~Crashed into Us~
Cover can be found here:
http://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=17656198My story is also posted here
http://www.fictionpress.com/s/2794144/1/Crashed_Into_Us_School_Versionboth School versions. The one I am posting is the final version, edited. So PLEASE read and review, here and there if you can. Sad, how fictionpress has changed a little. Also,copiers, if I have found you have stolen my story....things won't go well for you
smile Have a nice day. Also, some of the jokes/emphasis on words may be missed because Polyvore doesn't allow italics
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*Author's note: This version is my beta'd one from school, and it is the final draft. But there will be more versions coming soon, modified completely different from these two versions. Now, on to the story*
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Today's weather was not my favorite because I could no longer gain anything from it, unlike in my freshman year where we were able to get out of running miles. It was raining hard and the sky was an ominous black and I swore that I heard some thunder miles away. Sitting in the passenger seat of my moms grey Malibu listening to my ipod I wondered how tired I'd be in my classes due to the gloomy weather. As I was listening to Rebirthing by Skillet someone sped past us going well over the speed limit and quickly cut us off without using his blinker. My Mom quickly swerved out of the way, as the driver almost crashed into us, only to have another car almost collide into my Moms side of the car. This all happened in under a minute and it felt to me like it all happened in a blink of my eye.
"Look out!" I cried out. Then the sound of metal colliding, CRUNCH! Screams, blood and tears. Then all went black as I was calling On Star's emergency line, hearing "Hold on, an ambulance is on its way" But, before I collapsed completely, I glanced over to my Mom, who wasn't moving. Then, the darkness finally consumed me.
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Darkness surrounded me as I lay…floating? I'm actually floating off the ground. Where am I? I am unable to speak but all my thoughts are able to echo, like they are my voice, for the time being. Or at least I hope so.
'Hello, can anyone hear me?' I voice out in my thoughts.
"Hello child. Relax. No harm shall come to you," a feminine voice said. She sounded young, perhaps in her early twenties. Though the way she spoke, in a wise voice reminded me of the way a goddess, like in ancient mythology, presented herself. Or perhaps this voice was a guardian angel. Either way I know I am in deep, for no way is a goddess or guardian angel presenting herself to me something good. Especially after being in a car crash. Her voice also reminded me of a mother calming a child. Wait…mother? Mom? Mom!
"Where's my Mom?" I voice out as I struggle to get down.
"Relax child. I'll get you down, don't struggle," the female voice says, releasing me from whatever invisible bonds were holding me. As soon as my feet hit the ground the mysterious woman beckoned me to her, holding out her hand for me to grasp. "Follow me please," she says as she pushed her way through the dark, grasping my hand, pulling me along.
"Where am I," I gasped out, finally allowed to speak, with wild eyes.
"Ah, yes. I see you are surprised at finally being able to talk. Well, once your brain was fully functioning and I released your bonds, you were able to speak," she said as she opened a door. As it opened revealed to me was a beautiful lush green land. In the distance I could see a beautiful large waterfall. At the sight of it I gasped, which caused my 'guardian' to smirk.
"As for our whereabouts, have you heard of Wonderland?" she asked.
"Huh?"
"You know, as in Alice in Wonderland? Come on, you have to have heard of it. Don't you read at all?"
"Of course I read!" I puffed out indignantly, feeling insulted by her accusation.
"Well, then, consider this land as a sort of Wonderland. This is Kalariashna. Here, you will have no choice but to face certain truths"
"Certain truths? You can't be serious," I narrowed y eyes on her, suspicious.
"As serious as Hades is of guarding his territory," she smirked. Soon, she began to walk away, much to my utter disbelief.
"Hey! Wait! What am I supposed to do?! How do I get home? Who are you?" I shouted after her.
"Just head towards the waterfall. There you will find the guardians who can help return you to your home. The journey will be long and you will run across many creatures and people. Some will help you, and others will try to distract or harm you."
"Wait, do you mean I am going to run across chess pieces and a Wabberjocky "
"NO!" she sighed in annoyance, "this is Kalariashna not Wonderland"
"Ok," backing off a little, knowing that if she is a Goddess I could possibly get harmed in aforementioned ways.
"Good, then. Well, goodbye child"
"Hey! Wait, you never answered me about who you are! What's your name?"
"Just think of me as your personal-what do they call it? Oh, yes!- Guardian Angel," and with that she vanished in thin air.
