~Lost~
Changing Evolution
Tsk tsk tsk. How can you fall so ungraceful like that?
The voice is in my head but it sounds so far away, so distant. A deep, low and calming voice. So unreal. I continue to hear the voice as my head throbs.
Let's get you up.
I feel an immense amount of heat along my right side.
She'll feel this in the morning.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My eyes snap open to dim lights and.....
A frown settles on my face quickly as I try to comprehend what it is I'm seeing. Where am I right now?
Without thinking twice I move to sit up and immediately regret it. The pain in my head and on my side throws me back down with a groan and grimace. I grit my teeth and shut my eyes tight, trying to keep myself calm despite the fact I am in unknown territory and in pain! Laying out, still grimacing, I realize that I'm breathing heavily and work to steady my breath. With this attempt the pain in my head starts to dull but I still feel an odd burning sensation on my side.
I open my eyes, with knitted eyebrows, and look to the right side of my body. Nothing looks out of the ordinary, but it feels so wrong.
Tsk tsk tsk... I hear in my head. That voice. My thoughts start racing, all revolving around this voice.
Then I remember. I remember everything. Leaving my apartment headed to Sinbi Mountain to find something adventurous to do. Maybe even having found something which sounds ridicuoulsy crazy right now. I look around to see that I'm in my room. How I got here from there is completely beyond me. But I've already made it a fact that I've got to go back.
Again, I make an attempt to get up and do it successfully. Once off the bed I lift up the side of my shirt to see what's wrong with this side. My eyes go wide at slight red mark going down my right side. It looks irritated. I lightly touch the area and cringe when a surge of pain travels through my body. Thinking that I should treat this, whatever this is, I go to the bathroom.
Inside, I flip the switch then head to the medicine cabinet. I freeze when I see a long thin gash under my eye. I'm just all messed up right now. Seeing my eye scratched up and a red mark on my side is making me wonder just what happened for me to end up this way.
How did I even end up back in my room? I wonder all the possibilites, which aren't really possibilites at all, as I treat the scratch and mark.
My nerves start to feel all jittery as I start to gather things to leave. I'm feeling this way because I could actually be crazy. If what I remember never happened then my over-active mind could prove to be a big problem. If it's real then...if it's real? I really will have to be crazy it it was real.
In no less than a hour, I'm already out of my apartment with my things and headed for a cab. This time I get a different cab driver, obviously, who doesn't ask me any questions except where I'm headed to. I tell him then sit back and think to myself. My heart beats unsteadily at the anticipation of figuring out what happened to me yesterday. A part of me wants to know while the other just wants to leave it alone and go on with my life.
But leaving things when I know something isn't right, just is not apart of who I am.
Thoughts are cut short when the cab stops at the exact same place and the driver tells me we have arrived. I give him his money and get out. The cab leaves me standing all alone in the same spot along the same dirt road. Even just standing here is telling me that what happened yesterday was real. I was definitely here before. I just don't understand.
Well, I'm going to understand by the time I come from these trees. I'm sure of that.
The first steps help me to gain my confidence in what I'm about to do. I mentally pep talk myself. 'You can do this' and 'There's nothing to worry about' and 'It's okay if your crazy'.
It's really not okay if I'm crazy, actually. Not okay at all.
I shake the thought and enter in to the thick trees. I keep my head down to follow the trail I took yesterday. The part of me that wishes none of it is true is not too happy that I'm remembering, and even seeing, the trail I had left. Nonetheless, I continue on. In no time I'm deep within the trees at the spot where I had stopped and saw the peculiar guy. I look in the direction I had seen him and begin to walk when I feel something underneath my right foot.
Right under my foot is a silver brooch that looks to fit in the palm of my hand. When I pick it up it becomes a fact that it fits in my palm. I look closely at the item and see etch marks in it. The perimeter is some strange shape but there is something smaller in the center if it. I squint my eyes as I pull it closer to my face. My eyes go wide at the realization that it's a Phoenix. I look to the ground where I had picked it up and see that this is the place I must have fallen at.
It's seeming like he picked me up. Did he carry me? It would make sense with the burns on my right side and the fact that he was enveloped in fire wings. Those are sure to scorch anything in it's path. But why hadn't it set the trees on fire or scorched me more than I am if it were real? How did he even know where my home is?
Who is he?
Let's figure this out. I squeeze the brooch in my hand and head in the direction that I saw the guy standing. Once there, I don't see anything in particular. I look back to the spot I was in then positioned myself the same way he stood with my right side facing the direction I was. Nothing comes to mind. I frown then remember that he was looking up. I do just that but can't see anything out of place.
I roll my eyes. Yeah, how in the world would I possibly know what he was doing out here? Stupid me.
I let my shoulders droop down with the gravity as all anticipation I had gathered up leaves me. A long and heavy breath leaves my lips and I feel ridiculous for standing in these trees trying to find something that I don't have an inkling of knowledge of. If that was real then I shouldn't want to know what it was.
But...
My whole being wants to know. I just have to know. I'm so discouraged now and have no idea where to go from here. I'm about to turn and head back to where I came from when I feel a pulling in front of me. It's not like a physical feeling. More like some kind of instinct to move in that direction.
