Katrina

Chapter 2- The Island

Katrina jumped up and circled the strange place with her eyes, with hope and fear at the same time, trying to see someone or something. She tried to listen closely as well, with the intention of perceiving some sound, when suddenly she heard something behind one of those strange plants. She was still a bit dazed and despite the fear and confusion, she couldn't help but notice it. It was beautiful, like a kind of giant bush with huge flowers of all colors that came from inside it. She approached stealthily to observe it better; fascinated by its beauty and could not help caressing one of the flowers. Its texture was different, of an unimaginable and extreme softness. She'd never touched anything like that. Not even the best silks in the world could be compared to that. She didn't understand what was happening and was so absorbed in her own thoughts about the plant, that she completely forgot she'd heard something behind her. When she remembered it, she didn't move a muscle. Something was behind that bush. She could feel it.

"Hello, is anyone there?" Katrina asked, trembling slightly from the still present fear. Her brown, long, curly hair was still wet from the sea water, which settled on her back making her continually shiver.

Suddenly, a dark and huge shadow emerged stealthily and elegantly from behind the bush. Katrina froze when she saw what was in front of her. A large, muscular kind of panther was staring at her with water-green eyes and coal-black fur. It had long, sharp fangs like swords. The panther didn't stop looking at her in an intense way and Katrina didn't react. She was so afraid again that she couldn't move or say a word. Nobody or anything emitted any sound until the panther began to approach her slowly, at a steady pace. Katrina could only think how much she loved her mother and how much she missed her. The plants that were born from the ground had grown in such a way that when the panther walked towards her, those plants seemed to caress her gently. The animal was within arm length of Katrina and ,without expecting it, stretched its neck high and roared in such a way that she fainted. Fear had overwhelmed her.

When she opened her eyes, she was surrounded by strange creatures in a kind of cave. She didn't know how to describe them. They were like animals, beasts that she'd seen before, like the horse. But this one didn't have red eyes. His eyes were black and deep and they shined like marbles, but Katrina was sure that it was the same one that dragged her towards the water in Chipiona.

The slender horse approached her naturally, as a normal horse would do. They looked each other in the eye.

"Are you the one who dragged me into the water?" Katrina asked, waiting for an answer. She felt stupid talking to a horse and waiting for an answer from him. Animals don't talk. She thought.

Suddenly the horse lowered its head so that Katrina could stroke it, or so she thought. As she touched it, she ran her hand through its long hair, and it began to shine slowly from the roots to the ends, intertwining with her fingers. It was turning golden, and now it was around Katrina all over her body. She screamed when she was clamped and wrapped in that infinite gold-colored hair, but suddenly that feeling of panic became pleasant. She felt her heart beating again. She felt peace inside. She felt the sand of the beach under her feet, and felt something new. Something different. She felt freedom.

When the horse released her after a few seconds of holding her, she looked at it again. "What have you done to me?" She asked quietly.

"I have given you the gift of being able to communicate with the animals, since here on the island we are the majority. So what'd be the point of bringing you here and not giving you the gift to be able to talk to us?" The horse answered in a joking tone as it laughed.

Katrina couldn't believe what she just saw. Was she really talking to a horse? Did she now have the power to talk to animals? What kind of joke was this?

"By the way, answering your previous question...yes, it was I who brought you to the island." The horse seemed to smile.

Katrina was open-mouthed and without anyone expecting it, she took off running. When she got almost to the entrance of the cave, she saw something going by at full speed. She couldn't distinguish what it was but, whatever it was, it became like a giant snake in front of her and blocked her way.

"Where do you think you are going?" Said the reptile, hissing in a low voice and bringing its big head and tongue up to meet her.

"Stop it." The panther said, in an authoritative and loud tone that echoed throughout the cave. Katrina was afraid that she would collapse if it roared again, but that didn't happen again.

"Katrina, follow me. We have to talk. I'll explain everything to you."

Had she heard the voice of a female? Katrina didn't care about anything at that moment and she wasn't sure if she should go after the panther or not. However, she did because she felt like she had no choice.

"Don't worry about Scrit. He was just trying to scare you so you wouldn't run away." She said as she walked calmly into the cave.

"Scrit? Is that the snake that had blocked my path?" Katrina asked, more calmly and still surprised she was able to talk to the panther.

"Yes... Well, it's not really a snake. It's just a handful of molecules that adapt in different ways to transform into anything it wishes."

Katrina listened intently trying to understand everything she was saying.

"And besides, it's not just Scrit. There are others in this dimension..."

"In this dimension!? What are you talking about!?" She yelled, without letting the panther finish speaking.

They approached a wall and Katrina watched the animal whisper something. The wall began to open and she could see on the other side there was a wooden bridge. The bridge was in good condition and there didn't seem to be anything to fear. She traveled a long distance until she landed on the other side. She couldn't see exactly what it was there.

Katrina leaned out a little more, craning her neck as far as she could while not getting too close to the edge. Few people knew about it, but Katrina had vertigo.

Suddenly, the horse came running out of nowhere and offered Katrina a tope of brew.

"Drink this Katrina. You'll need it to avoid any danger." He said. "Don't worry, it's Roro Oil and it's good for everything." The horse seemed to smile again and trotted off.

"Take it." The panther said, and that's what she did.

She kept walking as they reached the bridge. Katrina followed her without wanting to look down, and when she hadn't walked more than 2 meters, the bridge began to fall apart under her feet as if it were melting under her. Katrina shouted in such a way that even the panther shuddered and when she looked back, she saw Katrina falling. She grabbed Katrina with her fangs and pulled her up, making her ride on her back and ran to the other side of the bridge. Katrina gripped her neck tightly.

Everything was falling apart behind them until they reached the other side. The panther approached the wall again and whispered at full speed, with Katrina still sitting on her back and looking behind nervously with the fear of not being able to cross in time to the other side. Finally the wall opened and they crossed. They were now in a kind of dark room. Katrina didn't know exactly what shape the room had, but it seemed round to her. She wasn't sure and the wall closed behind them.

"You can get off. Sorry, I didn't remember that Roro Oil takes a few minutes to take effect. By the way, next time don't hold on so hard because you're going to choke me." Said the panther, without even looking at her.

"Forgive me for not wanting to die!" She said annoyed. "Can you explain to me what that was?"

"The oil?"

"No, can you explain to me what all this is? What does all this mean? Why am I here?" Katrina started to cry.

The panther looked at her calmly.

"Sit down, Katrina, and pay attention because I'll only explain it to you once."

So she did. She sat on the floor still sobbing and felt herself get padded on the head. Images began to appear on the walls and the panther began to talk while she dried her tears.