I finally made it to the company's headquarters. It wasn't very new looking. It only had a very decent amount of green vines around the building. It made me want to help this place a bit. Like maybe I could become a super popular writer and maybe help make this place popular, too. It definitely deserves it. That much I can admit.
I walk through the doors of the long building and quickly find my computer desk among the vast amounts of them scattered around the room. There are very few people here right now, so I know concentrating will be moderately easy to begin with. That's all I need to get into the zone anyway. Now, back to the book.
"She lifts her skirts to step forward once again. The king of the elves drifts forward toward the girl as I watch with an upcoming dread. The certainty of the situation hits me head on. I'm never going to be in her place. The rebellion will be conquered and all will be lost. None of the Feraad will even have a chance at freedom. Nobody will. I can't believe Shiro is doing this to me. Wasn't I supposed to be the Queen of this place? Wasn't I supposed to be the one who stood on that pedestal and pledged my loyalty to the king? I shouldn't be the one standing here on the sidelines. I decided to do it then, to do it now. What else am I supposed to do in this situation? They'll destroy us and there's no way I'd ever allow that. Not me. I'm Onii Chiis and I won't let anything keep me from saving my people."
I sigh. It took maybe thirty seconds to quickly finish that chapter and I wonder to myself why I even ended so early yesterday to begin with. I could've finished it within a heartbeat. The next few hours fly by in a blur as I continue typing out the next few chapters. Onii really is a hero. She's so determined and beautiful and everything I wish I could be. My fingers begin to ache after hours and hours of typing and my back pops loudly when I straighten it. I exhausted my brain for the day, it seems. I decided to take a little nap. I grab my phone so I have a timer. I set it to an hour and a half and lay my head down on the desk and fall asleep quickly. When I wake up later, I feel like I'm floating. Wind seems to whip across my face. I open my eyes and a green blob seems to be getting bigger and bigger in front of my face. No, that's not a green blob. That's— with a sickening crunch, my body lands in the prickly grass. It seems the wind whipping through my hair and face was, indeed, wind. Such a nuisance. Where the hell am I anyway?
I look around me. I expect it to hurt to stand. I'm surprised I'm even alive, but when I use my hands and knees to shove myself to my feet, I feel light. It feels like every weight I've ever had has been released from my shoulders. The air is fresh and warm. Smoke curls through the air in the distance, so I follow it. That must mean people. I must be dreaming. The last thing I remember is falling asleep, so that seems to be the more logical conclusion. The smoke was doing strange things to my mind. It feels foggy and disheveled. Smoke doesn't usually curl into miniature spirals like that. The air is crisp now and I breathe in deeply, soaking my lungs with the fresh scent. I guess it's true when they say nature is peaceful. I certainly do feel at peace with myself, even if it's just a dream. I need to get toward people. Dreams last a lot longer in the dream world than it does in the real world. Or it seems that way sometimes.
I've been walking ten whole minutes and still haven't made it to the curling smoke. Dang it! How far could it be? I noticed I've only made it half way. No way am I walking two hours in a stupid dream! No freaking way.
Smoke, I think, I must be with the smoke. Keep walking until you get there, Gracie because you eventually will get there and it will be great because there will be people there. People can help you figure out this dream.
Usually, my dreams aren't this detailed. I crawl up a hill and the smoke is right in front of me. What? But wasn't it just...? No, I shouldn't dwell on that. The fire looked as if it had gone out a little bit ago. Whoever was here only just recently left.
The world seemed to darken in a moment. A cold breeze drifted through the few trees scatter around the field. I'll just use the fire patch until morning then. Logs were placed around the fire cans I knew then that it must have been more than just one person here. I sit on the closest one to me and shiver again. Not much heat was coming off the fire. In fact, the smoke began to falter and finally died off. Without knowing anything about my surroundings, shivering, and in complete darkness, I'm shocked when a knife is held to my throat. A retched sneering voice speaks. "Where's the rest of you?" I shake my head. I am unable to gather my thoughts enough to reply when I feel like he could slit my throat any second. The knife is pushed closer into my neck and I yelp as I feel my blood drip down.
What the hell is happening?! This can no way be a dream. Everything is too detailed and I can feel too many things. God, this is crazy.
"Answer me, Feraad!" The man's voice brings me back to the present, and I freeze. I open my mouth to speak, but I hear a whiz, a gurgle, and then a solid thump. The knife is laying on my lap and the man is no longer standing behind me. I jump up, alert to all my surroundings. What the heck is happening? I ask myself for the umpteenth time. A trio of people come out from behind the trees. One holds a bow and arrow aimed straight at my heart. Another holds a throwing knife that I assume is what struck the man who threatened me. He lays on the ground behind me. I don't get to see him too well because now I have to deal with the people in front of me. They killed the man, so they must be decent people. But then again, they killed him. That's still considered bad.
I can feel myself shaking. I'm in my work clothes which is just a casual skirt and a tank top. I took off the jacket for my nap, so I have nothing to cover my arms. The upper part of my hair is tied up with a blue ribbon and the rest falls down in blonde layers.
