The Shadows

1

The girl blinked open her eyes, aware of the scorching sun in the sky above her and scratchy sand underneath. As she looked around, she realized she was in the middle if nowhere. "Rose." she thought randomly.

"What the-" She wracked her brain, trying to remember why she would be here but realized that she couldn't remember some things. She could remember everything except for people and why she was in that place. Names, appearances, little yet important things, just gone somehow. She remembered animals, playing games lots of things just not the people she could associate them with.

"What is happening?" She murmured to herself. "Why can't I remember?" She started to examine her clothing and found that she wasn't dressed casually. She was dressed for survival. Her semi-short, dirty blonde hair was pulled into a bun, and she was wearing a sort of leathery tunic that cut off at the shoulder and a ragged white tank underneath. She also wore pants that were rolled up to the knee and worn combat boots. Around her waist was a belt that held a sheath, canteen and food pouch. Well, what she figured was a food pouch. And judging by the fact the canteen wasn't heavy, it wasn't full.

Examining the sheath a little more, Rose found a sleek, black hilt protruding from it. Pulling with all her might, she managed to unsheathe a huge, shining sword from the belt. Admiring its light weight, she swung it a few times and realized that she didn't even know how to use it.

"Well," Rose said to herself. "I'll have to figure out how to use it." She sheathed it, and looked around for any signs of civilization. The only thing she could make out, though, was a tiny speck in the distance.

"Time to see if I'm a good runner..." Rose muttered as she sprinted towards the speck. As she got closer, the speck became a dot, then she could make out a large, box-shaped concrete building.

Gasping for breath, Rose slowed to a stop. She bent over to catch her breath, then rose once she got her breath back. She cautiously approached the building and peeked into the door.

"Hello?!" She yelled into the darkness. Silence. "Anyone here?" She asked again as she entered the building. Again, silence. Feeling satisfied that it was all clear, Rose walked in and surveyed the premises. There was an old oak chest lying on the ground, and a puddle of water in one corner, but other than that, the place was empty.

"Creepy." Rose murmured to herself. "Just like a zombie game or something." She edged towards the chest and saw that the lock had been disfigured and was openable. She pried it open and sifted through the contents. The first thing was a satchel with faded rainbow colors. She put it on and unhooked the food pouch. Next, she found some dried beef and hard cheese. She stuffed those into the satchel and grabbed a few packages before closing the chest.

Unwrapping one package, she found a glinting knife and sheathe wich she then hooked to her belt. Shoving the other packages into the satchel, she headed for the water. Rose uncapped her canteen and dipped it into the puddle, getting as much as possible.

After eating some beef and some cheese, she guzzled some water then stood. She refilled the canteen, then stepped back outside and into the scorching heat. As she looked around, she found another hut, just a stone's throw away.

Hurrying to get back to the cool shadows, Rose didn't check to see if it was all clear, and just as she stepped in, she realized her mistake. In front of her stood a huge, snarling beast the size of a car. Its appearence was that of a leopard with the mane of a lion.

Taken aback, Rose stepped back, but this only seemed to aggravate the creature. It roared viciously, and Rose gasped. Its fangs were almost as long as a banana.

Fumbling for her sword, Rose was hit by the creature's massive tail and fell back. 'Oh, no! This is it...' She thought as the creature bunched its muscles, ready to pounce. Closing her eyes, Rose waited for the crushing pressure of the beast's jaws, but it never came. Instead the silence was pierced by a shriek of pain from the creature.

Opening her eyes, Rose saw a boy, about her age brandishing his bloody sword at the monster. His dirty blonde hair glinted with blood flecks, and I se that he has sliced the shoulder of the cat. His blue-green eyes burn with hate as he stabs at the creature with his magnificent sword.

"What the bloody hell were you doing?!" He shouts as he turns and grabs my arm, lifting me to my feet with surprising strength. She looked down and saw a huge gash on his leg, running from the middle of his calf, down through his whole ankle. It oozed blood, and she wonderded how he could still be running.

"Ummm...I'm sorry! I didn't see it!!" Rose exclaimed as they ran from the creature. Seconds later, it caught up to them, but the boy was ready he plunged his sword into the creature's massive foreleg and it howled. It ran off and the boy started running in a different direction.

"Come on then!" He yelled, and Rose ran after him. "Who are you?" He asked as they ran.

"Rose. Thank you for saving me." Rose said as she raced to keep up with him.

"Don't thank me yet. That thing will come for us. With friends." He states. "I'm Sam, by the way. I'm going to take you somewhere that we will be safe, so don't worry."

Rose wondered where they were going, but didn't question Sam. Eventually, they reached the edge of a dark, gloomy forest.

"We aren't going in there, are we?" Rose asked. This didn't seem like a safe place to her.

"Yep!" Sam smiled, then dissappeared into the dark undergrowth.