Chapter2- Discovery
Down into the ground Mom fell. I looked away as a disturbingly distinct 'thud' was heard. The ground continued to close, coming together perfect to the last crease...
"Nooooo!" Terra jolted awake, a flash of yellow light meeting her as she did. She held her forehead, feeling the cold sweat beaded on it. Blinking a few times, she glanced around the room, looking to see if she woke anyone at the shelter. A little girl across from Terra was sitting upright in her cot, clutching the oversized pillow like a shield. "S-sorry." Terra began, "Hee, um, you can go back to sleep now. Sorry." The child slumped back into her covers, watching Terra cautiously.
With a deep breath, Terra stared down at her hands. They always stung slightly after a bad dream, but she didn't know why. And what had been that brief glow? At first, she suspected that someone must have been using a flashlight, however she saw no-one. Rubbing her sore eyes, Terra laid back down onto her cot. How she hated that cot; all over it a stench hovered, a decaying smell of filth and grime, of the life she lived...
As the deathly gray of early dawn approached, Terra slinked out of bed and slipped on a worn pair of jeans. She began packing her backpack with all she owned: a few changes of clothes, a pad of paper with a pencil, a toothbrush, a flashlight, and a wrapped-up red handkerchief. Within the scarlet bundle was her most prized possession, what remained of her life before the quake: the baby-blue hair comb. Her mother had given it to her.
Additionally, Terra slipped into her pocket a duct-tape wallet (containing what little she had earned from odd jobs) and secured a watch around her wrist. Terra pulled on a dark hoodie over the black t-shirt and gray long-underwear underneath, and set out for the beach.
The beach was one of Terra's most favorite places; the sand always felt so right in her hands, and the island in the middle of the bay looked so soothing. Of course, the one thing to make any grand place even better, was a sunrise. The oranges and blacks battled across the sky, warring for claim to world; good light forever won. The colors seemed so magnificent, glorious even, in their wage for earth's ceiling. Terra sighed heavenly. "How wonderful would it be to see the sunrise from that island out there," she said to no one in particular, "to just walk across the water like nothing, set up a lawn-chair, and sit there the whole day. Alone." She chuckled lightly, "Or maybewith someone, that is, if I had someone."
The water was mesmerizing, especially the smooth rock below. Terra rolled up her sleeves, and placed her hand though the cool water to feel the slippery stones below. 'You know, someone ought to build a bridge out to that island, or put something on it for that matter...' She dreamed vaguely to herself.
Suddenly, her hand felt warm. Then it felt hot, and, if you would believe it, glowed. Stunned, Terra quickly withdrew her hand, fearing of what might happen. There was a soft rumble, then, slowly, the water began to quiver. The water rippled more and more, just as a strip of bedrock rose above, forming a perfect bridge between the place where Terra kneeled and the island in the harbor.
Terra gasped, horrified of what just happened. It was undeniable; somehow (by magic, perhaps) she had caused that bridge to appear. Positively inevitable. She glared at her hand, lost in confusion. Slowly, Terra arose, carefully backing away from the shoreline. 'No, this is not happening. Things like this are impossible. Thirteen-year-old girls don't make bridges appear. Their hands don't glow and they don't have powers. They're normal...'
Gradually, the rock-mass lowered down back into the depths where it had come from. Gradually, Terra became less and less visible in the horizon as she ran. And gradually, her gift awoke from the dormant slumber where it had hidden for so long...
So, uh, what do you think, eh? I kind of liked it, next chapter will be better and hopefully longer. I have a habit for shortness ;) RXR greatly appreciated. I'm open to ideas, too, or any details from Terra's first episode. Haven't seen it in forever. (That chapter will come soon, maybe after the next one.)
