And there she was. I suddenly couldn’t feel my heart beating.
She was under an umbrella— her pale skin had always been sensitive to the sunlight. Her curly red hair was half tied up in a bun, half laying over her shoulders. Her brows were raised in a nonchalant sort of curiosity as she eyed the odd visitors on her porch. She was watching me.
Seeing as I was crippled, Jack butted past with a winsome grin. “Would any of you fine ladies happen to be Aila Galloway?”
Aila nodded politely. “I am she.”
Her voice sounded just like I remembered. High pitched, but smooth and confident, with just a hint of an English accent. Every word deliberate and considered.
My heart started beating again. Suddenly, I was moving. My arms reached out against my will. I had to touch her. I had to make sure she was real... that she wouldn’t crumble. My palm nearly connected with her face, but she gently pushed my arms down. Her forehead crinkled in concern and bewilderment.
“Hello there...” she greeted, a bit uneasy. “Is there something I can do for you, dear?”
I didn’t know what I had been expecting. I knew she wouldn’t remember me. But for some reason, I still felt a powerful ache split through my chest. My hands fell back to my sides.
Check out Found but Lost here... https://www.wattpad.com/1176782195-found-but-lost-a-rise-of-the-guardians-fanfiction
NOTE: This short story takes place within the events of my book Found but Lost (https://www.wattpad.com/1176782195-found-but-lost-a-rise-of-the-guardians-fanfiction), particularly between chapters 6 and 7. If you haven't read the story, please enjoy the scene anyway and feel free to check out the full book!
I slammed into the ground back first and tumbled uncontrollably through what felt like sand. It scratched at my skin until I finally skidded to a halt, sprawled on my stomach. I lifted my face and spit sand from my mouth.
I heaved myself to my feet and staggered. My head was still spinning, but the only thought in my mind was escape. Glancing back and forth desperately, I found I was now on an island surrounded by ocean. But it wasn't just any island. I rubbed my fingers across the sand clinging to my arm. It was gold... a familiar gold.
A strange sound behind my head drew my attention. When I turned, the same portal I was sucked through was floating in mid air. I could just barely see the night sky and snow on the other side before it was distorted by a golden color.
I drew closer, squinting curiously.
The portal heaved. The shape of the golden fellow appeared. For a moment, he hovered there. Then his eyes rolled, and he lurched outward just as the swirling colors shrunk to a close. I scrambled backwards as he collapsed to the ground. He didn't move again.
I glanced back and forth, then dared to crawl closer. I hesitantly reached forward and rolled him onto his back.
He was unconscious, lips slightly parted, eyes shut gently, but with his eyebrows creased and frozen in an expression of fear. A long, red slice stretched from his shoulder across his chest, already welling with blood.
An image of a black knife flashed in my mind. He had pushed me out of the way. He had taken the blow for me.
Before the idea even had time to register, something else drew my attention. I leaned a little closer, squinting and trying to make sure I wasn't seeing things. The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
His form surrounding the slice, everything from his skin to his robe, was turning black. And the black was spreading.
For many years, I wondered whether or not I was still capable of healing as I had been during my lifetime. But in that moment, my instincts completely took over.
Disregarding every rational thought, I leaped to my feet, stooped down, and gathered the little man in my arms. He dangled limply against my chest. I could immediately feel the heat pouring off him. I had to hurry.
There was a giant castle of the same golden sand behind us, which I guessed was his home. I didn't have time to look around, though. My brain had turned hyper-focused, my sight became tunnel vision. Nothing else mattered except the patient.
I threw the doors open so harshly the bang echoed through the rooftops, and I raced down the hallways.
Finally, I found a bedroom. I gently laid him over the blankets, then scrambled back out. There had to be a bathroom or something... somewhere a first aid would be kept. I bit my lip and grunted in frustration as I thought of the first aid kit I carried in my purse. If someone hadn't kidnapped me, I would have it now.
I caught a glimpse of a sink in a room down the hall. I raced towards the door. Inside, I tore every drawer open. A little red box finally caught my eye behind the mirror. I pulled it down onto the sink and threw the lid open.