"Well great. Thanks for abandoning me!" I shouted to the sky, directed towards my supposed guardian angel.
"Now how am I supposed to get down..this..cliff," I hesitated as I saw how long a drop it was. If I fell or slipped, I know I'd be dead. I then pondered over my guardian's directions, which held an underlying tone of something else; as if I was meant to do something other than finding my way home. Taking a deep breath, to calm my fast-pace, beating heart, I began my descend. I noticed some indents in the cliff, where I could use them to propel myself down the cliff, using them as handholds and footholds.
'One step at a time. You won't fall. Just relax,' I kept telling myself as I slowly descended, while various visions of falling and dying ran through my head. Taking another calming breath, I looked over my shoulder and below, where the only thing that could be seen was utter darkness; like a black hole consuming all life.
"Stupid 'Guardian Angel', leaving me to kill myself my climbing down the cliff with no safety lines. The least she could've done was tell me where a path down the cliff was, but no! She vanishes instead," I grumbled to myself, almost slipping a couple of times much to my despair.
And then I fell--
Down the rabbit hole...that was how I pictured things. I imagined Alice spiraling, and it came as no surprise to me when I hit the roughness of ground suddenly. My body thumped loudly when I landed, and I scrambled to my feet. The world around me was celestial; bright white lights all around me, and a gold spotlight seemed to shine down on me. I was breathing fast, despite my seemingly calm disposition. There was silence around me, and I wanted to call out for the "angel," but my anger made me simply walk forward, with the intent on finding my own way.
'This isn't happening. This isn't real. All a dream, not real. I'm probably in some hospital bed. All I have to do is get to the end, and I'll wake up. This world isn't real,' I kept reminding myself, even though this beautiful land was tempting to stay in, I knew I had to find help. I had to get someone to point me the way towards my goal. I moved ahead again, and felt grass beneath my feet-a field? Wow, it's so soft and lush-wait! What am I doing? I'm getting distracted, that's what. Focus; I have to focus. I shook my head, and forged on, and up ahead, I saw the "angel," standing by a lake.
"Why are you here, again?! What, you want to just abandon me again, is that it? You think it really helps me in the end? Is that is?" I ranted, not noticing the confusion in this angels posture. Slowly the woman turned around, and I found I was wrong?
"What are you talking about? I don't know you," she smirked, laughter in her eyes. She was beautiful, with golden hair below her shoulders with golden highlights. Her yes were a shining radiance of blue, and her lips also..matched her...eyes? What? Well, I guess now I won't find any way to confuse this land to my home or its people. Wow..blue lips, matching those blue eyes that seemed translucent. She was tall, and slender, and her appearance momentarily knocked me off guard.
Hello?" she asked, amusement clearly reading off her face.
"What? Oh sorry," I apologized realizing I was staring at her, and I was quite embarrassed. I felt my face become hot, and at this, she smirked, rolling her eyes, and cocking an eyebrow.
"You're..new here, aren't you?" she smirked.
"You could say that," I replied, being cautious, lest I embarrass myself again.
"Well, allow me to show you around, after all, it is a beautiful land...it would be such a pity if you missed out." She beckoned me forward, and together, we stepped into a golden spotlight. Soon, I began to linger back to my 'guardian's' words about distractions, which led me to become suspicious and on guard about my new..friend.
"Oh, now, please, don't be shy." She smirked, and gripped my hand, and the light engulfed us, causing me to hiss and close my eyes. Suddenly, there was a loud whooshing sound in my ears, and when I opened my eyes, I was standing in a...dining room.
"What the..?!" I gasped out in shock, before being interrupted.
"Oh, hush" she interrupted me, "by the way, I forget to ask you of your name. My name is Amelia. And you?"
"Miranda," I replied somewhat shakily.
"Miranda." She confirmed, turning to the table. She snapped her fingers, and a tall, gangly woman with wide, childlike eyes and a surly yet gentle paradoxical disposition appeared.
Miranda, this is Maud." The woman sighed, huffing like a disappointed child.
"It's Maudelina, Mia!" she corrected Amelia.
"Don't call me Mia. My name is Amelia."
"Well, now you know how it feels!" Maudelina snapped, crossing her arms.
"Oh, hush." Amelia turned to me, "Miranda, Maudelina is my...personal servant. We want to show you around our land."
