Heroes: The First Path

The Day She Slipped Away

She was falling.
Slowly slipping.

Iridis had just been walking back from a peaceful day at school.

The small path had disappeared from underneath her.

She slipped away with the wind.
But wind never went downwards.
She fell peacefully.
Like she was just slowly jumping into bed.
No one noticed. Not even the birds. Just sailing downwards, like a sinking ship.

Until she landed

The crystal liquids rose around her, as she landed smack-bang in the middle of a clear blue pond. Her grey and blue school dress floated, as the sand at the bottom clouded around her feet. She flicked back her brown hair, and took in the new world around her, and said a word she hadn't said for a while.
"Wow"
It sounded like a small breath. Her grey eyes flickered from one thing to the next, each gaze filled with curiosity and wonder at the strange yet beautiful land. Iridis stepped out of the crystal waters, her dress dripping, every drop catching the sunlight, as she took in the new place.

A stream, the same colour as the pond, trickled down the lush green mountains. Trees upon trees filled one mountainside, each leaf sprinkled with dewdrops, while on another there were boulders, rocks and pebbles, flooding the mountain.

A golden sun beated down on the mythical land, the new world gleaming in its warm glow.

Everything seemed like a dream. In fact, it was a dream. Well, that's what Iridis was concluding.

A low rumble brought her back to her senses. A low rumble of hunger. Realising she was more than just peckish, she headed off towards the mountainside where the stream was located. As Iridis grew closer, she noticed a footpath. It looked used and safe, and was also the easiest way to reach the stream.

She began the long and tiring walk, with the sun beating down on her.

After about an hour, the path curved off into two directions. The first led to the shallowest part of the stream, the second heading straight up.
Iridis decided to take the path heading straight towards the stream.

As she grew closer, she noticed some bushes dotted with round, blue berries. They looked extremely appetising, so she reached out and plucked the biggest, ripest, juiciest berry.

Iridis held the berry up to her mouth, settled it on her tongue when-
"STOP!"
She turned around to see a tall figure standing within the shadows.

Holding what clearly looked like a weapon