Silence. The dense trees surrounding my home sat in quiet vigilance. Occasionally a bird would sing or a tree would creak. The light was blinding and uncomfortable, I much preferred the comfort and security of my mine. I quickly retreated into the tunnels of my dark home and instantly felt safe.
Hunched over I shuffled my way along the broken and slanted tracks. When I reached the small room, which contained a tiny table and chair against one wall. In another corner was the straw mattress that the man said was used for sleeping, he called it a bed. I used to have a real bed but the man broke it and said that the bed wasn't required for his needs anymore. Shaking the memory from my mind I headed for the tiny alcove in the back corner. Backing myself up I tucked my frame into the space in the wall. I grabbed my ragdoll crushing her to me and hugged my knees to my chest before I pull myself into a tight ball as I possible.
Rubbing my eyes I whimpered at the discomfort, I really didn't like the light. I know I'm not supposed to leave my home, but it's been a long time since he has come to see me.
The man had always come back before my hunger got out of control. Pulling the scraps of material he gave me for warmth around myself I began to rock on my heels. This wasn't what I was used to, I had a routine but now it was broken.
As the days went by my hunger grew. I got twitchy and startled at the slightest noise, I threw my doll onto the mattress because I was afraid, I was going to damage her when the red haze covered my eyes. More days came and went and still I remained in my safe haven, hoping that the man would return with food for me soon.
Eventually I couldn't ignore my problems any longer. Surely the man wouldn't be angry at me for leaving to find food. He warned me to not leave the mine because of all the dangers in the world. He said that I would be a prized possession and people would want to own me and by owning me they would hurt me.
Pushing my fear aside I shuffled along the tunnel wall pausing occasionally to listen for any signs of danger. Slowly I creeped along the tracks trailing my hands along the cool wall before pausing inside the entrance.
Searching as far as I could from the safety of the dark tunnel, I couldn't sense any danger. It was my hunger that pushed me to leave the safety of my home. While still crouched I inched my way up the slight incline and away from the only home id known.
Not sensing any danger I straightened my body and stood uncomfortably while still searching for anything that could be a threat to me. Long tense minutes of nothing unusual happening I slowly made my way into the forest.
Wandering through the trees with no direction in mind I lost track of where I had come from and became hopelessly lost. Panic started to set in so I began to run blindly. When I realised that I couldn't find my way back to my home I collapsed on the ground and dry sobbed.
Somewhere in the trees I heard a twig snap. I was on guard instantly and looked around for the source of the noise. Moving myself into a crouch position I prepared myself to be attacked , If I had the chance to run id take it but I had to be prepared for any eventuality. More breaking branches and steps on the ground drifted my way.
Crouched and ready for anything that would come from the trees, I stared in the direction the sound had come from and a man emerged from the dense forest.
Stopping a dozen steps away from where I was sitting, "Are you ok miss? Are you lost?"
Standing rigid and ready I began to shake knowing this was the warning that the man I knew warned me about. Any moment now this new man would come forward and take me away; then he would hurt me.
"Miss, do you need help? Are you hurt?" He asked softly as he moved closer to me.
The dry sobs came back and I pulled my arms around myself for comfort. Maybe if I made myself as unthreatening as possible and appear vulnerable, he just might leave me alone. There was no running away like the man I knew had warned me to do when someone came close, I was backed against a tree and I couldn't escape without being noticed.
I didn't hear the man step forward again because I was too lost in my despair and hunger. When I felt a hand on my shoulder everything changed.
Before I knew what was happening, I was on the man with my teeth in his neck. Bliss, his blood was pure heaven and hunger taming. I'd never known total satisfaction like this. My hunger was completely gone. I felt more alert and stronger than I had ever felt.
Animals were all he ever brought me so I thought that was what I needed to live. He never told me any different. He would throw struggling animals at me and say, "Eat." Why wouldn't he tell me how satisfying and life altering eating people would be?
Wondering what my next step was I brushed myself off and pushed the body into a groove at the base of a tree and placed loose leaves and branches to hide him. I felt bad that I had taken his life but couldn't bring myself to care too much. Looking around I decided to keep heading in the direction I was facing. I hoped I would be able to find my way back to the abandoned mine and the soothing darkness of my home the thought of not finding it was beyond terrifying.
Looking on the ground I noticed the dark item on the ground. They looked like what the man would wear over his eyes when he came to visit me. Picking them up I placed them over my eyes and quickly realised that I could see through them, but they softened the light so it didn't hurt my eyes so much.
