Alright, how long had I been walking for? A few minutes? Hours? Days?

It felt like a couple of days. It couldn't have been though. The darkness is just now going away. There's a light in the sky somewhere. What's that called? Daylight? Daytime? Something like that.

It hurt to try to remember but I knew stuff. I know I knew stuff. I just had to remember the stuff, that's all. So where am I from? How old am I? What's my name?

Ouch.

It was happening again. I was trying to remember and I couldn't. But that whisper. Was it from the trees? It didn't sound like it. I couldn't forget it either way.

Mother Nature.

Did that person mean me?

I shook my head.

No, couldn't have. But I seriously need to figure out where I am.

I remember seeing a sign somewhere, tagged on a tree that read 'Burgess Trails' but I didn't think much of it. Nor did I think much of the . . . dirt path . . . I skipped across . . .

What the hell.

"I'm an idiot!" I growled. "Damn . . . how far back was that path?"

I turned on my feet, clutching my leaf, and started running back. I didn't know how I was going to get back to that sign or that path, I just assumed I was going the right way. None of the trees looked the same. But . . . all of the trees looked the same? Something was telling me that these were different trees, but when I looked at them they all looked like the same pine trees. Just some a different height than the others.

Wait, I knew what kind of tree they were! Either I remembered something or that's another power I possess. Doesn't matter! I knew!

My ears perked up at the sound of giggling. In my heart, I knew exactly who and what that was.

I laughed to myself. "Does this mean I'm going the right way?"

I continued running down the same path. However, the giggling became less and I could faintly start to hear whispering. My smile slowly started to disappear but I kept jogging, looking up at the trees.

"What? What did I d-oof!" I tripped. On . . .a frame?

I examined it, and the whispering became more frantic.

It was becoming too much for me and was starting to hurt my ears. I squeezed my hands tightly over my ears and shouted for the whispering to stop.

"It hurts, stop it!" I bent down onto my knees next to the frame and screamed a final time. "Stop!"

The whispering ceased.

I looked up, slowly uncovering my left ear, and then my right ear. Remembering the leaf, I frantically searched for it, only to discover it had wrapped itself around my neck in the shape of earmuffs. At least that's what I think they are called.

I took the earmuffs off of my neck. "It's a little too late for that now, thank you."

I sat back against the frame and enjoyed the silence; wrapping the thick leaf around my finger like a ring.

Creak.

What was that?

Creak.

That's not me, is it?

Snap.

"Oh shi-" I fell backwards, through the frame and . . . through the ground? I thought the ground was solid.

No time to think about that now. I'm falling. What do I do?

Nothing. I could do nothing. So I just flailed my arms and screamed, watching the light rapidly disappear from sight. I shut my eyes, still screaming.

Any minute now.

I braced for impact. Already feeling the ground hitting hard against me.

Then I remembered. My leaf! It could transform into something that could either stop the fall or lessen the pain of it. But what? What? Time was running out. My screaming wasn't helping. Maybe if I stopped? No. I had to scream. I was afraid to fall. I was afraid of the pain I had not yet felt. I am afraid.

My back hit the ground. Hard. The impact had knocked the breath out of me, so all I could do was bring my knees to my stomach and roll onto my side.

Breathe.

Breathe.

Breathe, dammit.

It hurt. But I had to. I needed to.

I opened my mouth and swallowed a big gulp of air, coughing most of the oxygen out. I tried to sit up, but it hurt, so I rolled back over on my side.

"Run!"

A voice? I heard it! Run? But I can't. I can't even sit up.

"Hide!"

But I can't even run!

"Hurry! Before he comes back!"

He? I opened my eyes, still curled on my side, and tried to search for the voices while catching my breath.

I couldn't see anything. Just . . . black. No. Wait. Stairs? And a bridge? Why is it upside down? And the stairs over there . . . why are the sideways? Where am I?

