February 6, 2010

What should the title be...?

A girl of nineteen walked over the nearest, empty playground and put her knapsack down. The mist was settling in. Just how she liked it. It reminded her of her forest home. It had been long since she was free. Now she could run and enjoy it. And run she did. She ran faster and faster, around the swings, kicking up bark. She ran around the playground and she ran so fast that she nearly became invisible, the shapes around her becoming blurred. The round-about spun as she ran the perimeter of the playground, the bark swirled and the swings swung.
"Hey sweet cheeks!" A voice called. She stopped abruptly. Never in her life had she been called that. She turned and saw a boy of eighteen with sandy hair and dazzling blue eyes staring at her. He wore a T-Shirt, shorts and trainers. He was standing next to her knapsack. "What did you just call me?" she demanded. "Sweet cheeks, 'cause I think you're beautiful," he replied before he could stop himself. After a moment he realised what he said and his face turned to a deep red. But it was true. She was beautiful. Her soft features were surrounded by long dark brown locks which were curled delicately. She was skinny, but not too skinny. She wore a black dress that fitted her perfectly, but was worn away and torn at places. It was actually a rag that she tailored herself. Her feet were covered with dirty white, which were almost grey, shabby ballet flats. The clothes she wore were a mark of imprisonment. She had pale skin that suited her perfectly. She wore a golden locket that had hidden powers. Powers that even she didn't know about. There were only two in the world, and the second was in her knapsack.
"You can run fast," he said when the girl said nothing.
"Duh," the girl said and she began running around the playground once more. The boy just looked at her, smiling at her enjoyment.
"What's in here?" he asked, his fingers toying at the zip of her bag. At once the girl was next to him and she snatched the knapsack out of his grip, hissing like a feral cat.
"Don't - you - dare - touch - that," she snarled, her brown eyes flashing scarlet. The boy grinned even more and muttered, "Feisty and mysterious". It was inevitable that he hadn't noticed her eyes changing colour. She secured the knapsack on her back and walked briskly towards the outskirts of the playground. The boy blocked her path.
"Why aren't you running? I thought you enjoyed it," he asked.
"Because you ruined my mood," she snapped, trying to get past him.
"I won't touch your things, just keep enjoying yourself," he said, wondering silently if she was going to snap irritably at him.
"Like I can believe that," she said, ducking under his arm.
"Just trust me," he persisted, jogging to keep up with the girl's quick steps.
She looked into his warm blue eyes for a moment.
"How can I trust a stranger?" she asked.
"I know things about your life," he said softly.
"Like what?" she asked, alarmed. If he knew what she was, it would mean trouble.
"Like how you have no parents," he said quietly. Relief washed over her, he didn't know what she was. He just thought she was an ordinary human.
"Fine. Don't you dare touch my things, though," she said, walking back to the playground. She started running again, relishing the feeling of being free. She had a tiny worry though. What if he was a spy? She pushed the ridiculous thought to the back of her head, because, after all, the boy was a stranger and seemed harmless. By now he would have taken her back to the horrible place where she was trapped for 5 years if he was a spy.
"Hey, why don't you run out of breath?" the boy asked after a while, tilting his head quizzically. "Because I don't," she replied. It was not good to tell a stranger her identity, because knowing her identity would lead to knowing her mission which she needed to start soon. She skidded to a halt and looked at her silver watch. It was getting late. She didn't want to stop running but she didn't want to fail her parents either. She heaved a sigh and her eyes turned black, signalling, in her world, sadness. Again, the boy noticed nothing with her eye colour. She clutched her locket.
"I won't let you down," she murmured.
"Let who down?" the boy asked.
"Someone, now if you don't mind, I'll be leaving," the girl said briskly, swinging her knapsack over her shoulder.
"Where are you going?" he asked, walking next to her.
"Somewhere," the girl said irritably. There was no time for a meddling fool to be hanging off her arm.
"Do you need company on this journey, I'm of age," he asked, following her and puffing out his chest importantly.
"No, it's dangerous," the girl said, stepping over a log.
"So why is an innocent girl like you going to that place?" he asked, nearly tripping on the log. "Because I am," she replied, looking straight ahead. Innocent? Innocence is not my thing. She thought.
"I might be able to help you," he persisted. She shifted uncomfortably and bit her lip. He was right. He might be able to.
Something he did was familiar but she thought, it couldn't be, all the boys were the same. Dirty, Smelly, Bit stupid.
"What would your parents say if you disappeared?" She asked. A high tree rustled overhead. "Hello?" She looked behind her. Nothing. Suddenly, a loud thud sounded in front of her and she stared. The boy landed neatly in front of her and with a flourish he slung a heavy looking backpack over his shoulder.
"Parents? I don't need parents. I'm a man now," he swelled.
"Who are you trying to convince? Me or yourself?" She smirked. He blushed again.
"Anyway, are you going to explain how you did that?" She asked, jerking a thumb at the tree.
He suddenly got his dignity back.
"No I am not," he said defiantly.
"Ok, fine. Let's move," she said, walking forwards again.
"Hey, um, what's your name?" he asked, stumbling over a bush.
"Taylor Emerson," she replied.
"I'm Brian McPherson," he said, dusting himself off and hurrying towards Taylor.
The sun had set and the teenagers were moving about in the dark. Brian kept bumping into things while Taylor moved stealthily. It wasn't long until they reached the forest. Taylor checked her watch again. It was time for nocturnal animals to come out. She shivered. A movement sounded behind one of the thick trees.
"Wolves," Taylor muttered.
"What wolves?" Brian asked, feeling around the trees.

