The sun was starting to rise above the treeline. Aurora and the creature were both tired. Tiredness had taken hold of Aurora, and a heaviness threatened to close her eyes. Her eyelids were so heavy that she periodically closed them, falling into a momentary sleep until once more, forcing herself awake. If she fell asleep, the shield would fall, and she glanced up at the wolf-like abomination. It would eat her. The monster seemed tired as well. Its attacks were much weaker than they had been.
Stubborn bastard, she cursed in her mind. They were playing the long game. Seeing who would give up first. Little did it know that she was stubborn as well. Making it out on Earth with an English degree was impossible without a bit of stubbornness. Having your life on the line also helped add to her stubbornness. Her mind traveled to the day she got fired. Fuck you too, Bob. If it weren’t for you maybe I still would have been alive.
Aurora knew that she was on the brink. Her body was weak. The night before, she had eaten nothing but a handful of raw mushrooms, unable to start a fire. The only thing that kept her going was an iron will. Getting hit by a bus was one thing, but being torn limb to limb by that thing- was definitely something else. It wasn't something she wanted to experience.
There was a shuffling from inside the woods. The sound of metal clanking. It seemed to be growing closer to her.
“A shadow-wolf is close,” someone shouted.
Was she actually going to make it? Aurora wondered.
She was so weak her eyes closed again. This time for a moment longer. Wake up, you useless insufferable piece of shit, Aurora told herself. Forcing her to open her eyes, but she was so tired. She had never felt this weak; it almost seemed like just existing was tiring.
“Your Grace, there seems to be someone there,” another man called out.
“Shit, it’s a child,” the same man said.
I’m not a child, Aurora thought, then looked down at her small, weak hands, barely keeping her up. I guess I am a child now. Her body was being pulled to the ground. Aurora had never felt this tired. An invisible force was dragging her down into the dark embrace of sleep.
She was becoming delirious. Aurora fell down to the ground; the piss had long been absorbed by the ground. It was still disgusting, but she did not care anymore. Her shield glitched out for a moment. In her tired state, the hard ground felt cozy. She looked at the tree line.
A group of metal glad legs ran towards her. One not dressed in armor stood out to her. Weakly, she looked up at the group. Her eyes landed on the man in the middle. He wore a black cloak, his skin was tan, and his hair was white and long, much like hers. The man was probably closer to the age she had been before she died.
A blue screen popped up. Not know, she thought.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
Little crumb, luck is on your side.
She closed her eyes. The moment lasted for an eternity. Once more, she opened her eyes, and the screen changed.
1. “Please rescue me.”
2. “I want to live.”
3. “Let me die.”
Her eyes closed, and she poked at the screen with the last bit of energy. Her hand wavered, then slumped. She wasn’t sure what option she had chosen.
“I want to live,” she mumbled before she lost consciousness.
----------------------------------------
Aurora woke up with a jolt, sitting up involuntarily. She was once again in an unfamiliar place. Waking up in strange places seemed to have become a habit. The room she sat in was neat, and it was a room which was a plus in itself. Aurora had found herself inside for the first time since waking in this world. There wasn’t much in the room: the bed she was in, a small stand near her, and a writing desk near a window. She was alone.
Still wholly drained, she lay back down. A few days of sleeping outside made her realize how lucky she was to be in a bed. It was far from the tempur-pedic mattress she had back home…no, in her past life—but it was still better than sleeping on the ground. She should enjoy the comfort while she could. It was warm, and she didn’t smell. Someone had changed her clothing and washed her up, but she didn’t care. It was all worth it to lay in a bed.
The door opened, and she slowly sat up.
A plump older woman made her way inside, carrying a tray of what looked like soup and bread. Moments later, the smell of savory pea soup filled the room.
“His Grace instructed me to feed you when you wake up,” she said. Her voice was tender, and she did not look down on Aurora like the city people had. Aurora didn’t reply—she couldn't—she just smiled in response.
“Poor child,” the woman mumbled, placing the platter on her lap.
A screen popped up.
1. Thank You for the food.
2. Where am I?
3. What Happened?
All options were ones she wanted to use. If she could speak, she would have thanked the nice woman for the food, then asked what happened, and finally asked where she was now. Although she could guess well enough what had happened, her rescuers had taken pity on her and taken her in. How long this kindness would last was not something she could guess. However, Aurora would enjoy it for as long as she could.
She sat for a moment, contemplating what to choose. Aurora was not one to be rude, but wasting an option on that would be stupid. She had deduced what had happened, so she chose the second option.
“Where am I?” she asked with a shaking voice.
“Oh, you poor thing,” the woman said.
“His Grace found you half dead under a shadow wolf and rescued you. You are in the city of Wodlnd, in my Inn,” she said.
Aurora nodded in response.
“Now, eat up. His Grace had instructed me to take good care of you before he comes back. We got to fatten you up. You're all skin and bones.”
She wondered who this Grace was and took a spoonful of soup. Aurora had not noticed how tears had started to stream down her face as she ate. It was delicious. The savory soup warmed her insides. It had been the only decent thing she had eaten since waking up . Poor Clementine, how had the child survived so long in these conditions?