Authors Notes: I'll be blowing through these chapters pretty fast. The more reviews I get the faster I'll go. I love encouragement.

Bronze Colored Heart

Chapter 1

The Storm

All she was really good for was research and languages. Or at least thats what her father used to tell her. Kate had her nose in a book 90% of her life, and most of which was about far off places she herself never knew existed. Her life was planned out by the time she was ten. She wanted to work in a museum. Their was so much to learn there, and even when you did learn something over time it could change. She loved that about history.

She was alone now, and still very young. She had completed college and was hoping to get to a dig sight so she can start cataloging their works there. She hopping on the first available ship to the tiny island and she was on her way to her very first job.

She sat on a box which was covered in mesh to keep it on the ship if the waves got to rough. Within her hand was a green clad book marked Realm 3. A novel put out by an archaeologist who had apparently been there. She was beginning to wonder if he had or was just dreaming it. A lot of it was quite obserd. Lion people and all that. Really...

Apart from being a skeptic she believed anything could be proven as long as you can get proof. She believed in other worlds, but she would rather see it for herself. Also she wanted to believe in ghosts but she was much to scared to find out herself. She was brave to a fault...that fault being her feet. Sometimes they acted on their own. She might be to scared, but she was naturally curious and her legs would walk on without her brain saying so.

The wind whipped her bright red hair into her bright green eyes for the billionth time, and she hated to put her hair up in a ponytail. But it seemed like she would have to. She pulled the ribbon from her pocket and pulled her hair back.

"Storm off the stern sir!" Yelled the man in the crows nest. She often wondered what it was like up there all alone. Probably far more peaceful then sitting on a box right outside the galley.

Kate looked up at the side of the ship. Their were some nasty looking clouds heading their way. She wondered if they would have to turn around. The captain looked over his tea cup and shrugged his shoulders.

"Onward men. Its but a small one."

Oh how wrong he was.

Kate was just inside her stateroom holding her stomach. She hated ships...why did she want to go on a ship in the first place? Of course it saved her money, but why a ship? She could have asked to go on a plane or something right? She sighed laying back on her bed.

She heard someone yelling about a man overboard twice now. Another man yelled something about life jackets. She heard a knock on the door and she wobbled her way to the door. She held onto the door for support as she looked at the young man wearing white and blue.

"Life jackets ma'me." He said holding it out to her. She nodded her head and let him put it on over her head and tied them off. Kate smiled at the young man who had to be about twelve years old or maybe even a little younger.

"Be careful." Kate told the boy who smiled and nodded before running off to the next stateroom. Kate looked up the stairs to the outer area. She could see the rain poring, she wanted to see...for research...yeah...research. She peeked out the door and saw the men running back and forth outside, some having lines around their waste, others had life jackets. All of which was soaked to the bone. The waves were massive and very scary to look at. She wasn't to sure how the ship was keeping it together. Then again it probably weathered a lot of storms before. The captain didn't seem to scared, right? She sighed having given herself a pep talk and was about to go back to her room and dry her feet off since she wasn't wearing any shoes, or socks for that matter. Thats when the whole ship paused and looked up. Directly in front of them was a huge creature with many arms. Its horrid calls could be heard as it pulled its many arms around the ship. Kate could hear the ship splintering.

"Abandon ship!" The captain yelled. Kate was scared to death, she couldn't move, she couldn't breath, all she could do is stare at those three eyes. Her heart skipped a beat when she felt someone pick her up bodily and threw her into the water.

She felt herself being tossed this way and that. She couldn't see a thing in the dark. She eventually pulled her head above water gasping for air before the waves crashed on top of her again tumbling her down all over again. She wasn't to sure how many times this happened. Seven or eight times before she lost consciousness.

Kate opened her eyes and just wanted to close them again, her eyes still stung from the salt water, She coughed a little expelling anymore salt water that had made it into her lung.s. She wasn't sure how she survived at all, or how she ended up on shore. She rolled over and looked up at the still cloudy sky. She sighed and closed her eyes again. She wasn't sure if she had fell asleep again or not, but when she woke up again the sky had cleared. So she assumed so. She rolled onto her side and tried to get up.

She was sore all over, and she had sand all over her. Her cloths were still soaked, and the rocks hurt her feet. She looked up to see what appeared to be an old abandoned lighthouse. At least she would have shelter until someone found her. Perhaps someone lived their that had a phone. That would be perfect.

She walked up the many steps, she realized her ankle hurt her a bit. When she looked down it was a mess of purple, and blue.

"Hello!" She called out knocking on the door. The door fell inward. She gasped taking a step back and winched having fell back on that hurt ankle. She slowly walked in looking this way and that.

"Hello!" She called again. "I'm sorry about the door, but my ship wrecked and I washed up on shore. Don't suppose you'll let me use your phone?" She said. The room was dusty and in disrepair. The stairs looked sturdy enough to walk up them at least. She started up the stairs.

Each landing had a room of its own. One of them was a bathroom, and the next one was a bedroom, and the next one a workshop, and the next one she supposed was the top floor. For a light house their wasn't much to it. She figured it would have so much more then just four small floors. Yet she couldn't find anyone. She leaned back trying to take her weight off her ankle and accidentally pushed a button. Helper popped out of the cupboard and looked at her holding a cup in his hand. He set it down on the table and looked back up at her. Kate wasn't to sure about what that was. Perhaps the last owner of the house was an inventor? It beeped at her and motioned for the tea pot. Kate took hold of the tea pot and held it out to him. It was then that she realized that their was fresh tea. She gasped looking around the room again.

"Is there someone there!" She called out and looked up. Their above her scared her and fascinated her all at the same time. A bronzed robot with one golden eye one bronze eye starring down at her. Her heart skipped a beat and her eyes rolled. She fell back onto the floor in a dead faint.