The Beginning

Chapter 8

Riley woke up to the smell of cooking bacon. She rubbed her eyes and looked outside. A campfire was burning in the middle of the campsite, and there was some sort of animal on a spit rolling over the fire. A woman with glittering gray eyes and long brown hair was rolling the spit, and the smell of cooked meat wafted into her nostrils, forcing her to step outside.
The woman lifted her head and smiled at her. "Ah, you're awake, Penelope. I was just about to cook you breakfast."
Riley was about to say that she wasn't who the woman thought she was, but she realized that she'll be treated as crazy. Going along with it will not make them ask questions about me, she thought.
The woman beckoned her closer. "Go grab a leaf and come back so I can serve you."
Before Riley went to go get the leaf, she decided to test the woman. "I'm sorry, but who are you again? I got short term memory loss when I woke up."
The woman patted Riley's hand. "That happens sometimes. I'm Roridula, the camp chef and merchant. It's been a while since I've called myself a 'merchant'," she said with a little laugh.
"Oh, okay. I'll come back with the leaf, then." Riley noticed a path and decided to go through that. It led to gigantic plants with leaves the size of plates. "Now I know what she meant by getting a leaf. They're huge!" she mumbled. After she got it with some difficulty- the leaf came right off, but it was incredibly heavy- she hauled it to the camp and stood facing Roridula, holding out her leaf. She used a sharp stone to cut a portion of meat, then she placed it on her plate, smiling. "Make sure to get ready for school when you're done. Also wash your hands."
While Riley was eating, a boy came through the camp entrance, panting with his hair disheveled. "There's a body outside the village and everyone is freaking out!" he said with one breath.
Roridula immediately stood up, her eyes alert. "Tell the mayor that I'll be there in a few minutes," she said calmly. Riley set down her plate and followed her to a tent where she saw Roridula put on arm protection and leg protection. "Why do you need protection? It's just a dead body."
She turned around and looked at Riley gravely. Her gray eyes were glowing. "These bodies are laced with a toxin that I've never encountered before. It's best to stay safe than risking my life."
"Is it really that big of a deal?"
Roridula's eyes were no longer gray. They were a bright green, the color of blooming plants in the summer. "No, it is not." Her voice warped into a raspy growl. "Since humans are so sensitive, they make such a big deal about just ONE body. This is where I truly realized how STUPID your kind IS!"
Something dark came out of Roridula, hovering over her. It was the shape of Clauchice, and it opened its mouth, creating a vacuum that sucked Riley in. As she spiraled down into the dark cyclone, she could faintly see Carlos some ways to the side of her, but then he quickly disappeared.
Blue and amber eyes blinked at her from beyond the darkness, and as she was nearing the apparent bottom, she once again was engulfed by darkness.