Searching through the bag the new man had left on the ground I found material items that looked like what the new man had on his body. One item looked like what I had on and the other one looked like what new man had on the lower part of his body, they also looked like what the man I knew would wear. It took time to work out how to put the lower body material on, I was happy that they seemed to sit right on me and didn't fall off. The material for the upper body I remembered how to put on. It fit the same way my material did, the foot items that looked like what the man I knew wore didn't fit me but that was ok I could manage without them.
I continued in the direction I was facing hoping I would find my way back but after the light turned dark and light again, I realised I was never going home. Deciding I would have to find a new home I wandered aimlessly but remained on constant alert for anything that would work as a home or any threats to my safety.
Losing count of the times that the light came and went I let my mind wander as to why the man had left so suddenly and why he hadn't come back. He told me people would take me away and hurt me yet the new man I had encountered had used a gentle touch when he placed his hand on my shoulder, it wasn't like the painful touch the man I knew would inflict on me at times. The new man's tone hadn't been sharp and angry like the man I knew had used many times when talking to me.
The light came and went one more time and I had taken another man on my way here. I thought back to what happened:
I was drifting along idly with no real direction in mind. I let my thoughts drift along in whatever direction they wanted to. The scenery was the same on my way so after a while everything started to blend into one. I was sidetracked a couple of times, once was when I found a rocky river with only a trickle of water running through it. I followed the river and found that it stopped suddenly and the water spilled off the end into a pool below. It was only a small drop as I was able to sit in the pool below in front of the tiny waterfall. I sat there playing with some pretty rocks I found in the water, I picked my favourite one and sat admiring the cool smooth rock in my hand. When held one way it looked green but when held it another way it looked black. Placing my new treasure in my bag I moved on in my journey. The second time I got distracted was when I stumbled upon an old log cabin sitting alone and abandoned, time had not been kind to most of it. The bones of the building were strong but small patches here and there were rotting away due to neglect and the elements. What I could see of the roof there appeared to be holes which would allow wildlife and water to get into the inside of the cabin. I slowly approached the broken steps with led up onto what could be a beautiful porch to sit and observe nature with a little care. Approaching the front door I could feel something urging caution, the front door was ajar so I slipped in quietly keeping alert for anything that may be inside. The first two rooms were empty except for a few pieces of broken furniture. I had simple pieces of furniture like what lay broken in the front rooms back in my mine. The man had brought them for me saying how much he cared about my comfort, he used the words "Good provider for his little swan." I didn't know what it meant and he never explained further. The next room I think was a gathering place as it had cushioned furniture you could sit on facing each other with a small table in between them. The sitting furniture was big, you could sit someone my size beside each other two or three times. The soft material of the sitting furniture had rips in it and its insides were exposed, wildlife must have been helping its slow decay because a tiny creature with big ears and a long tail popped out and ran down my leg. I jumped up and made the loud screech noise in surprise.
I ran from the room and the last room was odd. There was a big table in the middle with chairs around it. I saw a thing I did know, the man told me it was called a sink or basin. In it was a large bowl but it had longer sides and had handles at the top along the edge for some reason. Losing interest in this room I went to the other thing in the cabin that I thought was odd. The inside steps. I didn't know homes could have inside steps. Curiosity getting the better of me I walked cautiously up the steps and paused at the top to listen for signs of danger. I heard dripping water and noticed a small hole in the roof ahead. A light rain had started outside and was coming in though every hole in the cabin that it could. There were four small rooms up here, the first was a room with a simple bed and drawers. Dust coated everything heavily and the faded yellow curtain on the window was torn and barely staying up. The next room was the same as the first except the curtains used to be white but were now shabby and stained.
The man told me the next room I found was called a washroom. He said people would clean dirt from themselves and would apply war paint to their skin using the reflective surface as a guide. He never brought me another picture book after that day. He said it brought up too many questions about things that I didn't need to know about.
The last room had a large bed in it and it instantly made me feel uncomfortable. I turned away from it and the memories it raised I didn't want to think about those things. They made me confused, sad, and scared, If I thought about them for too long, I wouldn't be able to operate. Running down the steps and outside I stood in front of the cabin and let my eyes drift over it. The powerful desire to own this cabin and make it my home overwhelmed me and I fell to my knees still looking at the thing that I now wanted to own more than anything. I could live here and make it my home and if anyone came and told me to leave I would, or I could offer them the gold brick in my bag in exchange for the cabin. If that day ever came, I hoped the gold brick would be enough for them to accept.
