her heart was pure

- chapter three -

"Okay, how are we supposed to get them to take the medicine?" Thomas whispered and Rayna chewed her lip anxiously.

"We should have thought this through..." she muttered and shook her head.

"Wait, give me the medicine" she whispered suddenly and held her hand out.

"What're you gonna do?" Lee whispered and Thomas gave her the syringes.

"Just... run when I tell you to..." she whispered and the boys looked at her.

"What? You're coming with us" Lee whispered.

"Don't you understand? I was never meant to leave again, so just run when I tell you! Do you understand?" she whispered and looked between them.

"We can't leave you behind" Thomas whispered and she sighed.

"I will take the Jacksies guns if you don't listen to me" she warned and they looked at each other before nodding.

"We'll wait on the outside of town then" Lee whispered and Thomas ducked over to another hiding spot.

"Do you trust me?" she whispered and Lee nodded.

"Then please don't do something stupid, you have to get out of here and I promise that if I can... I will find you again, okay?" she whispered and he paused before nodding.

"What if you can't?" he whispered and she tried to find words but she couldn't.

She leaned towards him and kissed him with every love she ever could manage, she kissed him as if he had been her lover for 60 years.

He didn't even hesitate to kiss back.

Then it was over and he was alone behind the bush as she ran out into the trail to confront the Jacksies.

"Hey, what're you doing out here?" the taller one asked and Rayna put her hands behind her back.

"My curiosity got the better of me" she replied as she stopped in front of them.

"What's your name and number?" the petite one asked as he grabbed her arm, she quickly switched the syringes to her other hand and held out her arm with the number on it.

"65819? Ain't that that one kids number?" the taller one asked.

"Which kid? This is obviously my number." she said.

"What did you say your name was?" the petite one asked.

"I didn't, it's Rayna" she hesitated and watched the boys make a run for it towards the border behind the Jacksies.

"Whatever, what're you doing out here all alone? Surely a girl like you has some respect for herself." the taller one said and Rayna looked at him.

She suddenly felt very uncomfortable and unsafe with the way they were looking at her.

"I must have uhm gone the wrong way" she stammered as she took a step back.

"No, I don't think you did" the petite one smirked and they started getting closer to her.

"I'll just go back to town and pretend like I wasn't here" she said quickly and the Jacksies glanced at each other before looking back at her, then they froze like she did when she saw the Jamx.

"G-Go on then. Get out of Donià." the taller one stuttered as they backed away and Rayna paused before booking it to the trees, she ran as fast as her legs could take her.

"We can't wait any longer, it'll be dark soon" Thomas' voice echoed quietly through the trees and soon Rayna was lost.

She spun around looking for any sign of the boys.

"We can't just leave her behind!" Lee's voice was as clear as day, Rayna heard branches breaking as if something large was walking near her so she sprinted towards Lee's voice before running right into Thomas' back.

"Rayna?" Lee worried because of the look on her face but Rayna just shook her head.

"We have to get out of here! Come on!" she said and ran towards the border, it was only a few yards away now.

She heard the boys running after her but she didn't dare look back.

She knew exactly what was chasing them.

The boys ran past her and crossed the purple hue of a border, Rayna ran up and it was like running into a flexible wall.

"Come on! What're you doing?!" Thomas asked and grabbed Rayna's wrist to pull her along but she couldn't get through.

"Let go! Just run!" she said quickly and put her hands against the border.

"We can't leave you again!" Lee begged and Rayna studied Lee for a moment before turning her back on the boys to face the woods they just left.

"What the fuck is that thing?!" Thomas yelled when the chaser finally reached them.

It stopped at the edge of the tree line and Rayna's whole body started to shake with the adrenaline and fear.

"It's a Nenf... but I thought they were extinct..." Lee muttered before his body started to shake from the same adrenaline and fear.

"A Nenf? What the hell is a Nenf?" Thomas asked.

A Nenf is a 11 foot tall woman with long red hair and piercing blue eyes, in our day we would call her a giant but she's nothing of the sort. A Nenf can come in all sizes, they change into what you fear most based on who you are. Everyone sees differently and no one can see what you can see.

The Nenf looked at Lee before looking at Thomas before finally landing its eyes on Rayna, the Nenf smiled carefully and stepped forwards before shrinking down to the height of Rayna, it walked closer and soon they were only a foot from each other.

"You shouldn't be afraid of yourself, my love... you are a wondrous creature" the Nenf's voice sounded like the rain drizzling softly.

To confirm, Rayna saw herself in the Nenf. Lee saw his mother and Thomas still saw the giantess Nenf in her true form.

"Are you here to kill us?" Rayna spoke softly, her voice was shaking too much for her to talk any louder than a small whisper.

"Oh, child, of course i'm not," the Nenf said before wiping Rayna's tears from her face.

"I'm here to help you, just close your eyes and take a deep breath... it'll come easily if you concentrate on why you want to get into Paslandsna" the Nenf whispered and Rayna paused before closing her eyes.

"Tell me, dear... what do you want most in Paslandsna?" the Nenf asked as she turned Rayna to face the boys.

"To get home" Rayna replied.

"No, no, think deeper... what is currently in Paslandsna that you want?" the Nenf asked and Rayna didn't think twice.

"Lee..." she whispered and then she opened her eyes and she was on the other side of the border.

"It's not your fault, we must all leave eventually" Rayna turned and saw the Nenf now talking to Lee through the border, the Nenf wouldn't be allowed to come with them.

"I tried to stop them" Lee said absentmindedly and the Nenf smiled before reaching her hand through the border and stroking his cheek.

"I know you did, but you must continue on and eventually I will see you again, Leonardo... my sweet boy..." the Nenf whispered and then she was gone as if she never even existed.

"You guys realized you both talked to it?" Thomas asked and Lee looked at him but Rayna was too focused on the fields in front of them.

She was home.

This was Paslandsna.