down, face pale. He had always assumed that it was because of her past. When they first started going out, she explained to him that she was adopted. That both of her parents had been killed in a car wreck. It was a sad thing yes, but Andrew just wished that she would get over it. But lately she had been even more seclusive, being absent from school for days at a time. She told us that she was getting sick, but for some reason, Andrew didn't believe her.

"So, what do you think it means?" Emily asked. Andrew turned to look at her, she was blushing.

"I...I don't know," was all he could say.

"Do you think anyone else has had the dream?" She looked up, as if thinking.

"Maybe, you think we should ask them?" Andrew grew curious.

"Sure" was her reply. They went over who they should ask, they decided on their friends, and which one of them had what classes with whoever. Finally they agreed that Emily would ask the girls, and Andrew would ask the boys.

"So it's agreed. I'll ask Josh, Danny, Will, Chris, Anthony, and Joseph." Andrew listed off all of his guy friends.

"Right, and I'll ask Sarah, Hannah, Maddie, Kendall, Jean, and Liz." She listed off the rest of their friends.

"Wait, I wan't to ask Liz." Andrew added quickly.

"Alright, I guess it's for the better. Your her boyfriend, and sometimes I get the feeling that she doesn't like me very much."

"No, it's not that she doesn't like you. It's just that she's the quiet type, kind of like me." Andrew defended.

"Your not that quiet. You talk to me all the time." Emily stated.

"That's different though, it's easy to talk to you. You actually listen to what people have to say." Andrew said. Then noticed Emily flush red and look away. "If you knew more about her, then maybe you'd know why she's so quiet." Andrew finished the sentence, realizing he had made a mistake.

"Why, do you know what's wrong with her." Emily was staring at him. She always hated being called ignorant.

"Well...er...I might. So your going to ask Sarah..." He tried changing the subject.

"Andrew." Emily interupted him in mid-sentence. "You can tell me."

"I really shouldn't." She raised an eyebrow and gave him a look, that look. He knew he was stuck. "Alright." She smiled. He explained to Emily about Liz's parents, and about how she was adopted. Silence followed.

"Wow, I never would have guessed. This explains a lot, but not why she doesn't like me." Emily stared into space.

"I already told you. It's not that she doesn't like you, it's just that..." Andrew was interrupted again.

"Don't even. I know that she doesn't like me, I can tell these things. Whenever I walk up to you two, she immediately stops talking, if she was talking at all, and just stares at me and leaves. I don't mind, I could care less if she likes me or not. It's just that I think I could help her out. I mean, my parents got divorced, and then my father..."

"Yes, I know. And your brother. You've just about had as much bad luck as her. I suppose you could talk to her. Just don't tell her I told you, she'd hate me."

"Ok, I promise." Emily said.

"But not right now. I still want to ask her, about the dream I mean. Alright?" Andrew said.

"Alright."

For the rest of the day Andrew went around asking his friends about the dream he had. Describing the white room to them and how he and Emily had shared it. Everyone he asked said no, that they hadn't had a dream like that and Andrew wondered if Emily was having any luck. He wouldn't see her again until the end of the day, and would have to wait until then to ask her. It was lunch and Andrew only had one person left to ask, Liz. He spotted her at a table sitting alone. She had no food in front of her and was instead scribbling something in her notebook. Her dirty-blonde hair was long and went down to the middle of her back. Every so often she would lift a hand to brush it out of her eyes. Andrew approached her, placing his hand on his shoulder. Her head turned to look at him, her blue eyes boring into his head. She was pretty, that was for sure. It was wierd though, her face reminded him so much of someone, but that someone he couldnn't figure out. He snapped out of his daze and sat down next to her, as he did she closed her notebook and held it tight.

"Hi," Andrew said looking her strait in the eyes.

"Hello," she replied. Her voice sounded familiar too. As if he had heard someone else use it.

Andrew shook his head, then asked, "Have you had any wierd dreams lately?"

She looked at him for a long while, not saying anything until, "What do you mean 'wierd'".

"Well, you see, I had this dream. I was in a white room..." Liz's eyes widened. She stood up abruptly and turned to walk away.

