Exclusive

She woke up to a dry inhalation of frosty air. Images were fuzzy in her mind, nothing was too clear and her mind was muddled. She rubbed at her forehead and tried her best to take in her surroundings. Twigs and leaves rested on the ground dirt with splotches of frail grass. She heard the babbling of a creek nearby and solemn wails coming from some unknown source, making her slightly anxious. She pushed herself up onto her feet covered with dark leather boots caked with mud.

“How did I get here?” She was gripping at her tattered shirt, her brain full of nothing and everything at the same time. So many questions flooded her mind, but no answers prevailed. The trees were grey barked and without leaves, it looked like a rusty Autumn. Leaves crunched under every step and she noticed more and more things about the place she was suddenly dropped into, one of which, was that there were no sounds of life besides the wails in the distance. There were no chirps of birds, no thumps of rabbits or rustlings of deer. The forest was seemingly empty.

A throbbing pain started growing in her foot after what seemed like an hour of walking and exploring the unusually eerie forest. A broad lumpy tree looked appealing to sit down on, so she found a comfortable spot in between two roots at the trunk. She took three deep breaths, before growing slightly panicked. Nothing was striking memories, she was growing increasingly worried because it appeared she didn’t have any memories.

“What’s my name? Where was I before I was here? What happened to me?”

Nothing. She gave up on trying to remember and tried to concentrate on finding out where she even was. The forest seemed to go on for miles, it looked to be endless and no matter where she walked, she never could find her way back. She’d been walking for so long, and yet nothing was spiking her senses. She wasn’t getting anywhere. But then, she had an idea.

She eyed the tree up and down and decided that climbing up it would give her a picture of how big the forest is. She scaled around the trunk and latched her hand around the first branch. She stumbled a bit, she could tell that before she woke up here she wasn’t very skilled at climbing trees. Hoisting her feet onto the first branch she grasped for another, thicker branch. She took shaky breaths as she made her way to the top. She reached a final somewhat thinner branch, trying to steady herself around the base of the tree. What she saw, however, she wasn’t ready for. There were trees for miles on end, reaching the horizon that she couldn’t see past. In the distance something shimmery caught her eye. A bright light was luminescent through the trees from the east about a mile away. Although waking up stranded in a forest is not normal, this especially wasn’t. She knew if she wanted to get out, this may be the way.

She made her way down the tree with vigor realizing while balancing on a branch halfway down, something was wrong. A loud snap echoed through the silent air and she fell to the ground. Her thigh met a large sharp jagged rock lodged in the roots near the trunk; she let out an earsplitting scream that pierced the silence. Blood was pouring out of the giant gash at a rapid pace and her breath quickened. She ripped off her drab flannel that was plastered to the sweat on her arms and tightly wrapped it around the wound. She knotted the sleeves and stood up, gripping the trunk for support and started making her way down east. The light was bright and she spotted it through the thick brambles of bushes. She limped hastily, the stinging pain shot through her leg and she let out a hiss. She was almost there.

She wedged in between two branches and she saw it. It was a huge floating mass of light, something that of a purple star except less defined in shape. It was emanating a shimmering light that washed over her. Something within that cloud of light made her stomach flip.

“Hello?” she asked hopefully, gripping at the flannel wrapped around her thigh.

“Hello.”

This surprised her, she wasn’t expecting a response. A strong voice came from somewhere unnoticeable in the light.

“Where am I? I woke up here and I don’t remember anything. I can’t remember my name, where I’m from, I don’t even remember a single person besides me! I’m hurt,” she gestured to the gash, “scared, and confused. I need to get out here. I need help!”

“You won’t be receiving any help. Be on your way now.”

“On my way where? I need answers! Please, help me. I need to get out.” She was desperate and she wanted to leave. Home was where she wanted to be, anywhere but in that forest. Her gash was going to get infected if it wasn’t treated, she was dirty and she was hungry.

“Oh Miss Carmen,” The cloud’s light grew brighter and continued slyly, “We knew you’d be so naive.”

The cloud of light appeared to be larger now, and slowly expanding in size. It paused.

“Welcome to the Exclusive.”

(Criticism would be hella appreciated friends!)