RUN!
Her mind screamed, pushing adrenaline throughout her veins. She could hear shouts, gunfire and alarms going on behind her signaling they knew of her escape. Though she had no idea where she was or where to go, she just knew that she had to get away.
"There she is!" A guard yelled behind her.
Okay, run faster! Her body pushed harder, no longer caring what was in her way. Fallen braches, bushes, and thorns scraped against her, causing small gashes to rain across her body. She could hardly feel any of it as her body had gone numb hours ago. Right now, the only thing to focus on was to hide from her captors.
Bullets whizzed by her head, splintering the trees as they hit. Tripping over a dead root seemed near a god sent as three bullets ripped through a trunk nearby. She started to panic and crawled under some fallen tree, hoping that the night was dark enough they couldn't see. She listened as her pursuers raced over her, but stopped upon loser her trail.
"The hell did she go?" One yelled, frantically looking around.
"Who cares, the Lykainions will feast on her flesh tonight." The other said, turning back the way they came, "Even if they don't, she's from the Other Side."
"Oh yeah, she has no idea where she is anyways." The first laughed, "Come on, we'd best tell Torin anyways."
She started to shake as the two men turned around, their husky laughs echoed across the forest. Their last comments rang in her ears, sending chill down her spine. I'm from the other side, a Lykainion will get me?
She had no idea how long she laid there, but waited until the echoes died off. The pain ebbed at her limbs as she uncurled herself and crawled out from under the trees. Any and all of her bruises, cuts, and aches made themselves present at once. Trying to push them all to the back of her mind, she stood and looked around.
A pair of hands coming from the darkness and clamping down on her shoulder and covering her mouth made her freeze. She would have struggled, but the figure quickly spun her around.
"You! I thought they had captured you!" She said into his hand.
"I know and same with you, little one." The man smiled down at her and slipped a note into her jeans, "They are still on my trail. Go east, that way until you come to an open field." He added, pointing to her left, "In that field is a door that leads to the Realm of the Unwanted, I will be there by tomorrow night."
"What should I do?" She asked, hearing more guards' shouts, "I have no idea where I am."
"I know and I'll explain everything once we meet up again. Find the door and wait for me in the woods or hide down there. I will find you, okay?" The man said, running his fingers through her hair, "Trust me. Now go, please!"
"Fine, but you own me a lot more than an explanation." She stated, waving her finger at him.
He just smiled again at her and watched her disappear into the shadows of the trees. His body refused to move as the shouts became louder, wanting to give her enough time to get away.
"There he is, get him!" He came face to face with five guards. Obviously, the two that were following her had joined his hunting parting. He dodged into the trees as gunfire erupted again that night.
He hid behind a tree, readying his own gun. Having the element of surprise, he watched as his pursuers groaned at his escape and put away their guns. Taking aim, he was able to shoot two of them before retaliation. Bullets chipped away the bark around him as he huddled for cover. Using the shadows as cover, he was able to shoot two more guards, making the last guard retreat.
Holstering the gun, he made his way through the forest and found a small nook in the side of the hill. He would rest here for the night and make his way to the Realm as soon as he woke. Knowing how little she knew of the O.Z., he thought she would wait just behind the last forest line. Waiting for a sign of where she needed to go.
Pulling his coat tightly around him, he let his eyes drift close to a deep and uneasy sleep. Completely unaware of his surroundings or that of her situation, but knowing there was little she could do for her safety. If only he knew how right he was.
Moments after disappearing from his sight, she had heard the shootout and looked back. She was greeted with a snarling beast that resembled a wolf, but much larger with a grey mane. Taken back, she tripped on her own feet and landed hard on the ground. The wind was knocked out of her as her vision blotted, only hearing the beast growl deeper.
Okay, that must be a Lykainion, she thought as she crawled backwards. She could feel the ground shake as the beast stalked her. A gunshot made both predator and prey stop in their tracks. She held still, not trusting her surroundings. Then, shadows leapt from the trees, guns aiming and shooting at the beast.
