Ash
2012-02-18 09:21:31 UTC
Chapter1; Familiar
The lake had changed since we last visited a week ago. Familiar scents of water lilies and moss surround our faces but the water is foggy and unusually dull. The forest surrounding us, green and full, swayed ominously next to us and a deep layer of anxiety filled me. Did the air here always taste so bitter? I have been here so many times in the past sixteen years that the animals would probably recognize me by now, and not once had the exuberant forest ever greeted me so coldly.
Feeling offended, I contemplate turning around and crossing the road to our decrepit house when I feel the tiny hands clutching mine reminding me of the promise I made to the twins about bringing them here of they cleaned their room. I sigh deeply and skim through the rules as usual: No swimming, no digging, and don't venture too deep into the forest. They nod their heads at me and run off to play tag as best as four year olds can. Soon they are distracted and I watch the girl giggle at the popping forget-me-nots in her hand while her twin brother throws pebbles in the lake and maybe it's because of the odd feeling the wind brings, but I jump about ten feet in the air when I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn to see someone smirking at me. I narrow my eyes angry only to have the gesture mirrored back at me.
" Dios mío Chica! Are you OK?" She asks me a bit exasperated, but I ignore the question and force my features to relax. Grateful for her presence, I crush her with a hug. I missed her so much these past weeks while she was away visiting family in Cuba I almost went crazy. I pull back and take in her appearance. Dark hair dyed with streaks of blue pulled in a ponytail thats now down to her thin waist, Honey brown eyes caked with make-up, her usual 'M' necklace hung around her tanned skin. Her name is Magdalen and to say we are as close as sisters seemed like the understatement of the century. I ask about her trip and she seems to have been waiting for me to ask because she's off like a bullet.
"It was absolutely amazing. I got to perform a dance at my cousins quinceanera, I nearly tripped towards the end...." We talked back and forth for a little bit when she suddenly froze looking confused. I ask what was wrong.
"Aye! The twins!" She reminded me panicked. My eyes widened as well as hers. I had been so excited and curious when Magdalen arrived I had forgot to keep an eye out for them. My head spun left and right searching for the ignorant children and I see the boy sitting in the mud, his feet dangling in the water and sigh in relief just to have more air trapped in my lungs.
I see tiny feet trotting through trees and I glimpse her blouse just before she disappears into the dense foliage of the forest. I yell to Magdalen to stay at the lake and run off after the now-running toddler. Dreadful images of wild wolves and poisonous creatures invade my mind though I know they are only dangerous if you mess with them. What happens next was almost dreamlike, an event that happens too fast to question while experiencing, but it was too lucid to be a dream so I know I'm not asleep. First, I see a glowing light, shining red that I would have missed if I blinked. It bounces of everything in it's path before disappearing and for a split second I see the little girl stare at me with wide eyes burning into mine questioning me. She looks so much like me... Eyes the color of rain clouds being our most dominant feature and our head of unmanageable, dark curls make us look young. I don't stop running, my breathe coming out in gasps and I'm almost there. Almost.... He gets to her first. Had he been there this whole time? I only see the silhouette but it's a man and he doesn't see me. The red flash is back and just as I open my mouth to call out to her, they're gone. Both gone into thin air and I'm standing at the spot they stood not two seconds ago, dumbfounded.
No. No. No!
What just happened? I hear an animal-like scream pierce the forest and before long, my throat is raw and the scream steals my voice and I'm on my knees while black spots dance in front of me. Anger, shock, and tears all hit me at once and the air tasted more sour than bitter now. My thoughts are scattered and fighting to be the loudest.
What do I do now? Did that really just happen? Is there even anything police can investigate? I imagine that conversation going down. How do you go about telling people your sister was abducted by... What? How? Aliens? As if. I'm still too panicked to think straight and I seem to be losing air. The world suddenly goes black as I lose consciousness, the last thing I see is a a crow glaring down at me from a tree and something shi