Arden Swansea is a transfer student at Starling City High from England. It hasn't even been a month since she moved to Starling City that her fate turned upside down. One evening, she was returning home late after Basketball practice that lasted a bit longer than usual. She parted ways with her friends a block away from her house. Before she could reach her house, she was snatched away by the unknown into a dark alley, and that's when her fate was sealed.
The Two Faces of Fate
Chapter 1
"Alright, I will see you tomorrow." Arden said, waving slightly as she stepped back, farther away from her friends.
"Take care." One of them replied. With that, they turned from each other and walked off. The sun had already set behind the horizon, leaving the sky to slowly darken. The street-lights were on and not a soul on the street down which Arden headed. She was returning later after Basketball practice today than usual. The finals were tomorrow and the coach had everyone practice with extra effort.
Just as she was about to step from the side-walk onto the road, looking from side to side in case a car passed by, a dark figure appeared behind her and ceased her. Arden's eyes widened and she inhaled sharply through her nose as she went rigid. She would scream but her mouth was covered by a strong hand. She struggled as she was pulled into the alley, attempting to scream even though it was futile, nothing but muffled noises escaping her. Just as Arden was about to bite that hand which muffled her, dizziness took over her senses. In a matter of seconds, she blacked out.
She could feel her consciousness return to her, but her senses were dull. Slowly opening her eyes, she had to close them due to the blinding light shining straight on her face. She rolled over, only to fall and hit the hard floor, which had the effect of a good wake-up call. Though her mind was still swimming, she slowly regained all of her senses. The first thing she felt was the cold air and the wet, concrete floor. Carefully standing up on all fours, she took a moment to clear her head. There was ringing in her ears and her vision was blurry, but it all went away in the following moment. Grabbing onto the closest thing to her for support, she shakily pulled herself up to stand. She turned away from the bright light, which appeared to be a large lamp used during surgeries, and the support she used to get up was a metal bed on which she lied moments ago.
She was too out of it to feel panic yet, but she was conscious enough to have her mind fill with many questions and the need to get out of where ever she currently was. Looking around more, Arden noticed she was in a facility seeming a lot like a warehouse. She assumed it was day outside from the light falling inside through the painted-over windows.
She struggled to stand without support then trudged for the large doors at the end of the warehouse. When she reached them, she discovered them open. It took her extra effort and several attempts to finally push one of the rusty doors to crack open. It squeaked loudly as it did and she fell forward, hitting the gravel hard. With a groan, struggled to get up, secretly hoping that by some luck, no one heard the impossible-to-miss noise. Once up on her feet, she limped away as fast as she could.
Getting over the wired fence, which also had barbed wire, was the most difficult part of her escape in her given state. After several failed attempts, she finally reached the top. Thinking her escape to be more important than escaping a few cuts, she didn't bother to put anything over the spiked wire as she climbed over. Landing with a thud and a roll, she didn't stay long on the ground despite her aching body pleading for rest. Once she was several meters away from the fence, she recognized the area she was in. The abandoned storage territory was but a mile away from the city.
By sunset, she arrived at her house. She pushed herself to the limit as she climbed the stairs to her apartment. Using a bit more strength, she got to her door, opened it, and after slamming it shut behind her, she fell onto the floor and passed out.
Arden awoke at noon of the next day, brought to consciousness by the sound of the bustling street outside. Her senses were clearer and sharper this time around than the previous, but she felt dizzy as she moved to get up. Staggering to her kitchen, she poured herself a cup of water and gulped the liquid down. After a few cups of water, she exhaled with relief and headed to her bedroom to take a shower in her chamber's adjoined bathroom.
After a much-needed, hot shower, she returned to her kitchen to satisfy her raging hunger. Arden made herself a fat sandwich and bit down, intending to take a large bite only to withdraw and spit in disgust. She dropped the sandwich onto the floor and hurried to the sink to wash her mouth out of the disgusting taste. The bread was tasteless and had the texture of a sponge. The meat was nasty in her mouth, the vegetables more bitter than the darkest coffee, and the mayonnaise more sour than a lemon.
Even as she washed out her mouth, the aftertaste remained. She tried to make herself something else, but her taste-buds repelled all of the tastes. She slumped down on the floor and curled up, sobbing into her knees with food scattered all about her. She's been gone but a day, she checked the date to make sure. Her food couldn't have gone so bad in just a day and her cooking couldn't be so bad.
She cried herself to sleep in misery. Awaking at sundown, she decided to go out and take a last attempt at eating something before reporting to a hospital. Putting on a pair of jeans and a baggy hoodie with running sneakers, she went out. She walked several blocks to the closest Subway restaurant. Just before she was about to cross the street, she heard a thud which sounded dangerously close to a body hitting the ground. The sound made her freeze on the spot then the tastiest scent she ever experienced filled her nostrils. Her eyes blazed with need and she whipped around, expecting something like a hot-dog stand she possibly missed, only to find a dead body of a girl on the concrete ground of a dirty alley. Her face paled with horror as she saw the blood and broken limbs as well as the blank look on the girl's face, but her nose burned with the only scent there was; food. Not knowing yet what she smelled, she felt attracted to the body, and absentmindedly made her way to it. As she stood a few feet away, she had barely enough strength to hold back from attacking the corpse with her teeth. Not a few moments later, she found herself on her knees, tearing at the girl's arm. She didn't care who saw and what they thought, all she cared about was the delicious taste and the satisfying sensation of growing fullness with each bite she swallowed down.
To be continued!
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