Just Like Clockwork: Introduction Continued & Chapter 1

     This brings me to Connor Ewoldt.  He's been my next door neighbor since I was little.  We were even born in the same hospital.  From the time we could walk, we were always playing together.  He's my best friend.  Then, we hit the ninth grade, and - yeah, you guessed it - we got together.  Not much changed.  We were still best friends, and we did all the same stuff we did before.  It was easy.
     Until I got in a car wreck my Junior year.  That's when everything changed.  And here, my friend, is where I'll begin. . .

Chapter 1

     I was driving home from school.  It had been a really, crappy day.  I had failed a test in Chemistry, got sent to the office because I cussed out some little kid who stole a pen from my locker, and slipped on ice in the parking lot, bruising my tailbone.  Not a good day.
     I gripped the wheel tightly, trying to stay on the road.  I could barely see through the snow, but, to be honest, I wasn't really paying attention to the road, at all.  I looked away for just a second, to find a different song on my iPod.  I had barely reached the B's when I heard my tires squeal, and suddenly, I was airborne.  The was a loud crunch and I was thrown into my driver's side window.  I remember a pillow of white coming at me, which I later figured out was the air bag.  But it never hit me.  I blacked out when my head hit the window, and suddenly, I was floating.
     I couldn't see a thing, but I could tell, I was floating.  Just then, I began to see shapes.  They were only shapes, at first, but they grew steadily in detail.  And as they did, I became more and more confused.  I was outside.  It was night time, but the sky was lit up a strange brown-green.  So was everything around me.  I was standing barefoot on a soft patch of moss.  Around me was dark, almost black, water.  It smelled funny, like it was stagnant.
     Suddenly, a thought came to me to me.  I'm in a swamp!, I guessed, taking another look around me.  Sure enough, it looked like a swamp.  Same boggy water, with moss everywhere there wasn't water.  But there were no trees, which I found odd.
     Just then, I heard something splash behind me, but when I turned to look, there was nothing.  At least, that's what it seemed like at first.  Abruptly, something hopped in front of me.  I nearly jumped out of my skin until I realized the thing was a frog.  But, I could barely see it because it was pure black.  Like a shadow.  Only it's eyes had color, and they were a bright yellow.  It "ribbited" at me, then leaped into the dark water with a splash.
     Then, without warning, I heard a sudden buzzing in my ear.  I spun quickly, and found myself face to face with a pure black dragonfly.  Its eyes were the same rustic yellow as the frog's.  It hovered for a moment, as if it were staring at me, then zoomed away.
     Confused, I shook my head and turned.  I yelped as I caught site of a snake by my foot.  It, too, was pitch black, with those same dull yellow eyes.  The snake looked up at me for a moment, then slithered away slowly, before disappearing into the water.  I tried to peer through the water, to see which way the snake had gone, but it was like trying to look into a shadow.
     All at once, I noticed small squares of yellow light, wavering beneath the water.  No, they were on top of the water.  It was a reflection.  Confused, I looked up.
     And stumbled backwards as I gazed up at the most colossal stone castle I had ever seen.  How on earth could I have missed that!  I felt dumbfounded.  It was huge!  The glowing squares on the water were reflections of the castle windows.  They were lit up a harsh yellow, but hey, lights meant people, and people meant information about where the heck I was.
     It was then, that I noticed the ginormous stone wall running along side of me, one way, until the end disappeared into the shadows beyond.  As I studied the castle, and it's wall, I realized that I must have been at the rear corner of the place.  I decided I'd better figure out how to get in, so I could get some help.
     I guess I hadn't really been aware of the fact that, from the moment I got there, there had been complete silence.  With the exception of the frog, the dragonfly, and the snake, I could hear absolutely nothing.  That is, until I caught the faint whistling of wind.  It sounded far off, but it was getting louder by the second, which meant it was getting closer.  I had started walking along the wall, away from the castle, to see if I could find and end.
     The wind was really loud, now.  It almost sounded like. . . like a car engine.  I turned around just in time to see a huge, black cloud hurtling towards me.  I turned back to run, but before I could even take a step, I was swept of my feet by the force of the wind.  I shut my eyes, and waited for the impact, but it never came.  My stomach did a somersault, and I knew then, that I was in the air.  I didn't dare open my eyes, for the longest time.
     I waited and waited for the floating feeling to stop.  But it didn't.  The only change was that the wind had turned cold.  So, I took a chance and opened my eyes.  However, I was not where I thought I'd be.
At first, all I saw was white.  Before long, though, everything came into focus.  I was on my back, my face turned towards my car, which was about ten yards away from me, lying on its back.  I didn't want to try and move my head, because it ached badly, so I just moved my eyes to try and take in my surroundings.  There were trees around me.  Lots of trees.  But where my car was, there were no trees.
     Okay, I reasoned, my car must still be on the road.  That means, someone should find me, soon. . . I hope.
     I wanted to sit up, but I couldn't feel my arms or legs.  I closed my eyes again, trying to relax.  Suddenly, I heard the crunching of footsteps behind me.  But they sounded funny.  Almost like someone dragging their feet.  I opened my eyes again and slowly turned my head the other direction.  I was momentarily amazed that I could still move it.  Then I saw what was coming toward me.
     I think I screamed.  Maybe I only screamed in my head, who knows.  I could barely register what was moving in my direction.
     It was tall, and pure black, like a shadow.  The only features the shadow had were glowing red eyes, and long white fangs that glittered wetly.
     I could tell that it wasn't looking at me.  How?  Because when it did see me, it opened it's mouth and brayed the most blatant and inhuman cry I had ever heard.  But it wasn't just a sound.  It was a word.
     DIE!
     I screamed, then.  I screamed like my life depended on it.  I squeezed my eyes shut and shrieked, and yelled until my throat hurt.  Suddenly, something grabbed a hold of my shoulders, and my wailing intensified.  But then, I heard a voice, a human voice, calling out to me.
     I flung open my eyes.  At first, all I could see was a shadow, looming over me.  Terrified, I cried out again, and struggled to get away from it.
     "Thema, stop!  It's me!"
     The shadow disappeared, and Connor's face flew into focus.  I noticed, absentmindedly, that he had dark circles under his eyes, and his blonde hair looked like it had been slept on recently.  He looked disquieted, as his dark grey eyes peered down at me.

~*~*~*~

     Here's some more for you guys.  Now, I gotta tell you, I have had the worst time spelling today, so that's why I stopped.  I'm getting mad, and it's clouding my brain.  So, you'll have to wait for more.  Hopefully I'll get some more done tomorrow, or maybe tonight, if I'm lucky.

     Anyway, hope you enjoy it.  I'll stick it up on my other blog.  And no, I'm not giving you the link for it, again.

This is Maximum Sunshine, signing off.  Αντίο και ο Θεός ταχύτητας.