Exploring the surrounds of my home I found tracks here and there indicating that the area was sometimes used but the remoteness made me think it wasn't often. My fear took over a couple of times when I picked up smells that had my body desperate to run in the opposite direction to them. I quickly realised the scents seemed to form a boundary around something so if I stayed on my side of the boundary, I should be safe. My skin tingled and it felt like pins on the back of my neck every time I got to close to the boundary line. I don't know what was inside of the boundary but I hoped I never found out.
I returned to my cabin in between times I went exploring. Removing the broken furniture I placed it in a pile out the front of the cabin. I couldn't clean the dirt and dust from surfaces yet as I didn't have any of the cleaning items the man made me use to clean the room back at my mine. The curtains joined the pile out front along with anything I thought was beyond fixing or cleanable when I had supplies. I felt a weird feeling as the cabin started to slowly look like a home, granted an empty home but it was still mine for now. The last thing I did before leaving the cabin on my next exploration was destroy the large bed and take it outside to the pile, the memories tried to take over again so I dropped the last piece on the ground and ran for the trees, letting my speed distract me from the things I dint want to recall.
I kept running and the trees began to thin as I approached town. Running by a house became more frequent so I slowed my speed and cautiously moved forward. That's when I found another man in front of a remote cottage. He was using the loud angry voice and using his hands balled up to hit what I think was a female. I hadn't ever seen one before. She was smaller than the man and didn't appear to be as strong as him. She fell to the ground and I think she was asleep because she didn't get back up. My anger boiled at seeing her small body take the hard blows. When she didn't get back up, I became concerned as well as angry. When the angry man turned around and used his angry voice at the small human, he started towards the little one. Oh no, I began to panic at what I thought was going to happen. Please don't let him hit the small one, the tiny human wouldn't be able to take the hard blows that the human female had. When he was right in front of the small human, he picked it up and started shaking the young one like a rag doll. I missed my rag doll; I felt a wave of sadness hit me at having left her in the small room of the mine. The angry man threw the little one to the ground and was pulling his leg back to deliver a kick when I ran forward and snatched the angry man away.
I wasn't worried that the little one would say anything as I had run at my top speed. The small one would only have seen a blur. I took the angry man deep into the forest and when I felt we were deep enough that nobody would hear anything I threw the man to the ground. I heard something make a sharp crack noise. I felt an odd feeling and the thought of the angry man in pain, it made me feel happy. The angry man made a high screech noise. It hurt my ears so I growled at him making sure to show him my sharp teeth in the process.
The angry man shouted bad words that I had heard from the man I knew. I should have felt fear at this angry man but all I felt was anger. Anger that another man was yelling at me, anger that he was coming towards me with his fists balled, Anger and fear at knowing my existence up until now had been made up of lies and manipulation. Fear and confusion at my memories and dreams. The things I saw in them confused me as to what was happening in them and the all-consuming pain in my memories. My vision turned red and I was about to lose myself to the red haze.
I was snapped out of my thoughts by a blow to my face. Falling to the ground he made that loud screech noise again; the Angry man held his hurt hand to his chest and scrambled back as best he could. It didn't hurt me like when the man I knew had hit me, the blow hadn't made me move and there was no damage like there was with the human female. So humans couldn't hurt me. The man I knew must be like me. So that's twice now that the man I knew had held the truth from me.
Strangely that gave me a small strong feeling, like I held something over this mean nasty man. I stalked towards him and when he couldn't back up any further because of a tree I crouched down in front of him.
"Hello, angry man."
"Go to hell freak. You better let me go or you're going to be in a world of trouble. I'm a cop."
"I'm not scared angry man and I don't know what a cop is so I'm not scared. As you can see, I'm much stronger than you."
"Yeah, you may be stronger but I know people. Powerful men who would scare the hell out of you."
Shrugging I looked into his eyes and gave him the meanest growl I could. His eyes went wide and his attitude changed quickly. I realised the feeling I had was power, If I can scare someone this easy, I might have a chance at protecting myself and having some kind of life. I felt a sense of hope at the thought.
"Look I have money. If I tell you where it is will you get me help?" The angry man was now at the pleading stage. Oh I had the control alright.
Thinking of something nice I could do for the human female. I looked into the angry man's eyes.
"Ok angry man. Tell me what you have." I didn't understand all the words the angry man used but I played along as if I did. I could work out what the strange words were later.