"I have to go," she said. But before she could walk away, Andrew grabbed her by the arm.

"Hey. Hold on." He tried to sit her back down. She went relunctantly, and looked away from Andrew. "Is something wrong?" She turned to look at him.

"What makes you think somethings wrong? And why would you ask me about this dream anyway?"

"It's just that Emily and I..." Andrew started.

"Emily! All I ever hear you talk about is her!" Her eyes grew wet with tears. "Your going out with me, remember. Not her. Everytime I see you your with her. At first I tried to be nice about it, but I won't anymore!" Tears were now streaming down her face. Andrew reached to brush them away. "Don't." She pushed his hand away.

"Look, I know how hard it must be for you but..." Andrew stated.

"You don't know anything! Nothing at all!" She said between sobs.

"Hey! Just because you had a hard time, doesn't mean you can just take it out on me!" Andrew noticed the notebook clutched in her arms. "Sometimes I think you care more about that stupid book than you do about me!" She looked up, her eyes red from crying.

"If you knew anything you'd understand. But you dont. I don't blame you for that, it's my fault. If only you could know...but you wouldn't understand...what it's like..." She got up and ran out the cafeteria, tears streaming down her face and notebook cradled in her arm.

Andrew felt aweful for the rest of the day, wanting to talk to Liz. Everytime he approached her, though, she would turn and walk away. When the last bell rang, he told Emily about what had happened at lunch.

"That's aweful! You two aren't...you know, broke up, are you?" She said, excitedly, after hearing the story.

Andrew looked at her, she had her head turned, "I...don't know. She never said anything about breaking up."

"Well, that's good." Emily's reply had much less enthusiasm this time. "Do you still want me to talk to her?"

"I don't know, I guess it'a up to you. I really don't think Liz and I are going to last much longer, if this keeps happening."

"I'll talk to her then." Emily smiled, but Andrew remained sullen.


* * *


The rain continued to fall, and water dripped off his nose as Andrew stared at the ground. He thought back, over the next month he had continued to expirience those dreams, he and Emily both. Elizabeth was absent for a few days from school. When he had tried to call her, she was never home. And when she did return to school, she continued to ignore any and all conversing attempts from Andrew, and instead would start crying whenever she saw him.

He let his thoughts drift from his friends and to the situation at hand. When Andrew had dreamt this it was the exact same. He had woken up to a downpour, after a while the rain had stopped. For some reason he had begun to walk. But Andrew never got past that point, because he would wake up.

"If this goes like my dream, the rain should stop sometime." Andrew's fears lifted, not much, but some, and the rain began to stop. Realizing that his dream was coming true, Andrew's hopes lifted, and the rains lightened to a drizzle before stopping altogether. He stood, water dripping from his fingers and clothes, lowered his hood and looked around. The rain had stopped, but the sky was still grey with clouds. He could see the ground clearly for the first time. All around him the ground was black, spotted with rocks and shrubs, most of them charred black. Hills rose and fell for miles and miles all around. His fears had diminished, he wasn't scared anymore, but still unsure of what he should do.

Then something happened, the ground began to change. All around the black dirt turned green with grass. The shrubs grew into trees, which spotted the horizon with specks of green. So now, where there was once a desert, was now some sort of savannah or meadow. As he had done in his dream, Andrew began to walk.

After a while, his clothes were almost dry, and he had gotten nowhere. To all sides he saw the same thing: grass and trees.

"What if I never make it back." Andrew sighed, wondering if he would ever see anyone again. He thought about his friends,Elizabeth. A surge of rage rushed towards him. "These dreams didn't start until I went out with her. Why did I say yes?" Then Andrew thought about why he had agreed to go out with her. She was pretty, but Andrew knew better than to go out with someone just because they have a pretty face. It must of been out of pitty. But the more he thought about it the angrier he grew, he felt like he did in the dream he had just had. Andrew tried to remember what the dream was about, but the only thing he recalled is feeling angry...and Liz. Above him lightning flashed, and thunder rumbled.

Andrew looked up, forgetting about Liz, and saw the sky flash one last time before calming itself. He continued walking, his thoughts drifting to his friends again, to Emily. What if he were never to see her again? What if he were never to see any of his friends again? Or anyone for that matter. A tear began to form in his eye. He shut them, letting it trickle down his face.

