This is my first FanFic… I hope people like the first chapter so they respond and can help give me advice for the story
Title: Hope Within the Hopeless
Rating: T
# of Words: 1,116
Chapter 1: A Dream or Not?
He didn't know where he was anymore. Everything was pitch black, any solid object invisible to the human eye. He felt around for something to hold onto, but could find nothing. Cool drafts from somewhere rushed at him, pounding through his thin clothing and numbing him to the core. Trembling overtook his body, making him seem as fragile as a dead leaf about to break off a tree branch. He didn't know what it was caused by; he was very calm and collected in most every situations.
Then, he heard a voice crooning out his name. His senses sharpened, as he searched for the owner of the voice. Over and over the voice called to him, but as he came closer to the voice, it became fainter. He didn't want to be all alone in the inky darkness, so he began to call out to the voice, praying that he would hear and address him. His pleas were all in vain, as the voice faded into nothingness and he was left alone again.
Suddenly, the darkness around him vanished, leaving him in a large grassy field. He had finally regained composure of himself and stood up, admiring the beautiful wildlife around him. Birds chirped and twittered around merrily as they flew about the trees bordering the field. Cicadas and crickets screeched and clicked in the tall, lush grass, hopping about on the tips of the grasses. He wondered if the voice from the darkness was in the field with him, and cautiously looked around. He could see no signs of danger, and the voice was nowhere to be heard. Letting out a sigh of relief, he sunk back down to the soft earth and lay back to enjoy the bright blue sky above him. The area he was in seemed safe enough; there was no one around to harm him.
Involuntarily, he let his playful side take over him as he had seen a beautiful butterfly with purple wings fly by him and wandered after the butterfly. He had wandered through the great thickets of the forest, scratched by the low hanging branches and dirtied by clumps of earth that collected on his clothing as he marched through. He seemed unphased at everything that was happening to him at the moment, only focused on the lovely insect in front of him.
After finally snapping out of his entrancement, he found himself at the edge of large pond with a miniature waterfall at the further end. Slowly, he made his way down to the water's edge where the sandy shore met the crystal clear water. The purple butterfly had slipped back into the forest, but he was too interested in the pure clear water of the pond to notice. Carefully, he dipped his palms down into the water, feeling the cool liquid clear his head and cause him to relax even more. He pressed his face against the water cautiously, as if not wanting to break the picture perfect image by putting himself into the water. Noticing that nothing had happened at his action, he cautiously slid his entire body into the pond, allowing the sparkling water to envelop his body. The cool water soothed him, as he floated on his back letting the ripples in the water rock him gently.
All of a sudden, the peaceful scene was shattered as his heard a low rasping voice croak out his name. He jerked up, causing the small ripples in the water to become miniature waves in the water. Glancing around with uncertainty, he felt his muscles clench, his mouth pressed into a thin line. He didn't like the sound of the voice that spoke to him. The voice called his voice out again, this time, in a louder voice. He felt the voice come closer to him. He began to shudder, his breath quickening. He knew there wasn't something right about the voice, and that he had to get out of the water fast. He tried to make his legs move, but they weren't going. Frantically, he flailed around in the water, trying to get out bun not moving anywhere. Then, something tugged his leg and the next thing he knew, he was under water.
He tried thrashing about to get his foot free from the brutal grip on his ankle, but the hand wouldn't budge. He felt himself loosing energy to fight back, his struggling becoming nonexistent. The voice kept talking to him while all this was happening, chanting something that he couldn't make out. He couldn't fight back, his energy was depleted. His lungs started to constrict after being held underwater for so long. The hand tugged him deeper and deeper into the pond, the water becoming colder and darker the further they went down. Air was virtually nothing, as he struggled to stay conscious. Lungs burning for air, he forced them open involuntarily, water rushing through him. The voice became louder, the hand tugging him down and down to the loud booming of the voice. He knew there was no escape; nothing he could do would save him. Numbness filled his body as his vision started to fail. Letting his body finally go limp, he plunged into unconsciousness, never to waken again.
With a gasp, a young boy woke up after having a horrendous nightmare. His breathing hitched, as he struggled to regain air into his lungs. "It was only a dream," the boy thought to himself as he took slow, deep breaths. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, pulling the thin blanket that lay over him to splash water in his face. Once he pulled the blanket off his body, he placed his feet gingerly on the floor, only to stop once noticing the slight pain in his ankle. He looked down at his legs, and to his horror, five bruises, all of the same size, surrounded his ankle, as if someone had been clinging to it, or dragging someone down.
Yes! Finished with the first chapter! Well, how do you guys like it so far? I hope it is a good start to my story, and I apologize that it isn't such a long chapter if you happen to like long ones. I haven't given readers a good idea who the characters are yet, but even so, I hope you guys comment on it so I can feel motivated to write more than 3 chapters. My goal is to make this story around 7-10 chapters long… If I get enough reviews, maybe I'll aim higher! Please review!
