Into Another Time

Running

The only sound I could hear in the quiet meadows apart from the chirping of birds was my own hysterical self. My heart pulsed so loudly in my ears and throat, they might as well have burst. My deep breaths did nothing to calm me or the sweat off my palms and neck. I clutched a branch of the bush infront of me and held on to it for dear life,as I finally heard thumping,fast paced footsteps. For a moment I had to loosen my grip a bit to make sure I didn't snap it and make sound, the branch trembling from my grip. My breath stopped as the man came into view.

He was panting too, but not from fear but running fast. His eyes had a wild look, scanning the area like a predator looking for its prey. I crouched as low as possible to make myself completely hidden. He moved ahead, turning his back to me and peered into the fields infront of me. It took him only a few moments to figure out I wasn't there as he jerked back to staring ahead, parallel to me. I took slow, deep breaths to make as little sound as possible, even if it was just the sound of my breathing. He ran to the nearest house and looked around, checking in every nook and corner. However, a woman's voice caused us both to look to our right.

"Jarin!"

The man who I assumed was "Jarin" quickly ran to the woman who was approaching. She was a short, dark haired woman with a simple veil over her hair. She was wearing a tunic like cloth much like what the man was wearing but brighter. It was A line and slightly flared to give it the appearance of a dress. It was also longer than the man's, coming down to mid-calf. I was again puzzled about this strange woman's even stranger appearance but before I could dwell on it any further, "Jarin" approached and they started talking rapidly.

" Margery. Where is Giselle? Is she fetching the priest?"

Margery rolled her eyes, " No, she is cooking lunch. I had to see for myself what you were screaming about"

Jarin fisted his hands, " There was a witch here, Margery! I saw her with my own eyes. Very strange appearance and she had this tight cloth around her that she referred to as "dress" and then she ran away".

" A witch? Where is she?", Margery gasped and looked around. I remained crouched so I wouldn't show and hoped she wouldn't spot me. Thankfully Jarin's talking distracted her, sparing her only a second to look towards the place I was hiding.

"-I ran after her but I think her dark, magical powers made her disappear because she ran very fast and by the time I reached here, I could not see her. I even looked around John's house but she isn't anywhere near here".

Margery clasped Jarin's hand, " Jarin, you shouldn't be here", she worried," if there is a witch prowling around, it is not safe. We should let the priest know as soon as possible. Come on, let's go."

Jarin seemed unconvinced, scanning the field again, more slowly. He seemed determined to find me. Fortunately his eyes didn't spot the bushes or me, his eyes returning to Margery. " Margery-", he argued.

" No, you are coming with me!", Margery said, fiercely . " Giselle is alone in the house, you need to come with us to the priest. Heaven's knows what is happening right now. You can't be alone or leave us alone"

This seemed to reluctantly convince Jarin as his shoulders slumped in defeat and he did not argue further. " Fine", he said, flatly. She took his hand and started walking towards the direction from which he and I had come. His steps were slow compared to her fast ones, indicating he wanted to stay and search more. Thank God that Margery woman took this psycho with her!. Who knows what would have happened if he had found me. With a final glance backwards, he and his-whatever-she-was, finally disappeared from view.

I remained in my position for a few minutes. I was scared shitless and was not going to take any chances with psychos like Jarin lurking around. It took a lot of courage for me, several minutes later, to slowly come out of the bushes. I stood as noiselessly and carefully as possible and analyzed any possible threats. To my good luck, there didn't seem to be any. I walked a few steps away from the bushes into the road, my eyes always rapidly looking around me for any more Jarins. I had no idea what kind of place I had ended up in or how but I knew I needed to get the fuck out of here ASAP. Before that priest and more crazy people get here. And with that inclination, I started running again.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I didn't know whether running in the direction that I was running would even be helpful, for all I knew it could take me right into more danger. I could be running in circles, running into more weird men and women or into an endless field. I could even end up in a forest where the wild animals would no doubt make a nice meal of me.

It was terrifying to think like this, but when you're scared out of your mind, your brain automatically thinks the worst. It's science really, imagining the worst case scenario. But atleast it helped me continously run, despite my tired legs. AND HEELS. This had to be one of the biggest achievements of mine and probably good enough to fill out a resume for an action movie. Running in heels and a dress from two weird aliens, what more could you want?

Or maybe not.

To my right were the hills and forests, which like I described earlier, were not a good choice to run into. To my left, all I could see were endless fields and the scattered houses. Going behind them was obviously not an option. So, the only option left was to run forward and hope that I end up in some kind of town or city, hopefully my city, where sane people reside. That was all I wanted for the time-being.

I darted into the the cruder, rougher pathways in the bushes,creepers and shrubs rather than the clearing, since I would have less chances of encountering those people. It was difficult to make my way through the greenery,with the branches bouncing back with my movement and hitting me in the face. The thorny ones pricked my arms and legs and it took me considerable effort to not trip on more than one occasion. The hedges suddenly cleared on the left with a neat path leading straight. I knew it lead somewhere with the way the path was intentionally created, and not just a coincidence, with the hedges trimmed on both sides carefully and everything. I darted towards the pathway and kept walking.

It took me less than a minute to reach the end of the path, where there was a big wooden entry gate infront of me. It was a bit rusty looking and I was afraid that it might fall on me as I pushed it in gently to move in, but thankfully it stayed put despite gentle creaking. Once I stepped inside from the entry gate I came upon one of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen: Huge, red, beautiful cherry blossom trees decorated the area, a still pond with the clearest water you could ever see was in the middle of the greenery, framed by trees, bushes, shrubs and grass. There was an open resting space like structure with stairs leading upto it above the pond, kind of like if a picnic shelter in the middle of a garden where you sit and admire the garden. It looked so austere and beautiful that I had to gape at it for a full minute before remembering I had to take literally take shelter from those lunatics.

I moved forward with brisk steps,drinking in the heavenly and aesthetic view ahead of me. It calmed my mind down if only for the time being and I began to think more rationally about the last 20 minutes and everything that had occurred. Why was I here?. Last thing I remembered was waiting for Shawn to come out of the locker room, so how did I end up in a field ?. I clearly had not taken any drugs so I wasn't hallucinating and this wasn't a place I had ever visited or was remotely familiar with. It was crazy. But suddenly I remembered something that I had forgotten before,

my phone!

I grappled with excitement as I remembered my key to getting out of this weird place. I could call Chloe or my mom to come pick me up from this shitty place!. Ofcourse, why hadn't I thought of that before?. I guess because I was busy running from loons. I hurriedly searched my clothes for my phone but then I discovered I wasn't carrying any bag and obviously there weren't any pockets in my dress. Fuck, had I dropped my phone in the school before waking up here? WHY THE FUCK DOES THIS HAPPEN TO ME!?.

I was so angry I could scream my head off, but I did not do that because that would attract attention. The anger stage passed and I could feel resignation set in my veins and body and I felt weak. I took my face in my hands and felt my eyes brim with water. I have never felt as alone, dejected and frustrated as I did in that moment. I would have almost sunk to my knees then and there and had full blown breakdown if it weren't for the appearance of a guy and girl my own age in front of me.....