Marked By The Unseelie

Chapter 1 Dream Guy

Chapter 1

Smoke obscured my vision as I rush deeper into the burning soaking wet with my protective gears on. I held a wet towel in my hands while I tried to look past the fire.

"Livia!" I could hear my mom calling for me, but I did not listen. I know that it's here somewhere. I just have to look carefully.

"Livia, go back! "

She's wrong. My mother is wrong.

I look up at the trees. My eyes were burning despite the protective gear I was wearing. The relief that I felt when I saw the koala that I was looking for hanging for dear life on one of the branches. But as soon as I noticed the branch it was clinging to starting to fall, my relief quickly turned to fear. I ran just as the connection broke, I made a dive to catch the animal. I felt what little air I had left rush out of my lungs when I made contact with the ground. I quickly covered the koala with my body to protect it from the burning branch that was about to fall on us. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact that never came.

I sat up and looked around me, ignoring the pain in my hand. I saw the branch cut into two and lay on either side of me. That struck me as odd, but I pushed those thoughts aside for now because I need to move.

I picked up the koala and began to walk back to the others and away from the forest fire after wrapping its burned body in a wet towel.

The smoke started to clear, and I could finally remove my mask to breathe in fresher air. A team of medics headed towards me, which was led by my mother, who was looking furious. She paused when she saw the animal in my arms and quickly looked back to call for help.

"We got an injured one here! We need the medical vet team immediately!" She shouted the orders to them.

The team approached me, and I gently handed them the koala that was covered in a wet blanket. My mother pulled me to the side and grabbed my shoulders as soon as they left.

"Are you hurt?!" She demanded. Her eyes and hands were roaming all around me to check and see if I was hurt.

    "I'm fine, mom." I dropped my gears on the ground after giving her an assuring smile. "I told you that I know what I am doing."

    "Yes, yes." She answered, but I knew that she wasn't listening to me. "Why do you never listen to me?" She shakes her head and sighs.

    "I listen. I just don't follow what you tell me to." I throw up my hands in resignation and begin advancing through the hordes of people scurrying to put out the forest fire. My throat was getting dry and I just needed something to soothe my throat.

    Despite the noise in the background, I could hear my mother stalking me from behind. She didn't say anything until I got to the cooler and got myself a cold bottle of water and drank.

    "Livia, seriously. You just can't blindly head into a forest fire, suspecting that there's an animal who needs help!"

    I poured the rest of the cold water over my face and my pink dyed hair to further cool myself before I answered her. "Mom, I wasn't suspecting anything. I know that there would be an animal there."

    "Not this again." She shakes her head. "Liv, sweetie, I know how much you love animals, but unless you see or hear them, don't rush into the forest and call for someone who is trained to rescue them. This is the fourth time that you have disobeyed me. Next time, I am sending you home back to the city with your father, you hear?" She sighs. "Sometimes I regret allowing you to join the volunteers."

    "Sam, come. We need you!" I was so relieved when one of my mom's teammates in the medical department called for her. "One of the firefighters got second degree burns."