Kinlanture Vol I: The Kingdom of Forgotten Misfits (Completed)

Chapter 1

Claire woke up. She looked outside. No flowers covering the entire ground, just a normal day. She placed her fingers onto her lips.

It felt so... real...

Just a dream of course. That man she saw, rather, that man she kissed, was a man that women lust after. A man that in reality she knew she could never get.

She sat up in bed. The spring air gently drifted into her room. That world she saw as she stood on the balcony. Flowers everywhere. The sky was filled with stars. She remembered there was more than stars in that deep sky above her. The moon, yes, but also other planets. Worlds, some closer to her, some further away. Her mind had dreamed up a completely separate place from the world she knew around her. A place she never saw before but yet felt like she had known forever.

Claire pulled herself out of bed and got in the shower. As the water hit her face, she thought about her dream. Lies. She had seen that place before. As a matter of fact she had seen that man before as well. She had been having that same dream for about a month now and every time it felt more real than the last. More believable. Each time she felt more comfortable there. Almost like she was home.

"Oh Claire! Hurry up! The mall won't wait forever!"

She smiled "I'll be right out Selina!"

She got herself dressed, brushed her long brown hair and met Selina's face as she opened the door. Selina always greeted her with a smile. She was Claire's best friend. They had grown up together, yet strangely they never could fully remember how they met. Even some memories of their time together in school seemed blurred.

They laughed as they made their way to the mall. Claire was having fun, but deep in her mind, she kept seeing that man. Flashes over and over again in her head.

That man. That place. That man. That place.

"Wow space cadet are you back to earth yet?" Selina asked, waving her hand in front of Claire's face.

Claire shook her head. "Sorry. I've been having this weird dream lately so I haven't really been sleeping the greatest..."

Selina brushed it off and continued on. It was just a dream after all. Dreams were just that, dreams.
 
Selina continued talking as usual. Claire had seemed so spacey and strange lately that she was trying her best to help her friend come out of this weird state she was in. Claire had always been quiet but this seemed different. She had mentioned the dream to Selina before. The dream with that man and land. It was just a dream. They were eighteen year old girls, not strange for them to be dreaming about guys.

"So where to next? We have pretty much been in every store" Selina asked, trying to keep conversation moving.

"Wanna go for a walk? I can't take much more mall time" Claire replied quietly.

Selina nodded in agreement. They left the mall and started walking to the park. In this city, the park was the closest you were ever going to get to some peace and quiet. Claire always enjoyed it there, she always enjoyed what little nature they were given.

"Let's go through the trail in the woods. Much more peaceful!" Selina said, pulling Claire by the arm.

The woods were silent, beside the quiet chirp of a bird or the rustling of the leaves blowing in the wind. The air was so fresh and clean. The breeze was warm as it danced on their skin. It was like nature was caressing them with every step they took. Around their feet, the ground sang to their steps. Around their bodies the wind swayed carefully in sync with their every move. It was simply beautiful and a part of their world they wished there was more of.

"Selina... Do you ever feel like you don't belong? Like you're not meant to be here or like there's something missing?"

Selina looked at Claire puzzled. Deep down, she knew what Claire meant. Lately things have felt weird. Something felt like it was missing. A presence that was haunting her, crying for her to remember, but this was just a feeling. Like Claire's dreams, it was all in her head. That feeling was nothing but her longing for more in her life. Feeling like maybe she had more to offer or like this place just was not where she was meant to be. Nothing more.

"No idea what you mean" Selina said, shrugging the feeling off with a laugh. 

"Never mind" Claire said rolling her eyes.

Claire felt like Selina would understand. They had both been off lately. Ever since the dreams started to surface, nothing felt right. That man... he had a strange hold on her that she could not explain.

The trail seemed to disappear. Selina rambled on about some television show or some game she played or whatever thing entered her mind. She didn't seem to notice that Claire wasn't listening or even replying. She just kept talking, trying to fill any of the silence while they walked.

It feels like I'm supposed to be here... Maybe déjà vu?

Claire's eyes wandered to a cave. They must have walked this trail a million times, yet, she didn't remember this cave ever being here.

"Hey, was that cave always here?"

Selina stopped talking and looked at the cave in the near distance.

"We've been down this trail a million times and that has never been here..."

Selina and Claire stood still, examining the cave. It was just a small opening, one they could both fit through but it would be a tight squeeze.

Selina felt the urge to check it out. It was like that presence was there, pushing her forward. She ran ahead before Claire could get another word in. She saw her disappear into the cave before she decided to go.

The entrance was small, but once inside the cave was quite large and no sun from the bright autumn day seemed to enter it. Claire tried to see ahead of her but it was virtually impossible. She felt the wall of the cave and followed it along.

She couldn't hear Selina in the cave. In fact, she didn't hear anything.  She continued on into the blackness, knowing Selina had to be in here somewhere.

It was silent. No sounds from the surrounding wilderness. No sounds of animals or birds chirping like there was before entering the cave. It was hard to breathe. The air felt so dense, a thickness that clogged up their throats.

The deeper they got into the cave, the more they could feel their hearts pounding and their stomachs sink into a somewhat depression. Claire's eyes felt heavy, but she pressed on. She began to feel dizzy, her feet tripping her as she tried to focus. She found Selina, her body against the cold ground, her eyes still open, but not moving. Claire tried to get to her but fell to the ground as well.

The last thing she remembers is seeing a pink rose in her hand....