Every day for the past year I've gone through my life, morosely, performing the same tasks and completing the same "day's objective" with no hitch. It was always, get up, get dressed, catch the train, get to school on time, sit through classes, eat, catch the train home, arrive home, do work, watch TV, read a book, shower, brush teeth, sleep, wake up, repeat. I was always satisfied with my simple schedule. In fact it became second nature to me. Nothing ever changed, and it was easy to stick to something so familiar that I could do it with my eyes closed.
Imagine the horror I felt when I woke up the next morning to find myself lying out in an open field that was surrounded by tall pine trees. I didn't know where I was, why I was here, and why I wasn't at home waking up to start my everyday routine. The sheer terror that ran through my blood had me shivering. I'd never been in a forest in my life. Growing up in the city didn't exactly have forests like this one. It was mostly a concrete jungle where the life that was there was the bustling noise of everyday people. I was a girl that had never left the confines of the city, so being in an actual forest scared to death of what could be lurking inside those trees seemed to be a most fitting reaction.
I could see the sun raised high in the sky. That must mean it was probably early morning. I couldn't just sit here and let the day escape though. If I was going to find shelter I would have to venture into the forest and hope that I was going in the right direction. I didn't want to get caught out here when it turns to night so I had to seize the opportunity quickly and find a town as soon possible.
Standing up, I brushed dust and grass blades off of my jeans and stretched my arms out a little bit. Moaning at the feeling of bones popping and kinks disappearing, I yawned in pleasure.
Ok, now where to go. Do I walk straight? Left? Backwards? I groaned in frustration and closed my eyes. Spinning around in circles as fast as I could I stuck my finger out and slowed my feet down. Trying not to stumble at the topsy turvy feeling gathering in my head, I opened my eyes and followed the river of my arm in the direction it was pointing.
I guess I was heading that way then.
I don't know how long I was walking for, but in my head the number seven popped up. Yup I'd been walking for seven hours it felt like. My feet were throbbing, and I was sure that blisters had already started forming. The stinging of the back of my shoe scraping into the skin where my achilles tendon was located had me squinting in pain with every step I took.
When was this walk going to end!?
I was tired, parched and certainly filthy. The low hanging branches that I hadn't managed to avoid cut at my face leaving small red lines in its wake. My now comfy bomber jacket was tied around my waist as it had felt like a prison of death. It was making my pits sweat and my neck feel like the beginning of a bonfire. I wish that a stream would appear somewhere in the near future. If I didn't coat my throat with some water soon, I was sure to die of cotton mouth. No town came in sight, and the trees looked like they were getting thicker and thicker. Maybe I had picked the wrong direction. The sun was still high in the sky thus falsifying my exaggeration of walking for seven hours. I definitely was only walking for an hour or so, but being out of shape makes everything feel ten times harder than it should be
Trying to jump over a fallen tree, I fell miserably and cut myself on a root sticking out. The burning pain on my shin made me grit my teeth in pain. Thank god it wasn't sharp enough to cut too deep. There was just a medium sized gash with an ugly red welt around it. I continued on my way still mindful of the wound on my shin and avoided any contact with that area.
About an hour into my trip I noticed a trail up ahead. Grinning stupidly at my find I ran all the way unto the trail and looked to the right. Should I go that way, I turned my head to the left, or that way. Something told me to head down the path to my left, and that's what I did.
~00~
The sun was beginning to get lower and the hope that I had was now dwindling. I don't think I'm going to find a town soon. The temperature was slowly dropping and I slipped my bomber jacket back on. I stretched out my long sleeved shirt till it was past my fingers and tucked them into my pocket. The trail continued to go on and on and on, but there was nothing. My stomach was grumbling, my throat felt like sandpaper and my bruises and cuts were starting to take a toll on me.
Tears prickled at the back of my eyes and a short sob escaped my throat. I was never going to get home at this point. My stomach grumbled in response to my cries which made me cry harder.
"I just want some food for godsakes..." I cried out loud. Of course no one could hear my pleas and I stood up at the thought of that. Anger now coursed through my body and I took off at full speed on the trail.
I would find some food even if it killed me.
