The End of The Beginning

Chapter 9

            I woke up to the golden sun shining down on my bare neck. I scratched my neck and reached up to turn off my light. I probably fell asleep reading again. I couldn’t find my lamp. Did I sleep walk and knock it over? What is going on? I slowly opened my eyes, sensitive to light. It was only then that I realized where I was. I thought I fell asleep in my library. I miss my library. All those beautiful books. The room smelled like books. It was beautiful with stain glass windows at the top and crystal windows on the bottom. The best natural light in the house. It had the best light. A chandelier with thousands of crystals. Grace and I would always spend hours gazing up at it.

I felt like crying until I heard a noise. It sounded like some sort of animal was running through a pile of leaves. It sounded louder than a chipmunk but not as loud as a wolf. Could it be a human. A stood up in a split second. Robots. Maybe they found me! How long was I asleep for? Could they have found me already?

            “Who’s there?” I called out. The sounds stopped. I saw a crystal blue eye peek out from behind a bush. Maybe it was my imagination because after a moment, it disappeared. “Hello?” I tried again. This time, I swear I saw a flash of red. Not blood red, more of a sunset orange. I started walking towards the bush. I heard a small sound, barely audible. Maybe a whimper. Whoever it was, they were walking backwards.

            I used my instinct and ran towards the unidentified creature. I did a superman jump through the bush, my fist out and my legs back. Almost looked fake, but it was real; slightly gaudy, but real. I heard a muffled scream. I immediately jumped back. I couldn’t believe my eyes. Oh my god. My eyes must be deceiving me.

            I found a human. I found a girl.

“Who are you?” I asked softly.

No answer. “Who are you?” I tried again.

“I’m a shadow. I am the one who is always there, going unnoticed by man. I am the sunlight on your pale neck. I am here, yet I am not. You think you see me but you don’t. My name is Rose. Who are you?”

“I-I’m Owen.” I stuttered. She told me her name, but that doesn’t answer my question. Who is she? She looks like a rose, her hair is as red as one. Her personality being the thorns and freckles dotted her face like raindrops on a flower. Who was this girl and why was she suddenly in my life? Only a passerby, however, I knew she was so much more important.

“And who exactly is Owen?”

“I’m not sure. It is I, but I am unsure of who I am. I may ask the same to you.”

“I am Rose, a messenger of the dead. My fire hair represents hell and my life represents the lost souls. I am unsure of my age, last I checked, I was fifteen, but I am unsure of who I am. I was in an orphanage, Greystone Orphanage. They killed my brother, he was only eight years of age at the time. I think this was two years ago. I’ve said too much.”
“Alas, I believe you have said too little. I fear saying more about myself for you may be a spy.”

“Would a spy be talking to you?” she said with a smirk.

“To get information, indeed.”

“Point taken. However, I am far from a spy. Join me in my runaway and we can run away together. I found your trail of clothing and followed it until I realized it was a trap. I followed the dirt road until I got to the ghost town. It was I who made them appear. I had awakened the dead. I made the town alive. It was not Greystone Orphanage. That hell place shut down yesterday. Killing all the children inside.”

            I gulped, swallowing any hope that Grace might still be alive. I had no choice, I couldn’t make it out here alone, Rose would have to help me. I braced myself for what was about to come.

“Rose, run away with me. I can’t make it out here alone. Help me until I am sure of Greystone Orphanage being gone.”
“They are gone. Hundreds of souls gone. Souls that were once pure, rotten from the food there. Grey and heartless, they all became. I hated to take any one of them. I am a messenger of death, all of their souls came to me before I sent them to Hell.”

“I feel as if I believe you, although I wish I didn’t.”

            I noticed her pink lips move as she talked. Her eyes stayed dead serious. Her fiery red hair stood out in the green forest. Who was this demon sent from Hell? She looked like an angel but probably had a temper like a mythological monster. How could he trust this creature? Was she really human? Maybe this was all an act. Some sort of witchcraft. What am I even saying? I live on Planet Earth, magic doesn’t exist.

“Owen, we must move quickly or that wolf will show up again.”

“I have got to be dreaming.”

            She picked up her crossbow (She had a crossbow?!) and slung it across her shoulder. “Fair warning, I walk quickly,” she said over her shoulder. She broke into a sprint. I had to use all my strength to keep up. Maybe spending my days reading instead of trying out for sports really didn’t pay off…no matter, I have to use what I have. I was panting by the time I could run next to her. Her hair was flying in the wind, like a forest fire. He just noticed her charcoal T-Shirt and ripped jeans. Her hair had leaves and twigs in it and whenever she smiled, she had a dimple on her left cheek. I’ve only seen her smile once.

“Where,” pant, “are we,” pant, “going?” I choked.

“To Hell.” Rose choked as if it were a normal thing

“I thought I just left it!”

“Shh!”

“Don’t shush me! I-”

            She stopped dead in her tracks and put a finger to her lips. Oh. So she wants to play this game. Alright fine. I stopped dead in my tracks and sat on the floor. Time for a rest. She was searching the area as if she were looking for something in specific. She was examining trees and pulled out a folded piece of paper that was in her pocket. (What else does she own?!) She was looking between the paper and all the trees within a fifty foot radius. Suddenly, I saw her smile for the second time in my life. Her electric blue eyes lit up. She looked happy. No, not the word for it, she looked ecstatic. She…looked like my sister. I had to hold back the tears in my eyes as she called me forward. She told me to say the words on the paper. Cry out in fright or in delight and I will find you. Okay, not at all stalkerish. Oh god. What have I gotten myself into?

            Two trees moved…wait, did I just say that? They moved at a glacial pace, but they definitely moved! There was a passage through the trees that I hadn’t noticed before. Rose let out a piercing scream that if we were in my library, she would have broken the crystal and stain glass windows. I covered my ears in fright. Sunlight poured in through the trees, letting in a light leak effect. This is the weirdest week of my life.

            Suddenly, fire girl over here just walks through the glowing passage casually, like she does this every day. Maybe she does. What is to lie ahead? I have no clue.