"I don't think I could live without them..." He opened his eyes to see a snowflake drifting down to the ground. Andrew looked up to see thousands of snowflakes falling from the grey sky. "Oh great..." Andrew said, more tears falling, "more bad weather."

Soon the ground became covered in a sheet of white, the trees were now blanketed in snow, and the horizon seemed to melt with the sky. Andrew kept walking, rubbing his arms for warmth, his hood pulled tightly over his head. The snow only made the situation more depressing. There was no wind and the snow fell straight down. For some reason, he couldn't stop thinking about his situation, about how terrible it would be to never see his friends again, and the snow kept falling. His tears felt ice cold as they rolled down his cheek before dripping off his chin.

Andrew continued, the snow grew deep and his feet felt cold. He looked around, the trees were all gone and instead there was nothing but drift after drift of snow, and only snow. It reminded him of when he had gotten lost in the woods. They had been camping and he went out early to do some exploring. He lost track of time and found himself lost. It took hours for someone to find him.

"At l...least th...then it had been w..warm." Andrew sighed, his whole body shivering. And when he was in the woods there had been trees, and animals. Here there was nothing, nothing but snow. Andrew felt alone, the worst feeling in the world. Ever since he was little Andrew had hated being alone. And for the first time since this ordeal began, Andrew realized how alone he was. His foot caught a snowdrift and he fell to the ground, powder spraying his face.

He was alone. And he was going to die here, he knew it. He was alone. Andrew shut his eyes, the isolation was aweful. But then he felt something something under his hand. It was grass. He opened his eyes to see the green grass growing up beside him, the snow gone. Andrew rolled onto his back to see the blue sky, completely empty, no clouds, or sun for that matter. But he felt the warmth all the same, it made his skin tingle. He stood up, his clothes wet, and looked up. There was no sun. The sky was empty and blue. Andrew turned his head. The grass grew up to his knees and was a dark emerald green. It was everywhere, for as far as he could see, the grass stretched on endlessly. Andrew was confused. First the rain, the desert, then the meadow, the snow, and now, it seemed, he was standing in the middle of a field. And from what he gathered, an endless field.

Chapter Two: Keeping Me Company

Andrew looked around, stunned. What was going on? Why was this place constantly changing? A gentle breeze whipped his wet clothes, and the grass waved across the hills, making a water-like effect. At least the snow was gone, and now it would be easier to walk. And so Andrew began to walk, the tall grass tapping at his legs.

The land around him was featureless, nothing but grass for miles and miles. The sky was blue and empty, not a single cloud or sun for that matter. There seemed to be no other living thing in this field except him. No bugs, or birds, nothing. Everything was quiet, everything except the rustling of the grass as the wind blew. This field, it made him feel even more alone; not even a tree could be seen to keep him company. So, while he walked, Andrew decided to use his thoughts as entertainment.

Imediately, Emily drifted into his head. Andrew smiled, thinking back to all the good times they had together. He thought of the best memory he had. It was a dance, in Jr. High, and it had been the first time he had ever danced with a girl.


* * *


"Wow, this sure is boring huh." Will snorted, taking a sip of his pop. Music boomed all around them. The school's cafeteria had never looked better. The tables were gone, and every inch was covered in colorful streamers, baloons, and other colorful decorations. A disco ball had been hung, along with other lights, and the entire room was sparkling with the dazzling light effects. All around, people were dancing, talling to their friends, and having a good time. Will, however, thought these social gatherings were boring.

"Huh?" Andrew had been caught off guard, and averted his gaze. "Yeah...I guess." He had been looking at a girl in a blue dress. Her long brown hair went down past her shoulders, despite the fact that it was being held up in a ponytail. Her blue eyes shone as the lights passed over her dark face.

"Will you quit staring at Emily and just ask her?" Will leaned over Andrew's shoulder, prodding him with his elbow.

"What? What are you talking about?" Andrew said quickly, looking away from Emily.

"Come on. I know you like her, you've been staring at her for the past five minutes." Will said, still prodding Andrew with his elbow. "So just go."

