Chapter 2. Vanessa: The Earth Lady.

I was standing on the edge of a cliff at least 50 feet above the sea. Slowly, I moved even closer to the drop and looked down. The sea splashed against the rocks below me. Its briny smell made me feel giddy with joy. Looking up, I drank in the spectacular sight of the water stretching on and on before me as far as I could see. Seagulls swooped in and out of the water, their dinner clenched tightly in their claws. Feeling sorry for the poor unsuspecting fish, I made a silent promise never to eat fish, or any kind of sea food for that matter.

I looked down at the drop before me. It's probably dangerous, maybe even life threatening, I thought. Taking in a deep gulp of air, I jumped.

Down, I went. I moved so fast every else was a blur. I think I might have scared a few sea gulls too, judging from the agitated squawks around me. The sea spiraled upwards to me faster and faster and I think I might have screamed but the sound was whipped away by the wind. Stretching my arms before me, I braced myself for the impact.

I landed in the sea with an all mighty splash. I felt no pain, only a deep joy at returning to where I belonged once more. My skin dissolved and I became one with sea. I was the sea, the sea was me. I knew every salty drop of water, every patch of sand, every school of fish. Silently willing the currents to propel me forward, I moved further and further from land and into deeper waters. Here, the sea was peaceful. There was only an occasional fish disturbed the waters. I let go and the waves pushed me back to land.

Once I reached shallower waters I stood up. To my surprise, darkness had fallen. The last rays of Sun were quickly disappearing, giving way for the Moon to rule the night. I stretched out my arms before me. I noted dully that my skin was transparent except for the occasionally ripple. As soon as stepped out of the water, it returned to normal again. Although I just spent the whole day in the water, not a drop of water could be seen on my person.

That, I finally decided was definitely not normal. But what could I say? It was the only life I had ever known. I didn't remember how long I had been on this beach, it could have been a day or maybe even a year. I knew that it a small, and probably insignificant, stretch of beach somewhere along the coast of Maine. Right now, it was all I knew. It was my own little corner of the universe. I couldn't care less about where exactly Maine was or anything else except for the sand between my toes and the moonlit sea before me. I didn't bother to think about how who I was and where I came from. I am Vanessa, fourteen year old cliff jumper. That's enough for me. I was free, and that's all that matters.

I wandered lazily along the length of my beach. The moonlight illuminated the area, throwing bringing everything into a clearer focus. Things that usually seemed normal during the day seemed to have retained a magical quality. I felt like I was standing in the middle of a painting.

Suddenly, a twig cracked. That little sound made me realize how quiet everything else was. The birds have settled in for the night and even the waves had gone silent. It was like a blanket had been thrown over my beach, muffling every sound. A shiver ran down my spine and I was gripped by an irrational fear. Shaking my head, I told myself to stop being silly. So what if the night was a little quiet? There was probably no one for miles around. Of course it's quiet. Jeez, get a grip,

Another twig cracked in the forest. Okay, maybe this place was more densely populated than I thought. I stepped closer to the forest that made a ring around my beach.

"Hello?" I called out. My voice came as a shock to myself. I didn't remember ever using it. A voice in the back of my head was telling me to run. I ignored it and walked into the forest. Immediately, all traces of moonlight vanished. There were only shadows. Deep, dark shadows that seemed to breed fear. I swallowed and called out again "Anybody here? Can you try not to give me a coronary?"

There was a soft sound behind me, like a laugh. I couldn't move. My legs were rooted to the spot and my breath came on short bursts. I heard the sound again, only closer. It was definitely a laugh. It was low and almost seductive. I had that annoying feeling that someone was watching me but I still couldn't move. I was paralyzed by fear. My legs felt like they were sinking deeper and deeper into the ground. Somehow, I managed to move my head. Looking down, I let out a gasp of surprise. My legs had been sinking. Earth had covered them up to my ankles. I struggled and tried to pull them out but that only made me sink deeper. I pulled again with as much strength I could muster. I only succeeded in losing my balance and landed on the forest floor with a loud thump.

