Rider of the Laika

Rider of the Laika - chapter 2

Hi again, I know that nobody's really reading this at the moment, but trust me, it gets better! This is the next chapter... a bit is explained about shades and what happened. Sasha starts to figure stuff out... (you go, girl!) things aren't all what they seem ;)

ps (spoiler alert!) in chapter 3 we meet the guy that sasha falls for... he's such a trickster! ok enough rambling and spoilerage... and here we have(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) :

Chapter Two: A Second World and a Phoenix Shade

"You're no shade that I know of," the strange-looking girl continued. "You're eye color doesn't fit any I've ever heard of."

"Um..." I said. "Shade? Eye color? What on earth are you talking about?"

The girl stared at me for a few moments, like, 'how could you not know?' Her eyes were starting to creep me out a little bit.

"I don't understand," she said eventually. "But back to my original question. Who are you? And which side are you on?"

"My name is Sasha. And I have no idea whatsoever as to what you mean by side. Am I caught in a gang war or something?" I said.

She frowned. "A gang war?"

I sighed. We were going nowhere. Who was this girl? Ah, a good question. "Who are you?" I asked her.

"I am Asteria," she replied.

And that totally clears things up, I thought sarcastically.

"Well, whatever she may be, they'll wish to know... The council may insist... Yes, I'll have to bring her back with me," Asteria said, half to herself.

Whoa, wait. Did she just say she was taking me somewhere?

I crossed my arms. "I am going nowhere until I know where I am, what happened, and how you brought me here."

"I didn't bring you here," Asteria said. "You appeared before me out of nowhere, and so I have about as much idea of what happened as you do. As for where you are--" she considered for a moment. "It is very odd that you ask these questions. But I will tell you. You are in the forest Floosh, near the city Paz, which is perhaps a mile away from here. And now, with your questions answered, we will return to the council."

I shook my head, beginning to open my mouth to protest when she flung herself into the air at me, grabbing my arms and jerking me up. her fingernails dug into my skin -- no, not fingernails, talons! Sharp claws and feathers -- my head jerked upward, to see that in the place of Asteria there was a large bird with scarlet and gold plumage. I cried out in shock and began to wriggle away from her. Looking down, I saw how far up we had flown in such a short amount of time and stopped struggling. When the trees began to look like a grove of matchsticks with broccoli tops I shut my eyes, terrified of falling, terrified of what was happening, freaked out at the fact that I was being carried by a bird that used to be a girl, and wishing with all my might that I was still safely at home, bored out of my mind and gossiping with Katie.

"We are here," a voice said not much later. It was Asteria's voice. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter. A few moments later my feet hit something and the talons released my arms. My eyes flew open and I prepared to run. Then I realized where I was.

I was standing on a wooden platform, clearly made for touchdowns like the one I had just experienced. The platform itself was situated in the canopy of the trees, high enough to make my head swim with vertigo when I peeked over the edge. There were roped handrails around the sides to keep you from slipping if it was raining and slick. A walkway extended away from us, out into the distant trees. It was more of a rickety wooden bridge than a firm, stable sidewalk type walkway, which I much preferred. I wondered what was behind me, so I turned around.