A Dreamer Caught In The Crossfire

Jasmine Michaels 2

Jasmine jolted awake, spitting out water and gasping for air. Her heart was beating violently in her chest. The water in the pool had her cold and soaked to the bone. Looking around, she noticed that she was in a hole, paved and plastered with stone, only a few meters wide. An old well most likely, the bucket of which was tied to some old, rotting rope looked like it could snap any minute. The shallow pool of water she was sitting in glowed a turquoise color, emitting blue and green sparks every time she moved in it. Jasmine admired the sparks as she moved her fingers around in the water. For some reason, it made her think of her grandmother. When she was still among the living, she would tell Jasmine a lot of stories. Jasmine thought most of them were just the ramblings of an old woman, but were they really?

"Back in my day, there were these enchanted underground pools. 'Sortis wells' as they were called. They say that just coming into contact with the water could provide one with the answer they need! Can you imagine! I have never come across any before but I'd sure like to before I kick the bucket. Not sure if they still exist or if all the greed ran them dry..."

Her words echoed in Jasmine's mind. Maybe she should have believed her stories. Most of them anyways. She was not present where the vision had taken place so it could not have been one of her memories. Her mother's maybe, but not hers. She also had been too young to remember her father's face. A glimmer of hope had risen in Jasmine. What if her father was not dead like her mother told her? What would she do then? Would she still return to her house of imprisonment? What if there were bigger secrets lying around that house? What if not all of grandma's tales were false?

Grandma. The bag. The book. Jasmine abruptly stopped moving her fingers and began frantically looking around for the black sling bag, hoping it had not entered the water with her. Ignoring the heaviness in her limbs, she got up slowly, her breathing quickening again. She spotted the bag hanging from a piece of wood which stuck out from a space in the rock. Relief coursed through her. She stood knee deep in the water for a moment, planning her escape. She stroked her chin in thought.

"Well, it's either I climb up there and face what comes or stay down here and most likely freeze to death..."

The rocks looked sturdy enough to hold her weight without crumbling but it would still be a very long climb. Using all the strength she could muster, she began her long climb to what she hoped was freedom. Her wet clothes made the climb more difficult than it should have been.

After what felt like a few gruesome days of climbing (though it was only 20 minutes), Jasmine finally made it to the top. With a grunt, she tossed her bag over the edge before hauling herself out of the well. Her skin was met with the cool and soft feeling of fresh grass, and her ears the sound of birds chirping. She opened her eyes to the scenery of a different part of the forest. A greener and more beautiful part. The sun was setting now causing the tallest trees to silhouette against the light. Wiping her brow with the back of her hand, Jasmine took a moment to take in everything she had just seen.

Her father had walked out on them to 'join the wrong side of an upcoming war' as her mother said. Which war, she had no idea. Mother was not really fond of her reading online articles or newspapers from the city. What she did know was that there was a slight chance that her father could be alive. Would she still go back to her mother's house after all this, or finally escape and enjoy her freedom? She did not know.

"I'm quite sure that I am no nature expert but being in the forest alone at night is probably not safe..." she said aloud to nobody in particular as she wiped the dirt off her hands with her jeans.

She grabbed her bag, got up and started walking in hope of finding some form of civilization.

xxx

The cool wind was not doing anything to help her feel warm in her damp clothes. Jasmine trudged along shivering, goose bumps decorating her usually smooth skin. She had taken her cardigan off as it was still dripping wet and clinging onto her like a second skin. She clenched her jaw to keep herself from chattering loudly and causing any unwanted attention. Grandma had told her the tales of the beasts that roamed the Shifting Forest. If Sortis wells were real, Fioras could very well be real too. She was walking aimlessly now as she had no particular direction to follow. Even if she had a map, she would still be lost. Geography was her worst and most hated subject. Her tutor was also not too fond of teaching her. She let out a sigh of relief when she spotted a small rooftop amongst the trees. Potential shelter. She began walking faster and faster until she was running, hope shining in her eyes once more. The little faith she had vanished in an instant when she saw, to her dismay, it was an old fashioned clock tower.

"Well at least I know it's eleven fifty eight..." she mumbled bitterly, her lips on the verge of turning blue.

She would have continued walking, but seeing as she had nothing better to do, she walked forward to inspect the tower. It looked like it had stood there for over a century. Its base covered in moss and dirt and vines clinging to it, making beautiful patterns across its exterior. Jasmine reached out her hand to touch the cold brick walls.

'But who would want to build a clock tower in the middle of the forest where no one can see it?' she thought.

Just as her hand grazed its surface, a bell rang out. A loud clanging sound signaling midnight. Jasmine jumped back, startled by the sudden break in silence. The clock face noisily burst open revealing a complicated system of cogs and gears moving clamorously. As if the local wildlife understood what was happening, large groups of animals began to flee their habitats. Jasmine could have sworn she saw a little hand close what looked like a door on a mushroom. She shook her head and closed her eyes, praying that her mind was just playing tricks on her. The ground beneath her began to shudder and move steadily, picking up the pace bit by bit. It was like nature itself was trying to run away. It was not fast enough for it to be dizzying but Jasmine had to start a game of jump and duck to keep herself standing. Her bag held firmly in her vice like grip.

"How many secrets have those people been keeping from me!" she screamed agitatedly.

In the brief moments she was able to look around, she noticed the area around her was changing. It was like travelling but the ground was the one doing all the work for her. Oh, how she detested running. She basically hated any form of physical exercise. Jasmine said a small prayer, hoping the heavens above would put an end to all this strangeness. She was brought fully back into reality by a hard knock to the stomach from a tree branch. She toppled over, wheezing from the impact. She had spent the rest of the earth's 'shift' lying face-down on the grass, clearly just fed up with the whole thing. When the loud clang of the clock tower rang out again, the land slowly came to a halt. Jasmine shakily got up from the ground. Her hair was a complete rat's nest, her entire body covered in small cuts and grass stains. A small creature which looked like a porcupine's huggable distant cousin seemed to have gotten very attached to her shirt. Literally. She spat the leaves from her mouth and tried her best to fix her appearance.

"Worst. Minute. Of. My. Life! How could mom not tell me about this!" she ranted while plucking twigs and thorns from her hair.

A little voice in her head piped up.

'She probably did not tell you because she assumed you would actually listen to her and not go out of the fence...'

Made sense.

She moved to tug the creature off her shirt but drew her hand back almost immediately. It was the most adorable thing she had ever seen. It looked at her with large blue eyes, pleading with her.

"Okay, fine. But I'm only letting you be because you're cute."

The creature let out an almost celebratory sound. Jasmine smiled at it.

"I'm not sure what you are exactly but I'm going to name you... Tabitha! You totally look like a Tabitha."

xxx

She did not know when she had fallen asleep, but Jasmine woke up to the sound of wind whistling through the trees and Tabitha asleep on her stomach. Even though she could not see herself Jasmine knew she looked horrible. She physically felt horrible but on the inside she felt hopeful again. To her, Tabitha was a sign that everything would get better and eventually turn out okay. With her will to go on revived, she scooped Tabitha onto her shoulder and started walking. With the promise of food, shelter and warmth acting as her motivation, she limped onwards as fast as she could.

XXX