Chapter 2: First Meeting

Unlike the first time, she was not greeted by the sight of blinding white walls when she awakened. Instead, she found herself looking out across a vast stretch of bleached sand that met an ocean whose water was as inky black as the sand was white. From the water, solid-looking white shapes jutted skyward, all appearing to be reaching for the huge full moon that hung just above them. In a way, they were both graceful and eerie, but Rayna didn't mind in the slightest.

She stared at the fat, silver moon's reflection in the almost glassy surface of the water for a few moments before she pushed herself upright and started to brush off the sand that clung to her face and clothing. It was then that she noticed what she was wearing-a green t-shirt that was at least twice her size, and a pair of pants that hung too long and too loose on her. Part of her wondered who had dressed her, and why she'd been dressed in such ill-fitting clothes, but she didn't allow it to wonder for long, as she had a mission.

But how was she supposed to find someone she didn't know? Where was she, anyway?

Rayna sighed, pushing herself to her feet, enjoying the feel of the sand beneath her, pushing up between her toes. Raising her eyes to the ocean again, she felt a tiny pull, as though something in her yearned for her to get closer to the water. In the back of her mind, some sense of self-preservation told her water could be deadly, however she ignored it in favor of following her only lead.

Well, stumbled might have been a better description of the way she crossed the sand. The fine, sparkling material shifted continuously under the girl's already unsure footing, and made the trip far more treacherous than it should have been. She almost fell several times, but thankfully things seemed to work out in her favor, and she avoided it.

When her toes dipped into the water, Rayna knew immediately something was different, almost wrong. The water was ice cold, and a shudder clawed its way up her body, escaping from her lips in the form of a gasp.

"Welcome to the realm of the Lost, little one," a voice announced, filling her head with a sound like a distant roll of thunder. "Are you here to join our number?" There was something to it that sounded almost...off. Sadness, maybe? Rayna paid the thought little attention, focusing more on how to try to explain the situation instead.

"No," she answered finally. "I'm here to find someone and rescue them." This was met by a chuckle, which produced an odd effect in combination with the thunderous voice.

"Those who end up here are often Lost for a reason, and they're often meant to stay Lost for even better reasons. To come to aid a Lost one is risky for more reasons than one." Despite the cold biting into her and the voice's warning, Rayna stood her ground.

"I knew this would be risky, but I believe this one is worth trying for. I hear he was a good man once, but he was misled...I want to lead him back to the right path, give him a second chance, if I can." Her voice didn't betray the cold or nervousness she felt, nor did her face, as she spoke. She fought the impulse to chew on her bottom lip as her response was met with silence from the thunder-voice.

"...And who is this man you seek?" Where the voice had waited several moments, Rayna barely waited a beat.

"His name is Terra."

"Of course you'd pick the worst of them all," the voice muttered, then it added more loudly, "take care that in seeking one so Lost you do not become Lost yourself, little one." Rayna smiled back.

"I'm already lost. I'm hoping helping him will help me find my own way." At this, the voice chuckled again, but it seemed darker than the first.

"If you insist, though I did warn you. The connection's been made, all you have to do is dive down and find him, then find your way back up."

"That doesn't sound too difficult," Rayna mused, and the voice sighed, an ominous rumble of thunder stretching out over the water.

"It is not as easy as it sounds to find your way once you've become Lost, too," it replied. "But the choice to do so is up to you. If you're willing, dive, if not, step away."

Rayna squared her shoulders and looked out over the water, the glassy surface barely moving. She looked down at the water by her feet and fought the urge to shiver-it was all still ink black. Acknowledging this, she closed her eyes for a brief moment, and then proceeded to wade in deeper.

The water got no warmer, nor did it get any clearer. She shivered as she pushed on, her mind telling her all the while that something was wrong, though she tried her best to ignore it. She started swimming when the frigid water rose to about her waist, but she only swam out a little more before she paused, treading water in order to take a shaky breath before she let herself silently slip under, into liquid obsidian.