"Who are you?" The man in front of the trio asks. I recognize him immediately. He's so bulky and tall, there's no way I could forget that scowl.
I answer him with mock confidence. I wish I could really be courageous at this moment but all I can be is frustrated. "I could say the same for you. Why am I here?" The man looks me over in a judgmental way. I feel my face and neck flush even though I know he's not looking at me inappropriately at all. The man doesn't smile or do anything even remotely considered friendly. A muscle ticks in his sharp jaw, shadowing a small portion of the bottom of his face.
The auburn haired girl with the bow smiles a feral smile. "Answer his question, hun, or an arrow will pierce your heart before you even realize it's flown." The other boy, smaller and more frail looking is a brunette like their leader. He tucks his chin below my view. He looks to be around 15 at least. I wonder who he is and what he's doing with these two?
I glare at them all, a group of thugs who think they can get the best of me. Yeah, no way that's ever going to happen.
"Don't mistake me for some idiot. I'm Gracie Pierce. Who the hell are you?" Yeah, maybe I did get my temper from my mother a little. I used to think it really was from my grandpa, but now I know how mom acts after a few sips of alcohol. I hate that I can remind myself of her by my own actions and feelings.
They lower their weapons. I'm moderately surprised by this. If I were them, I probably would have asked far more questions than that.
I think my confusion is written on my face because they laugh and walk over to me. I flinch when the girl's hand lands on my shoulder. The man I met in the street earlier today walks straight by me, as if I don't even exist and I feel my nose flare out again. "I'm Izzi. Max is a little moody today. We kind of lost a lot of our loot today. I'm sure everything will be better later. Well, maybe. Actually just forget I said anything. I wouldn't want to upset you." I'm so shocked by her sudden friendliness that I don't think to reply. She seems to notice my tense state and continues. "The boy behind me is Zack. He's my little brother. Are you from the Teka Empire? You look like a Tekanian. We don't get many Rubios around here." I finally manage to reply.
"Um, a Rubio? Teka Empire? What are you talking about?" Realization suddenly hits me. "Ohh, is this a joke? How did you get a hold of my book? Alright, you can all cut it out." I say the last part louder. The boy Zack says nothing. Max ignores what I say and Izzi looks like a deer caught in the headlights. It would be funny if she weren't a part of this whole shenanigan prank thing.
I recognize the names they say, but only because I created them. The Feraad are a half animal people. They had animalistic mutations. It all depends on their environment but they have the genes for it. Izzi was covered in freckles but I can't see a single animalistic trait on her. Jack has had his head down the whole time so I have no idea what to even think about him. Max has ignored me.
"Um." I say. "This IS a joke, right?" Izzi is still confused.
"What's a... choke?" She replies. She tries out the word on her tongue as if it's new to her. "Choke?"
Unbelievable. "A JOKE. Do you seriously not know what a joke is?" Jack shrugged, the only evidence that he was listening at all. Izzi looks at me worriedly.
"Maybe you should sit down. I'll explain to you why we were hesitant to shoot you." She smiles nervously and I sit down even though this is all batshit crazy. "When you replied the way you did instead of pulling out a weapon, we knew you weren't from around here so we stopped threatening you. Most people would take out a weapon the moment they see someone unfamiliar but you look like you've never held a knife in your life. Therefore, we found you to be non threatening."
I sit there, thinking things over. Yeah, so I apparently am stuck in my own book. Izzi definitely seems to think all of it is real.
I look at her warily. If she's so used to weapons, there must be a hell of a good reason. "Why exactly are you carrying around weapons and who are you running from?" I want to ask if they are fugitives but if they do happen to be fugitives then there is nothing stopping them from hurting me right there. Izzi may seem sweet and cheerful on the outside, but from what I just saw, there's much more than that to her. She can be cold and calculating so I have to be on my guard as long as they are around. But if she's right and everyone is running from something and have weapons then it's not safe anywhere I go.
Izzi's face scans mine and I wonder for a moment what she is looking for. After a second of waiting, she replies. "I am a Feraad. I've hidden all my life from the Shiit Empire. There used to be a Feraad empire but it didn't last but a few decades before we were all taken over again by Shites. That's where you are now. We're heading to the Free Lands which is a long way from here. Max is an ex soldier from the King's personal guard. Because he chose to abandon his post, he's being hunted for treason against the King. Zack is special. The King wants him terribly and none of us know why. He doesn't talk much but he shrugs and uses head movement to communicate. We figure since the king wants him so badly that he must be something special, so we don't let him have him. We are just a bunch of rebels." I nod my head. It would be a lot if information to take in had I not been the one to create these Empires and problems for them. I won't tell them who I am unless absolutely necessary then. I can't risk them turning on me. They'd kill me with one fell sweep.
The backstories are definitely a surprise though. I don't remember ever writing about any of these people. I planned on adding Max but I never actually got to it yet. Am I in an unfinished book that finished itself? No, that's ridiculous. "Dream, dream, dream, dream, dream, dream..." I hum the song from the movie Sharkboy and Lavagirl. My situation and Max's from the movie seem to be somewhat similar. We are both stuck in a world of our own creation.
Well, isn't this perfect.