{Kate's POV}

I'm not a big fan of sneezing. Never have been and never will be. It's not necessarily a bad bodily function - it's helpful, in a way. But that doesn't mean I have to like it.

I sat in the field, dully aware of the smell of burning strawberry. It was a strangely specific smell, one that I had never thought to be so complex. Of course, my nose wasn't at its finest at the moment.

I realized after a moment that I was in my Doctor Who pajamas. They were fluffy, at least on the inside. I was wondering how fluffy it was on a scale from one to ten when I heard people shouting in a giberish language. I looked up, alarmed to see a group of warriors advancing on me.

A man on horseback approached, looking at me as if I were a jumble of mangled body parts. I had to take a moment, just to make sure I wasn't. It had always been my dream to not be a mess of body parts. (This line was stolen from Tissue Issues because it's awesome)

The situation got better when I started to stare back at the man, only to realize he wasn't a man. Well, not entirely. He had horse legs - he was a centaur. Yes. He was a centaur. I started snickering, dully aware of my laughter growing into a full-blown maniacal laugh. You know the one.

"Are you alright, child?" The centaur guy asked. I continued laughing for what seemed like at least five minutes. I almost hoped it was more. Of course, I wasn't laughing horribly loud. I could hear bits of whispered words, especially when one girl whispered something about a labrynth.

"WHAT?!" I asked, spinning towards the direction that the whisper came from. The girl stared at me uncomfortably.

"What did you say?" I asked in my best crazy-cat-lady-gone-a-little-too-far voice. It must have worked, because most of the kids around her shuffled back.

"I, um..."

"Oh well!" I say cheerily. "You don't look like the kind of kid who reads much anyway, or the talking type. In that case, I'll just be out of your hair here." I turn to my left and lift myself up, making it a good five feet before my legs start to feel wobbly. I feel my chest constrict slightly and my vision begins to blur. Spots dance around my eyes, and then...

--

I sat in a normal field of metamorphic grass. I watched as it changed colors and shapes, knowing that there were a few things off. Like the fact that grass is just... Green. And, well, grass.

It seemed happy enough, until the grass darkened, and rain began to fall. The rain stopped before it hits the ground, and begin to fly back up, colliding with the rest of the falling droplets. They twisted into horrible shapes that curdled and molded together. They all began to whisper in a strange, raspy voice, whispering, "choose, choose, choose..."

--

I bolt upright, sighing to myself in a very cliche way.

I notice the room I'm in, how it's somewhat dirty, large, with a small window to my left. I almost jump when I see the girl there - she has a bandage wrapped around her head, and she stares at me with a sad expression. I try to wave at her and she raised her hand too. I move my hand across my face, and she does the same - it's a mirror. Mirror, 1. Kate, 0.

I absentmindedly bring my hand to the bandage. It's adorned with old dried blood stains - I wonder suddenly how long I've been here.

The door opens and a teenager walks in, blonde hair and blue eyes. Cute guy stuff like that. He stares at me for a moment, then walks over to my bed. Well, the bed I'm in. It's not my bed, it's missing the layer of fuzzy blankets and books.

"You okay?" He asks.

"Well, I'm sitting in a strange bed I'm a strange room in a strange house with a strange boy doctoring me, who looks about, what, sixteen?" He nods slowly. "I also have a big gash in my head that I got after waking up in a giant crater."

He waits a moment before continuing. "So, that's a no, then?"

"How did you guess?" I reply sarcastically, leaning back onto the bed frame.

"Well, other than  the gash on your forehead, you seem fine. You passed out from exhaustion, and the gash is from falling face-first on to a rock." He informs me.

"Sounds like me." I joke, but it's true. He only raises an eyebrow. "My name is Kate. What about you?" I say after an eternity of silence.

"That came out of nowhere." He says.

"Do you have a nickname, or do I just call you 'That'?" He smiles at my joke.

"My name is Will Solace."