Rescue Me

Chapter 2
Less then a month had passed since the she had finished her work on the house. Every morning Ella would wake up, drink her morning coffee and sit in her garden for at least an hour. She had a white bench placed in the center of the garden directly in front of the pond so she could watch the fish, and enjoy the fresh scent of blooming roses. The blue-ish vines finally seemed to get enough sunlight to grow abundantly all over the garden's floor. The gardener's suggested Ella remove the unusual plant, for fear it might over power the roses, and other plants in the garden. However Ella's curiosity convinced her otherwise, and she kept the strange growth in place.

A part of her reasoning for visiting the garden everyday was to see how the vines were doing, and hoping for a clue as to what they might be. Weeks passed before Ella noticed little buds appearing on the vines. The buds slowly grew larger in size. Everyday ell's patience was tested by the slow growing plant. Work had become hectic for Ella, and she'd missed a few visits to the garden. One night after work Ell had decided to visit the garden despite the fact that she was dead tired from a very long day. She grabbed her flash light from the back of her car, and headed through the backyard, to her personal oasis.

Her eyes widened as she got closer to it, and saw the huge blue and purple flowers blanketing the entire area of the garden. The blue roses had been smothered by them, but Ella didn't seem to mind. She rushed up to them and smelled the brightly colored blooms. It was the sweetest smell she'd ever experienced. It was intoxicating to her. She pulled gently on the flower she'd just sniffed and plucked it from the vine. Just then she'd heard what sounded like a large animal in the distance. It sounded close enough to be concerned, and Ella took the noise into consideration when she slowly backed away from the area, and back to her home holding the flower close to her chest.

She immediately placed the flower in a small vase with water, and took it upstairs with her. Placing it on her nightstand she sighed softly, and admired it one more time before getting herself ready for bed. After a long shower, brushing her teeth, and getting her night clothes on, she'd crawled into bed. She reached for the lamp's switch giving the flower a smile of pride in her patience for it, before turning off the lamp, and falling asleep.

Ella opened her eyes. She was standing in a crowded area with people she'd never seen before. She looked around her in a panic. "Where am I?" She asked an random person who would answer her. They all just stared at her with blank faces, and emotionless expressions. "Hello?" She waved her hand in front of someone's face, but still no response. She looked around, trying to see past the endless sea of people, but it seemed foggy. There appeared to be no walls, but her voice echoed when she'd call out. She pushed past the crowds of people to try and find something....anything that could help her. "Someone! PLEASE!" she yelled out louder. The fog suddenly seemed to surround her. She could no longer see anything in front of her. She turned around, and everyone had disappeared. No one was there. She was alone.

She closed her eyes tightly, and covered them with her hands, shaking her head side to side. Trying desperately to wish it all away. Then...she opened her eyes, and she was home, in her own bed. She sat up quickly, holding tightly onto her blankets, her eyes darting around the room. She looked over at the alarm clock on her night stand, and just as her eyes read the numbers, 6:29 it changed to 6:30, and the loud alarmed startled her. "Holy shit!" She clutched the front of her night gown as her heart pounded in her chest. She slowly reached for the clock and turned off the blaring alarm. "Less coffee before bed." she tried to calm herself down.

She pulled herself together long enough to get out of bed, and continue her morning routine. This morning she made it a point to visit the garden, and pluck a few more of the blossoms the strange vines had produced. She took a large basket of the flowers back to the house and placed them on bunches all over the house. The aroma the flowers produced, seemed to fill the house with a sweet smell right away. Ella smiled happily as she gave her happily home, one last good sniff before heading off to work.

Later that same night Ella was again bushed after a long day. She noticed the same strange animal noises when she'd gotten out of her car or head into the house. It appeared to her that the blooming flowers where attracting more then just her. She wasted no time getting in the house and locking her doors with a sigh of relieve. She quickly rushed through the house to look out the back window, trying to figure out what was out there, but it was way too dark. She wondered of she should call someone, but assumed that she was just being silly. As long as it stays out there, she'll be fine, she thought.

Other then the scare of coming home, Ella had a relatively quite night. She went to bed as she normally did, and thought nothing else of the strange noises.

Ella opened her eyes, finding herself in the same foggy room as she did the night before. Only this time nobody was there. She tried to stay calm, thinking of how she'd gotten out of it last time. She closed her eyes tightly and wished for it to go away. She slowly opened one eye at a time, and found the fog had gone away, but she was still alone. There was nothing else to see. It was as if a very strong light shown down directly on here, and she couldn't see anything beyond it.

She closed her eyes and tried it again. This time picturing her bedroom, begging for it to all be over, and for her to just be home again. Once she'd opened her eyes again, she was standing in the middle of her bedroom. She gave a sigh of relief, and plopped herself down in the chair that sat close to her bed. The room was lit as if the sun had just risen. As it did every morning, but something was off. She got back up, and looked out the window. She gasped and covered her gapping mouth with her hand as she discovered the outside world was as black as that empty room. "What the fuck?!" She backed away from the window completely full of fear.

"I don't understand. Why didn't it work this time?" She shook her head, and let herself fall to the floor in shock, "Am I stuck here?" She asked out loud. "Somebody help me." She whimpered. The tears started to well up in her eyes and she pleaded, "Please someone help me."

"You okay?" Someone asked from behind her.

Ella jumped to her feet, spinning around reading herself for defense, "Who's there?!" She asked trying to dry her eyes enough to see what was in front of her.

"They call me Johnny," The voice replied.

Ella's focus on the man in front of her became clear as the tears where dried, "Johnny...Depp?" She looked at him in confusion.

"That's me," He replied with a chipper smile, "And you might be?"

"Ella...I'm Ella," she stared at him with her head tilted to one side. She slowly stepped closer to him, and poked him in the chest to see if he was real.

"Ow," He poked her back, "Not very friendly is it, love?" he asked with a smirk.

"S...sorry," She rubbed where his bony finger poked her in the arm, "Why...Why are you here?" She asked still trying to figure this all out.

"Don't know," He said looking around the room, "Why are you here?"

"I...don't really know either," she let out a little laugh as they both stared at each other. Suddenly she heard the familiar sound of her loud, and very annoying alarm clock in the distance. She looked around trying to find out where it was coming from. She walked over to the alarm clock on the night stand trying to turn it off, but it didn't work. She shook it, then unplugged it. Nothing seemed to work. She finally looked at Johnny, who appeared to be unable to hear the noise. He stared at her trying to figure her out, but did nothing.

Then everything around her seemed to swirl and fade into a mass of color. She closed her eyes to stop the dizzy feeling the moving shapes seemed to cause, and when she'd opened them, she was in bed again. The alarm clock screaming for her attention. She reached over and turned it off, staring at it as if she expected it to jump up and bite her.

"Was that...a dream?" she asked herself as she sat up in her bed holding her still somewhat dizzy head.

Ella carried on with her day at work, still haunted by the vivid memory of her previous night's dream. She came home and walked directly up to her bedroom. Looking around the room half expecting Johnny Depp to pop out from behind her bed. She pulled the blankets down, and kicked off her shoes next to the bed. She slowly climbed in the bed, and sat there for a moment. Wondering if she should even sleep tonight, let alone right away. However her curiosity got the better of her, and she curled up under the blankets, closing her eyes, and falling asleep.