I was aghast; confused beyond measure, but intrigued all the same. Maudelina nodded once curtly, and her and Amelia took my hands, and together, we stepped into another light, and before me appeared a wall of cards; a voice chanted pick a card, any card. Excitement pulsed through me. Amelia reached out, her long, slender fingers touched queen of diamondscard, and she mumbled; "take us to the Queen."
'And, here my guardian said this wasn't anything like Wonderland. Ha!' I thought to myself.
"I know what you're thinking," Amelia said smirking, "but our Queen is not at all like Wonderland's Queen."
"So, she's not gonna try to cut off my head"
"No. Unless you are made of sugar," Maudelina smiled. Amelia chuckled, and then bent double in fits of laughter.
"Now, now, she won't want you to be laughing at her." Maudelina smirked, and together, the three of us stepped into a bright black and pink portal. I felt very claustrophobic all of a sudden; which I never have before as I gripped my "friends'" hands, and sucked in a deep breath. We landed hard on our feet; in a dark forest; dark green trees and an overhanging of green leaves. Soon, I heard the guitar rift of My Chemical Romance's Helena. The volume was equivalent to one of a teenager, cranking up his music in his room, causing the neighbor's to complain, and his parents to ground him. It hurt my ears, but I didn't let it show. Rather, I closed my eyes, and tried to take in everything but the volume of the music. Since this was proving to be almost like that book, I was going to prove myself to not be like Alice. I was going to be brave, and not take any crap from others. I was not going to be stepped on. So I opened my eyes, and stepped forward, my hands balled into fists at my sides. Amelia noticed my tension, and placed a hand on my shoulder, and called; "Queen! You have a visitor!"
"Coming!" shouted a bubbly female voice. Soon a tall, pixie-haired woman descended a spiral staircase that was hidden by the leaves, and stood before us, smiling brightly, and chewing bubble gum. This girl looked to be around my age of eighteen, and she was beautiful. She was wearing a cute black dress, lace around the edges of her sleeves and the bottom of her dress. She was also wearing black and red striped stockings, and black, with red crossbones on top, fingerless gloves.
'What is with all these female's looking perfect,' I thought as I looked down at myself. I was wearing my Paramore Riot t-shirt, with matching black jeans and converse. My black, with purple bangs, hairs was disheveled and a mess. My confidence dropped a level, as I took in the glorious chambers and it's residents. I was guessing that the dark, pixie-haired woman was the queen, though she was quite young and pale.
"Hello," she smiled at me, "you must be…Miranda" she smirked.
'What the heck?! How did she know my name? I had only met Amelia a few short minutes ago. There's no way they could have had time to tell this queen. I better take the control back, and quick!'
"Yes, I am, but what is your name? After all, if you are the queen, you should know that you always introduce yourself first," I stated in a haughty tone, trying to hide my uncomfortable of her knowing too much already.
"I suppose, you are right. In that case, my name is Cassandra. But, you can call me Cassie if you wish to. I know we'll be great friends," she smirked which, strangely enough, caused me to fear her sanity just a bit before she continued, "I am the Queen of hearts, also known as the Gothic Queen. I hear you need to find a way to that marvelous waterfall to get to the Guardian's. "
I began to open my mouth to speak before she shushed me saying, "You probably wish to know how I knew that key information about you. Well, it's a necessity to know the orders of what goes on around here if I am to be a formidable and great queen. Well, don't you worry your pretty little head about this, Miranda; we'll help you find your way back home. But first, would you like to see the collection of my CD's? I'm sure you'd see a few things you would love to hear. Maybe music you'd have to get online, for they are not sold at stores in your country?"
"I.. guess I could," I hesitated, keeping my guardian's advice in mind, still.
" Perfect," Cassie smiled, " I know we are going to be the best of friends. Let's go to my bedroom," and with that she clasped my hand and dragged me to her room, which was the same colors as the chambers. Amelia and Maudelina looked on our retreating backs, smiling mysterious smiles. It made me wonder if they did, in fact, have ulterior motives. As soon as we got into her room, she pointed me to the huge shelves of music. It is there I found some Evanescence CD's. And they weren't just any CD's.
"NO WAY! This is the alternate version of Imaginary, which can only be found in Europe. It was never released to the U.S. This is amazing!" I said as I began to place the CD into her boom-box. I soon began to smile and dance with Cassie, laughing, enjoying the alternate lyrics to the song.
"I knew that you would love this," she smiled with a glint to her eye, "Now, why not stay here a while."
