CACKLE- Book 1

Chapter Ten

She could see Anna's face in her dreams. Her eyes melting into black holes in her head, mouth hanging open in a silent scream. But she could hear it, really hear it. A scream. Someone was screaming. As Anna's body dissolved into a horrific husk, the screaming grew louder.

Remi jolted up right, panting and grasping her throat. It was sore and dry. A cold sweat soaked her naked skin. She had been screaming in her sleep.

She leaned herself down against the cove's ledge and drank until her stomach was full once more. She took stock of her body, inspecting her limbs, her hands and feet. Coated in filth. Her muscles were sore and aching. She was so cold. Raising her head, she looked up at the cavern entrance and was greeted with the streaky sky of dawn.

Remi smiled to herself. She had done it. After sixteen years of training, of practising and she had done it. If Anna were here, she would have been jumping around the cave, clapping and dancing. They would be cackling, and Anna would wrap Remi up in something warm. Chattering on about how amazing Remi was, of how proud she was of her.

Remi felt a hollow ache in her chest as she thought about Anna. That Anna was gone. She could only hope the Anna of this timeline would at least like her, even if she may never feel the same kind of love again.

It would be a lengthy journey through what was now a forest to get to Anna's village. She didn't know how long she had been sleeping but there was no more time to waste. Remi lowered herself into the cove, her muscles tightening from the cold water.

She snapped her fingers together and a small flicker of green flame danced on her fingertip. "I missed you." She whispered, and gently moved her fire around her head like a halo. It slithered from her head to her toes, warming her. She took a moment to bathe, scrubbing the dirt from her hair, scraping at the crust under her nails for some time until the black staining from the soil began to lift. She felt a little more like herself then. As clean as she could get without Anna's homemade soap.

Taking a deep breath, she dove deep into the cove. As soon as her lips breached the surface outside, she gasped for air and grabbed a rock at the edge of the pool. Her muscles were not used to swimming. Her entire body was weak and the swim to the surface felt like it took forever. She would have to regain her strength little by little.

When her breathing settled to a reasonable pace she lifted herself from the water and surveyed her surroundings.

The earth was no longer dry and barren, it was... green, and full of life!

There were flying insects, grass, and trees so tall they blocked the once vast view of the lands around their home. Anna had told her about this world but it was something else entirely to see it all for the first time. The Earth was... alive.

After years of learning and reading, of pictures in her books or dreams in her sleep- nothing could compare to seeing life beyond what she had known. This world was so different, it was pure. It had no idea what was coming...

"It's soft!" Remi shouted to no one as she poked and pet the rocks around her cove, they were covered in thick, slimy moss.

The clearing that surrounded her was bright and the air was so sweet she could almost taste it. Fragrant plants tickled her senses and brought a joyful glow to her cheeks. Remi took a deep breath and sighed. She squished her toes in the grass and giggled.

Just then she heard a sound that made her jump. The foliage of the trees were moving, the leaves were gently dancing in the wind as their branches kept in time with the bright blue sky. Soft and melodious. The sound was so peaceful, this new music she had never heard before. The earth was singing a song without words. The sound of wind blowing through the trees was so new and so very beautiful.