Chasing Summer

We Got Sidetracked

Our trip was going smoothly until around midnight. We were walking up a hill on a well-worn path, overgrown with weeds and surrounded by a dense forest. There was no sound but the occasional hooting of an owl roosting somewhere in the trees, and Cosmo chattering on about the stars. I'd found that he was hardly talkative in general, but when it came to anything to do with space he could talk for hours.

"...And did you know, there's said to be over 10,000 stars capable of supporting life!" He said as we walked. Suddenly his expression dropped low and he looked back at me. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm probably bothering you."

I shook my head. "No, not at all. Hey, what's that up ahead?"

We walked forward with caution. Further down the trail was an out-of-place clearing at the top of a hill. The grass, wet with dew, shone in the moonlight, making the whole hill look like it was glowing. It would be a relief to get out of the buggy woods for a moment, but something felt off. Like a gut feeling. I looked over to Cosmo but he seemed rather unbothered, so I brushed it off.

We finally reached the top of the hill. It was gorgeous, you could see the whole night sky around us, no longer obscured by trees. The sky seemed to shimmer a deep purple color, lit up by the moon and the hundreds of visible stars. I would've been in awe, as Cosmo seemed to be, but my icky gut feeling had gotten a thousand times worse. "Hey Cosmo.. I think we should-"

Suddenly a twig snapped. We both froze.

There was a rustling somewhere in the woods. 

"It's... Probably just a squirrel, right?" Cosmo said shakily.

It wasn't a squirrel.

Before I could respond, several people wearing all-too-familiar black cloaks and deer masks sprung from the woods. Twisted Nation soldiers. In just seconds they had surrounded us, but to my surprise they didn't go in for the attack. They simply stood on their guard, except for one.

It was a girl with curly purple hair that sprung out from the hood of her cloak like weeds. That was about all I could tell about her, given the mask and cloak.

"Winter Solstice. Long time no see." She said in a voice that gave no clear emotion.

"I-I don't know you." I said, trying desperately to not let her see how scared I was.

She shrugged. "Besides the point. Now, I have a proposition for you."

"Why would I-" I was about to reply, but before I could finish my sentence, ice spread across the top of the hill in a flash. It avoided Cosmo and I, but several of the soldier's boots were frozen to the ground.

There was a rustling in the tree branches, and a younger girl, maybe 13, jumped from the trees and kicked one of the soldiers square in the head. She was wearing a black shirt with a cracked skull on it, her wild black hair accessorized with a red bow.

"Hell yeah! Take that, idiots!" She yelled as she pinned the soldier to the ground, with strength that seemed almost inhuman given her age and size. The purple-haired girl looked around nervously. 

"This conversation isn't over." She growled, staring straight at me. I couldn't see her eyes, but somehow I could sense the anger in her gaze. "Soldiers, retreat!" And just as quickly as they came, the soldiers scattered into the woods and were gone.

The punk looking girl got up off the ground and I noticed the ice had already melted away. 

"You three alright?" The girl said, standing up.

"I'm fine.. um, three?"

Suddenly a very young girl quite literally appeared out of nowhere in front of us.