Leah was at school. It was her last class of the day: Math. Just five more minutes and then school would be over. Unfortunately, math was also Leah’s least favorite subject. Five minutes felt like hours. Finally the school bell rang, and Leah ran out of the classroom. Leah found Allison in the hallways.

    “That was so boring!” Leah whined. “I’d rather do all of my chores!” Leah almost never finished her chores.

    “Mm hmm…” Allison said, clearly concentrating on something else.

    “Let’s find Angelin. My parents said I can have a pool party today and I want to tell her!” Leah said excitedly.

    “YES YES YES!” Allison said, finally paying attention to Leah. “I love your pool! I’m Definitely going to come!”

    “Thanks! Let’s go!” Leah was glad her friend was finally listening to her. Together they walked down the beautiful and fancy streets of their neighborhood. Today was a hot and sunny day. “A perfect day for a pool party.” Leah thought. And nothing can ruin it.

    “BOO!” Angelin yelled. Angelin was following them the whole way from school!

    “You scared me half to death!” Leah said. “Can you come to my pool party today at 6:00? My pool has lights and we’re providing food too.”

    “Of course I will come!” Angelin said. “I can’t miss out on something that fun!”

    “Yay!” Leah said. Together they walked to their street. Then Leah noticed something glowing in the grass. Leah looked at it and wondered what it was. Then Leah started to reach for it. 

    “Don’t!” Allison yelled. “Do not pick that thing up! It could be dangerous!”

    “Jeez.” Leah said. “Dangerous how? And it could be really valuable, you know.”

    “It could be cursed. Allison warned. Leah didn’t care if it was cursed or not, she didn’t even think cursed objects existed.

    “Oh, please.” Leah said impatiently, and started reaching for the glowing object. As she picked it up, she realized it was a sparkling ruby.

    “It’s so pretty!” Leah gasped. If this gem was valuable, and she was sure it would be, she knew her family would be so happy to sell it and make money.

    “Great. You know what it is, so put it down.” Allison said. “It could really be dangerous, I’m not joking!”

    “No!” Leah yelled. Allison and Leah pulled it back and forth. Then the three of them were stuck in a thick fog.

    “What is this stuff?” Angelin asked. “I think your arguing got us here!”

    “Whoa.” Leah said, still holding the gem. Leah didn’t know what to think. Maybe Allison was right about the gem.

    “See, I told you it was cursed! Now do you listen to me?” Allison said.

    “You never said it was cursed, you said ‘what if it’s cursed’, not ‘it is cursed.’ ” Leah argued.

    “I did not!” Allison argued.

    “Yeah, you did!” Leah said back.

    “Guys stop!” Angelin said. “All we should be doing is trying to figure out how to get back to our neighborhood.”

    “Maybe we would get back if Leah wasn’t holding the gem!” Allison said. “Hint! Hint!”

    Although Leah didn’t want to listen to Allison, she knew she was probably right. Reluctantly, she dropped the gem, and it hit the ground.

    The fog immediately disappeared. But, something was wrong. They weren’t home, they were stuck in a forest, but everything was dead. The trees didn’t have leaves, and nothing seemed to be alive or growing. Leah picked up the gem. This time nothing happened, so she put it in her pocket.

    “We wouldn’t even be here if it weren’t for you.” Allison snapped.

    “Well I didn’t even do anything, and I’m stuck here because the both of you wouldn’t stop arguing about the gem!” Angelin snapped back.

    “Guys, the arguing isn’t helping. We’re stuck here for now, so we should figure out how to get back home!” Leah said.

    “It was because of you in the first place.” Allison said. “Like I said, if it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t even be here.”

    “I know, and I’m sorry.” Leah said. “I should’ve listened to you. But complaining isn’t going to help, and we should be finding a way out.”

    “Fine, you're right.” Allison said. Leah could tell she wasn’t happy about the arrangement, but she didn’t say anything back.

    After many hours of walking, all three girls were tired, and needed to stop for a rest. Angelin sat down on the ground and drank some water. Allison was about to do the same, but then, they saw someone.

    “I must serve the queen.” He said.

    “”Who?” Leah asked.

    “I must serve the queen!” This time it wasn’t just one voice. More like 1,000. They were all starting to line up behind the first person.

    “We will make the queen happy!” They all said together. A few animals made their animal noises after the sentence. Lions and tigers roared. Birds chirped. Dogs barked.

