Letters

Chapter 1: Escape

I wake up, force my head up, and realize someone is shooting me. A deadly bullet darts by and nearly hacks my face in two. I’m watching bullets take off left and right, as others aren’t as lucky. I take my time to think, wondering who would have the speed to fire bullets like this. What am I doing here? Where am I? I slow my breathing, taking in long breaths with my pale face, taking in the area around me as well. The gunpowder almost chokes me.

Gray dust fills the air. I gradually get up from the ground and wipe the dust off my clothes when I realize a gun is pointed directly at my head. BANG! I expect myself to be dead by this point, but I hear my heavy and steady breathing. I see the firearm laying on the ground, along with the guy laying next to the gun on the ground gradually disappearing. He was pointing it the wrong way! 

I get up and try to escape but I haven’t got a planned exit. I lay low hoping to find a way to escape, and try not to be an obvious no-gear. And there it was, a pathway where nobody was guarding. I got up to my hands and crawled like there was no tomorrow, which could be the case. I fumbled down, then scrambled away from all of the destruction. I use all my energy so that I can feel my muscles penetrating and bolt as fast as I can.. I’ve escaped.

I made it to a tree, thick and branched, near mostly just grass, trees, mud, and rock. I was able to get in a smaller and slender tree and keep on the lookout for any approaching trespassers. The air becomes clearer, to the point where my vision isn’t as blocked as before. A girl runs out of the area I came from. I jump down, leap, and put her in a chokehold. 

“Move, and I’ll kill you.” I uttered forcefully.

“Uh, alright?” she said very casually, with a slight hint of horror in her tone.

She dipped down, and I was able to get a closer look at her. She had dirty blond hair, with blue eyes lighter than the blazing sun above us. She tried to get out of my chokehold, and she probably would’ve if she had tried a little bit harder.

“What are you doing here? If you have any weapons, tell me now, or you’ll die.”

“I have no weapons, calm down!” she says in a squeaky, high pitched tone.

“Why are you here?” I said, loosening my grip. 

“To escape the ditch over there.” She slips a finger and points to what seems to be a dark black cube.

“Fine, I’ll help you survive this… place.” 

We go back to the tree and we try to converse more, but we barely speak at all. Then a person comes out limping on one leg, blood dripping off his leather and silky pants. He then bungles to the ground, half unconscious. Me and the other girl cautiously step out of the tree and start to shuffle towards him. He holds up a hand and starts to crawl toward us, leaving a bloody trail of grass. Panting and moaning, he leans next to the tree and glances at his leg. Blood everywhere. 

“Let me take a look.” the girl says, studying the leg as the other boy’s patience began to struggle. “Bullet wound, let’s see what I can do.” 

She slowly reaches down and touches the wound. He moaned uncontrollably for a few seconds, but then the pain stopped. He then looked down with his eyes shut, breathing hard in agony. It seemed as though the flesh had mended itself back together. The girl and I stand in shock, as she clutches the bullet in her hand. She peers at her hands to see if something is happening. Blank. Everybody just stood there, no movement.

We eventually tried to replicate what happened. I scraped myself with a stick hard enough to leave a bruise, I was trying not to say, “Ow!”, so I wouldn’t look frail. The girl slid over and put her hand on the bruise with slight hesitation, and the bruise disappeared into thin air. 

“Cool.”

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