"I don't know what type; I just call them Forest Prowlers. Or Forest Wolves, whichever," Taylor muttered. Brian suddenly cussed and dropped his backpack. Taylor turned around and her eyes searched for Brian in the dark.
"What happened?" she asked, walking towards Brian.
"Something scratched me," he replied, clutching his leg which was bleeding badly. Taylor stared at his wound for a second then suddenly took off, running as fast as she had in the village playground, maybe even faster.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Brian called after her. Taylor didn't reply.
Taylor ran and ran, flying past animals and alarming birds.
"Ah ha!" She exclaimed jovially. Taylor found her forest home which she had lived in since she was born.
It looked the same as it always did. She rushed towards a tree and pressed her locket against the tree hurriedly. A trilling sound came from inside the trunk and a curved door slid sideways to admit her.
Checking behind her, Taylor silently stepped inside. The door shut behind her.

It was a large room, large enough to fit around ten elephants in it. Pictures and tapestries hung dustily on the brown curved walls. There was a smell of neglect in the air. A double bed was in a corner and a single bed was beside it. It didn't look like it but the beds where woven out of dyed grass an
d whatnot. There was a wardrobe beside the beds and a dusty shelf on the other side of the wardrobe, which was full of books. A lamp was in between the beds. In front of that was a kitchen type area. There was a high, wide and thick wooden bench where one would cook; it even had a working sink and drawers in it. There were also organic electrical appliances such as a fridge and an oven.
There was also an area that could be classified as a play area. There was a wooden chest full of clothes. There was another that was full of toys and things to play with. On a high shelf there was an organic First-Aid kit. There was a lounge and a basic TV was set in front of it. A door led to the bathroom, which had a working plumbing system.

Taylor breathed in the smell of her home. She loved the smell. Taylor then remembered what she was here for and bustled over to the First-Aid kit. She unlocked it by pressing her locket against it and an aura of white light surrounded the box and it clicked open. Taylor grabbed some bandages and then she walked to the kitchen, grabbed an empty water bottle out of one of the drawers, flicked a small spider off it and turned on the sink.

There was a rumbling sound and water gushed out of the tap.
She cleaned the bottle and filled it, screwing
the cap on the bottle and turning off the tap. Taylor took off her knapsack and stuffed the things inside it and walked to the currently closed door. She grabbed her locket and the trilling sound came back again. She would have to fix it. The door opened and Taylor tucked the locket into her dress and closed the zip on her knapsack and swung it onto her shoulders.