It was even colder underwater. Rayna hadn't thought it possible, but it was true. It was colder and darker, but she propelled herself downward anyway, and to her surprise, a few seconds later, the water seemed to start propelling her itself, moving her down deeper and deeper.

She thought it would be over when she could no longer hold her breath, but it seemed that was not how things worked in this world. When bubbles exploded out from all sides and she accidentally took a breath in, Rayna was surprised her lungs filled with clean, if cold, air. As she was guided downwards, hopefully towards Terra, she noticed dim lights through the murk...which seemed to be clearing in the distance, but some of it seemed to be drawn to her, smoke-like masses congregating and flowing around her like little storm clouds.

It was through a break in these strange clouds that she caught sight of a dim glow hidden among its own cocoon of smoky clouds, and she was heading straight for this one. She attempted to paddle harder, faster, anything to get her closer in the shortest time possible-this was it, she thought. Terra. It had to be.

Somewhere between noticing the glow and nearing it, she'd begun to glow herself, but Rayna hardly noticed until she reached out towards the dark clouds and they surged away from her, as if running.

They also surged away from the man they'd been surrounding. He was large, especially compared to her, his skin a warm tan. Despite the water, his dark hair fell from his head in a cascade of spikes that drifted very little in the current. As the dark clouds left him, he shifted suddenly, and then blinked. For a few moments, all Rayna saw was startled blue.

Neither moved at first, she patient and more than a little curious, and he more confused than anything else. Their stillness was broken when a tendril of light from the glow surrounding her reached out towards Terra's hand, and he jerked away, eyes going wide.

"Who are you?" He didn't open his mouth, but it seemed that he didn't have to, the soft question echoing through the water between them. Rayna smiled back at him, though she didn't attempt to move closer.

"My name is Rayna, I'm here to rescue you." Terra gave her a look of sheer surprise, but her smile never faltered.

"Rescue...?" The repetition of the word on Terra's part was barely there, and Rayna's only response was to nod slightly.

"I was told that you deserved a second chance, and that I was the one capable of giving it to you." He frowned at her.

"I don't deserve-" Terra started, but she didn't allow him to finish.

"The lady in the light seemed to think differently, and I think so, too. She said you were a good man, but you were misled...if you were, you could get back on the right track. You could be good again. I'll help you, too, if you want me to." This time, Terra didn't object. In fact, all he could do was blink, a look of slight amazement on his face.

"You really...think I could get back on the right track? I want to make up for the things I did in the past... If you really think I can-"

"You can," Rayna cut in, not letting him finish. "I know you can. And I'll help you, you want." The look of amazement grew, and then hardened.

"If I can make it up to them... What do I have to do?" he asked, voice suddenly sounding determined. Rayna gave him another smile, and held out her still-glowing hand.

"You just have to take my hand, and swim to the surface with me. We'll figure out the rest once we're out of here...but I think the biggest part is getting out of here." This time, he gave her a slight smile in return.

"Well then, we should probably get that done, then." He reached out his hand to meet hers, and more tendrils of light rose from the glow to reach for him as well. "And Rayna? Thank you."

She would have replied, but that was when he took her offered hand. If the water gave her a sense of something being wrong before, this was posted signs and emergency vehicles and wailing sirens-around her, the glow winked out, the cold from the water flooded in, her body felt like ice in comparison to the now burning hand clinging to her own like it was a lifeline.

"I warned you," the thunder-voice from before whispered in her ear. "I knew this would happen. I warned you. I knew it. Why didn't you listen?"

"Because I already knew it myself," Rayna responded, her own voice barely there, "but I couldn't refuse to help someone in need." Before they could start swimming, a current similar to the one that had brought her to Terra shoved them upward, towards what she hoped was the surface. As they rose, black shadows began to crawl at the corners of her vision.

Rayna could only hope that Terra hadn't been too keen on the idea of her helping. She didn't think she'd be able to stay much longer.