Angry man grinned and started saying words like money, jewellery, and car. The way he was grinning I gathered what he was offering was valuable.
"Ok angry man. I'll take what you offer. Where is it?"
"It's in the garage. The car is covered and is untraceable, so you won't get pulled over. The money and jewellery are in the safe in the back corner. You need you need to type code 2954935 to open the safe."
"What's garage and safe?" I had to ask otherwise I wouldn't know what to look for. I need to find some books and start learning whatever I could, life would be hard not knowing what things are and not understanding what words meant.
Angry man tilted his head to the side and spoke slowly, "Garage is the building behind the house. A safe I guess is a big heavy black box where valuables are hidden. Will you go get that help for me now? I don't know how far I can get on my own." Oh goodie his pain must be bad; I barely stopped the happy dance I wanted to do.
"Ok angry man ill help you and I promise it will be so fast you'll barely feel a thing."
"You know you're not too bad for a freak. You want a job? I can introduce you to powerful people and you're hot as hell." He rubbed his hand on the space between his legs as he said the last part. Oh I knew what that meant. This needed to end now.
Barely holding back the panic I felt, "Oh angry man you have no idea what I am and what I can do." In truth I didn't even know exactly what I was and what I could do. I wasn't going to show him my doubt though. Something told me that people who are strong are also feared or at least respected so I need to start being like that or at least not letting anyone see my feelings.
Before angry man knew what was happening, I was on him with my hand over his mouth to muffle the noise. I drank him quickly and disposed of him down a deep rock hole. Good riddance I hope he was now somewhere bad feeling all the pain and fear he had inflicted on others. I felt a weird feeling at knowing I was fed and angry man wouldn't be able to hurt anyone anymore.
I didn't like it when the man I knew hit me and the other stuff he did. He didn't do it often, only when I broke the rules. He said he cared and worried about me that's why he got angry sometimes and did the things he did to me.
Following the trail back to the house was easy. In my run I had left damage along the way. When I got there the human female was awake and holding the little human. Her face had blood so I held my breath, I wasn't going to risk hurting her or the young one.
"I'm sorry I couldn't catch him. I saw him hit you and run off and I thought I could see where he went but he lost me."
The human female jumped up and wrapped her arms around me. The man I knew would do this to me. She held me while sobbing, I patted her back like the man I knew did to me hoping it was soothing. I pulled out of the hug and took a step back to be safe. I made sure to keep holding my breath.
"Thank you, thank you. Thank you so much. My little boy said that a ghost had chased his daddy away before my boy could be hurt again. I see you're wearing a white shirt, that's cute he thought you were a ghost."
"I'm happy I could stop the angry man from hurting you and your little one. What are you going to do now?" I was curious as to what the human female would do now. Would she stay or would she run?
"I'd return to my family but I don't have money or transport. I ran away to Washington and changed my name when I was young but I know they'd take me back if I returned to them. Especially with my little miracle by my side." She touched the young one on the cheek gently and my stomach clenched at the tender scene.
"Can I ask why the man was angry and hurting you?" I didn't always know what it was that I did to anger the man I knew.
"My little boy Ben snuck away from me while I was putting the washing on. I found him in the garage peeking under the cover over my husbands' car. My husband walked in at that moment and got angry as we're not allowed in his garage. The rest you saw."
"I'm sorry. I haven't had a lot of learning so I don't understand some of what you said. I think you're saying that the angry man doesn't allow you to see his valuable items for some reason. Is it because he has riches hidden in there? The man I knew who looked after me said people sometimes hide their riches because others steal them."
"I have to say you're doing well with your learning and keep going. You're doing an excellent job, I'm a teacher so I know. Now your assumption is right. I've long suspected he has stuff hidden in there he confirmed it tonight when he was lost in his anger. I've also suspected that my husband didn't earn his money honestly."
"Why don't you take the riches and go to your family? I can have a look and see if the car works at least." Why did I feel such a need to make sure this human woman and her young one was safe and well?
"I suppose we can but we have to be out of the garage before my husband returns." I recognised panic in her eyes and tried to hurry things along even though I knew Angry man wasn't coming back.
"The angry man ran deep into the forest at night. He might not return, its dangerous out there. Especially at night."
We walked into the garage and I stored the words I didn't understand into my brain to think about later. I really had no idea what I was doing but I thought I could at least pretend and get the information angry man told me to her without revealing how I knew it.