There were bandages, forceps, painkillers... the basics you'd find in a first aid. With not much else to work with, I slammed the kit shut and bustled back into the bedroom.
He lay on the bed still, with sweat beading on his forehead. The pained expression on his face had contorted even farther.
I pulled back his robe to reveal his chest and get a better look at the puncture. Ice filled my veins. The black was still spreading. Like a disease. And sometimes, there was only one way to get rid of a disease.
You had to cut it out.
Without giving myself much more time to think, I reached back into the first aid kit and began to desperately dig. I needed a scalpel... or a knife... or anything sharp. Tools flew off the edge of the bed. I scraped to the bottom of the container until, finally, I found a scalpel.
I disinfected the blade, then spun back around towards the little man. I crouched over him. For the first time, I hesitated. The knife just hovered over his skin for a moment as a lump filled my throat. It had been several hundred years since I operated on someone. I wasn't ready, especially not for a procedure this intense.
I swallowed hard and clenched my fist around the scalpel. There was no one else here. Either I helped him, or he died. I was his only hope.
I forced my eyes open, took a deep breath, and steadied my hand.
I began to slice. Thankfully, the knife cut smoothly. I gave the strange, black sand a wide berth. To my surprise, the "skin" just crumbled away.
The black sand was spreading fast, even faster than I thought. To my horror, it continued spreading, even after I cut it off. I huffed, my heart beginning to thump harder.
The man suddenly gasped. He jerked awake, slapping the scalpel right out of my hands. I dove after it.
Something clenched my hand as I stooped down. I jumped upright, nearly bashing my head off the bedside table. He was clenching my hand. His eyes were open somehow, and he was staring at me. There was terror in his expression... terror like I'd never seen before. His eyes bulged. His breath heaved.
The outburst only lasted for a moment. His eyes rolled, and he collapsed again. But his hand still held onto mine.
My hands stopped shaking. My heart calmed itself. Time seemed to slow down, and there was only me and him. I was still a doctor. I gripped the scalpel tightly. I could save him.
I sliced through the outer edge of the black sand. I couldn't cut too far back... so much of his body had been corrupted that there wouldn't be much left if I wasn't careful. Still, I sawed on. The black stopped spreading.
Finally, I had sliced every single bit of black from his golden skin. I scanned over the wound closely one last time just to make sure, and then I leaned back with a sigh. There was not a single tremor in my hands.
I couldn't help but grin slightly. I still had it in me...
Next came the stitches. It was a much more... relaxed process. I gathered the thread from inside the first aid, sanitized the needle, and pulled up a chair so I could sit beside him.
Already, I could see a difference in him. When I felt his forehead, the fever was gone, and his brow had relaxed. In fact, he almost looked... peaceful. His eyes laid shut, hands resting unclenched at his sides. If I had only seen him now, I would have never known that seconds ago he was thrashing in panic.
I made the first puncture, then slowly began to stitch up the wound. But I found myself a bit... distracted. Every once in a while, my eyes would travel up to him on their own. There was just something about his face... that benign demeanor that was in no way dull or naive... it was gentle, but at the same time so brave. Ready to feel pain if it meant saving others.
And now, as he laid in front of me, confusion pushed heavily on my mind. Who was he? Why did he kidnap me? But I couldn't be angry with him... this man had freed me. And saved my life as well.
I pushed the thoughts away for now. I finished up the stitching, and then pulled the bandages out of the first aid. I had to prop him up slightly to wrap them around his back and chest. But he remained unconscious.
I rested him back down on the bed, and his hands folded gently over his stomach.
I let out a sigh and sat back in the chair. He would be hurting when he woke up, that was for sure. But for now, I would leave him at peace. After all, he had taken a harsh blow for me.
Probably looked crazy burying my sunglasses in the sand and then crouching down to get these pictures at just the right angle, but looking back, it was totally worth it.
One of the upsides of living with multiple wealthy fictional characters was that you had plenty to spend on extravagant summer vacations like a trip to the jungle.
All of us were perched on a deck of bamboo, lounging beneath the dappled sunlight filtering through the massive, vibrant green leaves. The air was heavy and humid, but for some reason what would have felt oppressive back at home felt refreshing here.
