All the Whispers

Chapter 2

The first thing I was aware of was a loud dripping right next to my ear. My eyes slowly blinked open to complete darkness. For a moment I thought I hadn’t opened my eyes because it was so dark. Then a small trickle of light appeared.

            “Hello? Is someone there?” I called, sitting up. Water dripped on my head, running coldly down my neck. Looking up, I could make out the outline of a tree branch looming above me.

            “It’s awake!” “What is it?” “How should we know?”

            I frowned, slowly climbing to my feet. “Who’s there?” I tried to walk forwards, but the world swayed unevenly beneath my feet.

            “Steady there, sweetie.” Came a voice right next to my ear. “You’ve been abducted. We managed to grab you from Her, but you were already out.” I turned my head to see a girl standing next to me, holding a flower that gave off some sort of light. My eyes widened as I took her in.

            Her hair was dark blue, decorated with a circlet that looked to be made of a gold vine. Shocking silvery purple eyes were set above pale cheekbones, a small nose, and finely curved lips. She wore a tunic that fell mid-thigh, made of what looked like violet petals. Leggings made of green leaves covered the rest of her legs, and boots made from bark hid her feet.  But what really caught my eye were the beautiful cream colored wings on her back. They looked soft and downy, but on closer inspection I noticed missing feathers, and dried blood. I winced involuntarily. A sword hung at her waist in a belt; I was shocked and dismayed to see that it was made from metal.

            “W-who are you?” I whispered.

            “I am Kana of East Netherworld. Or,” She sighed sadly, “what used to be East Netherworld.”

            “N-netherworld?” I gaped. As in, grandfather’s stories? Thinking of him, my hand shot to my throat, where it found the metal wings, hanging lightly on my chest.

            “Yes, of course. Where do you think you are?” Kana  looked puzzled.

            “Not the Netherworld!” I gasped, shock pulsing to my fingertips. Then I freaked out. I’m sure I looked like a complete maniac as a started jumping in circles, grabbing Kana’s hands in delight. “I’M IN THE NETHERWORLD! THIS IS SO FRICKIN AWESOME! I CANT BELIEVE ITS REAL!!!” I calmed at Kana’s odd look, and the quiet mutters of others, but my heart was still pumping a mile a minute, and a smile was stuck on my face.

            “Er,” Kana reclaimed her hands awkwardly, “I’m glad you’re so happy and all, but we have to go.” Her voice grew serious all of a sudden. “She might come back. Come…?” Kana raised an eyebrow questioningly.

            “Oh! Adrianne. Adrianne Korine. Of Modern Earth.” I stuttered.

            “Modern Earth?” Kana frowned in confusion, before waving her hand. “It doesn’t matter. You can tell us when we’re out of here. Come, Adrianne.” She walked lightly on the ground, her glowing flower casting a thin beam of light ahead of us. I wondered why she wasn’t flying, then decided it probably wasn’t the best time to ask. She seemed tense enough without my odd words and stupid questions.

            We turned around a tree and came face to face with four other Netherlings. Two were guys and two were girls. All looked tense and mistrusting as their eyes landed on me. One of the guys flew up to Kana, muttering something in her ear with a cold glance in my direction. I watched silently, my pulse suddenly quickening. What if they left me here to die?