The door closed behind her and a passing wind rustled her hair. Taylor ran once more, towards the place where Brian would be standing, still clutching his neck. Suddenly, an ear-splitting howl rang through the forest.
"Shoot, the wolves have found him," Taylor muttered, running faster. Low-hanging trees stratched her and brown leaves caught in her hair.
"Get away! Back!" yelled a voice. Taylor was near the wolves and Brian. She pushed a branch out of the way and saw the wolves inching closer to Brian, who was brandishing a stick at the wolves, a hand was still clutching his leg. He was getting paler. Taylor came closer and tossed the knapsack over to where Brian's bag was.
"Get away, don't touch him!" Taylor trilled. Brian stared at Taylor. She was speaking Wolf.
"What's in it for us?" the alpha male asked.
"I know what you want and I can bring that to you," Taylor said, praying that her plan would work.
"What? You can bring us food, water and shelter?" the alpha male asked sharply.
"Yes, as long as you don't hurt us and when we call, you come," Taylor said, not taking her eyes off the leader.
"All right, we'll leave him, as long as you follow through," the leader said.
"Taylor? What's happening?" Brian groaned, his face as white as a sheet.
"Righto, back off," the leader called to his pack. They obediently stopped growling and they all laid down on the gound. The leader sat in front of his pack and they all nodded, they had heard the deal.
Sweat was breaking out on Brian's forehead now. Taylor hurried forward and kneeled beside him.
"Lay down, I'll help stop it bleeding," Taylor said and Brian lied down on his back obediently. She opened her knapsack and poured some of the water onto his wound. Brian suddered slightly as the icy cold water hit his wound but he still lied down on the ground.
Taylor grabbed a small towel that had been there before her trip to her home. She wiped the water away gently and then got a bandaid out and put them on, covering all of his wound.
"Thanks," he said weakly.
"Do you think you can walk or do you think we should sleep here for the night?" Taylor asked.
"Um, I think I can walk a little bit but not to much," Brian replied.
"OK, we won't go to my home, I know a clearing that we can build a tent on and it's not too far from here," Taylor said, packing up her things.
"There's one problem though," Brian said, watching her.
"And what is this problem?" Taylor asked, putting her knapsack on her shoulders.
"Well, we don't have a tent," Brian said slowly.
"Who said we didn't have a tent?" Taylor said sharply.
"You mean you have one in that tiny bag of yours?" Brian asked, doubt marring his forehead.
"Yes, of course, otherwise I wouldn't have suggested the clearing," Taylor said, dusting herself as she got to her feet. Brian got unsteadily to his feet and gripped a tree to keep him steady. Some of his colour was comming back into his face.
The wolves lept off the ground.
"Where ever you go, we go." the leader said.
"Fine with me," Taylor said, walking forwards.
"Hey, are you talking to the wolf?" Brian asked, limping behind her.
"Yeah, why'd you ask?" Taylor answered.
"I was wondering if you were," Brian muttered. For the rest of the way, they didn't talk.
When they reached the clearing, the wolves spred out lazily, but fully awake as it was evening. Taylor reached into her bag as Brian warily sat down near the wolves. He mistrusted the wolves because they had tried to eat him ten minutes before. Taylor took out a small model of an already built tent from her bag. She clutched her locket and a grey aura of light came out of the closed locket and spun around the tent. Taylor suddenly dropped the model, as though it had burnt her and the small tent rapidly grew bigger.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

wow i love this.. i hope you write some more :)
you are a very talented writer you had me glued to the screen from start to finish.. when is the next entry??

Jizzy Effrik said...

I don't know the answer to your question, I'm really going at my own pace because why rush what you enjoy? But I will change this post so that it's broken up into smaller posts and going oldest to newest, so don't panic if you can't find it, all you have to do is scroll down.