Somewhere I Belong

Somewhere I Belong
Chapter 1
A young girl about 17 dragged herself out of the water and weakly laid herself on the sandy and rocky surface of the riverbank.
The girl’s breath was heavy and ragged, her clothes and hair stuck to her body like glue.
The girl could see her own breath blow out of her like tiny clouds that dissolved quickly in the air.
The chilly north air nipped at her skin in an uncomfortable way.
How did she wind up like this, cold and wet?
Well let’s just say she didn’t have the best life in the world.
She was poor and didn’t have a lot of money in her pocket. Well it all started when she tried to steal a piece of bread from the market.

‘Flashback’
“Hey you, stop right there!” a voice shouted behind her as she ran clutching the loaf of bread she stole close to her chest.
She wanted to stop running, but she couldn’t in fear that the people behind her would catch her.
Instead once finding a chance ran through the forest hoping that the trees would slow them down.
Sticks and branches picked at her feet, leaving scratches upon them. But she ignored the pain and kept going.
Looking behind her it looked like she was getting some good distance from them.
Not looking where she was going, she suddenly felt her foot go over nothing.
Looking over she saw a river below her.
Her eyes widened as she let out a scream and plummeted into the river creating a splash as she went.
The water quickly and easily carried her downstream.
The people who were chasing her stopped at the edge of the river looking over at it.
One of them shook their head.
“She’s a goner” he claimed.
The crowd nodded in agreement as they watched the girl get swept away by the current.
‘End of flashback’
So now she was stuck out here in the middle of nowhere, cold, hungry with the possibility of getting sick.
Letting out a cough and spitting out some water, she weakly lifted her head to get a look around her.
Tall pine trees stood above her proudly thickly covered in needle branches and bright spongy moss growing at their roots.
Sitting up, she slightly grimaced in pain, her body sore from falling belly first into the river.
She shivered as a cold breeze blew past her. She wrapped her arms around her legs in hopes of keeping warm, but she knew it wouldn’t do her any good.
Looking down at the hem of her once white dress, and the frayed ends of her yellowed sweater, she let out a sigh. It was now or never.
Using the strength in her legs she stood up.   She first decided to build a fire so she could keep warm.
So gathering some dry sticks she placed them into a pile. Once done, she got two of her sticks and started rubbing them together and lightly blew on it giving it air.
When she finally got a flame going she let out another sigh and looked at her hands.
They had some blisters from the wood rubbing on them.
But she knew they were worth it as she felt the heat coming from the fire.
She soon felt her eyes getting heavy from the comforting warmth.  Closing her eyes, she let out a soft breath.
She would go and find food tomorrow, maybe trout or some fruit. She soon fell into a deep slumber, her sleep dreamless.

When she woke up it was nearly evening, and it was getting dark as the sun was setting behind the mountains.
Her once big fire was now merely smoke, and the branches were black and charred.
Not bothering to start the fire again she went over carefully to the river and splashed some water onto her face. Feeling refreshed, she scooped some water into her hands and drank. The cool liquid felt good going past her dry lips.
Seeing her reflection in the water she stared at it for a while.
Her long brunette hair was messed up in tangles; it was all oily and dirty from not having a good bath for a while.
Her eyes were dark brown, long lashes surrounding them. One of the few qualities she saw in herself.
Her skin was a light tan color, a pretty healthy color for someone who lived on the streets.
Who was she? Well in case you didn’t know her name it was Stella, Stella Jay Robinson.
Yeah big name for a little girl like her. Actually she was shorter than most people her age, whether it was from malnutrition or something else she didn’t know she was just short.
Her stomach then let out a low growl, complaining from lack of food.
Knowing she would have to eat soon she got up and started walking toward the woods. It looked dark and spooky with the setting sun casting long, dark shadows everywhere.
Taking a gulp she continued on her way. She had to be brave or else she would starve.
She swatted at flies and mosquitoes that flew at her trying to suck her blood.
She saw some mushrooms as she walked on, but she knew well to stay clear of them, knowing some mushrooms could be poisonous.

Later in her walk, the sky now dark with only the moon to guide her, she came across a raspberry bush.
She licked her lips hungrily and began to eat straight from the bush.
The berries were enough to satisfy her stomach, but she knew she would have to eat again really soon if she wanted to stay alive.
She was about to pick some more berries when a low sound met her ears. A rhythmic sound - leaves rustling under its weight.
Her eyes widened. Footsteps! And they were coming closer. Possibly a few feet from her, but what could it be?
Cautiously, her body stiff, she turned to look at what it was.
Her gaze landed on a pair of brown eyes that weren’t her own.
She could see its wet nose and sharp white teeth in the moonlight.
It was only when it started growling that she realized what it was.
A bear! A dark mean-looking grizzly bear. She could only guess that she was in its territory.
Eating its raspberries!
Its juice all over her face!
Reacting by instinct, she slowly backed away. But she never got far as the bear always took two steps forward.
Her luck didn’t last long as her back met with the trunk of a tree.
The bear was blocking her way showing no way of escape.
She could feel her heart pounding hard against her chest, fear building up inside her.
As the bear let out a roar and moved to swipe at her, she couldn’t hold back as she let out an ear piercing scream, the mountain nearby making it echo.
The bear had easily knocked her onto her back with a single paw and was moving in to create more damage.
She squinted, waiting for the pain to come. Maybe then she would be able to join her family who had died in a house fire years ago.
She was only 5 and was taken to an orphanage. But her life there wasn’t as great as it seemed.
Every day she had to eat slop which they insisted was food, and was trained to do chores.
So one night when she was 8, she was not able to stand it anymore.  She snuck out and ran away, soon facing the harsh life of living on the streets of the village.
And now she was here knocked down and about to be bear food.
She knew this day would come and was waiting for the pain to come.
But as the bear was about to make another attack on her something strange happened.
She felt the ground start to shake and move as if there was an earthquake.
...Maybe it was an earthquake.
The sound of thunder boomed in the distance like an Indian tribal drum.
But it sounded much too rhythmic for thunder...and as she thought of it, the ground shaking seemed to be getting much rougher, as if something was getting closer...
Oh no! Maybe tyrannosaurus rex had come back from the dead and was going to eat her!
Suddenly as the shaking came to a stop, the bear that had been on top of her suddenly lifted off.
She could hear the bear’s cries as she kept her eyes tightly shut in fear.
As the bear’s cries became quiet as if thrown away, she couldn’t help but let herself tremble.
Everything was dead quiet now, only the faint sound of her breathing and someone else’s breathing could be heard?
Taking a deep breath her heart still beating rapidly against her chest she slowly opened her eyes.
She saw nothing at first as she peered through the darkness.
But then something caught her attention.
Above her looking down at her were two large blue eyes that belonged to a creature that she thought could only exist in fairytales.
It was only when she saw it blink that it became clear to her that this was no fairytale.
Right above her, crouching down before her was a giant.