Child of Earth

3

Author's Note:

Stylized image of Thalia above.

- Em

-X-

I awoke to the sound of a large something rumbling and groaning as I was jolted up from my lying position by a tremor through the floor.

My eyes flew open only to find that I was trapped in a moving vehicle of some sort, one with a huge shipping compartment in the back which had no windows to speak of.

So much for waking up first. I thought to myself as I realised that my weapons had been taken away and that there was nothing in here to aid an escape of any sort.

With a silent promise to myself that I would find a way out of here, I quickly assessed the condition of my limbs. Luckily for me none of them had been hacked off while I was 'sleeping'.

The needle mark in my arm had a Band-Aid on it and there were a few bruises and scratches on my exposed hands, ankles and neck from where I'd tripped, stumbled or bumbled my way through an unsuspecting shrub or pile of rocks. I'm just graceful that way.

All of a sudden the rumbling and grinding of the truck/van/vehicle driving across the treacherous dirt roads ceased and was instead replaced with the smooth transition onto what was undoubtedly a much better road. With my newly found silence I was able to make out the consistent sound of two young voices of the opposite sex bickering in the front seat of the car, along with the unmistakable sound of a deer snorting and some sort of cat hissing and spitting in the feline form of a tantrum.

The sound of the animal's inner rage sent my mind into overdrive, trying to find a memory or subject to relate the sound to. All I came up with was the image of Awnnie cracking it at me when I tried to untangle him from the fishing net I'd left out the night before the dreaded incident. I'm pretty sure I still have the scars his beak and talons left on my arms.

I was about to call for him as I always did in such a nostalgic time and scold him for the way my skin had scarred but then I realised, I was trapped in the back of a van, there'd be no more stroking his soft feathers as I drifted into sleep, no more throwing scraps of meat into the air after dinner and watching him swoop on them, no more getting love bites every morning or nibbles on my hair when I ignored him. No more waking up to his obnoxious squawking or finding a rat skeleton in my little home every other morning, no more treehouse... no more Awnnie.

I just lost my best friend... again.

And that was the thought that pushed me over the edge. With silent tears streaking down my cheeks and violent sobs racking my body I curled into a ball and tried not to pass out again, a panic attack really wasn't what I needed right now.

---

What felt like half an hour later (although I really have no clue), the vehicle stopped moving and I all but held my breath as I waited for something to happen.

Suddenly, a young, friendly, female voice invaded the once boring silence as the door opened abruptly. "Hi um... Look my name's Krystal yeah? Or Krys for short if you want but uh, I'm going to have to ask you to not attack me when I come in alright?"

'Krystal', obviously being a girl had a higher pitched voice than what I had expected from a kidnapper with an added bubbly British accent that made me think of the people I used to meet who said 'Telly' instead of TV and 'tea' instead of dinner.

Now me being the sceptical, conspiring, demon spawn that I am, was automatically suspicious and on guard. Why send a young British girl to talk to me if they have no idea what I'm capable of?