The Missing Pages of Z

Chapter One

My name is StarryNightRavenxxssxx S-Avenger2117.

And I am not normal.

My mom always told me I was special, but I never believed her because of my crushing self-esteem issues. Now I do, and this is my story.

Like I said, I didn't always think I was special. I am sixteen, and I have normal red hair that cascades like a waterfall down to my waist. I have sparkling purple eyes, but sometimes they turn blue or green or grey or gold or red or black, depending on my mood. I have a really short temper, so you better not mess with me, but I can be incredibly shy sometimes. I am petite and thin but have a nice chest. I also have super pale skin.

I skidded across the muddy street and collapsed on the sidewalk. My heart pounded from overexertion. This chase must have been going on for, what, ten minutes?

I scrambled to my feet and began running again. The impatient yelps of dogs echoed behind me. I wished I couldn't hear them. It was like they were constantly reminding me that they were pursuing me. I knew that, of course, but it would be nice if I could pretend as if it weren't happening.

"Stop right there!" Someone in the horde behind me kept repeating those words. I didn't plan on complying.

I felt my legs begin to give out. My muscles felt like melting butter, and the speed of the melting increased exponentially with each step I took. I was coating the popcorn street in my exhaustion. The dog must have been frothing at the mouth because of my tasty deliciousness. I had to end this. But how could I both rest and escape the Communists?

Ahead of me, an alleyway revealed itself just in time. Without thinking, I turned sharply into the passage. I slowed for a moment and examined my surroundings. Two walls pressed in on the space. I could see the brick end of the alley - a dead end. I was just about to turn and find another way out when I saw it. Everything seemed to stop as I watched the symbol come into existence. It was stark black against the wall, two embellished lines connected by a diagonal stripe. Literally all the air was sucked from my lungs as I beheld the beauty of the wall. My eyes winked in slow motion before time suddenly sped into double time, and I was hurled back into my situation. I gasped. Where was that beautiful symbol?

Dogs howled at the entrance and bounded forward, barely suppressed by their humans. NO! I had taken too long, and now it was over. I could already hear the sound that Pac-Man made when he died ringing in my ears. Then, out of the blue depths of the sky, a dark shape fell over me. A person! He was dropping from the fifth floor of the apartment above me and landed soundlessly between the dogs and me. Reaching into his or her cloak, the mysterious person pulled out a strange object, hurling it at the dogs and the people chasing me. "Run!" he shouted. By the sound of his voice, I could tell he was male and... British?

"Run where!?" I cried. The entrance was blocked by people and dogs, and the alley was a dead end.

My mysterious savior sighed in disgust and grabbed my waist, pulling me toward him. "What are you...?" I questioned, flustered by the sudden turn of events, and I don't get flustered easily.

"Hang on," came his rough, manly, British voice.

My hands instinctively went around his neck as he began scaling the five-story building. Moments later we were on the third floor. I held my breath, terrified that any movement on my part would disrupt his steady pattern of not letting us fall to our deaths. My head was reeling with questions, but I couldn't sort them out one thousand feet in the air while riding on a stranger's back. He eventually hauled himself over a balcony, and I stumbled to regain my footing.
"Why are we up here?" I asked, taking in my surroundings and trying to grab onto something logical. The boy didn't look at me as he responded. "We needed to get around the Commies; this was the only way."

"Well, now what?" I asked, leaning over the balcony to see the... wait, what had the guy called them? What were Commies? Was that short for Communists? The way he spoke sent chills down my spine... as if he weren't a Communist. I leaned a bit further over, enjoying the rush of adrenaline produced. My mother had always said I was reckless.

"Now we jump."

I nearly fell off the balcony. "What?!"

He rolled his eyes. "Just trust me, alright?" And for some reason, I did. "Look, I'll go first. Relax." He stepped closer to me. "Be brave." Then he backflipped over the edge of the balcony and was gone. I rushed to the side and saw only the small speck of him landing. No cries of pain. No sounds of breaking bones.

I took a breath to steady myself. It's alright alright alright. I only needed to jump from this building. I flashbacked to every time my mother had said I was special. Every time she had told me I was meant for great things. I thought of Angish for a moment before gathering myself. I swung one of my legs over the side and then the other so that only my butt was left on the railing.

Then

                I

                         Let

                                          Go

                                                          .

                                                                      .

                                                                                     .

                                                                                                 !?