Chapter One
I awoke with a start. Sitting up, I looked around. It was dark, but not so dark that I couldn't see. Sand. I was on a beach. In the rain. Actually, it was only sprinkling at the moment, but I could tell that it had been raining because my clothes were wet.
I pulled my hair away from my face and winced as my fingers touched a spot on my forehead. I looked down at my hand. There was blood on my fingers. Maybe that was why my head hurt. I was sitting on a wet beach, bleeding, and starting to wonder why I wasn't moving.
"Popuri!" I heard a voice yell in the distance. "Where are you?" I hoped that whoever it was would find this Popuri. He sounded very worried.
Lightning illuminated the sky and I saw a brown-haired boy in overalls, running towards my. I gasped, tried to stand up, and immediately fell back down, dizzy. There would be no way I could run away.
"I found my Rick," the boy yelled over his shoulder. He skidded to a stop next to my. "Popuri, what are you doing out here? Are you okay?"
I took a quick look around. There was no one else here but me. He was talking to me.
"Oh, crap!" he said, noticing the blood. "Hold on!"
He picked my up and ran towards a set of stairs. Another boy met him there.
"You found her? Is she okay?" he asked, sounding a little hysterical.
"We have to get her to the Clinic. Run ahead and wake up Tim."
The boy nodded and took off running. The boy carrying me followed. I wanted to ask him some questions, but I was starting to feel tired. I couldn't get my thoughts in order. Maybe I could take a little nap first, and ask questions later.
"Are you still with me?" the boy asked.
"Head hurts," I managed to say, my voice hoarse.
"Don't worry, Popuri, we're almost to the Clinic.
'Who are you? And why do you keep calling me Popuri?' I thought, closing my eyes.