Chapter 2
In which we are introduced yet again
It was morning, and I could see the sun shining through my old tent. I sat up, not fully awake, and blinked sleepily as a brighter ray of light illuminated my surroundings. The opening flapped loosely in the wind, making strange shadows on the tent walls. I sighed, reluctantly leaving the warmth of my sleeping bag, and crawled outside.
The stream sparkled in the dazzling sunlight, making me wince as I walked toward it. I knelt down and splashed the cold water on my face, trying unsuccessfully to wake up. Off in the distance, I heard the heavy industrial machinery of Capuchone start to work. People would probably be up already, their first shifts in the overly warm factories starting.
My name is Marlene, I’m about 15, and I live on this godforsaken rock known as Melody. I’m a runaway from society, from the town of Capuchone, and generally from everything that shapes most peoples’ lives.
I stood up, still not awake, and made my way sluggishly back to my tent. I crawled back inside the cavelike cloth structure, slipping on my sleeping bag, and retrieved a small bowl that, like most things I owned, was damaged in some way. In its case, I had once dropped it, causing the hard ceramics to crack slightly. Like I cared. It was still functional.
I’ve lived in these abandoned woods for almost as long as I can remember. Survival seems to be grafted permanently into my bones. Ever since my parents died in a factory explosion and I’d been chased off, I’d lived here. As I was fleeing, I stumbled upon my lifesaving camp. Ever-conveniently abandoned, and apart from some scratches on the outside and the feeling that it was excessively exposed, it was perfect. It was located just outside Capuchone, one of the five cities on this continent, aptly named Staar for its unique star-shape. It was a little too close to the centre of Staar for my liking, but I couldn’t afford to be choosy.
I returned to the stream and filled the bowl with the clean, cool water. I raised it so that I could drink the water, when a small mouth full of sharp teeth broke the surface and snapped a few centimentres from my nose. Unhurt and not caring, I reached in and grasped its tail. Stupid O-Fish, getting in my drinking water. I threw it back into the stream, hearing it splash as it hit the water roughly.
Whoever had thought that it was smart to pollute the forests and streams with radiation was obviously an idiot. Most species merged together, some got freakish abilities, and some natural species became extinct because of it. The O-Fish is one of the merged ones, a combination of the flesh-eating pirhana and the long-legged ostrich. A bloodthirsty fish with legs, wheee! No one really knows if it was named as an abbreviation (Ostrich-Fish) or as a joke, because of an urban legend that’s floating around. Apparantly, the first guy to see an O-Fish said “Oh. Fish.” when he saw them. Then he was eaten.
There are others like that, like the Chinracat, (chinchilla, cat, rabbit) and the Raptorchie (a tiny flying lizard thing, but no one knows what it was combined with).
I put the water away as I walked towards a slightly more shaded part of the forest. Looking around, I noticed another stream nearby, a new one. Was it a pure stream? Curious, I approached it and kneeled down on its edge. I dipped my hand in the water. It was warm, not a good sign. I brought my hand up and caught one of the drips on my tounge. The water burned like fire, and I spat it out, disgusted. Definetley not worth drinking. In Capuchone, probably in all of Staar, the water is contaminated, which is why they get water from Quee, the frozen continent.
Leaning over the contaminated waters, there was another Marlene reflected in the mirrorlike surface. I blinked, and she wordlessly copied me, her- my – red eyes practically glowing in the dim light. My eyes aren’t naturally red. When I drank some of the contaminated water when I was little, the toxins attacked my eyes, burning them red and almost making me lose my vision. I didn’t, though, and I could still see clearly. I have some issues with bright sunlight, though.
I wandered back to my camp, leaving the reflection of me in the pool, the early light still harshly shining down. I need food. I thought, looking around for something edible. I sat down in the shade of a tree, away from the heat of the sun. Apples were scattered around the trunk, and I picked up the one closest to me, examined it, and bit into it. It’s a habit now, to study food before I eat it.
I finished the apple and looked around, studying my surroundings. Something jumped from tree to tree above my head with perfect balance. Some sort of rodent, I guessed, as I caught a glimpse of orange fur.
After sitting in the shade motionless for a while, I had the sudden urge to go exploring. I jumped up and started to walk farther into the woods. The trees were really tall, practically blocking out the sun, but I walked on, wanting to know what was beyond my camp.