Frantically thinking at how I could make this work I laid down on the ground and stuck my head just under the car. I remained there for a few minutes before climbing out from under the car and brushing myself of the dirt that was on the ground.
Thinking about words that the man I knew taught me I looked at the female and said, "There's no id number under there. I'm sure this car can't be traced." I used words the angry man had said as well.
"Oh really? I really know nothing about cars but I know enough from television that an untraceable car isn't necessarily a good thing but if it can get me as far as my family, I can ditch it somewhere and hope it isn't somehow traced back to me."
The female walked over to the car looking at me over her shoulder, "Can I ask my guardian angels name?" Did she mean me? I was no angel.
"What's name mean?" My curiosity got the better of me.
"Oh sweetie. Your teaching was all over the place, wasn't it? Name is a title we give our young when born. So when someone sees that person, they call them by the title name they were given at birth. It's a way of identifying each other. My name is Renee and as I said before I teach people."
This Renee seems nice, she made me feel safe and didn't call me stupid for not knowing something. Another truth that the man I knew withheld from me. So humans can be good and bad it seems. Thinking over what words I knew; I thought about what to say but I didn't want her to know I'm different. I had a feeling that is something I should keep secret.
"The man I knew never gave me a title name. He never told me his title name either. He is the only person I've known until recently. I left when he didn't come back because I was hungry then I couldn't find my way home. I remember the man said once that he would only teach me what I needed to know." There that sounded ok. I felt happy with what I had come up with.
"Oh my. He doesn't sound like a nice man. It's a good thing you left. You can settle somewhere and start a new life. Why don't you take your glasses off so you can see better? It's getting dark out."
"It was very dark where I lived. My eyes are sensitive to light so I wear these until my eyes are better." Glasses must be the eye coverings, there's something else I had learned since leaving my home.
Renee looked at me oddly, "Honey are you ok? Were you being held against your will?"
I didn't understand what she meant but I had a feeling, some kind of energy telling me to shut this down fast.
"I'm ok. Nothing bad has happened to me. I'm just wandering until I find a place that feels like home."
"You're a wanderer like I used to be a long time ago when I lived in Washington. I left there and wandered with my daughter until she was four and someone took her from me. After that I realised that I had to change so I settled here. I thought I had found a wonderful man here but as you see he was a nightmare dressed as a dream."
Renee opened the car door and was looking around in there when she made a happy loud noise. She climbed in the thing she called a car and I guessed it was some mode of travel based on what she said earlier. All of a sudden, the car made a noise and sat there rumbling softly. I jumped a little when the noise started but adjusted to it quickly as it sat there rumbling.
Jumping out of the car with another loud noise Renee yelled, "It works! My stupid but predictable and cocky husband left the keys in the glove compartment. He always thought he was untouchable and nobody would try and steal from him because he was a cop."
This Renee person liked to say a lot of words and was loud. As nice as she seemed I wanted to leave so I wandered over to the thing the angry man called a safe while she ran into the house with the little human to grab something. I thought about just breaking into the safe but decided to put in the code the angry man told me.
I was about to put the code in when I remembered angry man's words about knowing powerful nasty people. With the limited learning I had I was still able to work out that it would look better if the powerful men thought that this was some kind of attack or theft when everyone vanished.
So I used my strength to break the lock and poked my finger through the lock and into the safe. When Renee walked in, she put a few bags in the car then put a weird plastic shape in the car before strapping her little human in a seated position on the weird plastic thing. Humans were weird, but I was starting to find them fascinating.
Walking over to me Renee gave me a hug, "I really can't thank you enough for coming this way tonight. I've wanted to run for so long but he controlled everything with an iron fist. This is my first real chance and I'm going to take it. My little boy deserves better. I failed my daughter; I won't fail him too." Renee's eyes started leaking as she spoke. Was this the crying thing the man had told me about?
"I was looking around while you were inside. That heavy box over there is open and there's stuff inside. I think angry man must have left it open and that's why he came and found you both in here." I think I'm getting good at lying. That worried me, I didn't want to be like the man I knew and lie all the time.
Renee ran over to where I pointed and pulled the door on the safe open. She let out a sudden loud noise but I couldn't tell if it was angry happy or sad.
"What have you found Renee?" Pretending I hadn't seen it already. This way she would explain to me what the stuff was.
"There's a crazy amount of money. There has to be hundreds of thousands of dollars if not more, there's jewellery and gold bars. I can't take this can I?" Renee was losing confidence in her plan and was beginning to look scared.