Without any hesitation, I start walking in the direction I feel the urge to go towards. I keep walking, turning in different directions as I feel. It's a strange and automatic thing that creeps me out a bit. I continue walking for a while when things seem to look and even feel different. A frown settles on my face as I try to figure out why this place is starting to feel unfamiliar.
I look to the trees and find what's not right about this place now. The trees aren't the same. Not at all. These ones are much thinner than the thick trees I was among. Or maybe I'm just in a different part of the mountains that has trees like these. Thinking that conclusion is correct, I turn around to look for the thicker trees. When I don't see anything but thin trees for a long distance behind me, I frown even deeper. I stand and stare out, suddenly feeling very concious that I'm alone here.
Slowly, I start to realize that I no longer feel the guiding or urge to go...anywhere. I'm just standing here. Against my better judgement I start to panic. Only a little bit. I don't hesitate to turn and continue in the direction I was going. Maybe I'll find something if I keep going. I can't turn back now no matter how much I panic.
It seems like I'm just walking around aimlessly, which I am, for probably about an hour. Now I'm feeling simply...lost. All of a sudden I start to think, maybe entering deep in to the mountains without any guidance wasn't such a great idea. Not such a great idea at all.
I look in to the trees. Nothing. Maybe...I should turn back and walk the way I came. I've been walking in a straight line this whole time anyway. On this thought, I nod my head assuringly and turn on my heel.
What I see right in front of me shocks me so much that I don't even react. Standing only a few dozen feet from me is.....a house. I'm positive that what I'm seeing is a house. Well, what was left of it seeing as it's badly burnt. What is it doing in the middle of a mountain filled with trees?
Despite this building suddenly appearing, I'm only becoming more curious and suspicious. A little bit of worry somewhere among my feelings. Before I head towards the place I look around to see if there is anyone. Now that it's clear no one is around I start towards it.
The house has been burnt so badly that I don't understand how it's still standing. The place looks to have been a home with three floors. There isn't anything that shows that it was too fancy of a place but I'm sure a wealthy family dwelled here.
After I'm finished being amazed at the fact that there is a house in the mountains that came from nowhere, I take a cautious step towards the entrance. Is it even a stable enough place for me to enter? This could very well be the last place I enter, or see for that matter, but I'm much too curious to walk away from here. I have many good reasons. One being: that I still need to figure out what happened to me yesterday. And two being: that...well, I've got no place to go from here that I know of.
I'm positive.
At the front door, I have an urge to knock but remember that it's a burnt down place. In the midde of the mountains.
I laugh and mentally kick myself. I push the door open slowly and peep in. Everything is completely burned in here so that I couldn't tell what things were even if I tried.
With gentle steps as light as a cat, I enter completely in to the home. I look to my right and see what might have been the dinning room just based off of the build of most houses. A creek makes me jump and something falls down from the ceiling making me scream for a brief second before I cover my mouth. I look up to see a clear hole leading right up to the second floor.
That pulling come back back and turns my attention to the stairs. It's foolish of me, but I'm not worried and just go. I place my feet on the stairs very carefully. My heart beating with every whine the planks make under my weight. It's nerve wrecking in here but very adventurous.
I finally make it to the second floor landing and look around. To my right there is a scorched wall with three doors on it. To my left there are no walls but a place that looks like it was a study area. I'm almost positive that the two tall things on the far left wall are bookcases. Or were bookcases. I start to make my way towards it when something glints and catches my attention. I change course and head towards the right corner of the area.
This little area looks a lot more put together than the rest of the house. There is a light wooden crate in the corner with all kinds of things on it. To the right of it is a little pillow that looks to have been sat on. To the left looks like a pallet where a person would sleep. I ignore the items to the left and right of the crate and just go straight to the things on the crate.
The first thing I notice is a stone slab right on top that looks exactly like the brooch I have in my hand. I pick the stone up and hold it next to the brooch. They are identical. I squat down to get a better look at the things on the crate. Setting the stone back down, I pick up an old notebook that is bound by leather and thick string. The pages are soft but frayed at the edges, yellowing. It's a very old notebook.
The curiosity is only building up in me as I open to the middle of the book. There are strange diagrams drawn in with pen. Some of what is written I can't understand at all. It looks like another language. A language I've never seen before. I continue flipping pages then stop when I see a flaming bird on one page. I stare at the drawing and wish that I could understand the scribbles around it.
There is a shuffling behind me, that I hadn't noticed, making me freeze. My senses on alert, ready to fight or run for my life.
"So you've come." the same deep, yet calm, voice I heard in my head this morning startles me even more.
I set the notebook down and slowly stand up. Turn around.
It's him. The guy I saw yesterday with the fire wings. So it was real...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A/N: okay...chapter two...yay!!! this time it will go much more smoothly
what do ya'll think is going on so far? ... i know it's only the second chapter but as you can tell some real strange stuff is going on here .. ideas are always interesting :3
hopefully whatever you think will be revealed in the next chapter ... maybe hehe :)
Comments