Statera *Chosen At Birth*

Chapter Ten

Daniel stepped out of the room and looked down both ends of the hallway. He followed the red exit signs and passed through a door into a small and quaint lobby. There were chairs organized by a few windows with books and newspapers on a few end tables. Even though he was in a clinic, it was nice to be in a normal looking place finally. A lady cleared her throat from behind a desk to get his attention.

            "I guess I'm ready to leave or be discharged. Whatever word you use." He got nervous when her eyebrow quirked up. He had no idea what he was doing and started to feel hot.

"Isabella." She shouted after walking to a side door that led to another hallway. Soon after, the nurse that helped him with his aura and burns walked though the door.

"you change fast." She giggled and whispered something into the receptionist' ear, "Wait right there I'll be out in a second." She disappeared through the door and came into the lobby, standing directly in front of him. She was almost a head shorter than him as he looked down into her mint green eyes, "You look handsome in that outfit by the way." Daniel felt his cheeks get hot.

"Umm... Where are we going?" He watched her scrubs turn into a pair of black shorts that came well more than halfway up her thigh. Her shirt was emerald green and stopped just over her tanned bell button.

"Down to the beach... If you wanted to go that is..." He nodded and then followed her out of the clinic onto the busy city street. He was amazed at the drastic difference between the one side and the other. To their left tall high-rise buildings and skyscrapers towered over the few blocks of small shops that hugged the oceanfront to their right.

"So, your name is Isabella?" He asked to make sure, he's gotten names wrong before.

"Yeah." She giggled, "But you can call me Isabel. I know it's not a big difference, but it's what I'm used to." She stopped talking suddenly when she realized that she was rambling. Her cheeks flushed for a couple seconds when two men walked towards them and stared at her.

Daniel suddenly got jealous for some reason and looked at them in their eyes. They quickly looked away as they passed, "Where are you from?" He was tempted to grab her hand, but they only met a few minutes ago and that'd be weird.

"I'm from England." He was shocked to meet someone that was from Earth like him, unless they had an England here. Which was unlikely.

"Did you come here recently?" He asked, suddenly intrigued.

"No. I came here sixteen years ago. It was 1595 when I left if I remember correctly." He stopped in the middle of the crosswalk, almost causing an accident in the process when a vehicle wanted to turn.

"Are you ok?" She pulled him onto the sidewalk from the road and looked at him suspiciously.

"You came here in 1595?" He laughed in disbelief, "You look twenty not three hundred years." He couldn't believe what he was saying. After the incident apparently two weeks ago, he could stomach a lot now. But this was too much for right now. Hopefully she could explain everything better than Persephone could.

"Time here goes faster than Earth, but we age slower. Scholars say that our one year is about twenty earth years." The explanation only made him feel lonelier. This confirmed that he was no longer on Earth. No going back.

"Are we in the solar system still?" Daniel asked and she laughed.

"They finally accepted the heliocentric theory." She laughed and Daniel cringed. She was that old? They waited on another street corner waiting for the light to turn green. The roads were busy with different types of vehicles, none of which were familiar to him, "But we're either in the solar system somewhere, or alternate dimension." She shrugged her shoulders without worry.

"I'm not sure. I just live here." He laughed at her response. Even when he was on Earth, he had those moments.

Everything seemed as if he was still on Earth, but more advanced. There were better looking vehicles. Also, the magic of course, "Where are we exactly?" The light turned green and they both stepped off onto the road. He felt uncomfortable as the shirt hugged his body, he felt exposed even though he was covered.

"Atlantic City in Austurias, also called the water kingdom." She looked up at him and snickered at the look on his face.

"What's that look for?" Daniel wasn't sure what to think.

"Persephone mentioned Austurias and the water kingdom. She told me to come here as soon as I could." Isabel stopped and looked at him in his eyes as they faced each other on the busy sidewalk.

"You spoke with Persephone?" Daniel was hesitant to respond to the question, but at the same time he trusted her. In the sake of understanding, he decided it was best to be honest.

"Briefly before she couldn't hold on anymore." She looked down at the ground and her expression saddened.

"Come on. We're going for a swim." She grabbed his hand and ran down the street. HE could barely keep up as she dragged him down the block.

For a moment he thought that she wasn't going to stop for traffic when the light turned red. When she did, he almost fell forward. She impatiently tapped her foot waiting for the light to turn. She glared at the sandy shore that was on the other side. She launched across the road long before Daniel could see the light change all he saw was a blur.