Who Am I? (Book 1)

Chapter 15

"Urg ..." My head, foot and back hurt but I pushed myself up again and ran after what I assumed was Natasha, I could only see her silhouette although her hair was quite easy to spot. It had a golden glow that was almost impossible not to see. "Come on Julie! I can see the meadow!" She ran even faster and I couldn't grasp how. Was it normal for these guys to just run and run and run and run? Because, I for once, was not ready for that kind of life.   

The grass was tall and obscured my view, but I managed to find my way. Natasha was already swimming towards a small island in the middle of the lake. I jumped right into the water and, like the moron I am, forgot about all the equipment I was carrying. "Glllrrrgg!" It was heavy ... very heavy and my wrist burned like someone had set it ablaze. In fact, it felt as if it rejected me, but I hadn't outrun monsters and fought almost an entire night just to die cause some water rejected me! 

"I ... feel ... like I died ..." Natasha had pulled me up from the water and I could see that she was tired. We both collapsed and lay on the smooth stone, finally able to feel safe. "You know ... it felt as if the water rejected me ..." I looked over at Natasha, she had closed her eyes and for a split moment, I thought she was asleep. "I suppose it's because of your mark. How does it look now?" I hadn't thought much about it (to be honest I had forgotten all about it, but shush, that can be a secret, right?) so I was a bit worried. Last time I checked ... it reached half of my lower arm. When I pulled up my sleeve, I got a big surprise and gasped. 

"Natasha! It's ... smaller!" She sat up quickly and looked intently at me. We sat like that a little before she gently took my hand in hers. I felt hot, too hot all of a sudden and I couldn't tell why. "This is amazing ... I've never seen a demon's mark regress like this ..." They hadn't touched the water before? I was tempted to ask, but for once in my life, I held my tongue. Natasha's eyes had a shine in them that I hadn't seen before ... she looked hopeful. "Julie, will you sleep with your arm in the water?" I agreed even though it was painful, partly because it could save my life but mostly because it was Natasha's request. How strange, I thought to myself, after all, I had only known Natasha for about 2 days. I hesitantly lowered my arm into the water, and immediately it began to burn, luckily not as much as before. "Julie, promise me that you will not do this if it gets too painful". She was genuinely concerned for me, and I nodded my head. "Of course, I promise ... goodnight Natasha". I closed my eyes and heard her whisper goodnight back. That night I dreamt again ...