I let my breath whoosh out and thumped the forest floor angrily with one hand. Suddenly, I froze, listening intently. I had heard something like a sigh that sounded very much like the laugh I had heard. Straining my ears hard, I swore I heard something but when I refocused, I could only hear the blood pumping in my ears. Then something moved in the corner of my eye.

I turned my head around so fast it almost snapped. No one was there. "Who's there?" I called out. My voice echoed around the forest eerily. When no one answered, I redoubled my efforts. The earth would not budge no matter how much I scratched and clawed at it. My movements had a kind of frantic energy to it. My hands were shaking. I was panicking I realized.

"Vanessa, why do you try so hard?"

I screamed. The voice was dark and earthy somehow. It didn't sound disembodied; in fact, it sounded like it had a body directly behind me. I turned around as far as my trapped legs would allow, my breath hitching in my throat.

There was a woman standing directly behind me in a patch of moonlight. In the silver rays of light that illuminated her figure, she looked ethereal or otherworldly. Her eyes were a mossy green. I looked down and saw that her legs rose directly out of a thick patch of greenery, as though she was part of the earth.

Her dress was the same green as her eyes, and her skin was chocolaty brown. She continued, "You can give up, you know. Skip the pain, the heartbreak, the sense of not knowing . . ." Her voice was hypnotic and I couldn't tear my eyes off her although I had no idea what was she saying. "You can just sleep it away. Sleep, Vanessa."

My eyelids suddenly felt heavy. They drifted shut obediently and my breathing slowed. My heart — which had been beating a tattoo onto my ribs — began beating so slow I barely felt alive. I sunk onto my knees. I knew this shouldn't be happening, but I couldn't seem to fight it. "No…" I muttered halfheartedly, knowing as the beauty leeched out of the world that I couldn't stop it.

"Don't resist. Just rest." The woman's voice was stronger now, as though she was sapping the strength out of me and into herself. I knew then that I was dying but I was powerless to stop it. "Yes, that's right . . ." Her voice was filled with a deep satisfaction that bordered on pleasure, and the fact that she was enjoying my death was enough to give me strength. I hated this woman, whoever she was. Not only was she trying to kill me, she just added to the list of questions that I already had. But unlike the rest of them, she didn't have to be there. I felt around for some kind of weapon on the ground and heard the woman laugh.

"How can you fight the Earth, Vanessa? Oh you are spirited one, no doubt about it. But even your gods didn't break me; I doubt you can even come close." She laughed again, throaty and seductive. I heard the branches around me rustle and they seemed to close in on me. The earth was sucking me in deeper and deeper. The woman began chanting in a language that seemed familiar. Her voice threatened to lull me back to sleep, but my head was clearer now. I could hear some animal out there that was moving closer and closer as her chanting grew louder. Now or never, I thought to myself.

My fingers closed around something hard. Barely thinking about what I was doing, I brought the thing up and yelled at the woman, "Get out of here! You do not belong!" I channeled all my anger and frustration into throwing the hard object I was holding. The woman just batted it away laughing. Tears began flowing down my cheeks. I longed for the freedom I had felt before. Now I was trapped by the Earth and there was an animal, a large one, coming closer every second.

"Good bye, Vanessa." The woman laughed throatily again. "I shall return to my slumber but soon, I will return for the rest." She turned away. At that precise moment, the world exploded. A monster emerged from the trees bellowing loudly. It had the head of a bull but the torso of a man. I screamed again as a brilliant flash of light filled my vision. Terrified, I stopped fighting and gave in to the shadows that had threatened had overwhelm me before. As I sank into their cold embrace, I swore I saw a girl with a silver sword attacking the man-bull. Then, I was gone.

AN: Thank you for all the reviews and alerts I got! This is the first OC in my story. What do you think?