When He Wakes.

Chapter 1. The Guardian.

The smell of freshly fallen rain, dirt, and moss, assaulted my senses as I made my way deeper into the forest. The ground was soft beneath my feet, and except for the occasional snap of a twig, or the light crunch of loose rocks, I made my way soundlessly, through the trees. The soft pitter-patter of rain soon added to the chorus of the birds singing overhead, and the world around me dimmed as the sunlight that was already battling its way through the thick tangle of branches and leaves was further obscured by the clouds of the oncoming storm.

I wasn't aware of where I was going, only that I was being led somewhere important. The rain picked up, and I stopped to wipe off the small stream that had made its way through my hair and onto my forehead when, somewhere up ahead, I caught a glimpse of something white darting between the trees. I didn't know why but I ran after it, needing to know where it was heading. The flash of white was incredibly fast and I weaved through the trees frantically, needing to see where it would go. Pushing through a tight cluster of tall, knotted trees, I found myself in a clearing. Entering the clearing, I noticed the trees around me looked ancient and gnarled, branches growing in any which direction, trying desperately to catch the sunlight. The clearing was a perfect circle, the branches of the trees around it almost intertwined in their chaos to create a barrier.

A shiver went up my spine, when I notice the branches move soundlessly, pushed by a wind that seemed to cut straight to my bones. That's when I realize that the chirping of birds, and the rhythmic drumming of the still falling rain has stopped. It was as if sound didn't exist in this place, and letting out a shaky breath I thought of speaking out to test my theory. Suddenly, the hairs on the back of my neck and arms raise, and I can feel the presence of another in the circle. Turning, I see her standing in the middle of the clearing. Her skin is as white as her loose fitting white dress, it falls a few inches above her ankles, revealing her clean, bare feet. Her long, ash brown hair is a shock against the white of her skin and falls freely down her back. Her lips are a soft pink, and her eyes are a muddy brown, almost too dark for her face. She moves to reveal a pile of smooth river stones stacked carefully behind her. She lifts her arm and motion me to approach the stones.

The closer I get, I realize that this girl is no longer living. In fact, she hasn't been alive for a long time as she emits a very low amount of energy that isn't really her own. She was more than a memory, but contained none of the strength a free roaming energy possessed. Coming closer, I see that there are pink scares visible on both sides of her collar bone and neck. I shoot her a small look of pity as I realize that she is bound here, sharing the energy of whoever has kept her to do its bidding. My fingertips tingle as I near the stones. The closer I get the stronger the energy becomes until it radiates up my full arm and reverberates in my chest.

The feeling is so strong that I hadn't noticed the girl standing next to me. I look her in the face and she looks up at me, a sudden agony behind her eyes. I could tell that she is pained with the feelings that are now struggling to overtake her. She raises a dainty white hand to the level of her eyes and looks at it, then looks at me, as if she is instinctively driven to touch me. I tense my body as her hand slowly lowers to my arm. She tilts her head sideways as if to ask my permission. Normally, I would say no, but I pity this girl and understand her need to share her story. She reaches her hand forward when I nod my head for her to continue, but she stops just centimeters away and shoots a weary look at the stones. I look back to the stones too, sharing her apprehension for a moment as I can still feel the raw power radiating from them. I nod to her again and looking me in the eyes, she lowers her hand the rest of the way, and places her icy hand on my arm.

The instant she touches me I am plunged into darkness, and it feels like I have been submerged in ice water. I am no longer in control of my body as the darkness dissipates and I am left on my knees crying at the edge of a small creek. Looking down into the water I see the girl looking back at me, alive and in obvious distress. A nasty purple bruise covers her right cheek, and as she reaches up to touch it, a dark shadow forms behind her. We turn to look at it, and I am frustrated when I realize that I can't see what she can. The figure in front of me is clouded, his face unrecognizable. It wipes her, our, tears away and offers her his hand. She takes it and suddenly we are no longer at the creeks edge.

I am confused until I realize this is a new memory. I can see a barn and chickens waddling ahead of me as we feed them. There is a moment of piece before a sharp pain radiates from our scalp and we are pulled backwards. Our shoulders hit the rough wood of the barn and an arm crosses our neck as we fight against the hold of a middle aged man. I can feel the wood digging into the girls delicate shoulders as he shoves her back against the wall and presses himself against her. We try to scream out and he backhands us. He starts to yell and hearing through her memories is like hearing when underwater. The mans words are muffled, but I can still hear him shout " Hold still you scrawny bitch!" Our strength is no match for him and hot tears spill from our eyes as the man tries to rip up her skirt. Suddenly the man is flying backwards and the cloudy figure is on him.

The mans eyes grow big with terror, and the cloudy figure picks him up with one hand and draws his body close. The man starts to scream as blood runs down the front of his shirt and drips onto the dirt underneath him. The clouded figure drops the man and the girl screams fixated on the blood. Somehow the blood is brighter than anything else in her memory. The figure comes closer, wiping away our tears, brushing the hair out of our face. I can't hear what he says, but the girl can and shakily, she allows him to pick her up and carry her off. My vision starts to waver and realize our link is being disrupted. Perhaps the girl is running out of energy? Pictures and scenes blur in and out of focus as if everything is being put on fast forward while we move through the scenes. Suddenly an arms reaches out and grabs us from behind. I scream out in pain as something pierces our skin. I see the girls hands flail out in front of us, desperate to dislodge the hands from her shoulders. She starts to sink, the already dark world wavers in and out of focus, and ice begins to claim our form. The only warm thing left in the world is the fresh blood running down our neck and chest, and then even that starts to fade until there is nothing left.

My eyes snap open and I grasp for breath. I look around me wildly and see the girl on the ground next to me on her knees, her arms out in front of her body holding herself from crumbling to the ground. She is breathing in and out as if she has just run a marathon, exhaustion marking her features. The rocks in front of me are almost glowing, the lines around each stone made darker in my vision as if they were outlined in black ink. The power permeating the pile is almost nauseating. A small line of red starts to run from the top stone. I look at it confused as another red line starts to trickle down. More and more red lines start to paint the surface of the stones, running down the pile and creating a puddle on the ground underneath them. Bending down I dip my fingers in the puddle and bring them eye level to examine the liquid. I jump backwards when I realize it's blood, and a laugh permeates the clearing

I suck in a deep breath as I sit upright in bed. I am drenched in sweat and my chest moves up and down erratically as I struggle to catch my breath. I swing my feet off the side of my bed and place my arms on my knees and rest my head in my hands. I have been called. Something dark is waking up. I only hope I can seal it away or satiate its hunger before it finds its way back into the lives of men.