"Is there any way it can be traced to you Renee?"
Looking at the money and flicking the little pieces of paper, she said, "Again thanks to television I know they're non-sequential so I don't think it can be traced. The jewellery and gold, I don't know."
I didn't understand what she meant so I just nodded and acted as if I understood. I remained standing and watched Renee grab two bags and start splitting the items from the safe in the bags.
When finished Renee sprayed the safe with something and wipe it down as well as surface she had touched, she then walked over and handed me one of the bags, "Take this. You deserve it for rescuing me and Ben. That should set you up nice with a new life. Just be careful with who sees what's in there and don't try and sell any of the jewellery or gold unless you really trust the person. You're a nice girl. People in this world can be cruel but they can also be wonderful."
"Why are you doing this for me?" Now I was completely confused by Renee's actions.
"I'm doing this because it's the right thing to do. If I can help someone have a better life I will. I do it in the hopes that somewhere out there my little girl Bella is safe and kind people helped her find a good life. I'll go home to Jacksonville and start living a good life for her. I'll meet her again one day hopefully in life but if it's in heaven that's ok too." Renee's eyes were leaking again.
For some strange reason I felt a rush of an emotion that felt warm and good at what Renee said. We said our goodbyes and the little human waved at me from his spot in the car and grinned before saying softly, "Thank you for helping us. I hope I can have a sister like you some day."
Renee looked at me from the car and said softly, "If you can't decide on a name for yourself why don't you use Bella? It means beautiful and you are beautiful just like my little girl would have been. You could also use Belle, I'm not sure what it means but I always thought it was lovely."
With a final wave I watched them drive away and enjoyed the new emotion I was feeling. The man I knew had held a lot of information from me. He said he cared for me but I believed now that wasn't the truth. For some other reason I was a pet or a toy for him.
Thinking briefly about seeing if there was anything of use in the house, I decided against taking anything. If the powerful men came here, I wanted as little trance of me left here as possible and I didn't want them to think that Renee had left voluntarily. I had a feeling that would be bad.
The bag looked like one the man I knew would sometimes have. I slipped my arms into the straps and the bag sat comfortably against my back. Running outside I picked a direction and started running. Feeling a newfound sense of confidence, for the first time in a long time I felt like things were going to be ok.
On my way back to my cabin I took a detour and took the opportunity to stop and observe humans while hidden. I wanted to see just how much the man had lied to me. Still needing more chance to observe people and develop a conclusion on their behaviours I felt sure humans were capable of doing nice and kind things as well as cruel things. Still I was going to keep my guard up when meeting new people and if I ever came across anything like I was. It was now obvious that whatever thing I was could also do cruel things to get what they desire. The man I knew was proof of that, even though I didn't know his motive, I wasn't sure I wanted to know what his reason was.
The light was starting to change so I decided to head back to my cabin. I let my mind wander over what I had seen the humans doing as I made my way home. Some had been cleaning the materials they wore on their bodies. Others had been giving the stuff Renee called money to other people and they were given treasures in return. The thing I had been most confused by was a building with a wall that you could see through. On the other side of the wall was shelves that had boxes on them and the boxes had moving pictures on them. How on earth did they do that? Were the tiny people trapped in the boxes? I could hear the tiny people in the boxes talking but they didn't seem to be scared, in fact they looked to be happy. People walking along the path would stop briefly and watch the tiny people in the boxes then move along on their way. How odd. I would like to get a closer look but people started to walk out of buildings closing them up and saying goodbye to others on the street before leaving. It was time for me to go home, I could come back another time and people watch some more.
I was almost home when I had to stop suddenly. The smell that I had encountered when exploring was all around me. If my heart beat it would be pounding out of my chest, cautiously I moved towards my cabin eyes constantly scanning for whatever had been here.
The smell was strongest at my cabin and when I reached the door it was as if the smell coated everything. Something had been here. My fear took complete control and I was deciding if I should run like the man had taught me or stay and see what the smell belonged to.
Suddenly I heard a branch crack making me spin around and scan the trees from where I stood. Standing by the door with my non heart picking up speed and threatening to take over I locked eyes on the spot where a second branch crack sounded from. Not seeing anything, I was about to turn and head inside when I heard a soft and gentle voice.
"Hello."
Even though the voice was soft my instinct screamed at me to drop into a crouch and hiss a warning not to come forward. After I gave into my instincts, I kept a sharp eye on the trees for movement.