    “We will honor her.”  They yelled. “All hail the great ruler!” The animals made noises again. Then the sounds died off.

    “What was that?” Leah asked. “It was like… they were in a trance! This can’t be normal.”

    “Yeah… like they were hypnotized.” Angelin added. Then they heard a sound of a human gasping and panting.

    “Oh no, it’s another one!” Angelin exclaimed. “Run for your lives, and don’t stop until she’s out of sight!”

    “Wait!” A girl’s voice yelled. “I’m not like the others!” The three girls stopped.

    Leah found herself looking at a young girl with black wavy hair, and blue eyes.

    “What happened to those people?” Allison asked. “That can’t be normal.”

    “It’s not. My name is Alyssa, and the reason why they are like that is because of a curse. Everyone here is affected by it.” Alyssa said.

    “If it really is, then why aren’t you affected by this curse?” Leah asked.

    “Only people from this world can get it. My mom was from this world, but my dad isn’t. Luckily, if you don’t have both sides of your family born in this world, you’re safe. I wasn’t even born here.” Alyssa said. “I’m guessing you aren’t from here?”

    “No, we’re from Earth.” Allison answered. “Is that where you are from?” 

    “Yeah.” Alyssa answered. “And if you’re wondering why this place is so dark and abandoned, it’s also because of the curse…” A man’s voice called Alyssa’s name. “Sorry, I got to go, my dad’s calling me!” Then Alyssa ran away.

    “But how do we get rid of the curse if we don’t even know who’s behind it?” Angelin asked.

    “Then first find out who’s behind it.” Allison answered. Leah couldn’t believe they were stuck here and it was all her fault. 

    “How would we do that?” Angelin asked again.

    “Keep walking. If we spot, I don’t know, a castle or something, that’s got to be where the villain is.” Allison said.

    “I guess we could try that…” Leah said. Leah couldn’t help but to blame herself for all the troubles. She didn’t deserve friends that could forgive her this easily. 

    “One problem, we only have two water bottles left, and we could travel hundreds of miles, you never know! We don’t have any food either, except for my leftover Cheetos from snacktime, and Allison’s uneaten sandwich!” Angelin said.

    “If we’re lucky, maybe we can find a restaurant. I’m sure Alyssa would know if she was here… She could be the only person that can help us.” Allison said.

    “Well then maybe we can find her.” Leah said. She was determined not to disappoint her friends and cause even more trouble than she already had. “Our parents are probably worried sick! We

should stop this curse first, then we can ask people how to get home.”

    “Couldn’t we just ask Alyssa when we do find her?” Angelin asked. 

    “No, Alyssa probably isn’t even eight yet.” Allison said. “How would she know?”

    “Oh, Alyssa is older than eight.” A female voice behind them said.

    “Who are you? How do you know Alyssa?” Leah asked.

    “How do I know? HOW DO I KNOW? You’re hilarious. I’m her sister, that is, if we are talking about the same girl.” She said, “Alyssa is not affected by the curse, she has blue eyes, black wavy hair, and her parents are not from the same world.”

    “Alyssa never said she had a sister… What’s your name?” Leah was curious now.

    “Claire. Alyssa is eleven, by the way. Kids here aren’t fed much. And I know. I’ve been in your world for three years of my life.” Zainah said.

    “How do you know where we live?” Angelin asked.

    “A little bird told me.” Claire said. “And by that, I’m talking about Alyssa. We talk to each other about everything. We are twins.”

    “Twins?” Leah said. “You look nothing alike, no offense.” Claire had blonde hair with brown highlights, she had hazel eyes, and she was taller.

    “Twins don’t have to look alike, or did you think every twin had to be identical?” Claire said. “I’ll catch you later, and no one knows how to change worlds, only my mother knows, she is a sorceress you know. And she won’t tell anyone.”

    “Maybe she’ll let us!” Allison said.

    “I doubt it. She never let anyone outside of our family, and it’s not like she told me either, she just used her magic on us.” Claire said. “But even if she did let you, the curse would have to be broken. Even a sorceress that powerful can be defeated by the so-called ‘great ruler.’”

    “Wait, one more question!” Leah yelled. Claire stopped and nodded her head. “How do we get to where the ‘great ruler’ lives?”

    “Follow the Pathway of Danger, it only leads to one place. But it’s called the pathway of danger for a reason! It’ll take everything you’ve got, and more!” Claire disappeared into the woods. “And beware of the dreams! Because they turn into reality!”

