The Oracle

Chapter 1

Lynne braced herself against the brick wall to her right, spitting bright red before she continued down the alley. She was going to have to sneak back into her house again, but her roommate didn't care, and neither did she. She wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, and tried to assess her injuries. Nothing seemed broken, but her right leg hurt really bad, and her stomach hurt bad where she'd been kicked. She knew her lip was split and her nose had been bleeding, but she wasn't sure about the rest.

As she tried to take note of all the injuries she would be fixing tonight, she heard a voice behind her.

"You should stop getting in fights," it said. She heard a soft thump behind her, and felt the air move. Whoever it was had just jumped to land behind her.

"You should stop stalking people in dark alleyways," Lynne countered dryly, wiping the blood away from her lip with the back of her hand. The owner of the voice drew up next to her, and she saw that the girl was tall and muscular, with pitch black hair pulled into a braid. By the feeble light in the alleyway, Lynne noticed the stranger's smooth, dark skin, and noted that she looked to be the complete opposite of Lynne. Lynne had extremely light skin, and light blonde hair. She was altogether tiny, and if it weren't for the aging on her face, she might be mistaken for a fourth grader.

"One of these times, you might get yourself killed," the girl replied.

"A girl can only hope," Lynne shot back. "Who are you, anyway? And why are you stalking me?"

"My name's Maia. And it just... seemed like you needed some help, is all."

"Well, I don't. I'm perfectly fine on my own, thanks." Lynne kept from making eye contact with the girl, and couldn't help but feel like she was being patronized.

"Really? Because I saw your fighting back there and I'm seeing you now, and it certainly doesn't look like you don't need help." Maia crossed her arms. Lynne huffed.

"I'm fine," she repeated, waving her hand. "I'll be fine. I don't need strangers dropping out of the sky to check on me."

Maia shrugged. "Whatever you say, princess. See you around, if you don't get yourself killed first," she said, cheerily, giving a small wave as she stopped.

"Oh, I'm counting on getting killed first," Lynne said quietly. Maia frowned, and started walking back the way they had come from. After few seconds, Lynne looked back, but couldn't see her at all.

~~~

Lynne climbed on top of the dumpster underneath her open bedroom window, then pulled herself onto the windowsill. The first time she'd done this, she'd immediately fallen into her room. She'd gotten plenty of practice since then. She kicked off her shoes, then shimmied into the room feet first, closing the window gently before pulling her phone out to check the time. It was 2:37 AM; Lynne had gotten home earlier than expected. She peeled off her jeans, socks, and her bra, leaving her only in the black camisole she'd worn that day, and fell into bed.

Sleep didn't come easily. She tossed and turned until the morning, her sleep filled with bizarre nightmares. She'd had bad dreams before, but nothing like this. The girl from earlier, Maia, had made an appearance in her dream, saying "You might get yourself killed, princess," with a small smirk, before her smug face slowly turned into one of wide eyed terror, as a cut drew its way across her throat. Blood bubbled up in her throat and she started choking, falling away to reveal Lynne's city, leveled into nothing but rubble, a figure shrouded in mist coming at her, repeating Maia's earlier statement.