Two weeks earlier.
In Rockford, North Dakota, Jacquelle Martin was walking home from the bus stop after a long day at school. She was a practical girl, 5 foot 4 inches with dark brown hair that fell just past her shoulders. She was not unattractive, but there was nothing remarkable about the features of the girl except for an exceptional kindness and honesty lurking behind her milk chocolate eyes. A senior at her high school, Jaci was anxiously awaiting the conclusion of her last semester of high school so that she could leave her small town and its drama for the University of Michigan. A small town girl, she was excited to experience life in a bigger city, continuously surrounded by people.
As the wind blustered around her, she remembered why she despised living in a northern state. Each time the wind found a crack in her armor of multiple layers of sweaters and coats she wish a long tumble down a flight of stairs upon the person who had decided to try and save the district money by condensing the bus stops. She lived on the outskirts of town on her parent's farm. She normally loved the quiet atmosphere of the farm, but as winter dragged on and the walk from the bus stop grew, she increasingly despised the farm's isolation. Also, the twenty minute walk was lonely, she could not call and talk to someone because her cell phone was for emergencies only, and her ipod had broken the week before.
On top of her frozen and stiff limbs, her stomach growled insistently; waking up late and having to finish an essay during her lunch period meant that she had yet to eat anything that day. She was actually suffering from a nasty combination of a headache and lightheadedness. As Jaci reveled in the unique feeling, her left knee buckled and felt unusually shaky. I guess I won't be skipping any more meals soon, I feel terrible. I think a nice PB&J is calling my name as soon as I make it up my dreadfully long driveway. Although, what I really would like is one of Mom's roasts… too bad they didn't leave me anything. Maybe I can convince Aunt Jeannie to make me some extras when she stops by this weekend.
Her parents travelled often because of their jobs, both were high up in advertising agencies and were sent around the country to meet with sponsors. Usually, she had one of her parents at home, but this week they had both taken time off to celebrate their anniversary, leaving her home completely along for a week while they went to San Francisco. Alone, except for her aunt, who was scheduled to stop by the next day to check up on her and leave her some more food. There was also Russ, their closest neighbor, only three quarters of a mile down the road, who stopped by each morning to feed their spattering of chickens and old cow. Jaci couldn't understand why her parents insisted on keeping the farm animals – it had something to do with an old dream of her fathers to have a complete escape from modern society. Apparently that dream had faded, because her father refused to go near the animals and was gone so often.
As Jacquelle finally neared her house, she could hear her German Shepard, Dozer, barking at her. A smile crossed her face; Dozer was her dog to the bone. He slept at her feet, followed her around the house constantly, and would only listen to her. He protected her when her parents were out of town and kept her company. As long as Dozer was by her side, Jaci didn't mind her parents' absence as much. Unlocking and opening the front door, Jaci entered the house. "Hey buddy, how was your day?" she questioned aloud, kneeling down to greet her dog. "Let's get you and me some food, eh?"
Making her way to the kitchen, she grabbed the bread from the cupboard, the blackberry jelly from the fridge, then crossed the room to the peanut butter. The peanut butter resided in the cupboard next to the kitchen sink, glancing out the window above the sink, a flutter of green near the barn caught her eye, but when she looked again, it was gone. Shaking her head and deciding it was lack of food, Jaci proceeded to make two sandwiches and handed the first one over to Dozer. She returned to the kitchen sink so that her crumbs would fall into the sink and save her the trouble of wiping them up later. Her eyes gazed unseeingly as she munched on her sandwich when, suddenly a flash of green glinted from near the barn again. This time, it didn't disappear when she looked directly at it. Intrigued, Jaci grabbed her coat and headed outside, leaving Dozer to finish attempting to lick the peanut butter off the roof of his mouth.
The wind whipped through her open coat, she regretted not bundling up more, even thought it was a short walk. As this thought crossed her mind, the wind stopped abruptly. Opening her previously squinting eyes, Jaci noticed that edges of her vision were going grey the closer she got to the barn, yet the flashes of green continued to appear. As a shiver of fear crept through her, she attempted to speed up so that she could investigate, then return to her warm house for a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. Reaching the corner of the bar, the green disappeared, but Jacquelle failed to notice the rippling air behind her. Turning around, she walked right into the anomaly.
The strange sensation of walking through a pan a jell-o – increased pressure on all sides, the air acquired a warm sticky texture. Jacquelle closed her eyes out of reflex, as though she had jumped into a pool. An intense rushing in her ears began, and the last things she remembered seeing were tall trees, green filtered light, and the ground rushing towards her.
A/N: I've got a couple exams next week, so it will probably be a little while before I can update again… but it would be lovely to get a review…. :D I won't demand a certain number before posting though…. ;)