Note:
This is not a fanfic written for the pleasure of seeing an OC having a blast with the characters and having fun in their world. This story is about survival in a completely different reality with all its highly negative aspects as well as those positive ones. I'll be using the realistic route - as realistic as I can without killing off the OC at the very beginning, which would be the most realistic outcome if you think about it. I'll be giving you the reader a not-so-pleasant look into the lives of those unfortunate enough to have been taken from our world and placed into another. Canon characters will remain canon but with a touch of realism added to their characters and so on. I will also like to point out this story will contain mature themes as the story progresses; dark themes that I'm sure will not be everyone's cup of tea. Why? Because, unfortunately, reality is a bitch.
{I am completely rewriting, revamping and re-editing the story. The essentials of the plot and most of the dialogue will remain the same.}
Please read Chapter One and Two to get the original intended full experience of the beginning.
Chapter One - Waking Up
Part. 01
{The First Cycle}
Life is like a game of cards.
The hand that is dealt to you represents determinism; the way you play it is free will.
-Jawaharlal Nehru
Nothing disturbed my sleep, fact was – I was not much of a light sleeper to begin with.
Unless the night was cold enough to perturb me from my slumber, I would not bother searching for the blanket that had slipped off from my bed. I very well could sleep through noise and sudden movements a person could make around me. That is what being a heavy sleeper was all about and that's what I was. Of course, there were exception to the rules. If any form of light hit my face, that would instantly rouse me up from my sleep.
That's exactly was just happened.
Other than the light that disturbed my slumber, the thing I noticed the most was that a something was pressing against me cheek – which was followed by the whereabouts of my pillow. Not completely in control of my senses, I slowly came to realize a couple of things. One being I caught herself sleeping in my least favorite position – my stomach, which in turned explained the sensation I felt on my cheek. As my brain was slowly taking hold of my surroundings, I felt a crushing pressure against my chest. It was at this moment when I realized I laid on a unyielding surface that was no the soft, comfortable bed I was accustomed to. By then I felt the prickly sting of what I sensationally recognized as grass, but what woke me up from my zombie-like state were my fingers clutching said grass.
Which led me to this moment – kneeling on the very same spot I had awoken from just minutes ago.
I could sense within the depth of my chest the wild beating of my heart not caused by adrenaline but fear as I observed my surrounding for what must be the seventh time. "Where the hell am I?" I muttered as I brushed off the dirt from my cheek with a swipe with the back of my hand.
This was different.
Completely different.
There was no need to freak out, yet – I just needed to mentally jot down what was happening and perhaps come to a conclusion on how I came to be here. Clearly, I was no longer in the comfort of my bedroom and much less in an apartment or any building at all. No black street pavement or cars – there was literally nothing I could recognize as home. The only things that were recognizable were the many trees, the ever-so green grass that lay beneath me and the occasional shrubs that stuck out from the ground. Nature literally surrounded me.
'We're no longer in Kansas, Toto,' was such a fitting expression that crossed my mind, taken from a well-known scene from the Wizard of Oz. It was apparent I was no longer in the middle of my city as I had never been in a location where nature was in such abundance!
A sudden gust of wind came rushing from behind me, forcing my dark shoulder length hair to whip wildly around my head and face. Brushing away the strands of hair away from my face, I looked up towards the sky and caught sight of ominous dark gray looking clouds. Well, that's lovely. Under normal circumstances, I would not had been bothered by the sight of them – in fact, I would had welcomed it with wide arms. Unfortunately, I was not 'under a normal circumstance', was I? I continued to stare up at the threatening sky, noticing the very slow movement of the clouds moving across the vast space above me.
It was a definite sign. Rain was coming.
Then, it slowly dawned on me.
This was a prank.
It had to be or how the hell did I end up in the middle of nowhere?
It explained everything!
I woke up in a strange location with nothing other than the clothes on my back, which so happened to be pajamas and nothing else. Other than that, there were no clues. Nothing at all.
This was good enough of an explanation.
Surely, the prank could not had been pulled off by a single person – unless he or she happened to be Superman but that was incredibly unlikely. That only meant someone must had masterminded this and rounded up a group in doing this awful bidding – and who better than my lovely friends? My birthday was months away, so that should not had been the reason behind this. Whoever thought of this, had it all worked out and just needed to wait until I was fast asleep for the plan to take hold. Were I not on the receiving end, I would had certainly found this plan to be clever and amusing.
"All righty then," I said aloud as I turned on my knees. "I get it, great job you guys. Leave Ariadna alone and watch her pathetically stumble across unknown territory!"
The only reply came from the rustling of the tree branches around me, caused by the winds that were picking up.
This was irritating.
I was never good with pranks, but I guessed no one was when they were on the receiving end. After all, was I supposed to 'har har' with the rest of the pranksters and go on in our merry little way?
"Oh, come on! Whose idea was this? James? Mayra? How long are you guys going to stay hidden? Did you by any chance knew it was going to rain? Because, while I absolutely love the rain – I don't plan on getting stuck in a downpour and get sick because of some people's joke on me. Seriously!" A strong gust of wind met me face-on and unlike last time, I felt the cold chill around me.
Looking down at myself, I was still wearing the same clothes I had gone to bed with. Which, despite the temperature, was a relief as I could had awoken wearing something ridiculous considering the sense of humor of some of my friends.
I suppose that's what I deserved for being such a heavy sleeper...
It was quite obvious the clothes I was wearing was not the perfect choice for the weather that was coming, then again, I never planned to venture out into the wilderness with what I had slept in. Clearly, I was incredibly unsuited for the situation as I was wearing a form fitting white tank and black, lightweight fleece short shorts. Furthering adding to my lack of appropriate apparel for the setting, I had no shoes.
That might not be a big deal for someone who just happened to had awaken in a location they did not recognized, but shoes were a necessity in life – for me, at least. Was it even safe to walk around barefooted if people had ventured around here? As human beings – not all, I knew – they tend to get rid of trash without looking for a proper location to dispose of it. You see, I once badly cut my foot with some broken glass when I was twelve, only to receive seven stitches as a reward for the carelessness of another. But hey, I was younger and carefree back then – now it was a situation I did not care to revisit again.
I was being overly cautious, but for good reason.
With no other choice left for me, I stood up which relieved the pressure of the hard flat land against my knees.
Even standing up to my full height did not give me much of an advantage. The sights still looked just the same, perhaps noticing a bit more but not enough. Trees still towered over me, the clouds still loomed over my head and... oh hey, I was taller than those bushes over there. At only 5'2" I was bound to surpass some things around me. As I rubbed my upper arms to keep the goose bumps away, I looked around once more.
Nada.
Nothing.
"Wouldn't hurt if you guys left a sweater for me, huh..." I said though not as loud as I had previously done.
What time was it, anyway? Morning? There was no way I could tell without the aid of the sun and considering how it was hidden behind the clouds, there was no way to tell. Even so, I would not be able to tell the difference with its position in the sky. All I knew was if the sun was right smack in the middle of the sky, that would had meant it was midday. There was no use contemplating about time since there were more important matters at hand.
I had to do something.
If my friends were eager to keep the prank going, they would definitely not step in and save me.
Yet.
Ha.
I had to play by their rules, whatever they were.
"Wait until I find you guys," I muttered under my breath.