"Please don't be afraid. I mean you no harm, I'm about to come out but I'll stay just outside the tree line and I'll sit on the ground to show you I'm not here to hurt you."
Remaining in my crouch position I watched as a beautiful female walked out of the trees and sat on the ground where she said she would. After a few minutes of silence and watching each other, I straightened out of my crouch but didn't step forward. Caution is key the man I knew had once told me.
The female seemed happy enough to sit in silence and my non heart calmed down from its fast pace. I inched forward and paused at the bottom step, looking at the new person who gave me a small smile that told me she wasn't at threat. At least she wasn't a threat for the time being.
Taking a few small steps forward I decided I was close enough and sat on the ground like she had. There was still enough space for me to run if anything changed. The female picked at the blades of grass and started twisting them into a shape eventually placing it on the ground in front of her. Then she picked a flower placing it behind her ear so the flower was peeking over the top. How strange. What was the purpose of the flower being there? Did it do something special?
Slowly I reached for a flower beside me and pulled it from the ground looking at it closely I couldn't see anything special about it. The flower was the same kind as the new female picked so it had to be something to do with the placement behind the ear. Bringing the flower up towards my ear the new person smiled at me gently and pulled another flower from the ground and placed it behind her other ear but she moved slowly as if showing me it was safe to do or showing me how. Who knew what her reasoning was.
Following her actions I placed the flower behind my ear and didn't feel any different. However the female gave me a big smile and started to play with many things on the ground making shapes with them.
Inching forward a little but leaving space between us I started to copy what she was doing with the items around us. We both sat in silence making things for what felt like a long time and I felt safe enough to inch forward a little more. Surely if this new person meant harm, she would have done something by now.
I jumped when the new person suddenly spoke, "My names Irina. What's your name?"
"I don't have a name title. The man who took care of me never gave me one."
"That's sad. Where is the man who took care of you?"
"I don't know. He didn't stay with me in my mine, he would come visit me and would bring food before he would go away again. It's been a long time since he visited me and I got hungry so I went to find food but I got lost." Unsure of how truthful I should be I decided to trust this new person and answer her question.
"Do you know his name? I might know him."
I shook my head before responding, "No. He never gave me his name title."
"Oh well. I'm sure you'll run in to him again."
"Why would I run into him? I don't want to hurt him; I'd rather just walk up to him." I tilted my head in confusion.
Irina seemed shocked by what I had said. She sat there looking at me as if she were trying to work out what to say next.
"I'm sorry. Saying run into is another way of saying you'll meet again; I didn't mean to confuse you."
"I don't have good knowledge of things. I have some, but the man who took care of me only taught me what he said was needed to know. He used to bring me books , but he took them away when I started asking questions about things in them. He gave me a ragdoll but I left it in my mine. I miss my doll. She made me feel safe when I got scared."
"We could buy you a new doll or I might even have one at my home if you wanted. Then we can get you some books and work on learning new things. It's a good thing our kind learns quickly it really does make things easier at times."
"Our kind? You know what we are?" Finally I might get some answers to my many questions. I felt both nervous and excited at the idea.
"Oh my. I can see you've been kept in the dark on many things. You should come meet my family and we can answer any questions you have."
"Yes, my mine was very dark. I like the dark it makes me feel safe. Your family won't hurt me, will they? The man said I shouldn't trust people and that I'm valuable so people will want to own me and hurt me." Ok now I'm feeling a little scared.
"I will personally protect you from danger, but I can guarantee my family won't hurt you." Irina said with a gentle smile.
"Ok if you say I'll be safe I'll trust you." I didn't know why but I felt comfortable around Irina. Something inside was telling me I would be ok trusting her.
Irina rose to her feet slowly and closed the gap between us. She held her hand out to me and left it up to me if I would take her hand. I was thankful that she wasn't making the decisions for me like the man used too.
Placing my hand in Irina's I stood up and Irina gave my hand a soft squeeze before letting go. Looking around I decided to grab some of the things Irina and I had made and place them in my bag I took everywhere with me. I didn't want to risk anyone taking my treasures.
Irina and I walked into the trees towards the boundary line I had avoided while exploring the woods. I paused at the boundary and Irina came to a stop on the other side.
"Remember I'm here and I'll protect you. My family and I run this line to warn anyone who comes near that this area is claimed by my family. How about we run the rest of the way? All you have to do is follow me, I promise you'll be fine."
We started run and it wasn't long before we stood in front of a large house in the middle of a clearing. While the house was large, I found it just as beautiful as my cabin.
