CHAPTER 1

I feel like I'm floating. Like I'm somewhere deep with nothingness. The kind of nothingness that you can swear has a physical appearance. Huh? What's this? I can't remember anything. I try by all means but the only thing I get is a question.

What's my name? I ask myself

Skye.

All of a sudden my body hits a hard surface and I let out a groan.

I seem to be in a tropical forest. I can hear the chirping of birds and other odd sounds made by insects.

I remember just a while ago, I was at home and ...

Huh? I don't remember anything. Where is home? It feels as if my memories are like water slipping through my fingers.

Ah never mind that. I look around me and see a barely visible path. I have no choice and follow it. After walking around for what seems to be like hours, I hear the sound of water. Is it a river?

I'm thirsty so I break into a run. Indeed, I do see a stream of water. Looking at it its clear surface, it's as if it's calling me. I rush and kneel on the bank cupping my hands and drinking the water in huge gulps.

All that stuff about unsafe water and stuff, at this moment I don't care about it.

After my thirst has been quenched, I wash my face for a bit and use my fingers to brush my hair. Finally I feel like I can see clearly, I look at the water and not only do I see my reflection, I see that of someone else too.

Huh? I stop for a while and look closely again. The other reflection seems to have noticed me as well and seems to be doing the same thing.

I slowly glance to my left and see a girl whose hair is dripping wet staring at me with shocked eyes.

"Did I just drink water that you washed yourself in?"

We both ask each other at the same time. After a moment both of us burst out laughing. She's the first person I see and that's what I say to her. I wonder how we probably didn't notice each other.

"Oh, hi. I'm Sea."

"Oh, hi. I'm Sea." She says.

"Huh?" I make a confused face.

The girl's face gets red and she says, as if confirming to herself.

"Yes, my name is Sea. It's probably weird for a name but I like it."

"Did you name yourself?"

"Yes, I actually did. How did you know?"

She asks her eyes looking at me expectantly.

"No, I don't know. I was just trying to make a joke."

"Oh."

She replies her gaze turning sullen.

"Is something wrong?"

I immediately say stepping back from her.

"No, no, no." she says

"Whatever!" she continues suddenly standing up.

"It doesn't matter anyway."

Now she seems to be having a monologue.

She turns away from me. An awkward silence immediately follows and thinking of a way to disperse it, I ask, "Do you know where we are?"

She doesn't reply but I can see by the way she raises her head that she heard me.

"And you?''

She finally says.

"I don't know."

I reply.

"I'm not talking about that, I mean what's your name?"

"Oh, that. Sorry I forgot to tell you. It's Skye. With an e at the end."

"Huh?"

The nerve of this girl. My fists automatically clench. She dares to insult my name. I don't care who it is but as long as they insult my name, not many get out unscathed.

"Are you making fun of my name?"

I ask, rage building up in me.

"No, it's not that. It's just that it sounds sort of like someone said it before."

The girl says waving her hands frantically.

"Whatever, do you know where we are?"

I ask again.

The girl shakes her head and points behind us.

"I came from that direction and I saw nothing familiar."

I look and see that we both seem to have from the same direction. Two paths lead to the river and she must have come from the other one while the other was one that I used.

"I guess the only way is forward."

I sigh. If we cross the stream, there's a single path that continues. Well, it's quite possible that the parts we come from are actually the ones that continue but since I don't know this place and both I and Sea have seen nothing from where we came from, I shall assume it's the path forward.

We cross the stream and take the path.

Along the way we make small talk.

"Sea and Skye."

I say and we both burst into laughter. It's a strange combination of names.

......

The sky has now turned dark and hunger and thirst are clawing at me.

I can tell that Skye who's walking besides me isn't doing any better. I wish I had put the water from the river before in a container. The night is getting chilly and both of us don't have our jerseys. We're only wearing summer clothes.

Suddenly we hear multiple voices. I rush ahead and leave Skye behind.

"Wait!"

I hear his shouts but ignore. It seems like the forest path is coming to an end.

I push through the bush in front of me and break out into a clearing.

Although it's now night time, I look around and see that it's a colourful scenery. It looks like I'm standing on a beach in the tropics. I hear murmurs around me. From what I can see it appears there's more than one hundred people and all of them seem to be around my age.

The cold wind from the beach assaults my cheeks and I use my hand to cover them.

"Hey?"

Someone nudges me behind the shoulder and I turn to look and see a girl wearing a school uniform.

"Do you know where we are?"

She asks me.

I'm honestly confused, why would I know such a thing.

I shake my head and to comfort her, I say," it's almost like one of those fantasy novels huh?"

"Fantasy novels?"

"Yes, you know those ones where people get transported to another world."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

I sigh internally, who doesn't know about such things. It's a trend nowadays.

"I thought you knew something since you just arrived."

She says and shifts away from me.

I look all around me and all I see are confused faces. Judging from what I hear, no one seems to know anything. Some are crying.

"What's that guy doing?"

Skye who's besides me asks looking at a particular direction.

I look and I see a boy with red hair wearing a vest and a pair of jeans stepping up on to a rock. We're currently on flat ground and the top of the rock can be seen from far away.

Anyone who climbs it is bound to attract attention.

And it seems to be like what this boy is aiming for.

He raises his hands as if he's making a royal greeting of some weird sort and shouts to everyone.

Just then marching footsteps approach us and we are surrounded by an army of soldiers, though they're not the ones I'm used to. They were armour and helmets and carry swords and spears and some shields.

They're about thirty of them and more than a hundred of us. But we just met and I have personally never fought in anything more than a mere brawl. Fighting back would be mere suicide.

"Put down your weapons! And stay still or you get cut."

Their general shouts. I shall assume he's general because he's wearing flashier clothes.

"We don't even have anything."

Someone shouts. I look and see a boy with red dyed hair staring fearless at the commander.

"Did you just talk back to me?"

The general says and faster than my eye can see the boy is slashed by a wave from the general's sword across the chest knocking him of his high rock.

"Next time someone talks back, be prepared!"

He shouts his voice ringing in my ears.

"Now all of you com…"

Before he can finish whatever he was about to shout next, he's blasted away by a huge fireball causing smoke all round. The smoke clears and Mr Red, the one who was slashed a while ago is standing surrounded by flames.

"Interesting."

The general who was knocked back by a huge fireball is dusting his clothes as if the fireball were nothing.

Picking up his sword, he raises his hand and orders all his other soldiers to stop.

"Wahaha, I'll handle this one on my own."

Taking great strides which appear almost like leaps he reaches Mr Red in no time and takes a big swing. Mr Red appears to be in a trance and is not able to react.

But the sword will not hit, it will be blocked by another blade, from where? From the trees in the forest, a group of ten will step out and then...

Just as the general swings the sword, a blade bigger than him firmly plants itself on the ground and the general's sword is deflected.

A group of ten steps out of the rest and .....