The Puppet Master

*Emilie's POV*
I closed my diary and crossed off the 20th on my calendar, then crawled into bed before switching off the lamp.
Like Ashley had told me two nights ago, the 'Home' dimension could be accessed immediately upon falling asleep if you pictured it- you didn't get the transitional black space (the 'falling and waking' dimension).
I tried to imagine the feeling of the bed I'd woken up in the last time I had a dream.
I didn't think it had worked. I sat there for a good 15 minutes before I became impatient and decided to get a sleeping pill from the bathroom. As I got up I realized, I wasn't in my bedroom anymore. I looked around in amazement.
"You're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy!" a familiar male voice chimed.
"Well, hi Ashley. If this is munchkin land, then are you the scarecrow?"
He looked at me in confusion. "Scarecrow?"
"Yes, he is the one without a brain, right?" I stated triumphantly as I slid past him, the contact of his bare inked arm against my hand making me shudder, remembering the last time a boy's bare skin was on mine. Stuart. I immediately felt filthy, I wanted to scrub my skin raw until I wasn't tainted by his vile touch.
I wandered out of the small room into an oak paneled hall with solid oak doors.
Ashley walked in the opposite direction. "Are you coming?"
"Yeah!" I jogged to keep up with his slightly longer strides until I joined his side.
We were silent so I took the opportunity to admire his body up close. He was about 4 inches taller than me, so I guessed he was somewhere around 5'11. He had delicately prominent cheekbones, they weren't obvious like Andy's (I always thought that Andy's cheekbones made him look emaciated like a skeleton) they were just there, cast into relief by the sparse orange light and patterned by the shaddow of his long eyelashes that veiled his beautifully intriguing hazel eyes that could then, and always would later, be able to see directly through my disguises. He had these well toned arms, they weren't skinny like Andy's or excessively muscled like Jake's, they were a balance. He was a balance. Quiet like Jinxx when need be, wise like Jake, funny like CC, and charismatic like Andy - he was everything in perfect proportion, yet there was a certain sadness beneath it, at discord with his outward personality. He was like me, wearing a mask to battle the days, and now the nights too.
"See anything you like?" He asked with a smirk.
I gathered myself quickly. "No, I like people, not straw men. Do tell me, how can one talk without a brain?" I sassed him, sticking to the Wizard Of Oz.
"A lot of people without brains do a lot of talking, just look on Facebook." That received an actual laugh from me. He laughed too. "You have a cute laugh." he smiled, leaving me flushed as he pushed a door open.
The boys and Jenny were all sat in a circle on - you guessed it- oak furniture and were chatting away happily. Jenny lept to her feet and hugged me. She'd been helpful dealing with my anger over what Stuart and Evan had said, it was only because of her that I hadn't killed them and left them drained of blood in a ditch.
Then something clicked, "Wait, it's like mid afternoon for you guys due to the time difference, why are you asleep?" I inquired, fixing each member with a stare.
"We are currently in Berlin." Andy said, lighting up a marlbro.
They made me curious. Maybe I could invade his head one day to find out what a cigarette was like.

"Right, should we explain?" asked Jake, breaking the silence.
We all sat in a circle.
"So, there's 5 tests," Andy began.
"We each devised one." Ashley finished the sentence.
"The first test must be completed by altering your surroundings," Jinxx piped up.
"The second has to be done by altering yourself," Jake said.
"The third is solved in either way," CC sang.
"The fourth one is done by accessing another's mind," Andy puffed his cigarette nonchalantly- and I admit it was a teensy bit sexy.
"The final test, tests your ability to work as a team." Ashley finalised.
"Okay then." Jenny and I said in unison.
"We will give you marks based on how long each challenge takes you. The lowest score wins. You are NOT allowed to help each other until the final challenge, are we clear?" Andy finished in his low, gravelly voice. He sounded like a sexy lawnmower, yet my eyes were entirely distracted by Ashley's butt as he leaned down to brush a mark off his boots (even Jenny had a quick look).
"Yes." We chimed.
"Okay then," Ashley stood and dropped me a wink, he totally knew I was checking him out, "Let's get to where we are all set up then." He offered me a hand and I took it, glancing at Jenny as she wrapped her fingers around Jinxx's extended arm. I ship them (I don't care that she's 14!).

My feet touched the floor at the new location, but Ashley didn't release my arm. I was kind of hoping he would soon before my ovaries blew up. As if that wasn't enough, he leaned and kissed my forehead. His bubble mint breath was warm, but not unpleasant, on my ear and his cheek brushed mine as he whispered, "Good luck, my Dorothy." Then he vanished.
I looked around, I was stood on an island in the ocean, the mainland appeared to be miles away. I couldn't see anyone else.
"Jenny!?" I called, no answer.
The rain lashed down and I was soaked so badly, my bra was entirely visible. A bolt of lighting pierced the sky. I was the centre of a vicious storm that would likely become a maelstrom.
A light flashed on the mainland, clear and blue. It's message was simple; get to this point.

Notes

-TheBunnyRegimeQueen
Aren't you lucky, 2 chapters in one day!?
^.^
I should finish it tomorrow if I get chance. If not then it wouldn't be until the day after because I am visiting my grandmother and she has no wifi and it's TORTURE!!!! :'(