Second Star (Niall Horan)

Chapter Nine

Wake up.

A voiced whispered through the wind. The young woman stuttered in her movements, wanting to rest, wanting to keep her eyes shut for as long as she could. The voice inched closer, louder, screamed at her to open her eyes.

Wake up!

Becca gasped and sat up quickly, her fingers clutching at the grass beneath her. Everything was cold, she had goosebumps covering her body, and she felt flustered and quite beyond herself as she woke up in a place that she did not recognize. She felt a cold sweat drip down her back as she wrapped her fingers tightly around the blades of long grass, almost as if she held onto them for dear life. She swallowed hard, trying to gain an idea of where she was.

Night had fallen on the island, where she, unbeknownst to her as to how or why, remained alone. She breathed heavily as she tried to regain her memory, the last thing she recalled was being grabbed by a pirate in the clearing, and here she was, alone, in the darkness, somewhere she did not know. Everything was oddly silent, the trees in shadow barely had a breeze blowing through them, even the moonlight seemed to be growing quieter the more she looked around for the carrier of voice that had awakened her.

"Hello?" She called out, and waited for a response. Nothing. She looked up through the trees at the sky, where clouds blocked out all the stars she hoped she would see.

She turned to stand up, shuffling her balance as she  slowly rose from the grassy floor. "Hello?"

She didn't know what to think, she didn't know where on the island she was, if she was being watched, if she was even close to safety. But, she was alone, with no ropes to bind her, with no sign of anybody, much less a pirate. Perhaps, perhaps maybe they had left her there, thought she would be too much trouble to take back with them. Maybe they had given up on the whole endeavor, or maybe this was some kind of a trick to follow her to find Peter. Or maybe they knew they were being chased, and left her here in the hope to come back and pick her up later, once a danger had passed.

Or, maybe, she was free.

A breeze blew through the trees, and she shivered slightly. "Hello?" She called louder, this time her voice echoing beyond the patch of woods she found herself in.

Suddenly, through the trees, a small light appeared, almost an orb, but definitely sentient. It glowed as it darted around the trunks of trees as Becca attempted to focus her eyes on the ball of light.

It almost seemed to look at her, almost acknowledging that she was there, almost telling her to follow it. "Hello?" She called to it, hoping for a reply. Then, the ball of light began to move further through the trees, further from the stunned girl who wanted to remain close to it.

"Wait!" She yelled out to it, cutting through the trunks of trees to follow it.

It continued to speed through the trees, and she ran as quickly as she could to catch up to it, the first sign of life she had seen here tonight.

What was it? She couldn't think, her head was pounding as she ran, but it was the only hope she had.

"Please, slow down!" She was jumping over roots, pushing branches out of her way, climbing over fallen tree trunks, doing everything she could to make it to the light. Everything ached in her body as she continued onwards, her wrists were burning, her feet felt like she was stepping on pins, and she could feel her clothes getting stuck on the branches and thorns she pushed herself through, but still, the light would not halt for her.

Where was it leading her, and why? Why now did some part of the island show itself to her, was it there to help? She kept running, feeling her breath leave her body as she struggled to keep up with it. She couldn't stop, not when she was so close to freedom, or at least the hope of it.