"I guess I could do that," I smiled, ignorant of the true meaning to her words, due to being to caught up in my excitement for this song. I adored Evanescence, and it was my favorite band because Amy Lee is an amazing singer, and very talented because she writes her own songs.
"Forever you will be my friend and stay here," Cassandra smiled, one of malicious intent. And it was that one word, forever, that broke the spell the song had on me, and I quickly dropped her hands and stepped away.
"No. No I won't," I glared, "you can't expect me to stay here forever. I have a home and a family to return to. I have love back home."
"I can love you, though."
"It will not be the same. I'm sorry but no. You can't have everything you want just because you are of royalty," I pointed out, softly.
"Can't I?" she cocked her eyebrow.
"Not with me, you can't" and as I turned to walk out she grabbed my hands.
"But, they don't love you," she said bringing up memories of abandonment, times where I held the secret of myself from them, when they were snippy and quick to judgment. And that was also before the accident.
"That was a long time ago," and I ran. Running past Amelia and Maudelina, which didn't even try to stop me, though Cassandra asked them to do so, I found myself at the edge of a forest. And in a short miles away, I saw the waterfall.
'My ticket home,' I thought as I quickly ran towards it. I quickly pondered over what I had learned from my mistake with the Gothic Queen.
'Maybe never to trust so easily?' And soon I was near the waterfall. And behind the translucent water, I saw a door, which opened to reveal my Guardian Angel.
"Come on in, child. We've been waiting," she smiled kindly at me. Quickly, I followed, jumping from stone to stone in order to reach her.
"How..how are you here right now?" I stammered unable to think that this has been her plan all along from the beginning.
"I figured you would need a little guidance, but I couldn't be the one to give it to you. You'd have to learn for yourself. I just pushed you into the direction of Amelia. And now you may know my name. It's Jennifer," she smiled, one that was both happy and sad.
"Jennifer? No, it can't be" I gasped. Jennifer had died my sophomore year from a terrible car wreck, she had no chance of surviving. It was almost the same scenario as mine. Tears formed in my eyes as I remembered that I lost a best friend that day, and the school was in mourning that day, as well.
"Please, do not cry," Jennifer smiled, wiping my tears away, reverting to a more familiar form.
"You're looked older, and the way you talk to me," I choked out.
"Yes, this is what I would've looked like when I was in my twenties. And I remembered how you loved mythology back in school, and how you always talked about how you would try to listen to wise Goddesses. I guess, I must've annoyed you earlier, huh?" she smiled
"Yeah, you did" I sniffled, "why are you doing this?"
"You haven't been living, ever since my death. You only see black and white; you're either dead or about to die later. That is how you see the world now. I wish to change that. You learned, now, how there are people you can trust, and others you could but are just misguided. You changed Cassandra," she smiled. And out from the shadows, The Gothic Queen appeared, smiling.
"Hello," she timidly smiled.
"You taught her that she can't have her way all the time. You taught her about morality and humanity. You taught her to be a better friend," Jennifer beamed.
"Thank you, Miranda. I'm sorry for earlier. Can you ever forgive me," Cassie asked me, timidly.
"Of course. After all, we are friends..Cassie" and she literally seemed to light up.
"As a friend, I have something to say," she smiled, "you have learned your lessons well. So it is time for you to return home and wake up."
"Please wake-up," pleaded Jennifer, and then my vision went black.
I soon woke up to a constant beeping sound next to me, and as I lifted my arm I noticed wires had been attached. Soon, a nurse had walked in and saw that I was awake. She informed me that I was in the hospital's ER and that I had a few stitched in my head, and some on my legs and arms. But, otherwise I was fine. They were afraid I had gone into a comma because of how hard I had hit my head on the dashboard from the impact of the other car. My mom was gone and was waiting for me, in the waiting room. She had visited me every day since she was fixed; minor bruises and cuts, praying for me to awaken. I was also told I was unconscious for several days, and that today was now Saturday, not Monday.
Heading to call to inform my family of my consciousness, the nurse headed out of my room. I looked up to my ceiling and thought, 'Thank you, Jennifer. I will never forget you and will promise to start living, as I should be. You are right, just because you are dead, doesn't mean I should stop living as well. I'll live..for both of us'
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*Authors note #2: Thank you for reading my final draft of this story. Two different versions of this story will be coming soon. So, please review
smile I would love to hear the feedback.
To hear the Evanescence song, please take a look at my music playlist:
http://www.playlist.com/playlist/5108827915
