Third Life

Chapter three:

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I pulled my rented Nissan into the abandoned five car parking area. Being so late in the season, not many people were coming out to the woods. I decided to take the half hour car ride out to the area regardless of the weather.

I had never been a big nature person before, or even a physically active person. My choice of activity was reading by the fire. I still love reading and I curl up by the fire every chance I get. However, in the past two years I have developed a strong and healthy love for the outdoors.

Becoming an animagus was what initiated the change. When I finally broke through the barriers deep inside of me in order to unlock the ability, some of my animal's instincts leaked into my human personality. There will always be something inside of me which craves freedom - an instinct that will only allow me to be indoors for so long. Unfortunately, that same something makes bamboo seem highly appetizing,

I pulled my red scarf closer around my neck and pulled on my gloves before I shut off the car. The keys came with me in the pocket of my white coat and my purse was stashed in the glove compartment before I exited the car. The lock clicked behind me as the door slid shut.

The path was easy to spot and was made even more noticeable by a two step staircase preceding the frozen dirt walkway. I traveled on the main path, large enough from two people to comfortably walk side by side, for about a half a mile before I veered off onto a smaller nearly unnoticeable path. I assumed that this was a path only used by a small few who were extremely familiar with the area. I walked onto it comfortably.

Even with the low temperatures, there was no snow on the ground. According to the women I ran into at the hotel, I had missed last week's mild snowfall. The area was not due for more snow until late next week.

The trees surrounding me were bare and reminded me a bit of myself at the moment. Eventually they would grow back their leaves and flourish but for now they were comfortable with their solemn state. Feeling connected to the tall life around me, I tenderly ran my hands along the barks as I walked.

I allowed myself to ignore the passing of time as I wandered . In my opinion, a person cannot truly appreciate the isolation of nature if they are aware of time. Therefore, I was not aware of how much time passed before the path opened to form a small clearing which lead to a rushing river. It was clear that this was the destination of the locals' path, and while I felt mildly like an intruder, I sat down at the base of a tree to watch the river. I would have to send my coat to the hotel's laundry tonight but I didn't mind. This was worth it.

I prefer cold to warmth. Warmth gives you a false sense of security and it is difficult to breathe. Cold weather keeps you alert and makes the air smell good. I like rain too. Mum would always tell me that rain was a symbol of a new start and I have always liked that idea.

I picked up a twig and started playing with it. I twirled it between my fingers like a mini baton and went back to watching the river. The water was high so it had probably rained here recently. The swirls and small rapids produced by the rushing water was captivating and I stared at them thinking of nothing until my senses heightened. Something was wrong.

I stood smoothly and pulled my wand out of my pocket. To the left of me I could hear some twigs snap and every enhanced reflex that Mad Eye had drilled into me shot to the surface of my being.

What happened next occurred in the course of a few short minutes. Everything that happened was taken in and processed quickly but I could not react properly.

The first thing that I could see was the outline of what must have been a man just beyond the tree line. I pointed my wand in that direction. The worse that could happen was that this person was a muggle hiker who might leave here thinking he had met a crazy person. Even with my wand pointed at whom I hoped was a stranger, I desperately tried to keep myself aware of what might strike from other directions. I became acutely aware that I could not have picked a better spot in the clearing to occupy; the tree behind me protected my vulnerable back as a partner should.

The second part of what occurred was registered by my ears. I heard mumbling, produced in a tone that could only be used for a chant. This person was magical and, worse, I was their target. Before my mind could understand what I was doing, my wand moved to throw up protective wards, but it was too late. The chanting had activated what I had always known rested within my chest, dormant pockets of dark magic just waiting to be released to kill me.I dropped to the ground in what I knew would be my slow, and very painful death.

Only two other things were noticed before I was in too much pain to notice anything. The sound of a departure, a sharp nearly unnoticeable shooting pain in my neck before the pain magnified.

Pain. Burning, searing, aching, excruciating pain.

Only once in my life have I ever endured a real level of torture, and that was under a collective Cruciatus curse performed by six separate wands. That residual defiance, cultivated during the war, made me refrain from screaming out in agony. It made me refrain from screaming out until my throat ran raw. I had to remind myself that this magnitude of pain would not drive me to insanity. I had suffered through pain such as this before and survived, and I would do it again.

My efforts left me in a continuous state of exhaustion.

When the pain lessened to only borderline intolerable levels, I searched for what information I could gather. I was in too far of a state of exhaustion to open my eyes. My hearing was a lost sense as well. The ringing, a byproduct of the pain, drowned out all other sound that might be present. I couldn't move my hands, but I was acutely aware of the fact that they rested on very high thread count sheets. I inhaled deeply though my nose, capturing the air I wished to process. This was unnecessary - holding the air within my lungs in such a manner - but it helped me concentrate. The air was moist and smelled like rain. I could smell fourteen individual types of trees but I had never been to the United States before and was unable to identify them by smell. As my mind reflexively started listing the trees I knew habited the Northeastern states, my body flooded with dread. I had never exhaled and it seemed that I no longer needed to.

Frantically, I searched for the feeling of pumping blood in my chest. I found no such feeling. Either hell was a mild fate or I was a vampire. I don't know which of the options I might prefer.