Twist of Fate

Chapter 2: A new world

It felt as if I were floating on a cloud. My body was weightless and I hadn't a care in the world. A cool breeze washed over me, relaxing me even further. I had no thought of where I was, or how I got there, not even of why I was unconscious in the first place. My mind was blank as I tried not to think of the moment where I was blown to pieces by an explosion and died. Ah, that's right. I...died...

  My eyes shot open to see a wide azure sky. Huge, white clouds flew across the sky and another breeze washed over me. The bright sun bored into me, making me squint. I sat up quickly from the lying position I was staring at the sky in. I climbed to my feet and surveyed the area around me.

  The ground beneath me was a bed of luscious snow white grass that was softer than anything I'd ever felt before. The bed was small, probably only twenty feet across, and encircled by grand towering golden trees I couldn't identify. The only thing I could say about them was that they were beautiful.

  "Is this heaven?" I wondered aloud.

  I was answered by another breeze causing the golden leaves above me to whisper a soft melody. I sighed and glanced around.

  "Then where in the world am I?" I muttered. "This doesn't look like any forest in America."

  As I gazed around at my wondrous surroundings, a new sound appeared besides the whispering of leaves and grass. The chiming of bells echoed around me. It was a low, almost bass sounding rhythm that reminded me of the music before someone was killed in a horror movie.

  I frowned. "Am I still imagining things?"

  Suddenly, the sound of heavy footsteps thundering through the trees dispersed the echo. I turned in the direction the footsteps were coming from just in time to see a large black shape run out of the trees. I blinked and stepped back in shock as it barreled toward me, startlingly fast despite its size.

  My foot landed on something a different texture from the grass and I looked down. It was the bag I had been carrying since school got out. I was still carrying that? I looked back up and saw the black shape, obviously an animal, several yards away. It ran in my general direction with long, graceful strides that made me freeze and stare in wonder or fear, I couldn't tell. As I stared I met its eyes. They were a startling bright golden color and slit like cat eyes.

  My eyes widened in shock, not because of the strange color, I was already familiar with strange eye colors as mine were, but because the large animal's eyes were not those of a predator. There was fear in its wide eyes. The fear of prey. The animal wasn't coming to attack me, I realized. It was running away from something.

  My guess was confirmed when a figure appeared a few feet behind it from the trees. Another shock came as I recognized the figure as a man carrying a drawn bow and arrow and a sword at his waist. I couldn't see his face, but it was clearly a man.

  I met the animal's eyes again and felt as if it were pleading with me to do something. Though I had forgotten I was frozen, suddenly I could move again. Impulsively, I ran forward towards the animal. Surprise registered in its eyes as I effortlessly slipped past it and planted my feet in the ground. I heard it skid to a stop behind, but I kept my eyes in front of me.

  What am I doing?

  The man stopped and stared at me in shock. After a second, he began to glare and shouted. "Koú daín tíhcé néaí, Kouríeó!"

  My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What did you say?"

  The man's eyes widened as soon as soon as the first word was out of my mouth. I assumed since I couldn't understand him, he couldn't understand me either. "Koúdorí híe—"