Far From Home- BVB Part 4

    Just like before, I ran.
    The only differences were that it was during the day, it was sunny and seasonably warm out, and the fact that i was in a crowded mall with possibly hundreds of people.
    As I shoved my way through large crowds and small lines of people, the voices in my head got louder. You see, in your perspective, everyone around you looks normal, right?
    That's not how I saw it.
    Everyone around me was wearing Victorian, steampunk style clothing with some wearing powdered wigs and ridiculous amounts of makeup. Instead of selling hair straighteners and cell phone cases, some were showing off cool looking goggles and strange looking watches. The only thing they had in common, besides their weird, ancient clothing, was what they were saying.
    It started as a whisper. "Frabjous Day!" they told me with smiles that stretched from ear to ear when they saw me. The voices started to crescendo the further I ran, and by the time I got to Old Navy, they were yelling in my ear.
    "Frabjous Day!"
    "Frabjous Day!"
    "Frabjous Day!    
    I stopped running, gave a small yell, and it was like a light switch flipping off. They were gone, long gone, replaced by normal, 21st Century people who stared at me in confusion as I stared back in shock. The voices faded from my mind, and I gasped for air, trying to figure out what had happened.
    "Ashley!" I turned to see Jinxx and CC running up to me. "Are you okay? You were fine and then you just started running and I-"
    "I'm fine," I said quietly.
    "I'm sorry what-"
    I gasped and grabbed my ears as another voice came into my head. It sounded like Andy, but with a soft, English touch to it.
    "Ashley," it whispered ever so softly. "Come to Wonderland with me."
    Before I could control myself, I screamed, "Leave me alone!!" I swirled around and slammed my hand into the brick wall behind me and a loud crack filled the air. Pain gripped tight at my wrist, and I screamed before falling to the floor. My vision became blurry, and I began to sob softly.
    Warm hands touched my shoulders, and my mental state collapsed. I felt like I was going insane. The strength I had left was like a sandcastle being pushed down by the ocean's strong waves. The sand collapsed on itself and all that remained was a small pile of nothingness. My shoulders rocked painfully as sobs pushed their way out of my throat, and I felt the warm hands move until they were wrapped around me in a tight hug. I felt someone grab my hand, and I looked up to see CC through the tears.
    "Hey," he said softly. His voice was gentle, and it provided me the comfort Andy probably wasn't willing to give me. I calmed down, but tears still streaked down my face. He gently reached up with his tan hand and brushed some of them away before continuing, "We should get you some help. Let us take you to the hospital, okay?"
    I nodded and hiccuped quietly. He placed a hand on my shoulder and him and Jinxx helped me up. Keeping my head down to avoid the stares in the crowd, I followed them to their car so they could take me to the hospital. 
    

    Turns out I had gotten a stress fracture from punching the wall. Big surprise, right?
    The doctor left to get some prescriptions for me, and I laid down on the bed, sighing softly.
    CC sat on the counter across from me and looked at me, swinging his legs even though they brushed against the floor. "That could've been a lot worse, you know. You could've crushed your entire wrist."
    "Yeah, that's nice to know, Cee," Jinxx commented, not looking up from his magazine. 
    "It's true though!"
    "Thanks, but you're not really helping me out here," I added to Jinxx's argument. He gestured to me and gave a see-I-told-you-so look to CC. He returned a really-dude look and mouthed, 'What?'
    The doctor came in and handed Jinxx the prescription. "Take this to the pharmacy down the street. Mr. Purdy should have his meds in by this evening". He nodded and thanked the doc, and with a small nod in return, he left the room.
    "Well, Ash, you ready to go home?"
    I gave a tired nod and yawned.
    "Dude, you're tired already?! It's only one in the afternoon!"
    "Do not tease him, Christian. He's stressed."
    I sighed thankfully as Jinxx shot me a knowing look before helping me up. As we left the hospital, I turned around to look back and instantly regretted it.
    In front of the doors, a man stood, leaning against the brick structure. He was tall- probably 6'3" or 6'4"- and wore a purple tailcoat with black dress pants. Biker gloves adorned his hands, and a top hat with a long, purple ribbon tied to it sat on his head. He had a deck of cards in his hand, and he was shuffling them rhythmically. He looked up, and my heart skipped a beat.
    His bright blue eyes met mine. They were ringed with black eyeliner and his lips were painted red with stitch marks going up his cheeks. I stopped breathing for a second as I realized his makeup looked frighteningly similar to Andy's old style. 
    He tilted his head to the side and licked his lips as he examined me. His ruby red lips stretched into a wide smile and he lifted a card for me to see.
    I couldn't move. My muscles felt stiff, and I felt frozen in place. The only thing I could hear was my heart pounding at the speed of light.
    He rotated it achingly slow, and he finally got it so the top part of it was facing me.
    It was the Ace of Hearts.
    "Ashley!" I heard a voice say into my ear. It sounded like someone took the volume control in my head and turned the volume up as he spoke. I felt someone shake me, and I turned to look at Jinxx, who had a concerned expression on his face.
    "Hey, what were you looking at?" he asked me.
    "Oh, nothing, I just saw a guy.." I turned around to find him again only to find out he had disappeared. I trailed off before saying quietly, "over there."
    Jinxx followed my line of sight to the empty area where the strange man was just standing. Sighing softly, he looked at the ground before looking at me and saying, "We should take you home. You're tired."
    I was going to protest and say that there actually was someone standing there and that I wasn't tired at all, but I bit my tongue when I realized he probably wouldn't believe me if I told him. Biting my lip, I forced my gaze away from him and walked to his car. I got into the backseat because CC had already nabbed the front, and I looked out the window purposely avoiding Jinxx's worried glance.
    The engine started, and he pulled away from the curb. I looked back one last time and saw him again. He had the deck in one hand, and with the other one, he waved. I could hear his smooth, melodic voice ripple through my head and I smiled.
    "I'll be waiting..... Ashley."