"I don't know. Waht if she..." Andrew started.

"Andrew! Will!" Joseph came running up to the two. "I've been looking for you two. Come on, we need help getting Danny to dance with Sarah." He smiled.

"Well, at the moment, anything is better than this." Will waved his arm.

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up later. I have to do something." Andrew winked at Will, who winked back.

"Ok, your loss." Joseph shrugged and the two walk off, leaving Andrew alone.

Andrew stood there, by himself, staring and Emily. He wanted to ask her to dance. No. He was going to ask her. The lights dimmed and a slow song began to play. "Well," Andrew sighed, "It's now or never." He took a step towards Emily, all of her friends were talking quickly. "Why do they always travel in groups? Why isn't she ever alone?" Andrew kept walking, around him other couples were pairing up. In the distance a complaining Danny was relunctantly dancing with a gleeful Sarah. He was close now, only a few more feet.

"Uh...Emily?" She turned, her eyes sparkling and her face glowing in the dim light.

"Oh, hi Andrew." She smiled weakly, then looked away.

"Are you having a good time?" Andrew asked stupidly. Even more couples were beginning to dance.

"Yeah, but I wish I could find someone to dance with though." Emily sneaked a glance up at Andrew.

"Well...um...I don't know, would you like to dance with me?" Andrew felt his face flush red, a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek. Emily looked up at him and smiled.

"I would love to." All around her the other girls giggled.

Andrew held up his hand, Emily placed hers in top of his, and together they walked out onto the floor. Akwardly placing his hand on her hip, and his other hand in hers; she placed her hand on his shoulder, and her other hand in his. Andrew's feet seemed to take control of themselves as he and Emily glided effortlessly around the dancefloor.

For the rest of the night the two would talk and laugh. Discussing school and other things like that. The night was running late and the dance was almost over when another slow song started to play.

"This is it," Andrew decided, "Tonight I ask her out." Andrew walked up to Emily, poking her shoulder.

"Hi." She said, smiling.

"Hi, I was just wondering if you would like...er...if you would like to..." Andrew stammered but was cut short.

"Emily!" it was Chris, "Would you like to dance? It's the last song, and I need someone."

"Sure. You don't mind, right?" Emily asked.

Andrew hesitated, shifting his eyes from the pleading Chris, to Emily. "No, that's fine" Andrew faked a smile.

"Thanks." She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Chris flinched and Andrew felt his face grow warm. Emily walked off with Chris, and this time Andrew didn't have to fake a smile.

* * *


Andrew continued to walk. Still nothing new caught his eye, just hill after hill of grass. The sky was getting darker as, Andrew assumed, night grew closer. But there was really no way to tell without the sun. Slowly the bright blue turned dark and purple, and soon, the sky was black with night. Like during the day, the sky was featureless with no moon, clouds, or stars. It was dark and hard for Andrew to see where he was going, not that there was anything for him to run into.

His legs began to ache and Andrew decided it was time to rest for a while anyway. He bent his legs, flattening the grass, and lied down on his back starring at the empty night sky.

"So this is what it's like," he whisprered to himself, "to be alone." Andrew felt his eyes growing wet again. He reached up to brush the tears away. "I just have to think positive, no matter how bad the situation." Positive, what was positive? "Oh, what am I going to do?" He shut his eyes tight, hoping and praying that when he opened them again he would be lying in his bed at home. He peaked a glance, but saw nothing except the black sky. "It's just me, only me, alone." He shut his eyes again, letting the cool night air sweep over his body. He felt the grass whip across his face. Andrew's eyes snapped open at the sound of a voice. He sat up, looking around anxciously. Andrew had definetely heard someone, a boy. The voice had sounded so familiar, yet completely strange at the same time. Then, he heard it again.

"Think of me." The voice was soft, and stern. Once again Andrew felt a rush of familiarity at the sound. But how was he supposed to think about it? It was a voice. Andrew looked around, still he saw no one. "Think of me." The voice was back, but he seemed to be hearing it in his head. A look of confusion and fear flashed acrossed his face. But Andrew thought, of the sound of the voice, of what it had said, of how familiar it sounded. He squeezed his eyes tight, thinking hard until his head hurt. When he opened them he immediately noticed something. In the sky, where there was nothing before, was a star, shinning brightly against the black. It reminded him of that dance. When Andrew had walked outside for some fresh air the only part of the sky that had been visible had a single star in it. The rest of the sky had been cloudy.

