Find Rest for Your Soul

Chapter 1

Pain.

It was the first lucid thought that came to her mind as she laid on the ground. The feeling spread through her core outward to her limbs. It pulsed through her body, aching with each breath. She flexed her fingers but they just hurt more. The ache she carried seemed to be wrapped around her bones. Cracking her eyes open she could see treetops swaying in the breeze.

For a few moments she just stayed there before readjusting her focus, looking past the trees and on the gray clouds above her. She wondered for a brief moment if it was going to rain. Invading thoughts entered her brains and she struggled with them as they didn't make any sense to her. She knew for a fact that she shouldn't be in the middle of the woods just staring at storm clouds. However, she couldn't remember where she was supposed to be or even how she got there. It was as if her head was filled with mud.

As she attempted to gather bearings, she blinked slowly and registered the cool soil beneath her figures. Her fingers twitched gently, almost pressing a little into the ground. Another sharp pain ran through her body so intense that she couldn't find the will power to move. However, above all this pain there was an insane anxiety urging her to flee. Yet, she did nothing.

As she laid there, vague memories started coming back to her in fragments:

There was a dark room with a red flashing light.

There was a blaring noise, almost like an alarm that echoed in her ears.

Hands roughly grabbing at her.

Being tossed in a corner.

A shadowed figure above her.....

The thoughts faded as she became aware of a slight weight on her wrist. Lazily, she rolled her head to the side to take a look at what it was. Around her wrist was a silver band with a small, blinking, green light. 'Interesting.'

She rolled her head back to look up at the clouds. Was she alone? She couldn't remember. Her eyes began to feel heavy again, so she let them slide closed.

Keep moving! Don't let them get you!

The frantic voice bounces in her head, making her eyes snap open. Heart racing, adrenaline surged through her. With renewed urgency, she dragged her body off the ground and stumbled to her feet. Her body started to react to her mounting anxiety. Her whole body was trembling as she broke out into a cold sweat. She couldn't remember why she felt this way.

Keep moving! Don't let them get you!

It's strange to know just moments ago she didn't even want to be standing, but now she felt compelled to run for her life. Where could she go? Where did she even come from? What was that heavy panting noise?

It was her. Her breathing increased dramatically in a terrified pant. As soon as she tried to think about anything before now a sharp pain shot into her head as a deafening shrill rang in her ears. She could feel herself sink back down to the ground, her forehead touching the dirt in front of her. She tangled her fingers through her hair to try and soothe the pain. It didn't help.

Some time had passed and she wasn't sure exactly how long she sat there trying to collect herself. There was a sharp chill in the air that indicated that nightfall was approaching. Cold drops of rain began to fall, landing on her exposed skin. The gentle pitter-patter of raindrops swiftly became a downpour, and her clothes started to feel heavier, sticking to her like a second skin.

She didn't want to get up, because wave after wave of nausea kept crashing over her, but she knew she needed to get moving. She vaguely understood that it wasn't safe here. She clenched her body tight one last night, willing the warmth from her core to spread to her goose-pimple limbs.