    “She and her sister are… different.” Allison said.

    “The Pathway of Danger…” Angelin repeated. “Not very intimidating.”.

    “Not intimidating? Seriously? What about danger that is not not intimidating?” Allison said.

    “Never mind.” Angelin said. “You're too scared anyways, to go on a quest to save this curse.”

    “I’m not scared. I can do this. You’re just saying it’s not intimidating because you want us to think you aren’t scared when you really are.” Allison said.

    “Let’s just keep moving.” Leah said. Leah had gotten themselves stuck here, and now they were going on a quest to save some curse that everyone is under.

    “We don’t have much supplies. If this pathway is long, we could starve. All we have left is a half eaten bag of Cheetos, and our almost finished water bottles from school.” Leah pointed out.

    “We can make it. We just have to move quickly. So come on!” Allison said. Leah nodded, but deep inside, she felt scared and would rather stay in the forest doing nothing, just like Claire, Alyssa, their father, and who knows who else.

    “It says here the pathway is fifty miles long..” Angelin said.

    “I think it’s weird how Claire would know this, I mean, she’s eleven.” Allison said.

    “She probably knows a lot though.” Leah said. “She seems to. Let’s try to get to the end by a week, so we can stop the curse and go home.”

    “One week? What about our parents?” Allison asked. “They would be so worried.”

    “I know, but there isn’t any other way to do this. We have to save the people from the curse, otherwise we can’t ever go home.” Leah said.

    “Claire did say only one person knew how to transfer from world to world, and that person might not even let us.” Allison pointed out.

    “Unless you have a better idea?” Leah asked. “We could go find another mysterious looking gem to pick up and go home.”

    “Fine, you’re right.” Allison said. “It’s the best chance we have right now.”

    “Yeah so come—“ Angelin began.

    “Wait, I have my phone! I can just call them!” Leah cut in. Leah wasn’t sure this would work, but it was certainly worth a shot.

    “You know what Claire said? Beware of the dreams? What does it mean that it turns into reality?” Leah asked, as she opened her phone. Allison and Angelin both shrugged.

    No one answered the phone. Leah guessed she wasn’t home, but she was a little worried.

    “Not home.” Leah told the others..

    “Oh.” Allison said. “That’s alright.”

    “Yeah, it's too bad though.” Leah said.

    “ We really should be moving.” Allison said.

    Hours passed. 

    It was almost 8:00, they hadn't eaten, stopped, or drank any water. Thunder roared in the sky.

    “I could really use a break.” Angelin said.

    “Same.” Allison and Leah said at the same time.

    Angelin opened her bag, and so did Allison. Leah had dropped off her bag at school, since at 5:00 she was supposed to go back to school for a club meeting.

    “I don’t have anything…” Leah said.

    “Why not?” Allison asked. “You don’t have anything in your backpack?”

    “That, and I don’t have it.” Leah said. “I dropped it at the school for my club meeting at 5:00.

    “Oh. You want some of mine?” Allison asked. “I could dump some in your mouth.”

    “No, it’s fine. You can drink your water.” Leah said. Her mouth was really dry, but she couldn’t just take her friend’s water supply from her. “You think we should stay here for the night?”

    “We could all use a rest.” Angelin said, who quickly got down onto the grass to rest.

    “You can take the bench.” Leah said.

    “Really? We could share.” Allison said.

    “No, really. I’m fine.” Leah said.

    “If you say so…” Allison said.

    Leah laid on the grass. It was spikier than the grass she was used to. Despite that, she quickly fell asleep.

    Thunder crashed. It was a dark and stormy night. Lightning danced across the sky. In a castle, two people were having a conversation.

    “As ordered.” A voice said.

    “That’s Claire!” Leah thought. She wanted to move. She couldn’t. She wanted to speak. She couldn’t. No one could see her. “Is this a dream?” She thought.

    If it was a dream, it didn’t feel like one. Usually her dreams felt real, and she never really knew she was dreaming until she woke up. She wanted to wake up, but she couldn’t. It was like the dream was a prison, and she was the only prisoner. The only thing Leah could do was watch.

    “Oh, really.” Another said. “Call in your partner.”

    “Right away.” Claire said.

