Ella's Wild Beasts

Chapter 1

Ella looked up at the man before her. The room was dark and she could only see his outline vaugly as the cresent moons light filtered through the open kitchen door. She had woken in the night like usual to get a drink then go back to bed but wasn't expecting an intruder to attack her when she came down stairs.

   The man pointed a gun at her as she tried to get up forcing her to halt in her position on her hands and knees. Ella's mind went blank. For some reason all she could think about was how cold and hard the stone tiles in the kitchen were. She glanced up and the man simply stated "I'm sorry."

   Ella didn't even process any pain. Just a loud bang then her falling to the ground. She couldn't hear or feel anything now. Everything was fading so fast. Time seemed to slow but it was only a couple of seconds really. She could no longer taste the blood that was pooling in her mouth. The last thing Ella saw before the comfortable embrace of darkness she always seemed to prefer was the man running out the door as the neighbors back porch light up. No doubt investigating the loud sound. Then there was nothing.

   It was like a dream, but not. It was so dark, she couldn't see or hear anything, but it felt warm and comfortable, like a bath. The feeling of moving water carresing her skin and the gentle weight of soaked clothes. Then she could taste something salty in her mouth. Salty not the sharp taste of coppery blood? But why blood? Ella thought. The sound of water lapping gently against a bank slowly grew out of the nothingness. When she opened her eyes she was hit with the dazzling beam of the sun forcing her to close her eyes and try again slowly. When she tried again the sky was clear with early morning light.

   Partially under the shade of some trees. "I'm outside?" She mumbled in her lethargic confusion. Ella sat up to find herself in shallow stream at first glance. What happened? Where am I?! Her heart now finally picking up pace and pushing her from an almost sleepy state to full blown panic. Then she heard the waves hitting the rocks with fervor and saw the ocean beating the coast not even 50 yards away. And she was resting in a stream that seemed to feed its mild tantrum. Ella just stared blanky as the sea foam built around the large stones protecting her stream from the pushing and pulling of the hungry sea. Then the memories from her kitchen late at night and her death came flooding in. Her breath hitching in her throat and she did the only thing her mind could process doing in its state. She screamed.