The Panic in Me
by Pip Son.
Chapter One: Assena
The Forest was still. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, but nothing else stirred. Not a bird whistled, not even an insect moved. The very air was trembling, as the impact of the far away blasts rippled out.
Then a bush was pushed aside and a girl ran through. She was panting heavily. She blinked away the sweat that was running in her eyes and blinding her. The dress she wore kept catching and tearing on twigs and thorns, and her arms and legs were scratched and bleeding. Her hair kept falling in her eyes, making it difficult to see. Her broken sandals flapped about her feet as she ran, but she wouldn't stop to take them off. She's running for her life and she will not stop until her drops dead or reaches some place safe. As she topped a small rise that robbed her of breath, she slowed. Over the top she spied a small house- domed, white, with a tidy garden. Suddenly she stepped on her broken sandal and fell down the hill, tumbling over and over, until she came painfully to a stop at the bottom of the hill.
She slowly opened her eyes. Leaning over her she saw a concerned face of a man- his eyes, hair and eyebrows all jet black, yet his eyes were not a hard steely black, but a soft black, like the midnight sky. His face was gentle, and looked older than it should be.
"Are you okay?" he asked her, in a gentle, sonorous tone. She could feel his hand on her shoulder.
"Do I look okay?" she managed to croak, before passing out.
The ceiling of the tiny bedroom slowly swam into focus. Assena looked up, trying to remember where she was. A soft click alerted her to the door opening and closing. She turned her head slightly to see who is was. It was the man who'd been there when she'd passed out. He smiles at her and put a tray on the table next to the bed she was in.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi," she replied. "Where am I? And who are you?"
"You are in my house, and I am Gohan," he said.
"I'm Assena. What happened?"
"You stumbled and tumbled your way here and then passed out. I carried you in here and cleaned you up a bit. You were a mess." He poured a cup of orange juice and handed it to her. She took it gratefully. Silence reigned for a few minutes while Assena drank her drink.
"I was running away," she finally said, to break the silence.
"From who?" asked Gohan, without thinking.
"The Androids. They destroyed everything. My house, my sisters, my mother-" A sob cut her off. She stayed silent, not wanting to cry in front of this stranger. He looked sympathetically at her, his eyes mirroring her pain.
"They're all gone," she finally muttered. Then she turned her head in surprise at a harsh intake of breath from Gohan. His face was angry, but his eyes- Assena's heart was wrung with sadness for the terrible mental anguish in his eyes.
"I too have lost loved ones and dear friends to the Androids," he said quietly, his voice steady. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then smiled and opened his eyes again. "Well, you'd better rest your aching bones and get better. I have to go out, but if you need anything, call out. See you later." He smiled again and left the room. Assena settled back on the pillows with a sigh that let her tears escape, and she cried until she fell back to sleep.