Ashi

Chapter 1

  Light hits my emerald eyes mercilessly. I'm tempted to sleep for five more minutes, but I get up. I brush a hand though my unruly blonde hair. I try to flatten it, as I do every morning, but I can't ever seem to tame it. Strangely enough, it listens to my best friend. Oliver is sure a lifesaver.

  Inspecting my surroundings closer, however, I realize I'm no longer home. I live in Iowa. Flat land, farms and country roads everywhere the eye can see. However here, there's palm trees! Also by me, there is a waterfall about fifty feet high pouring out some sort of murky purple liquid, which at the bottom occasionally bubbles and pops. The wind is howling in my ears, but it can't be the wind I'm hearing. I feel so still on the ground. Yet, it's howling constantly.

  Then, I notice Oliver sleeping beside me.

  I jump and let out a shout.

  He groans, flipping over to his other side. That is, until he wakes up and realizes what's happening around him. He flips up, his brunette hair flashing back, cowlick behind his ear, and scans around himself, his sapphire eyes with flecks of gold wide, mouth open as he stares at his surroundings.

  He stumbles to his feet, nearly falling down, but I catch him. His tender locks tangling in my messy mop of a head. Despite the confusing situation we're in, we find ourselves laughing.

  "It's good to see you, Oli. Though, you could have just taken me to the park instead of here if you wanted to hang out," I joke.

  "Does that mean you know where we are, then?!" He puzzles.

 "I sure don't! Though, I do know that there's something not human around here."

  "Is it friendly?"

  "We might find out soon."

  He rolls his eyes. "Donnie, you're such an optimist sometimes, you know that?"

  I grin playfully.

  And into the forest of palm trees-if such a thing exists-we go! We can barely see the next tree in front of us, in the fog and bitter twilight. Every now and then we'll hear a chilling howl echo across each and every tree, but as far as we know, haven't seen the creature yet.

"Hey Donnie," Oliver asks after what feels like an hour of walking aimlessly. "You think we'll get home, right?"

"Of course!"

"Alive, right?"

"What are you getting at, Oli?"

He stumbles on his feet every few seconds, biting his lower lip as he tries to find the right words. "Well," he starts, but soon he's back to biting his lip.

"Oli, what is it? If you're scared, it's okay. You have me! I'll protect you because I'm the knight in shining armor and you're the princess!"

He laughs as he gently nudges me. "We were little when we did that, Donnie. I'd much rather be the prince anyway."

I stop him and bend down on one knee, taking one of his hands and pretending to kiss it. "I'm at your service, Prince Oliver from Oliland."

I get him to giggle again as he flicks my forehead. "You're so silly sometimes. Gosh, I have such bumbling idiot for a friend."

I get up and attack him from behind. I wrap my arms around him. "But I'm a wonderful 'bumbling idiot,' right?"

"Yeah, you are. Now let me go! What if we find someone here? I don't want to give them the wrong idea."

"All I to do is explain to them that you're Prince Oliver and I'm your knight."

He rolls his eyes.

I joke around some more with him until we come to a clearing in the forest. The fog dissipates quickly and wonder why, but my question is soon answered when I look a few steps in front of me. The ground just drops. I can see about three hundred feet down before the fog becomes too thick. In a way, I would like to know how deep the raven goes, but looking down, my stomach churns and the thought quickly leaves my mind.

Luckily, we can still get across. Yet, I'm kind of worried about the option. It's the infamous rope bridge with old wooden planks for footing. Yeah, there's a lot 'Danger! Danger! Don't be stupid like the guys in the movies!'

Oliver tugs at my sleeve and I break out of my trance.

"Donnie?" He asks.

"Yeah?"

"You okay? You seem kind of out of it."

"Ah, no, nothing's wrong," I nervously laugh. "It's just, I'm kind of getting a scary vibe from that bridge. It seems like the only way to get across though."

He smiles reassuringly. "I know what you mean. These type of bridges are always bad news. Besides, I hate heights."

I sigh. "Do you want to try it? I'll go first and help you across. All you have to do is keep moving and look at me. We'll be fine!"

"I swear, you watch too many movies. Well, whatever. And if I die, at least you will be coming with me."

"It's okay," I tell him as I grab his hand and pull him toward the bridge. "I'll protect you, Oli. I promise you that. Everything will be fine as long as you're with me."