Finally I sat up, clutching at my midsection. Looking around, everything looked like mud and rock, with many, many bridges and stairways going in every direction I could possibly think of.

"Get up!"

"Go!"

Those voices. They were coming from above?

I looked up.

Cages?

"A little rude to walk in on someone else's home, don't you think?"

I struggled to stand up, but I did it and again, I kept my eyes on the cages. Did that last voice come from there?

"Boo."

I whipped my head around, coming face-to-face with . . . with . . .

"Who are you?"

The smile that was once on this gray man's face fell in an instant. "Who am I?"

"Yeah, who are you?"

No, seriously, who is this guy?

The tall, pale man stood up, towering over me and smirked. "Who are you?"

What?

"I asked first."

Snickering was heard coming from one of the cages above me.I was about to look up until the gothic-dressed man spoke again.

"Child's play. Alright. I'm Pitch. Pitch Black." He bowed, speaking slowly. "And you do not look like a child."

I don't?

"Then what do I look like?" I questioned.

"Like a teenager. Like . . ." The dark man's eyes grew sad; his silver-golden yellow eyes.

"Uhm . . . okay, now if you'll excuse me, I need to get going." I looked around for a way out. Standing on this platform was starting to give me a headache. The whole place looked crooked, tilting, like it was about to fall.

"Go where?" Pitch mused.

I stared him in the eyes a minute before answering. "I don't know."

I could hear the hushed whispers above me. I had forgotten about the people in the cages.

"What is your name?" Pitched walked around me, making me feel on edge.

"I don't know."

"Where did you come from?"

"I don't know."

"How old are you?"

"I don't know."

"Don't you know anything about yourself?" Pitch laughed. It was a dark laughter, almost like a cackle.

"No." I was starting to get mad. I knew nothing. I wish I did, but I didn't

"Oh dear, you must be so helpless." He mocked.

I wanted to retaliate, say that I wasn't but the truth is . . . I was. I had no clue about myself, about my travel, none of it. I just knew what I had discovered about myself last night.

"Why are you dressed like that?" Pitch asked, eyes rolling over my body as he continued to walk around.

"Why are you dressed like that?"

"If all you're going to do is repeat my question after I have asked it, you might as well go up into the cages with the rest of the bumbling idiots." Pitch sneered, attempting to grab me.

I ducked and stepped away, willing my leaf-ring to now transform into a sword.

Pitch stopped, watching as the leaf crawled around my palm and extended itself to a point. "Well, well," he grinned. "Look at what we have here. Now that is what I'm talking about."

"She must one of us!" A voice above exclaimed.

"But I've never seen or heard of her before!" Another voice shouted, many voices speaking up in agreement.

"This is getting interesting. Now that I know you are capable of little tricks like this, how about you tell me who you really are." Pitch said, still smirking.

I breathed. "I told you, I don't know."

"Oh, but you do." He replied knowingly. "You very much do. He told you. Let me guess. It must've been a whisper of some sort. He likes to act mysterious like that."

He? Wait, whisper?

'Mother Nature'

Mother Nature.

"Mother Nature." I spoke softly.

"Aha! I knew it. What good deed did you do to end up like this?" Pitch cackled again.

The whispers above started up again, this time I was able to look up. And as soon as I did, I made eye contact with a white haired boy. He was staring at me. Studying me. And finally, after a few seconds, he smiled at me. But . . . it looked almost sad.

"Well?" Pitch continued.

"Well?" I repeated. Pitch sneered at me.

What did he want me to say? I already told him I don't know anything. Maybe he didn't hear me?

Wait, where did he go?

xXxXx

That ended up being a bit longer than I thought it would be. I get carried away with dialogue. Oh well. But you love it!

I actually am really excited to finish writing more chapters.

I was gone for a day or two to go with my friend to Warped Tour not too long ago so it was pushed off a bit :killin'it:

2Fun4U

Now onward!

Until next chapter~