Left, right, left, right, left, right. Each footstep brought with it the sound of a Converse shoe pressing against soft grass, a hundred new questions in my mind and another step into the unknown. Here I was, wandering – well, marching – through a dense forest I’d never seen before in my life until this day, wondering what the hell had happened to me, why I was here and who I was exactly. Not even my own existence was clear to me anymore. Just a slightly inhuman girl brought back from the dead with control over time and new and improved senses and reflexes. Nowhere to go, nothing to do… and completely alone.
I was here for one reason; my dream. Last night, sleeping rough on the ground yet again, my unconscious mind had brought to me thoughts of what I guessed was some sort of amulet – a sparkling, diamond-like jewel hanging from a chain. The only other images the dream had given me was of a forest, quiet and secluded, with only a fairly narrow, bubbling river interrupting the acres of trees.
Suddenly, I came to a stop. This had to be the place. This forest was slap bang in the middle of scenic nowhere and there was nothing but trees and greenery for miles around. I should know; I’d been walking for hours. The river was to the left side of the clearing I was standing in, an area of grass around ten square metres in size that was free of trees – it seemed strangely out of place in somewhere where there tended to be so many branches and twigs surrounding you that you were barely left with room to breathe. The image was exactly the same as the one from my dream. Now all I needed was the amulet.
I didn’t know what it did or why I needed it. All I knew about it was its appearance and its location. It was around here, somewhere.
But… where? Looking around with my extremely sharp new vision, I could see every detail. Except “every detail” here involved grass, grass and some more grass. Oh, and a river, and a load of trees around the outside. So… either it was in the river, or the trees.
My instincts told me it was hidden in the trees somewhere, and I decided to trust those instincts. They’d led me to this clearing itself; surely they could lead me to the amulet too. I turned to the right, walked across the grass, and entered the never-ending tangle of twisted roots and twigs that reached out like gnarled fingers to scratch anybody unfortunate enough to walk into them. At that moment a sunbeam managed to force its way through the thick blanket of the leaves and branches above… and something caught my eye.
I made my way towards it; it sparkled in the light, a small object that shone in mid-air. As I got closer, I noticed it was attached to a chain. A silver chain that hung from a branch.
I stood on my tiptoes, reaching for it… higher… higher… I found myself wishing not for the first time in my life to be taller. My fingertips brushed the amulet… and suddenly it was gone. Or, more specifically, it was taken.
I looked up. The pale hand that had taken the amulet from my grasp belonged to a girl who looked about three years older than me. Her long red hair was tied into a bun at the back of her head and her blue eyes looked as surprised as mine probably did at the realisation that we weren’t alone here in the middle of nowhere. She was the first to speak. “Sorry, but… finders keepers.” It took me a few seconds to reply. I wasn’t sure what to say. “No… no. I don’t think so. I’m not letting this go that easily. It’s important to me.”
Was it important to me? I wasn’t sure. At first, I didn’t think so. But it had appeared in my dream. I’d been led here. It had to mean something to me. And I’d never given up on something I wanted without doing my very best to get it first. I wasn’t going to let that change now.
“Alright.” She took a deep breath. “So… I guess we fight.” That surprised me – but I was up for it. I had weapons, I had brilliant reflexes and I had supernatural powers. They had to be there for a reason. I spoke. “I guess we do.” I decided to introduce myself. “I’m Melanie, by the way.” “Bróna.”
She put the amulet in her pocket and climbed down from the tree. I made my way out of the forest.
Then we were stood facing each other in what was once a clearing and was now a battleground.
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