Chapter 1: Places Unknown
They kicked me out when I was twelve. My parents simply decided I couldn't stay at home, dropped me off in a big, wide, new world, gave me some tools, and left. No "We love you, Elle," or "We'll see you soon, Elle," or even "Bye, Elle." They just walked away without ever looking back.
Needless to say, I was angry. But then again, I usually am.
The first thing I saw in the new world was a huge tree in the distance. I wanted to scale it, to build my house on top of it, so the world would know I was here. This was where Elle lived. But in the meantime, I had to focus on the basics.
Axe. Wood. Torches. Furnace. Simple things I could concentrate on. For some reason, I can't concentrate on complex things, except maybe memorizing long words and phrases. One time I found a book in my parents' house, flipped through it, memorized it, and said it to my dad, and the next thing I knew my dad was on fire. That's when my parents kicked me out.
I found some tin and dug it up with my pickaxe. As I did this, someone stealthily snuck up behind me. "Hello!"
I turned around, brandishing my pickaxe. "Whoever you are, prepare to die!" Instead of the monster I feared it was, the guy behind me looked pretty normal, with reddish brown hair, plain clothes and brown eyes.
"Whoa there," he said, gesturing to my pickaxe. "You probably shouldn't do that."
My hands shook as they held the tool. "Who are you?"
"I'm Ryan, your guide," he said. "Feel free to ask me about anything and everything."
"O.K., Ryan," I said, dropping my pick and saucily putting my hands on my hips. "Question one: Where am I?"
"Um," he said.
"Question two: Why don't you go away?"
"Um," he said again.
I turned back to my metal ore. "Some guide you are."
"Hey," he said, "You might want to build a house soon."
"Why should I? Why can't I leave you out here to die?"
Ryan pointed to the sky. "It's almost nighttime," he said, "and the zombies are getting hungry."