Chapter 1

Accident

The sky was filled with gloom and the streets drenched with the falling droplets from above. The sky occasionally lit up brightly, followed by a loud crack in the sky. Normally I would have just been inside waiting the roaring storm to pass but here I was, waiting for the next bus to come, drenched in melancholy. I sighed, I hadn't anticipated it would rain today so I stood there drenched like an idiot. The hum of a large engine filled my ears as my attention shifted to the bus coming to a halt, screeching ever so slightly, the wheels skidding a bit from the unending pelting. Relieved, I quickly entered. It was about damn time it came. I paid my fare and the driver greeted me with a soft inviting voice. I gave a meek smile, she had something around her wrist but I didn't pay any attention to what the gleam was.

I made my way to the very back of the empty bus, I quickly lifted my hair and moved my long locks to the front of me as to not sit on it. I watched the window next to me as the rain pattered hard against the windows, a slight reflection of the chocolate eyes of my reflection stared back at me blankly. My galaxy hair was in a parted to the left, sticking to my dainty oval face.

The bus was soon on it's way to the next stop. An unforgiving frigid breeze made it's way in from a window in the far front. I brought my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around my legs in a meager attempt to warm myself. I reminded myself that I would only have to deal with this for a few more stops. Then I would be home. Just fifteen minutes, fifteen minutes... Fifteen god-forsaken minutes.

There was a sudden rumble in the ground that shook the ground beneath me, I looked ahead towards the front of the bus and noticed the asphalt cracked and broke apart, falling into itself, like a brittle cookie being crushed in a child's clumsy hands. The bus quickly got swallowed into a maw of dirt and debris, I could feel the sudden pull of gravity take me towards the front of the bus. The last thing I remember before hitting the ground was a sudden warm orange light and the smell of something burning before everything went blank.

I woke up disorientated and confused. The smell of petrichor and smoke filled my senses before I realized the ground was moist. Slowly I started to recall the accident and quickly began to look around as my vision slowly cleared up. As my eyes adjusted to my dimly lit surroundings I could see wispy red break lights and the flickering headlights that were slowly dying behind me. I struggled to get to my feet, a sudden sharp intense pain roared through my ribs, shoulder, and right arm. I inhaled the humid air with a sharp gasp as I felt it. I struggled a bit, I could feel daggers twisting themselves into my insides as I got to my feet. Once I was up the pain finally dulled down a bit, but every step I took sent shock waves through me. Once I was able to get to my feet after a few long moments of struggle I limped over to towards the bus.

I must have been flung out from the momentum I gained as the bus made impact with the ground. I stopped when I noticed a burned severed arm on the ground. It had a partial blue sleeve and a gleaming watch still attached to the arm. There seemed to be a small dark pool of mud around the arm. I tried to push the image aside and avoided the arm, my hope was already gone. I don't know what I expected to find other than a dead body.

I painfully climbed up the front of the contorted bus to peer inside and saw the driver still strapped into the seat and froze. The skin was peeling and gaped with wounds. Blood oozed out of the burns and the polyester jacket she wore was melted into her exposed skin. Her face was charred and showed her skull. I could no longer recognize her friendly features. I could feel my throat tighten and my legs suddenly became noodles as a wave of nausea overtook me. I quickly looked away and breathed deeply as I tried to rid the image from my head.

I noticed a brown bag on the ground in the mud behind me. I made my way over to it. It didn't seem to have much, just a bus route, a work schedule, a wallet, and a few miscellaneous things. I assumed this belonged to the driver. I emptied the contents onto the floor. I took the lighter and chiffon scarf I had found inside and quickly wrapped the scarf tightly around my shoulder like a tourniquet. I began to walk away from the crash sight to survey my surroundings, I discovered this wasn't a sinkhole pocket like I had previously thought. I was in the middle of a dark forest clearing, I had run into an area of large trees. The farther I had gone from the crash site, the harder it was to see. I would have to wait until morning to explore further. I begrudgingly made my way back to the bus and forced my body to comply as I climbed into it. I avoided the sight of the corpse and went as far back as I could. And sat down on the ground. I could only hope that morning would come soon.

I sat in the same spot all night long, with not even a wink of sleep. Once I saw the blue light gently seeping through the broken windows that weren't buried in the ground I slowly stood. My body protested and seemed to be much more in pain than when I had been walking around before. I struggled to get out the way I came and ended up falling out onto the wet ground outside. I writhed on the ground from the sudden surge of pain that went through me like electricity. After what seemed like eternity the pain finally subsided and I began to stand again. My ragged breaths were the only sounds I could hear for awhile as I made my way through the forest.

I began to feel something warm going down my arm. My shoulder was bleeding again and exhaustion was creeping into my senses but I could no longer feel the pain from my wounds and took this opportunity to pick up the pace towards the tall blurry structure in the distance. I began to hear rustling in the bushes and froze, despite the pain that began to slowly eat away at me once again, I quickly hide behind a tree. A burst of laughter soon emerged from the bushes coming from a small group. It looked like there were five maybe six figures, I couldn't make them out very well my vision was slowly fading, small black dots invaded my view, and my exhaustion intensified. The last thing I felt before my vision darkened completely was my legs giving out and something digging into my side.

I awakened to an unfamiliar surrounding again, I seemed to be on some sort of bed in. I noticed I had bandages on and thin gown had replaced my clothes. I looked around for my clothes. I found them neatly folded on a table. They seemed clean of the blood and dirt that stained them before, when I had first woken from the accident. I quickly changed back into my clothes and noticed my injuries didn't seem so bad anymore. Just as I was completely dressed again someone angrily burst into the doors. I blinked at them completely dumbfounded. I had to be hallucinating, maybe even just dreaming because everything I had seen up til now began to connect very oddly. Of course two other quickly followed him inside my room which could only make everything feel even more like some weird dream.

Odin, Thor, and Loki all were in the room, Thor seemed to be arguing with Odin about something. Maybe I was still in that sinkhole and this was all just a strange dream. I noticed everyone was staring at me now, They must have asked me something while I was lost in my train of thought. I shifted uncomfortably under their gazes. None of this could possibly be real, I had to be hallucinating. This just wasn't possible.