//------------------------------// // New place, New Beginnings part 2 // Story: Broken Angels // by Amega //------------------------------// 1st person pov, Soar I looked around as I walked down the path by the school. Goddamn it, where is he? Luke's a great mate and all, but I wish he'd actually get here on time! I stopped and leaned against the rail old metal rail surrounding my old primary school. Well, now that I'm here, I guess I'll just have to wait for blondie to show up. As I look up to the sky, I feel a sense of longing. I always wanted adventure, to be free, flying through the clouds. It's no fun being stuck on the ground, bound by rules and the expectations that everyone always bestows upon you, unaccepting of anything or anyone who breaks them. ...Or maybe I'm just thinking about this too much. Either way, I want something more. I want adventure, to feel the freedom of the sky. I want... something more. I've wanted to leave for so long. I've even distanced myself from my parents so I won't miss them as much as I would if- when I leave. I look at the necklace my Grandmother gave me; a pair of wings, detachable, and with two chains attached if one would want to separate it. She gave this to me before she passed. She was an explorer and an adventurer when she was younger. Hearing her stories of the world was what inspired me to have an adventure like she used to - only this world, it was all so common. People have already travelled across it, and explored its mysteries. I want something different, something new. I looked across the road into the bush opposite the school, and noticed a soft, purple reddish glow. That’s strange, there’s no houses nearby to be the source of the glow, and it was too off-colour for it to be fire or light from the sun. Making sure my backpack was closed properly, I quickly crossed the street to inspect inside the bush, keeping an eye out for spiders or snakes. Behind the bushes I saw something that left me speechless. A pulsing sphere, floating in the air and glowing like it was a giant hovering lightbulb. The air around me became thicker, as if the air was filled with enough energy to be tangible. Gathering up courage, I got closer to the orb, slowly but surely, as it glowed a little brighter. I'm not going to touch it, I'm not that much of an idiot, but I want to check it out, curiosity is getting the better of me. Suddenly I start hearing voices. Not voices like talking, and I guess not hearing either, it was more like feeling, feeling the... thing that was telling me to reach for it. The voice was familiar, but older, and so distracting. As I reached out to the orb, the hairs on my arms started to rise, probably from the static energy in the air. As I touched the orb, there was a sudden feeling of heat. It felt so hot, but I couldn’t sweat, or move. I felt fear rise up as I was covered in a light, and then an unimaginable sensation came upon me. It was like I was being twisted inside out, but with no pain. My vision turned purple and it felt like my body was twisting and tying itself into a knot, but there was no pain. It's strange and impossible to really describe, but it didn't hurt… Ok, now it hurts. A sudden wave of agony washed over my chest and stomach, forcing me to scream in overwhelming agony. All I could think about was the strain put on my body as it felt like I was being squeezed into a thin tube less than half my size. All I could hear was my screams, filling my mind, echoing in the purple void, and rushing past my ears like wind at the same time. Suddenly the pain stopped and I felt the feeling of being pulled inside out again, but this time in reverse, like I was being pulled back. I felt like I stopped suddenly and jarringly, and shortly followed by falling, my vision turning black from the purple it was before. Suddenly I hit the ground with a thud, my senses being berated by the feeling of the grass I was now lying on. I hadn't realised I had closed my eyes at any point, as it was just as purple with them closed as open, but I now opened them to take a look at my body. Everything was fuzzy at first, but now my vision was focusing more. As I look at my chest, I don’t notice any damage except a small bruise from landing on a rock. No scars, no twisted limbs, nothing out of the ordinary or disfiguring. Breathing a sigh of relief, I look around and take in my surroundings. A dark, creepy forest. At night. Shit. I've been walking for about 20 minutes now and I've seemingly made no progress. Now I'm stuck in a creepy forest where everything looks the same! God dammit, why did I touch the fucking orb!? Hey look, it’s a strange glowing sphere bursting with electricity and shit, better FUCKING TOUCH IT! Ok, calm down, I'm not dead yet so there's still a chance I can get out of this forest. Wait, is that growling I hear? Yep, that's definitely