Chapter 2: On the Road
b Andy the Run Off /b
Wake up! Dany meowed at her master, who was lying in a huddle on the earth ground. The sun rose in the east, and the girl slowly opened her eyes. She hoped to find that the day before had been nothing but a horrid dream, but that had been squashed when she saw where she was, oak trees above her, looming over.
"Where... when... how... where is town, Dany?" She said rubbing her eyes, and sitting up on the coloured leaf covered forest floor. But the cat had already gone away. "Hassle of a cat..." She said standing up, leaning on the tree for support. When the dizzy spell ended she walked towards the rising sun, the village of Norlandy was to the east of the forest. Or at least that's what the girl supposed.
Strangely, the girl noticed, the birds were not singing, dark clouds were coming rapidly from the north, and other than the occasional snap of a twig, the forest was silent. Even during the winter, noises could be heard from this forest twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 or 366 days a year. But yet... no sound could be heard for miles... she heard the roar of cars on the highway in the distance.
She walked toward the sound when the sun was in cloud cover; the forest seemed to go on forever. The roars of cars got louder as she walked; she figured she must have been heading for the highway, not the village. She saw the long road up ahead, cars speeding by, and hover cars flying over the older models.
"What you doing out here, girlie?" A hitchhiker asked her. She stepped backwards at the sound of the voice, it certainly didn't sound like an old man's voice, it sounded young. The man turned to her and she saw his face was young, with sun glasses, and a cap, "Its not safe 'round here for kids."
"I'm not a kid." She said annoyed. The man shrugged and went back to trying to hitch a ride. "Which way is London?" She asked him.
"Way west of here..."He said, and she started walking opposite of where the sun had risen. "But you don't want to go there, war's broke loose, and the King's about to loose his throne..." He said, and she turned back around on her heel. "I'm Zackary Fowel, who're you?" He asked as she kicked the dirt at the side of the road.
"Andromeda Johnston. But most call me Andy or Drom, or if you want to die, Meda." She told him, waiting for an effect. But he just smiled, and looked back to the road. After a while, they had been standing there for quite a while, the cars thinned.
"Damn, back away from the road." Zachary advised, Andy stepped farther away from the road. A car slowed as Zachary put his arm down, he shook his head, but the car stayed. He backed up next to Andy, and with his thumb told them to go. The car finally left.
"I thought you wanted a ride?" Andy asked raising her eyebrow. The sun had completely set by now, and the cars had stopped coming. "Why didn't you take that car?"
"I do want a ride to just outside London, just not at the price my life. And your good company..." Zachary said, Andy blushed at being considered good company. "Plus its late, they'd have to stop at a hotel, and I'm broke, I don't have a pound to my name. But I'm sure you can't say the same, with a name like 'Johnston.'"
"Hey! That's... discrimination! I'm broke too!" Andy said irritated at Zachary's unknowing of how in the world she got into this mess. "And I have nowhere to go." She said slumping to the ground at the border of the forest.
"Well, Drom, I found a shack just inside the forest. There are cot-like things on the floor. Want to come?" Zachary asked.
"Sure, better than this cold." Andy said trying to ignore that he chose to call her Drom. He handed her his hand and helped her up into standing position. They started walking into the forest. When Zachary turned on his heel to face her, shaking his head. "What?"
"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to trust strange hitch-hiking men on the side of the road?" He asked folding his arms across his chest.
"Yes, but she didn't warn me about boys who hitch-hike but don't get in when car stops." Andy told him, smirking.
"Well, your just the sweetest little-"He started sarcastically saying before Andy slapped him. "Ow! Drom, what was that for?"
"For no reason at all." She answered wringing her throbbing hand, as Zachary lightly touched his face.
b Noelle the Fire /b
"She's just one little girl! Give me the file!" Noelle said to the muggle man drawing her wand out and killing him with a curse. "What a waste of breath..." She said opening a file cabinet with a blue J on it. She took out the file labelled, Johnston, Andromeda Lauren.
She opened the file and found the entire where a bouts of Andy inside.
August 13th, 2183-Born at Johnsey Linkon Hospital, Pheoaxe, Carzona, Normeracia.
August 17th, 2183-Moves with parents (Jacker, and Maryash Johnston.) near Easteran Village.
December 24th, 2196-Father goes way, and Mother takes job.
July 10th, 2197-Parents found dead, Andromeda missing.
And that was the end. Noelle cursed, this 'log' didn't state where the girl was now, just where she had been before. The strange hospital name didn't make her blink, Pheoaxe was once Phoenix, Carzona was Arizona, and Normeracia was Canada, United States, and Mexico, also known as North America. That was before the war.
The war lasted from about 2020, and Morlorne the Dark tried to take over. He succeeded against the European, American, and Asian armies, and militia. But was brought down in 2162 by a so-called "Unknown Force". Some believed that Morlorne would return, and with him an army so powerful, the muggles obviously would fail, and not even the wizarding world could stop them.
Noelle sighed; she was one of the many who believed such insanity. She hoped that for at least her sake, that Artemis would be optimistic towards him.
Others had forgotten entirely what had once been. Few things remained from the past, bloodlines from people of 1997, 200 years ago had diminished. But from what Noelle heard from a muggle-born, a war had broken out in London, the capital of England. The name had changed to Landoan but that one name changed back to its old.
b Marc the Guard /b
Dark clouds soared across the sky, covering the palace, and city in darkness. Marc sat idly looking up at the sky from under his tree. He looked around at the nearby guards, and servants. They had anyone else, of importance that is, locked up in the castle. Marc stood from his spot, holding aloft a pistol gun. He was known to have the best-shot aim, but that didn't mean much to Morlorne supporters.
"Those clouds comin' pretty durn quickly, eh, Marc?" Scotty, another guard, said standing by a fence post. His greyed black hair bleak in the dark. A shot of lighting gave a fork of light, and loud earth shattering thunder followed.
"Yeah..." Marc said nervously. The legends told of this sort of thing, but you'd never expect that to happen. Or do you?
"I bet you twenty pounds that Morlorne has returned!" Heathier, a third guard, said coming over to their group, her red sashes around her throat, and the blue around her waist.
"I'll take you up on that one, Tarnier." Scotty said giving her a thumbs up. "I suggest you get to the Bank before it closes... What about you Marc? In? Or Out?"
"Out. I don't have twenty pounds as it is. I can't decide which of you will be right..."Marc answered looking around.