They must have been expecting us because Irina's family were sitting on some puffy soft chairs and looking towards us when we came through the door.
Irina walked over to the area where her family were seated and stood waiting for me to feel comfortable enough to join them. Taking a deep breath I walked over to Irina and slipped my hand into hers using her to hide myself from everyone's view.
"You're ok little one. Come sit with me over here then I'll introduce you to my family." Irina said as she led me to the chair and sitting down while never letting go of my hand.
I took my place next to Irina sitting as close as I could to her for comfort. Looking around I saw three other females, the two light hair ones sat in different chairs that were separated by a small table. They had the same colour hair as Irina and the same golden colour eyes. The dark hair female sat on the same puffy chair as a dark hair man holding his hand and smiling at me. They had the same golden colour eyes as Irina and the others. I wonder what colour my eyes were.
Squeezing my hand again Irina began to talk, "Little one these are my sisters Tanya and Kate. Tanya has her hair tied up while Kate has her hair down."
Kate and Tanya waved to me from their chairs next to each other. I looked over at the female and man who sat holding hands much like Irina and I were. Did these two feel nervous too? Is that why they were holding hands.
Irina began speaking again, "The man you see is Eleazar and next to him is Carmen. Everyone this is little one, she's been staying at the old cabin to the south. I won't go to into detail as I'll leave that up to her to decide how much she wants to talk about, but she doesn't have a name or can't remember what it was. The only other thing I'll say is she doesn't know what we are."
Eleazar looked up suddenly but spoke quietly, "How do you not know what we are?"
Shrugging before responding, "The man who looked after me never told me what I am. I know he was the same but he never explained it. As I told Irina he only taught me what he said was needed, so my learning isn't great. I get confused easy and sometimes I don't know what a word is that people use."
Carmen spoke up when I fell silent. "Would you like me to take your bag and glasses so you can be more comfortable?"
Taking off my glasses I noticed my eyes didn't hurt like they used to. I placed the glasses in my bag with my other treasures and looked around. I noticed Eleazar startle a little but it was so tiny a movement I almost missed it. What was that about? Had I done something wrong?
"Renee told me to not let anyone take my bag or even what's in it. So no thank you I'll keep it with me." I said quietly.
"Little one who is Renee and why did she tell you not to let anyone know what's in your bag?" Irina drew my attention back to her.
"I met her on my way to the cabin. An angry man was hurting her and the tiny human she had with her so I helped them and made him go away. Before Renee ran away with her tiny human, she called Ben. She wanted to help me start a new life so she gave me some treasures to help. Renee said people might take my treasures so not to tell people what's in there." I didn't feel scared but I really wished I had my ragdoll.
As if reading my mind Irina stood up as she spoke, "That's ok Little One you don't have to tell us. Would you like to come and see if I have that ragdoll still?"
I heard light laughter from the others when I jumped up quickly with a happy grin on my face and followed Irina up stairs still holding her hand. We walked by many new and confusing things as we walked through the hall but my favourite thing was the bright flowers that sat on a shelf before the door Irina stopped at.
When Irina opened the door and entered the room I followed before stopping suddenly. Irina let go of my hand and walked towards another door before she noticed I stood still staring at the huge bed that looked like the one from one of my very few memories. I started shaking and tried wrapping my arms around myself before I collapsed to the ground in a ball. It felt like my vision shrank giving way to the memory I tried to never think about. Starting to sob I felt Irina's gentle hand on my shoulder.
"Shh, Little One. You're safe I'm here to protect you remember?"
Hearing the others run up the stairs towards us I climbed into Irina's lap and curled back up in her embrace. I felt safe in her arms so wasn't alarmed when the other family members came to a stop near us.
Carmen crouched down near us before whispering, "Irina what happened to her?"
"I don't know for sure but she lost it when she saw the bed. I suspect what has happened to her from the way she froze staring at the bed before falling into hysterics and dropping like a brick. Carmen I think its time to call in Jasper, Rose and possibly Esme. We're going to need all the help we can get."
A/N: Thank you for your patience with my years long writers block. I think I've fixed all the grammar and punctuation errors, sorry if I've missed any. I'm relearning how to write again. Thank you to Lisa and Karen for all your help and suggestions, you guys are my heroes for listening to my rambling over the story. Most of all thank you to all of you for reading my work. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on my story.
I'm also looking for someone to make a banner for this story, if anyone can help I would be super grateful.