growling. Scanning the bushes for what sounds like about three wolves, I come across something freaky, a pair of glowing green eyes. Slowly the figure moved out of the bush. It was a wolf, made of wood. What? Turning around, I spotted two other wolves slowly advancing, but they seemed to be sizing me up, almost like I'm strange to them. Where the hell am I? The wolf things started to advance towards me, making it all the more welcoming for me to take a step back, although to no use, as they had me almost surrounded, one in front, one to my left and one to my right. I spotted a large thick stick out of the corner of my eye, one I could use as some type of defence, the only problem being that it was out of reach and these wood-wolves were sure to pounce any moment now. But I had a plan – a bad, hardly thought out plan – but a plan nonetheless. I looked at the three wolves, waiting for one to pounce. The one in front was showing the most signs of aggression, and since the stick is behind me slightly to the right, it’s an easy dodge if I do this just right. As soon as the first wolf pounced, I made a dive for the stick. Thank God they taught us gymnastics in school. Grabbing the stick with both hands, I spun around and struck the timber wolf that was closest to me as I rose up, just hitting it before it attacked. With the wolf knocked back and whimpering from what I presumed to be pain – because I’m not sure wood can feel pain – I turned and started running in the other direction as fast as I could. I didn't even make it 3 metres. I tripped and fell over a root sticking out of the dirt. Quickly flipping onto my back, just in time to see a wolf in the process of jumping at me. I instinctively kicked it in the chest, stopping it in its tracks, then slammed the wolf in the head with the stick, sending it straight into the ground and breaking its face slightly. Getting back up as fast as I could, I turned around and started running. I spun my head slightly to look over my right shoulder, only for a wood wolf to swipe at my left. I staggered forwards and moved to face the wolf. Luckily the cut wasn’t deep, as my left shoulder was moving away from the lunging wood wolf when it had struck. As the wood wolf growled at me, I realised that I couldn’t outrun them. Cautiously watching my surprisingly large opponent for any movement, the wood wolf lunged at me. I was able to dodge it just in the nick of time. As the wolf turned around, I hit it with the stick diagonally up, then as hard as I could straight down. THWAK! My stick broke, but luckily so did the wolf's face. With the stick now pretty much useless… I hung onto it anyway. Looking at the last two wolves, I was ready to fight. However, they just simply growled at me, retreating into the forest behind them. Now they’re dealt with, I finally take the time to examine my shoulder. Dammit, it stings, but it’s nothing too serious. It just needs some time to heal. Checking I had everything with me, I decided to continue travelling. The sooner I get moving, the sooner I get out of here, and the less likely I'll be eaten by a snarling plant. With that in mind, I hiked on through the dark, annoying forest. Dammit, I've been walking so long that it’s getting bright out. Well, on the upside, now that it’s morning, I’ll be able to see better. Don’t let anyone tell you I'm not a positive thinker. Stopping to take a sip of water out of my bottle, I surveyed my surroundings. Trees, trees, trees… oh wait look, another tree! Wait a minute, is that a lake? Sure enough, I could see the clear water shimmering in the light from the canopies’ net of shadows. Sprinting over, I'm finally glad to make some progress, I've finally found somewhere new. Looking around, I spotted a cave. If this cave is unoccupied, it'd be a great place for me to rest. Deciding to explore the cave, I headed in… and what I saw halted me in my tracks. It was a small horse, or a pony, or some type of equine. But it was weird. It had ebony fur, with messy purple and blue mane and tail. Its eyes were also much larger than usual with magenta coloured irises, and its facial features were much different than that of normal horses. Apart from the mane colour and head, it looked like any other small horse. Oh, and then it talked. "How did you get here?" The voice was feminine, and slurred, but it still made me freeze in place. Then the ebony pony fainted in place, leaving me just standing there in confusion. I couldn’t help but fall onto my back. As much as I don’t want to, I can’t help but freak out. I'm in a strange forest place, I've met wooden wolves that have tried to eat my face, and a strange coloured horse that talked. There's one thing on my mind. I'm somewhere on my own. No friends, no family, just me, by myself. I guess I finally got the adventure I asked for. Could have done without the giant fuck you though.