And upon thinking of the dance, Andrew immediately thought of Emily, of how much he wanted to see her. Then, in an instant, a second star began to shine, right next to the first. Andrew was taken back at first. But soon found himself staring at the stars once again. How beautiful they looked, like Emily. Andrew then realized, he still had a girlfriend. He felt himself blush, ashamed of himself for thinking such thoughts. Elizabeth was just as nice. He thought of Liz, of how he wanted to make up with her. About how sorry he was. Then just like before, another star appeared, right next to the second one.

"I wonder..." Andrew said to himself, then thought of Will. A fourth star appeared. Andrew thought of Chris, Sarah, Danny, Joseph, and all of his other friends. Star after star began to appear. He thought of the other kids at school, about his family. Soon the entire sky was twinkling with stars, each representing someone he knew. He noticed though, that those first three were brighter than all the rest. And the stars representing his friends seemed to shine just a little bit brighter that the ones for people he just "knew." As Andrew stared at the sky, at all of his friends, his thoughts of isolation were swept away. He smiled a tear running down the side of his face.

"I guess I'm not so alone after all."Andrew spent the rest of the night gazing at the stars. The sky was shinning bright with them, each and every one representing someone he knew. They kept him company, washing away all feelings of being alone. Soon Andrew felt his eyelids grow heavy and drifted off into a well deserved sleep.

Chapter Three: Train of Thought

"So, you finally decided to show up." Andrew looked around for the source of the voice, but he could see nothing but darkness.

"Who...who are you? Where are you?" Andrew's eyes darted around nervously. The voice, it was the one he had heard before. Then out of nowhere appeared a boy. His features were blurred and he couldn't see the boy properly, it was as if a fog had enveloped him.

The boy reached out towards Andrew and said, "Give it to me."

"Give what to you, who are you?" Andrew took a step back.

"Me? I am you...and I'm not you." The boy laughed. "Now, give it to me."

"What? What do you want?" Andrew noticed a sword in the boy's hand.

"I want the same thing you do..." Andrew didn't hear the rest, all sound had diminished and Andrew could only see the boy's lips move. The picture became even more blurred...and Andrew woke up to the sound of a whistle.

* * *

"Ahh!" Andrew's eyes snapped open, he found himself staring at the sky, which was just turning pink with the coming day. He sat up, his back sore despite the extra thick grass padding, and looked around. The whistle sounded again and Andrew jumped. Sitting in front of him was the biggest train he had ever seen. From every crack steam poured out, making whistling noises. The wheels were as big as Andrew was tall, shining silver he could see his reflection as clear as if it were a stainless mirror. The smooth side towered above and was colored a brillliant gold, the letters T.O.T were painted in green. Towards the top were a line of black windows, and a smokestack, out of which billowed clouds of silver smoke. Behind the engine cars seemed to trail on for miles.

Andrew was dumbfounded, never had he seen such a huge machine, he stepped back. Then a door on the side opened up and smoke rose into the air. Andrew could see the silloette of a man, then a rope ladder falling from the towering engine to the ground directly in front of him.

"Well come on! We don't have all day!" The man shouted then disappeared into the mechanical behemoth. Unsure of what to do, and not able to make words come out, Andrew began to climb. Although the door was only about half way up the engine, it seemed to take him minutes to get there, but finally he reached it. Before climbing in Andrew looked around, he could see for miles in every direction. Though there really wasn't much to see, only grass, Andrew still liked the feeling. He clumsily pulled himself onto the train, there was still smoke and steam pouring out of cracks and Andrew could still only make out the outline of the man.

"Well, it took you long enough." He pulled up the ladder and shut the door. "Come on, follow me." He walked down a hallway, and Andrew followed. The steam was making him sweat, and the smoke irritated his eyes, causing tears to roll down Andrews face. The metal floor made a distinct noise as the made there way through the engine. Andrew was taken aback as the hall abrubtly ended and they entered a circular room. The floor became a grated sheet of metal, the only thing keeping them from falling were chain guard rails. Andrew lost his footing and fell, he hit the ramp hard and winced. Through the grating he could see contraptions of all sorts spinning and buzzing everywhere.