    In walked Alyssa. “Partners?” Leah thought. She knew this dream wasn’t real. But she remembered what Claire had said. “Beware of the dreams. Because they turn into reality.” Is this what she had meant?

    “The work is done?” The voice said.

    “Yes. Believing me and Alyssa were sisters? Fools. They walked right in our trap. They’ll probably be here sooner or later.” Claire said. “Believing Me and her were from another world? Foolish. Fortunately we studied all the possible worlds they would come from.”

    “May I ask why you need them?” Alyssa cut in. “They are just worthless kids from Earth.”

    “They contain the ruby!” The voice snapped. “This is the key to endless life!”

    “How do we know it won’t give them endless life?” Alyssa asked.

    “It only works for us, you fools. And it works for exactly three people. If you aren’t from our world, there isn’t any use. Of course, I would wonder how it got to Earth in the first place.” The voice said.

    Leah hadn’t even realized she still had her ruby. She reached in her pocket and felt the smooth feeling.

    “Unless, you really aren’t from here.” The voice said.

    “No. Both me and Alyssa have parents from here. Although I do wish my mother was a

sorcerer…” Claire said.

    “Haha. Now they can never go back. The only way is if they stop this spell that I keep everyone under except us three. And after they stop the curse, they only have to retrieve—“ The voice began.

    “You might want to stop that sentence.” Claire cut in.

    “Why?” The voice roared. “Are you telling me what to do? I sure find that insulting.”

    “No, it's just that I told them the truth when I accidentally said that their dream would be reality. Chances are, one of them, whichever one has the ruby, is dreaming about us right now.” Claire said nervously.

    “YOU WHAT!?” The voice roared. Then the dream cut off and Leah woke up gasping.

    “What’s wrong?” Allison asked.

    “We need to wake up Angelin now.” Leah said.

    “Claire and Alyssa are working for the great ruler, they want the gem, they are lying, and we still

have to save the curse and go on an impossible quest? Allison asked.

    “Check.” Leah said.

    “They’re teaming against us and we are walking right into a trap?” Allison asked.

    “Check.” Leah said.

    “Alyssa and Claire aren’t really sisters and they're going to steal the gem so they can have endless life? Allison asked.

    “Check.” Leah said.

    “Oh my gosh.” Allison said. “I don’t believe it. Alyssa and Claire seemed so helpful.”

    “And they were. We know which path to take, we know that my dreams from now on are reality, and we know how to get back home. The only thing we don’t know is, how do we stop this curse?” Leah said. 

    Leah wanted so badly to go back to the events of yesterday morning. If she could, she would’ve

never picked up the gem and none of this would have happened. She was still blaming herself for everything that had happened. 

    “Yeah. Let’s hope that we can figure that out tonight’s dream. Meanwhile, let's keep walking.” Allison said. Leah did not want to have another dream like that again, but she knew she would have to if she ever wanted to go back home. She couldn’t imagine how it would feel like if she were her parents. If Leah had to have a dream, she at least hoped it wouldn’t be too scary.

    Again, hours passed by. They passed by the 25 mile mark. Leah didn’t know they could already be halfway there. The most she had ever walked in two days was 8 miles. Meanwhile, she and her friends had passed the 25 mile mark.

    It was dusk. Though it was dark, she didn’t want to stop. The sooner she and her friends got there, the better it was.

    Another few hours passed. They finally stopped at the 40 mile mark. It was already past midnight.

    “Can we camp?” Angelin whined. “I think I have a portable tent here. I was supposed to use it

today for the field trip.”

    “I have one too!” Allison said. “I can’t believe we forgot that yesterday. Mine is pretty big so Leah can share.”

    “Thanks.” Leah said. She was grateful for her friends and was sorry that they all had to miss the field trip just because of her. She hoped she could make it up for them. Leah planned to take tomorrow easy, since they were going pretty quickly, and they still needed more information from Leah’s dreams. Maybe tomorrow will be used for just finding food, water, and planning their next move.

    “I think we should take tomorrow easy. We are ahead on time, and we could really use more supplies. Besides, if we move too quickly, we’ll get to the castle before we even have all the information we need. We can get this information from my dreams.” Leah said.

    “Yeah, I agree.” Allison said.

    “Sure, whatever.” Angelin said. It turned out to be easier to convince them than what Leah had thought, but she was glad her friends were agreeing with her.