I, of course, was writing. But how could I stop? The jungle was brimming with inspiration! Birds chirping, creatures scampering... so many colors, so much potential. It was just the relaxing vacation we all needed.
At least, it was relaxing. Until Ishani began to eye one of the vines hanging from above with a mischievous glint in her eyes. She pulled on the vine a bit, then glanced down at the crystal blue pond below.
She clenched her fingers around the vine, and then she jumped off the edge.
We all gasped, Aila yelped, nearly falling out of her lounge chair, and Hawthorne leaped to his feet. We crowded around the ledge just as Ishani resurfaced. She whipped her hair back in an elegant arc and howled, “That was great!”
I made the mistake of glancing up at the vine she had swung off of, and she immediately called to me, “Come on, Logan! Try it!”
A lump immediately formed in my throat.
“No!” Zenna butted in front of us all. “This is way too dangerous—”
“Your turn!” Simon cried before she could even finish her sentence. He shoved her over the edge, and she went sailing.
As she hit the water, Onrenya snickered, “Ohhh, she’s gonna kill you, Snotrag.”
Sure enough, Zenna resurfaced, her face completely red. “SIMON, I’M GONNA KILL YOU!” she spluttered.
“Zenna, are you ok?” Hawthorne called, leaning over the edge.
“I’m fine… but that little punk is gonna get it.”
Hawthorne cracked his knuckles. “Leave it to me.”
But before he could even turn around, Simon, Runa, and Onrenya jumped on him, and pushed together. Somehow, he still managed to pull off a graceful dive and plunged under the water next to Zenna.
He resurfaced and shook out his blonde hair, spraying Zenna in the face. She cracked a smile as she wiped the water from her cheeks.
Back on the deck, Simon, Runa, and Onrenya high fived and guffawed. Runa raised her eyebrow at Simon. “Your turn now, big shot.”
“What?”
“You scared?” she teased.
Onrenya scoffed, then whispered to Sandy, “They’re flirting again.” Sandy rolled his eyes and chuckled into his palm.
“No!” Simon exclaimed. “Of course I’m not scared! I ride a dragon.”
Hookfang, who was perched in the trees above, sunbathing, grumbled sarcastically.
“Hey, watch your mouth, mister,” Simon snapped, and Hookfang gurgled a throaty laugh.
“Alright, guess I’ll just go,” Runa sighed dramatically as she grabbed the vine. She winked at him, to which his cheeks turned red, then leaped, howling the whole way down. She crashed into the water. A few seconds later, she resurfaced and called up, “Come on, babe! You can do it!”
Simon rolled his shoulders and shook his arms out. “Watch and learn,” he snickered.
Sandy and I rolled our eyes, and Onrenya yelled “Boo!”
Simon cracked his neck and grabbed the vine. He let out a breath. “Alright, it’s not that high. I’ve been higher up.”
“Please,” Aila, who was still sitting in her reclined tanning chair, finally spoke up. “If we have to wait for you to reassure yourself, we will be here all day.”
“Alright, alright!” Simon huffed. “Geez.” He clenched his eyes shut and, finally, jumped.
Squealing and shrieking erupted from his mouth, but it slowly melted into laughter. His hands slipped. He plunged into the water with a scream.
We watched for a spell, but he never broke through the surface.
“Oh geez, not again,” Zenna moaned, head flicking back and forth nervously. “I swear, I have to babysit you all like you’re toddlers.”
“Is he dead?” I joked, only half joking.
“Simon?” Runa called. She started searching the water. “This isn’t funny!”
Suddenly, he shot out of the water underneath her, hoisting her onto his shoulders.
“Simon!” she screamed. “That’s not funny!” She tried to sound angry, but her laughter broke through.
“Your turn, Onrenya!” Ishani called.
Onrenya pursed her lips and squinted. “Nah, I think Greely will go first.”
Greely perked up from where he was sitting, reading a book as usual. “What?”
Before he could say anything else, Onrenya grabbed him by the arm and shoved him. He plunged, stiff as a board and somehow still in his wool trench coat in the jungle heat, and belly flopped.