My breath felt labored after a few yards of running, but the pounding of my heart in my chest forced me to keep going. While yes, it is correct that I am out of shape, I was going to overcome this stupid weakness. My thoughts stopped abruptly though at the sound of a shout in the distance. My feet stopped in mid- run and I stumbled to a stop. All was quiet for a moment before an explosion went off. Shocked by the sudden power of the explosion, the hot air knocked me off my feet and sent me on my ass.
"What the…" I never got to finish that sentence as another explosion went off yet again, but this time it was much closer. Rocks and dust kicked up and blocked my vision for a moment before settling quite quickly. Scared beyond belief I turned in the other direction and ran for my life. No way was I going to enter a premature death by the hands of a grenade. I'm shooting for dying in my sleep peacefully at the ripe age of eighty, thank-you-very-much. More yells and some clinking of metal later, an object zoomed past my head and impaled itself into a tree.
I came to a screeching halt. A kunai glared back at me viciously and I swallowed hard at the sight of it. Why was there a kunai out of all things stuck in a tree? And why am I still in this goddamn death zone? Clearly I was in some dream where people were fighting with kunai's. Of course I was doubting the thought of being in some Naruto dreamscape that seemed too real to be true. That couldn't be it whatsoever. Nope.
Not wanting to stick around and find out the owner of that kunai, I took a sharp right and bolted off of the trail. Clearly two people were fighting backwards and heading in the direction of where I was, so if I steer off that path then I should be alright.
Should be was the appropriate answer that I would love to have been the case, but lady luck was on vacation and left her post to an evil miss fortune. Kunai's began raining past me, and I fell to the floor quicker than I've ever done in my life. I shoved myself underneath a bush and prayed to the gods that they didn't start bombing this area. All I could hear were the sounds of metal on metal and then complete silence.
Controlling my breathing to be softer, I slowly breathed in and out hoping that no one would hear me down here. Soon footsteps crunching on gravel could be heard and I swallowed hard.
Please don't find me. Please don't find me. Please don't find me.
I hope that there was some god out there that heard my prayers and would grant it. I did not want some crazy kunai wielding ninja to come falling down from the canopy of the trees to slice my throat open without a second thought. I was too young to die, and the thought of death by kunai impalement was not an appeasing thought. Trees rustled in the deathly silence, and branches creaked at the wind pushing it in different directions.
"I know you are there." A voice spoke menacingly. My eyes widened at the dark ominous sounding voice. He knew I was here and that meant imminent death. I was just waiting for the cold feeling of a knife against my neck, but it never came. Instead a hand grasped my ankle, and I was torn out of my hiding spot. Screaming in terror I tried shaking the hand off, but my efforts posed useless as I was soon suspended into the air by my ankle. Blood immediately rushed to my head, and I swallowed the bile that quickly rose to my throat.
The eyes boring into mine were charcoal black. Nothing else around me mattered as those eyes stared into the depths of my soul. His lips twitched in amusement while our eyes never broke contact.
"Who are you?" He seemed to have asked the same question that I was thinking.
"Uh…Aubrey…" My voice came out smaller than I anticipated and I swallowed slowly. My nerves felt fried as sweat began to slip down my face.
"A-u-bu-re-i.." He couldn't seem to pronounce my name right which sent of warning signs in my head. Was my name that foreign to him?
The man's eyes squinted dangerously at me before he dropped me unceremoniously to the ground. My neck felt the impact more than the rest of my body. The jerk just dropped me on my head!
I growled at his action before rubbing at my neck lightly to try and reduce the pain that was slowly rising. The man snapped his head to the left, then turned in that direction and suddenly flew, or at least it looked like it, unto a branch that was more than ten feet above my head. My jaw dropped open in shock.
How could he do that!? I know that he's a ninja, and that was probably the easiest thing to him, but seeing it happen directly in front of you was a whole different story? He looked down at me for a moment before taking off quickly to the next branch and disappearing into the trees.
I was surprised that he hadn't killed me, but very thankful nothing had escalated. I guess some god out there really did answer my prayers. But something was still bothering me. Who was he fighting? Why did he suddenly just leave me alive? And most of all what the hell am I going to do? He was probably my only shot at finding civilization and now he's gone.
Great. Just fucking great. The world hates me and I'm a stranded duck.
~00~
(Sono)
Found this story sitting in my Fanfiction folder collecting dust and I found it, quite surprised actually, at how much I liked it. Don't know why I never posted it.