One of the shadows turned to face her and started towards her. Fearing recapture, she shook her head violently before shakily getting to her feet and bolting. They would only take her when her body refused to move, she would have to be nearly dead.
Running away proved difficult as the weight of her captivity souvenirs were hard to ignore. Each step sent waves of pain throughout her body and it wasn't long before her legs gave out. She cried out as she landed, breathing heavily and turning to face her pursuer.
"Hey, hey… Just stop. I am not going to hurt you." The figure said, "Did you escape from the Longcoat camp?"
"The Longcoat camp?" She started looking around for a way out. Then she remembered her captors calling themselves that, "Yeah, there's a path through the trees and up the hillside."
Again, she tried to run, but the figure was ready and grabbed her as soon as she stood. She struggled against the figure until, thrashing about as a caged animal. Her body finally fell limp in her captor's hands, true to her word.
The figure lightly shook her when she stopped struggling. Sighing, the figure carefully picked her up and headed back to the others.
"Well?" He asked, coming into the clearing.
"We see no Longcoats, but we can hear shooting, Sir." Another figure said, "Best get out of here before the Longcoats show up." It added, "Or anymore of this thing's family."
"Okay, two of you head to the camp now. Let my father and DG know what is going on." The leader replied, "The rest of you need to cover me and our new 'friend'."
"She part of the Longcoats?" Another asked, watching as two figures disappeared, "Or do we know yet, Jeb?"
"The way she acted, Glitch, I would venture she was running from them." The leader said, letting his hood fall, "Come on, we need to get back."
The night passed without anymore incidents and morning brought on a new fear for her. She woke in a cold sweat, reliving her captivity in her dreams and what would have been. Luckily, she hadn't screamed out and quickly calmed herself. The first thing she noticed was the aches were gone and frantically checked her limbs, so much for calming. There were no bruises or scarps, nothing to prove of her plight. Taking a few breaths, she decided to check out her surroundings.
She was in some crudely made log hut, hearing shouts and movement around her. There was no door, just an opening with a cloth flap. When someone pulled the cloth back, she wasn't sure what to do. Should she bolt or pretend she was asleep, but decided to wait and see.
A young woman with dark brown, semi-curly hair walked in with a bowl. She nearly dropped the bowl upon seeing her now awake. Light blue, icy colored eyes meet deep brown scared eyes, but the woman smiled.
"Well, it is nice to see you are awake. How do you feel?" The woman asked, handing her the bowl, "It's just broth."
"I don't know how I should feel. Last night, I had blood dripping down my legs and today…" She was at a loss for words.
"Can I ask you one question and then I'll set things straight. Where are you from?" The woman asked a little hesitantly.
"Iowa… southwest Iowa." She answered, "Are we down south or in South America?"
"That is what I was afraid of." The woman sighed and sat down next to her, "You're not in any America."
"Those guys, those Longcoats said something about me being from the 'other side'. So I'm guessing that has something to do with the answer." She said, nearly on the verge of tears.
"Well, first thing. My name is DG and you'll learn more later. What is your name?" The woman said, holding out her hand.
"Teagan Aracel." She said, shaking DG's hand, "So what is this place?"
"You are in the O.Z., the Outer Zone. It's another world from the one you know. What we, my friends and so on, wanted to know was how did you get here?" DG asked.
"I wouldn't be able to make it believable. It was a twister." She laughed, "A twister that brought a lot of us here and it went on for days."
"How many, Teagan? Are there a lot of others at that camp?" DG asked, getting anxious.
"A lot, but you believe me?" She asked, looking puzzled.
"Make a deal with you. I'll tell you my story, if you'll tell me yours?" DG asked, holding out her hand again.
Teagan looked from DG to the outstretched hand and back again before shaking the hand again, "Okay, what do you have?"