Fabled

Chapter 7 - A Different Place, A Different Time

Sam's POV

I looked at myself as I almost fell in the stream. 

"EEK!"

And then I did.

My head broke the surface of the creek after a moment-it was deep, okay? At my full height it reached my neck-and I vaguely heard the sound of a girl saying, "SORRY! I yelp a lot!"

"Uhhh... you're fine? I... think..?" I said as I elbowed the grassy ground, emerald green grass swaying against my arms, and looked around at the clearing we were in. It was pretty small, with think woods circling around-wait. Who was the "we" again?

I looked straight ahead of me, and there was a girl. (Go figure, me. It's not a guy that's gonna have that voice pitch.) She had dark skin, with curly hair parted in a middle part, flowing just past her shoulders. Compare that to how my wet hair was plastered to my forehead and some on my eyelid. It was at this point where I realized I must've looked really bad. We just stared at each other for a second, before she brisk walked over to the water, not hesitant about coming to face the random stranger that just appeared out of nowhere. As she was doing so, I managed to push some of the hair quickly out of my face, since she only had a meter or so to close between us. 

She instinctively came and helped me up, since it was kinda her fault that I was in here.

Also some magical.... thinymabober's.

Now that she was closer, I could tell that she had dark dark freckles, as well as warm, chocolate brown eyes. I stared into them as I tried to make sense of what just happened, and she looked back into mine. 

"So, uh, were you here originally?" I asked as she grabbed my hand to begin to pull me out. I gritted my teeth as I pushed against the ground with my elbow. There happened to be a very sharp and painful rock right there out to get me.

"Nope. You?"

"Likewise."

"Hm." I was out of the water now, and pulled my arm up to look at my elbow. Cherry red blood spilled out, but it was a small wound and would heal quickly, so I brushed the fact that I was bleeding off and began to face the person in front of me.

"So...what do we do?" I asked. "I mean, I assume if you weren't here before something similar happened to you?"

"Likely," she nodded. "Just livin' my life, then...poof!"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Huh."

There was a silence between us, one that seemed to grow increasingly awkward with every passing second.

"So uhh..." I said. "What's ya name?"

"Amerisa," she answered. "Yours?"

"Sam."

"Nice tah meetcha," she told me.

"Same."

She grinned, with a bit of nervousness to it, if I'm not mistaken. "So... I hope you like water?" she shrugged hopefully.

"Well, I mean, I'm not a cat, but I still happen to not like being scared into falling into surprisingly deep coldness." I said, but with a grin.

"Yeah... sorry again about that..."

"It's fine, in though I don't know how long it'll take me to warm up. After all, it's, like, way later than it should be. Well, at least for me. Where in the world were you again?"

"North Carolina," she answered. I whistled. "Same."

"Wow..huh...think that could be a coincidence?"

"Undoubtedly not. You live there?" I asked.

"No, I was visiting my cousins. You?"

"Yeah. Born and raised. Before Hampstead I was in Colby, and I've been in Hampstead for the past five years."

"Hm, nice," she said. I nodded.

"Wait, then where do you live?"

"In Florida."

I whistled again. "That's far. I mean, not as far as it could be, you coulda been in Canada or something, but still. Far enough that it'd be difficult to happen to visit your cousins the exact week that I happen to appear in this place."

"Well maybe our presence in the same place caused it?"

"Nah. That's too crazy."

"We just appeared here out of thin air. Nothing's too crazy," she deadpanned.

"Okay, fine, I admit you have a point," I reluctantly agreed. I just didn't see how that could happen-we weren't connected in any way, from what we knew. Unless she knew something she wasn't telling me. But then again, like she said, we had just teleported to some forest late at night. Speaking of which...

"Hey, what time do you think it is here?"

She jumped, reverting her gaze off of something in the distance into my eyes. She opened her mouth, but I could tell I stumped her. A wrinkle appeared between her brows as she thought.

"I don't know. By how dark the sky is, I'd definitely have to say past 9:00. Though I don't know why the clearing is bright enough to see."

"Yeah, me neither. That's definitely strange." Then I realized something. "Wait, United States North Carolina, right?"

"Well, yeah," she said, with sort of a tone to her voice. I backed down.

"Okay, sorry, I'm not one for geography.

"Yeah, I guess I'm not either. Sorry. I'm just stressed out. Where's my cousin gonna think I've gone? OH CRAP. Mom and Dad. And everyone." She looked at me as she was panicking.

"Aren't you freaking out?" she asked me.

"About family members? No, not really. They can called the police for all I care. I needed a chance like this."

She didn't ask me to elaborate. Instead, a voice came from the woods.

"Umm... hi?" A boy with spiky, ice blonde hair timidly peeked out from behind a tree.