The rain poured hard against the rooftops that night. The clouds painted the once peaceful midnight sky in a jagged clash of dark grey. Drops, slowly at first, drenched each small cabin on Josh's block.
He had been doing this for quite a while now, watching the rain fall from his open window while townsfolk hurriedly ran from mud-cloaked streets to run-down wooden cottages. He watched as the king's men, encased in shining silver armor, strolled by; strictly on guard as always to catch any civilians that were outside after curfew. Their doors were locked, as customary, with candles lighting up each house that soon dimmed for the night.
Josh closed up his windows and turned off his lights to avoid unwanted attention from the authorities. The long days of tilling the wheat fields took it's toll as he exhaustively limped towards his bed. He let out a pained groan as his back hit the hard mattress and he prepared himself for yet another rough night. He let his thoughts drift away from his boring day-to-day routines to worlds of adventure and action. With the rhythm of the pounding rain, Josh's breathing slowed until he was lulled to sleep.
"It's called a sand castle," a young boy with glasses exclaimed, showing his friend the small sand monuments he had constructed in his sandbox. His friend looked intrigued, poking at the sand in different places out of curiosity.
"Sand... castle…?" the other boy stated slowly, wanting conformation on his new found discovery.
"Yes! With the right tools, you could make a million billion castles! If I had that many, I would make a sand kingdom!" the boy with glasses replied, hands flailing about in multiple directions.
His friend picked up a handful of sand and mashed into a pile. Though it was no where as neat as the boy's, he was still proud of his creation.
"Yes, yes! Like that!" he added, moving closer to his friend to aid him in his castle-building.
The sound of glass shattering woke Josh from yet another strange dream. Clinging to his sheets, he listened for any more noise but heard nothing but the rain hitting the roofs of the village. But just in case, he crawled out of his bed, slipped into a torn up red shirt, and clutched a pillow in his hands for protection. Carefully, he tiptoed his way across the room and was about to enter the kitchen when more glass shattered causing Josh to scream slightly.
He felt like his heart was about to beat out of his chest and with one last gulp, he entered the kitchen. He was prepared to battle robbers or thieves, but he instead found something completely different that left him in shock.
Sitting in one of his wooden chairs was a girl with long blonde hair. She wore brown leather boots and gloves both with black laces, black leggings, a jean miniskirt, and a brown jacket with short sleeves and a plain white shirt underneath. The girl was twirling a pistol in one hand and drinking something in one of his cups in the other, all the while having her legs crossed on top of his small kitchen table. She glanced up for a quick second and noticed Josh.
She took one more sip and simply said, "Hey, what's up?"
Josh stood dumbfounded with his mouth agape. He was beginning to question if she was one of the royal servants sent to collect him but he knew he had done nothing wrong. Maybe the poor girl was insane.
"What's up?! A random girl shows up at my house and all she say is 'What's up'?!" Josh angrily questioned, slowly releasing his grip on the pillow. The girl simply laughed and continued to sip away at her drink.
"Calm down Josh," the girl said, putting the cup down and taking out a much larger bottle filled with a clear liquid. "Care for a drink?"
"Josh? How do you know my name?" Josh irritably questioned, not having seen the girl before in his entire life.
The girl sighed and kicked her feet off the table. "What is with you people and always wanting to know this shit? Look, I've got to get you out of here before the guards arrive. Just shut the hell up and I'll explain it all later." She practically bounced off her chair and began dragging Josh by the collar of his shirt before he could attempt to argue. She was surprisingly strong and was able to lift him up and out of the door.
"Guards? The guards are coming? I haven't done anything wrong!" he yelled, struggling to get out of her grip.
"Shut up! What part about staying quiet did you not get?" She shushed with bitterness laced in her voice. She began dragging him outside and into the rain. Mud began to cloak Josh's skin and he shivered at the exposure.
"Where are you taking me? Let go of me! That really hurts!" He cried as the girl gripped his neck harder.
"Do you want to attract the attention of every guard in town you idiot?"
"How would you like it if I pulled you across the mud in rain? You do realize you are KIDNAPPING me right?"
"You sure do complain a lot for someone who can't listen to simple instructions!"
"C'mon! Can I at least have a jacket?" He continued to whine. He was no longer attempting to squirm out of her grip but his angry tone remained.
"Dude, I SAID shut the hell up!"
"Who the fuck are you even? Can you at least answer tha-"
"I SAID SHUT UP!" The girl screamed, causing Josh to jump back in silence. However, her command also seemed to grab the attention of others as three large guards unexpectedly were coming for them with sharp iron spears. The two stopped dead in their tracks.
"Why does it always come to this?" the girl yelled, dropping Josh onto the ground with a loud thud. Josh crawled backwards before turning towards the girl who was now standing in the face of her what seemed to be her oncoming death. However, instead of cowering, she chuckled slightly and twisted a yellow jewel bracelet on her leather glove. Then suddenly with a small click, a bright light showered her and blinded him.
All Josh could think now was, "How the hell did I get myself into this?"