One of Nine

CHAPTER 1: Opal Avila

Author note: This is still just a draft. I haven't had anyone edit it or look over it in depth. I shared this on WattPad because I wanted to give those who were excited something to read. I'm aware that things need edited. Just read and enjoy, everything will be fixed in time.

ACT I

CHAPTER 1: Opal Avila

    I think it had been an hour. Or three. We'll say it had been an hour to make myself feel better.

An hour ago, I woke up to the feeling that my whole body was submerged in freezing cold water. It wasn't. Instead, I found myself lying in a clearing piled high with snow under the winter sun. Everywhere I looked, armies of pine trees stood tall against the endless gray sky. I got to my feet, my teeth chattering and my eyes darting in every direction. My gut reaction was to cry for help. I called out into the woods, hoping that someone, anyone, would be able to hear me. No one did. The only company I had was the sound of my own voice echoing aimlessly off of the trees.

I thought- I prayed that I was dreaming. I even tried pinching myself multiple times. The nightmare didn't go away. I had to think rationally. Maybe I just fell asleep here. But there was no way I consciously let myself fall asleep in a place like this. That wasn't me. But I was here, alone. I allowed myself a few minutes of sheer panic.

I let the fear take over. My chest tightened and my heartbeat pounded in my ears. My ability to breathe vanished for what felt like days as I crawled on my hands and knees, the cold of the snow singeing my knees as they dug into the frozen earth. The crippling fear of having lost all control and understanding overwhelmed my mind, making me keel over. I curled into a ball and gasped for the breath that was so unwilling to enter my lungs.

After I spent some time laying on the forest floor, and dead leaves had tangled themselves in my hair, I forced myself to sit up and do something. Anything. Get the hell up, Opal.

When I was finally able to take a deep breath and collect my thoughts, I assessed my current situation. Here's what I knew:

I was alive. I was in the woods. I didn't know where the hell these woods were because, last I checked, there weren't any woods in Emerisle. I was wearing clothes, thank god, but they weren't mine. I didn't own a thick grey sweater or a black jacket. Or expensive black pants, thin knit gloves, or brown winter boots. I had a backpack with food and water. However, there was also a knife in the backpack. ¿Por qué necesito un cuchillo? There was snow on the ground but the last thing I remembered was that it was summertime. I started to panic again. I didn't know why I was there. I missed Renny and I wished she were here with me.

Now, after spending so much time walking, my eyes had started to droop. Then, somewhere closeby, a twig snapped. It echoed across the space. My heart thumped, and I started to sweat even though I was so cold. I was no longer tired. 

My eyes darted back and forth from tree to tree, not seeing anything but dark trunks and the bright white of the snow. My hand closed around the hilt of the knife which I had stuck in the waistband of my pants.

Nothing happened. I relaxed... but only a little bit, and let go of the knife.

    Fog gathered in patches, my imagination was going against me and forming ghost-like figures out of it. The branches that hung low looked like arms that were trying to reach out and grab me, to pull me into the sea of trees and never let me out. Wind whistled through the air, scraping along my face and whispering on the back of my neck. My eyes wandered too much when I kept looking too far ahead so I decided to keep them focused on the ground, only looking up to make sure I was staying on the path.

    Snap.

    As soon as I heard the sound again, I ducked behind a large tree and put both of my hands over my mouth, attempting to silence my heavy breathing. I shut my eyes; tears were forming and I needed them not to. All I wanted was to go home.