    About one hour later, camp was set up. It was already 1:00 A.M. They had found a good spot deep in the woods where no one would find them, but they wouldn’t get lost either. Leah jumped into Allison’s tent. It really was big.

    “Thanks for letting me share with you.” Leah said. “Otherwise I would have to sleep in the spiky and dirty grass again.”

    “No problem.” Allison said. “I wish today were just a normal day… A boring school day with a field trip right after school. But no. We’re stuck here.”

    “I’m sorry—“ Leah began,

    “No, I’m not blaming you.” Allison said.

    “I’m sorry anyways. I understand if you hate me. I ruined your day, and I practically ruined your whole life.” Leah said.

    “No, we can get out. And we will get out. We can do this, we will be home.” Allison said, though her voice sounded as if she wasn’t even sure of herself.

    “I hope so…” Leah said, as she drifted off to sleep.

    This time she wasn’t in the castle. She wasn’t in the woods. She was back at home in her house. She saw her mother. Leah was relieved to see her. But then, her mother was crying. Then someone opened the door. Her father went inside.

    “They don’t have any sign of her, Brianna.” Her father said.

    “I can't believe it. A twelve year old girl is gone in this big world.” Her mother said.

    Not even in this word, Leah wanted to say. She wanted to reach out to her mother, and tell her everything that had happened.

    “There isn’t anything we can do. The police have tried everything. Her teachers haven’t seen her since the last time she was at school. Leah, Allison, and Angelin. Lost together, and probably terrified to death, but we can’t do anything.” Her father said.

    “I wish we could do something! Do anything! Even a bounty worth millions of dollars! We have to get her back.” Leah couldn’t even watch her mother crying.

    “Then we have no choice. We’ll send our whole family looking for her. We won’t ever stop.” Her father said. Leah wished she could get her father to hear her. She wanted him to know it was no use, they weren’t even on Earth anymore. Just when things couldn’t get any worse, she woke up. There were tears in Leah’s eyes. Her parents were that worried, and her whole family was probably spreading all over the United States to find one or three girls huddled together.

    Leah went outside. It was already 10:00 A.M, But that wasn’t too late, considering how late they had slept last night. But her footsteps must have woken Allison, because she came out right after.

    “Good morning.” Allison said. “Had a nightmare?” Leah nodded. Leah was thinking about her mom. Everyone back on Earth was worried because of her. She and her friends were stuck here because of her. She wished she could just make everything right.

    “What was it about?” Allison asked. “ Claire, Alyssa, and Queen Mrs. Villain?”

    “No. It was about our parents. They are all so worried about us, mine are crying, yours are probably too, and everyone is looking for us.” Leah said. She could feel tears in her eyes again.

    “Really, it’s not your fault, and blaming yourself isn’t going to help either.” Allison said. “I’m not

blaming you, so you shouldn’t be either.”

    “Thanks. Want to go find some food?” Leah asked hopefully. She was starving. Allison shook her head though.

    “I want to wait for Angelin, so if she woke up she wouldn’t be worried about where we were.” Allison said.

    “Good point.” Leah hadn’t thought about that, but she realized it was true. Angelin could’ve woken up worried because she couldn’t find them. “Let’s see what we do have for food.”

    Allison found the bag and started looking through it. “Let’s see, two bites worth of a sandwich, and five more cheeto puffs left in an already eaten bag. Oh, and also a pack of fruit snacks that has already been opened and spilled out.” Allison informed Leah.

    “You think we could split that sandwich in half for our breakfast? Then we could save the cheeto puffs for Angelin.” Leah said.

    “Why not.” Allison said, as she started tearing the sandwich in half. “You can have the big half.”

    “No, you. It’s your sandwich.” Leah said. Allison shrugged and took the big half and gave the other half to Leah.

    “Hey, this sandwich is good.” Leah said. “I just love that it has extra cheese, and—“

    A yawn cut through Leah’s sentence. “Good morning.” Angelin said. “Y'all woke me up.” Angelin grabbed the bag of Cheetos and started eating them. “They are for me, right?” Angelin asked.

    “You’re in luck, because we saved them all for you. You should probably save them in case you get hungry later though.” Allison said.

    Despite her warning, Angelin dumped the whole bag in her mouth, and ate the whole thing in under five seconds.

    “Or, you could eat them all now, and starve later.” Allison said. “Not good strategy, but it’s too late now anyways.”

    Angelin shrugged like she didn’t really care, and started picking on the crumbs.