[firebreathingfishies]

Okay, here goes the first chapter

I think it'll be best to keep the discussion or comments in Lost by Chapter just to keep it nice and neat

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1

The water was slightly warmed by the sun. It was perfectly still in the small crevasse that it had become trapped in after the heavy rainfall the night before. The green leaves above were reflected in the surface. There was no breeze. Everything was still.

Lara Larunda poked her finger through the thin membrane of the surface. She watched it ripple outwards, the tiny waves catching the midday sun and gleaming in her emerald eyes. She waited until it settled, then repeated the process. Droplets fell from the tip of her rough and calloused finger and caused a new ripple in a place she didn’t want.

‘Sshh…’ she murmured, her voice raspy through lack of use. ‘Stay still… stay calm…’

She sat back, cross-legged and waited patiently for the water to settle once again. Her auburn hair hung in strings down her back, the ends raggy from having to cut it on her own and a blunt fringe crossed her forehead. She was dressed simply in loose jeans and a black vest. They were loose because of the weight she had lost. She must have dropped about forty pounds – and they were forty pounds she hardly had to lose in the first place. Her collarbones jutted slightly. Her face was gaunt, but not in a sickly way. She looked frail, but she most certainly wasn’t.

Lara turned her tanned face up to the sky. She sat like that for a few moments, enjoying the heat on her skin. When she looked back to the pool she saw a small bird on the brim. It ducked its beak in the water and ruffled its feathers. It quivered and shook, and drank some more.

Lara slowly reached for a rock. The little bird continued its business, having no reason to fear her. It didn’t even look up when she brought the rock crashing down on the fragile body with speed and agility that she had honed over the years. She tossed the rock aside and picked up the bird. Her stomach already was growling for it. She held the small body – still warm – in the palms of her hands and looked at it, an expression of fondness on her face. As she rose to her feet, she sang a little song that was embedded somewhere in her subconscious from a time she couldn’t properly recall anymore. Her voice was hoarse and off-key.

‘Once I saw a little bird… come hop, hop, hop… So I cried, “Little bird, will you stop, stop, stop?” And was going to the window… to say “How do you do?” But he shook his little tail, and far away he flew…’

A tear dropped from the end of her nose and landed on the feathers. She didn’t realise, however. Slowly and carefully, she tucked the bird into her pocket. She picked up the thick wooden stick that was propped to a nearby tree and began the trek back to her shelter.

She became aware of a rumble under her feet and she froze, head cocked and eyes alert, not dissimilar to the little bird when it sensed danger. The vibrations made their way up her thin but muscular legs, stopping at her stomach. Her fingers tingled and her heart sped up. Her ears twitched at a faint sound. Screaming. Something was screaming.

Lara dashed to the nearest tree and clung to it. A quiet almost shrill whine escaped her lips as the sound grew louder. The screaming got closer. It turned into howling… then into roaring. The ground rumbled. She thought it was going to swallow her up. Death had finally come for her. She had cheated it for so long and now it was here, ready to drag her into His arms and pull her into the darkness forever. She didn’t want to go there. She didn’t want to.

‘I don’t want to!’ she screamed as the roaring reached its peak.

She looked up to see the giant, pale underbelly soaring over her head. Black smoke trailed from it and the smell of burning choked her. The sudden invasion of such a foul smell made her nostrils close up and, for a moment, she couldn’t breathe at all. She continued to cling to the tree. There was a loud boom, then silence.

Around her, the island was livid.

Lara Larunda remained clutching the tree for a moment longer and sweat dripped from her cheeks. In the distance she heard screaming. The smell was strong and nauseating. Lara turned and fled into the jungle, intending to get as far away as possible and perhaps even to warn the others if they hadn’t witnessed it themselves.

Not that they would listen to her.