"Are you all right back there?" The man asked. Andrew didn't answer and stood back up. He leaned over the edge and peered below, what he saw both amazed and frightened him. In the center of the room there appeared to be some sort of furnace. Open, Andrew could see inside, a blazing fire. All around the furnace spun gears and other instruments. He shivered, trying not to think about falling.

"Hey! Quit staring and give me a hand would you?" The man motioned Andrew over. Help me dump this here junk into the furnace." He pointed to a group of barrels. They were huge, and as tall as himself, how was he supposed to move them.

"Umm...er..." Andrew stumbled for words but they wouldn't come out.

The man sighed. "Here, I'll put them on their sides, you just roll them off, got it?" Andrew nodded meekly, still unsure if he could do even that. The man walked over to a barrel and grabbed the rim. The heat from the furnace blurred his features, but Andrew could make out a mess of curly blonde hair. Then, with extreme ease, he tipped the barrel over, wiped his face, and moved on to the next barrel. "Just roll them off that platform." He pointed to a ramp sticking out over the fire.

"Er...ok." Andrew walk up to a brrel and pushed. It wouldn't budge. He pushed and pushed but the barrel wouldn't even rock. He switched his position, hoping that that might work, it didn't. Andrew felt more sweat roll down his face, he winced, pressing against the wood with all his weight, but it wasn't enough. Behind him he heard the man laugh.

"Need some help." The man walked up next to Andrew.

"Uhh yeah. The barrel...I think it's...stuck...or something." Andrew said defensively. The man laughed again. Andrew felt his face grow hot, he couldn't tell if it was from the furnace, or embarassment. Then as easily as one would push a shopping cart, the man rolled the barrel off the edge and into the fire. Andrew never heard the barrel hit the bottom, it must have burnt up instantly, because a second later a pillar of fire shot up into the air. The room was drenched an eerie red and a blast of heat struck Andrew, making his eyes water and his skin crawl. He watched the smoke curtle up into the air and out through a small hole in the roof Andrew assumed led to the smokestack.

"Yep, it's pretty impressive." The man said, effortlessly pushing the other barrels into the fire. "Thanks for the help." He laughed again. "Now follow me, it's getting kind of warm down here." Andrew smiled and followed the man down a second hallway. They walked through a door into another room, dimly lit with lanterns, and lined with many doors. "Now," the man paused, "which one was it?" He walked up to a door and opened it. On the other side Andrew could see a large room filled with many whirring and buzzing machines. "Nope." He walked up to another door and cracked it. "Ahh, here we go. I always get these to confused. Come on." On the other side of the door was a flight of stairs which the man ascended and Andrew followed.

At the top of the stairs there was another door. The man opened it and walked on through, Andrew behind him. The room they were in now was a big change for Andrew. The iron wall and floor had been abandoned and replaced with wood. Along to of the walls a line of windows were placed. On another wall there was a group of doors, and on the opposite side of the room the wall was covered by a huge machine which resembled a computer, though much bigger. In the middle on the floor was a large desk and cabinet, completed with a large wooden chair. On the desk a mess of papers could be seen. "Ahh, now this is more like it." The man sighed plopping himself onto the chair and kicking off his boots. For the first time since he had been on the train, Andrew could see the man clearly. He was shorter, and thin. His face was bursting with youthful pride and his eyes shined blue underneath the curly blonde mess that was his hair. His skin was dark, Andrew couldn't descide whether it was from all the dirt, and his clothes were stained black from the smoke. The man leaned foreward in his chair, "So, Andrew, how have you been? No wait...don't tell me." The man shut his eyes. "Your wondering how I know your name. Right?" He smiled.

Andrew was taken back. How did this complete strangers know his name? And how did he know what Andrew was thinking? He had never met this person, or had he? The man looked familiar, Andrew just couldn't place his finger on it. Who was this guy?