He resurfaced, coughing, and Ishani tried to stifle a giggle as she plucked a twig out of his hair.
Onrneya came next, totally disregarding the vine and instead cannonballing into the pond, close enough to get Greely soaked with her splash. She shook her hair to spray him yet again, then called out, “Your turn, Logan!”
“Are you kidding?” I guffawed indignantly. “I’ll literally die.”
“You can do it!” Runa insisted.
“What about Aila?” I said. “She hasn’t gone yet.”
Aila sighed and set her book down. She flicked her reading glasses closed and stood. “Good thing I’m wearing my bathing suit.” She slipped her robe off her shoulders to reveal her forest green bathing suit.
She cracked her knuckles and stretched for a few moments, and then bolted across the balcony. She leaped. She swung in a graceful arc that would have been perfect if Sandy hadn’t somehow been swinging directly towards her on another vine.
“Aila, look out!” Ishani shouted from below.
The two crashed together in a tangle of arms and legs and fell from the vines, screaming. Sandy waved his hands and, just before Aila hit the water, he built up a cushion of dreamsand under her. She landed on the cushion a foot above the water.
Sandy floated down and gave her a sheepish grin, which she met with a glare. Sandy’s expression quickly changed to mischievous, and, just as Aila opened her mouth to complain, he snapped. The dream sand cloud disappeared, and Aila plunged into the water.
Sandy silently laughed, but his mirth only lasted a moment before Aila’s hand shot out of the water, grabbed his leg, and yanked him below with her.
The pair burst from the water, soaking wet and doubled over with laughter.
“Logan, you can’t avoid it anymore,” Onrenya shouted. “You’re the last one up there.”
She was right. I was all alone now on the deck.
Onrenya began to chant in a huffy, low voice, “Logan, Logan, Logan!”
The others took up the shout, “Logan, Logan, Logan!”
I took a step closer to the vine. “This is insane,” I muttered to myself, feeling dizzy as I glanced down. The pond suddenly felt a million miles away.
I took the vine in my shaking fingers.
The chanting grew more intense. Simon and Runa, who was still on his back, began to smack to the beat on his chest, and the others clapped.
“I’m gonna die,” was the last thing I said. Then, without giving myself another moment to overthink, I took the leap of faith.
I swung into the open air, screaming. I had actually jumped! I was so enthralled by the accomplishment that I almost forgot to let go. The vine began to swing backwards.
I flailed right before slamming my back against the deck, and I plunged. The cold water slapped my body.
I resurfaced, laughing until my lungs ached. I let out the loudest bellow I could muster and fist pumped as everyone around me cheered. “Let’s do it again!” I shouted.
We frolicked in the water all afternoon, under the shade of the trees. We swung on the vines, had a few chicken fights (which Runa and Simon always won, and ended the day laying in the sun to dry off. Eventually, it started pouring out of nowhere, and we had to book it back to our jungle house that we rented. We were all soaking wet by the time we stumbled in through the sliding glass door.
I washed off in the stone shower full of plants, admiring my new tan and feeling that warmth beneath my skin. Then, I threw together a sandwich, made some tea for everyone, and met the group in the living space, which had an open wall so we could watch the rain pour down over the river and splatter across the huge trees.
There was no internet, no TV, no computers. Just a group of kids hanging out, sometimes chatting quietly through the fatigue, but most of the time relaxing in silence, just listening to the rain and watching the life of the forest.
We didn’t stay up very late tonight, as we were all exhausted. We slowly drifted off to our own separate rooms, with the exception of Onrenya, who passed out right there on the floor. She looked so peaceful nobody could bring themselves to move her.
I made my way to my room, which was cozy and cool despite the humidity outside. I curled up under the covers of my velvety, gray, king-sized bed to write about the day and scroll through some of the amazing pictures I had gotten. Memories. Memories that I would hold onto forever.
I fell asleep watching the stars through the skylight above my bed and listening to the pitter-patter of rain on the ceiling.
yousharknotpass
jbbartram-illu
tangentwithtanner
annaxmalina
vaporwave
izzy806
blakekathryn
discoholicmusic
janainaart