[ teaser trailer is attached above! ]

PROLOGUE
↳ the beginning

"PENELOPE," IT WAS BARELY A WHISPER but when the red haired girl didn't respond, the voice sighed.

"Nell, hey! Wake up," they tried again, much firmer this time. Finally, the girl began to stir and still feeling groggy with sleep, Penelope slowly opened her eyes.

The first thing she noticed was that she was no longer in her bed at home where she had fallen asleep the night before, instead she was sitting up with her head resting on something warm to her right.

The second thing she realised was that the ground beneath her was moving and it was much darker than one would expect morning to be.

"What time is it?" She mumbled to herself, not really expecting an answer.

So when a boy's voice spoke from directly beside her, she nearly jumped out of her skin, "I have no idea but something is going on, everyone is awake."

Penelope jolted upright, facing the scarily familiar face beside hers. She openly stared at him, her jaw falling slack as she struggled to come to terms with what the hell was going on.

"Grizz?" She asked, still unsure.

The boy gave her an incredulous look, "Uh, yeah? Who were you expecting?"

The redhead was speechless. Was this really happening? She ignored the boy beside her for the moment and took in the rest of her surroundings.

She quickly realised that the moving sensation was because she was seated on a bus, and said bus was filled with other high school aged kids like herself.

She blinked harshly at least ten times in a row, pinched both of her arms and dug the palms of her hands into her eyes before she let herself even contemplate the idea that this might not be a dream.

All the while, she felt the strangely comforting presence of Grizz sitting beside her, no doubt wondering what kind of maniac he had chosen to sit beside.

"What's up with you, Nell?" Grizz demanded, nudging the girl gently to get her attention.

Nell? Only her close friends called her that.

Penelope had two options here. One, scream her lungs out and demand to know how the hell she got here and what the hell is going on.

Or two, play along until she could figure out a better, smarter plan. With only seconds to decide, she chose option two.

"I- I just had a really weird dream and it shook me up a little bit, don't worry about it," she forced a smile, not able to meet his eyes. She silently cursed herself for being such a terrible liar.

Grizz paused, considering her response but then he surprised her, giving her a warm yet concerned smile before wrapping his arm around her and tucking her into his shoulder securely. "Was it the same one again? About your mother?"

Penelope's eyes widened before she could think to hide her reaction. There was no way Grizz, a fictional character could know about her mother... was there?

While she considered how to respond to his question, something that she could never hope to explain happened.

It felt as if she simply blinked and suddenly flashes of what seemed to be a collection of memories fluttered before her eyes.

Her mother in the hospital, Grizz coming to visit while she sat beside her, days passing the same way, Grizz holding her while she cried into his shoulder and spilled her darkest secrets, many small happy memories with him by her side.

He was her best friend. It wasn't possible, she knew deep down that it couldn't be. She'd been alone on those last few days with her mother, she'd cried alone when it was over. Grizz couldn't have been there because he wasn't real.

But her mind was trying to convince her otherwise.

Penelope blinked once more and she was back on the bus, Grizz was watching her with genuine concern in his eyes. Something inside of her ached at the sight and she suddenly felt herself relaxing.

"No, it wasn't that one. Just a strange dream. But I'm alright now."

Her answer seemed to satisfy him and he smiled, pulling his arm back as he half stood up in his chair to look further up the bus.

Penelope suddenly became aware of the soft chatter of the students surrounding her.

If she was really where she thought she was, in the television show 'The Society,' then she needed to figure out where in the storyline she was up to. A dark bus filled with high school kids did not bode well.

Was this the bus trip? The one that sends everyone to the mysterious new world neighboured by wilderness alone?

Penelope followed Grizz's example and stood up in her seat. With a gulp, she scanned the seats around her and spotted many more faces she recognised from the show.

Her and Grizz were seated immediately behind Cassandra, with Will and Allie in the seat in front of her.

Harry and Kelly were cuddled up a few seats down to her left and she caught sight of the other jocks a couple seats behind her and Grizz.

Her head was still spinning with these revelations when someone from further towards the front of the bus shouted, effectively grabbing everyone's attention.

"They said we had to turn around, apparently we're going back home!"

The declaration was followed by a round of annoyed groans from Penelope's fellow teenagers. The red haired girl was silent as she sat back down in a daze, staring out into the night through the window beside her.

She pressed her forehead against the cold glass and closed her eyes, feeling scarily numb.

And so it begins.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈

PLAYLIST - external link on this chapter OR on spotify, search 'kaelirae-au' on my account the playlist is called 'lock your doors, there's nothing for you out here.' (if you have trouble finding it, feel free to comment here or msg me & i can send you the direct link!)

[GRAPHICS + PREVIOUS/CURRENT COVERS]

[ all made by meeee]