"Who am I?" The man asked, Andrew snapped out of his daze. "Well, I don't think now is the proper time. All you need to know right now is that I'm conductor of this train. And this train is your Train Of Thought. Now, you look like you could use some rest, didn't get a full night's sleep huh?" Andrew did feel pretty tired. "Ok then," the man continued, "follow me." He got up again and walked to one of three doors on the far end of the room. He opened the one to the right and beckoned Andrew to follow. On the other side was a small room. A large window occupied most of the wall. Underneath the window was a small bed covered in blankets and pillows, it looked comfy. On the other side of the room there was a desk and chair, papers piled neatly on top.

"Here you go, now get some rest. If you need me I'll be in the room we just came from." He pointed to the door. "I'll explain everything later, alright?" Andrew nodded. "Alright then, good night." The man walked out of the room shutting the door behind him. Andrew threw himself down on the bed and sighed.

"Finally, I found someone." he yawned, then looked out the window. The field stretched endlessly, in the sky Andrew could see those first three stars he had made the night before. All of a sudden the room shook and the train lurched foreward. The engine picked up speed and Andrew grew tired of watching the grass and found himself falling asleep.

* * *


"Liz, why can't you just tell me whats wrong?" Andrew was asking as Liz sat next to him in tears.

"Because, you wouldn't understand." She sobbed. "Why can't things just go back to the way it was before?"

"What do you mean?" Andrew asked.

"Nothing, never mind." Liz got up, notebook in hand, and walked away.


*

"I don't understand what the problem is." Andrew sighed.

"It doesn't make sense to me." Emily said. "Why would she start crying over nothing?"

"I don't know, maybe there's something we don't know about." Andrew stared at the ceiling, "And I'm going to find out what. I'll talk to you later Emily, I have to go find Liz." Andrew got up and left.

*


"Liz! Elizabeth! Where are you!" Andrew cupped his hands over his mouth as he shouted her name. "Hmm, where could she be...huh?" Andrew spotted a table, and could see something on it. He walked over to it and noticed that the something was a notebook...Liz's notebook. "She never goes anywhere without this." Andrew gasped as he ran up to the table, grabbing at the notebook. "Liz! Come on! This isn't funny! Where are you! Liz!" He looked at the book, it had a blue leather cover and was bound by loosely tied strings. Andrew eyed it suspiciously, wanting to open it, but knew that it would be wrong. He looked around, nobody was there, no one would know...he unbound the notebook and opened it to the first page. The pages were tinted yellow and Andrew could barely make out the handwritting, since most of it seemed to be blurred:

"I woke up today, but found myself in a place unfamilliar to me. But I know what has happened, I knew it would. I just hoped I could have been with her a little longer." Andrew couldn't read the rest he flipped to a different page.

"It's a strange feeling, to know you were not meant to exsist, but have everyone else live your lie. So far it has worked out, although I'm not sure how long I can keep this charade up." The writting became blurred and Andrew turned to a different page.

"I'm loosing him for some reason. Another force is weakening my grip, soon I will have to explain all..." Andrew's head snapped up at the sound of a footstep. It was Liz. "Liz, I didn't see you there...I was just...uhh," He shut the book, "I was about to return this to you." He stretched his arm to give it to her. Liz's face was pale and expressionless. "Liz? Are you all right?" Andrew could here more footsteps behind him and he turned around, it was Emily. "Emily? What are you doing here." Her face also looked pale and without feeling.

"Andrew," Liz started.

"You have to choose." Emily finished.

"Huh...what are you talking about?" Andrew's hands began to shake and he took a step back. They stared at him with their unblinking blue eyes. Then Emily began to walk towards Liz, they stood, side by side.

"You have to choose." Emily said again.

"Who is it going to be?" Liz stated.

"Yes Andrew, who will you choose?" A third voice sounded and behind the two girls appeared the boy Andrew had seen before. "But remember," he continued, "I want the same thing you do." The boy stepped up in between Emily and Liz. "The same exact thing." He pushed Liz aside and she stumbled to the ground but before she hit it her body seemed to fade, and Liz disappeared altogether.

"Hey!" Andrew shouted, staring at the area Liz had just occupied, "What did you do to her? What do you want?"

"The same thing you do..."