My Last Breath (Book one of The Portal Series)

All Is Lost, Especially Me. CHAPTER TWO

Consciousness starts to come back to me as my body becomes aware of the chilly temperature of my room. The next thing I notice is the pain in the back of my head. I roll over onto my stomach in search for my small pillow only to find that I'm not in bed at all. The whole rest of my body is in excruciating pain and I realize that I am not in the building either.

I sit up, unable to open my eyelids because all of a sudden they're extremely heavy. At first I think I'm covered in a cold sweat until I feel tiny droplets of water landing upon my forehead. I completly forgot that I'm outside, I'm out in the rain! The feeling is strange, it's gentile even though it is so cold. I never would've imagined how refreshing a rain could be.

Finally my eyes open, revealing an unexpected pitch darkness that wants to swallow me whole. My fear skyrockets all the way to another planet as I sit up quickly with my head pointed to the sky. It's the only thing I can see at the moment, finding the moon halfway hidden behind a cloud and some stray stars popping out in places above.

The first thought that engulfs my mind is the incident I had with the white rabbit. The talking one. He told me to follow him back home! Believing he could lead me to safety completly slipped my thoughts before this very moment. I was immediately assuming he would seduce my mind or take me away to some horrible place. But I guess now I have some slight hope that the creature was being truthful. It's too late now, my miracle is gone and I'm out of my dream.

The only thing clear as day to me would be the picture of the rabbit in my mind. His fur looked like little wisps of soft fluff and his paws seemed like they had way more control that what a normal rabbit would have. He was larger than a small dog, definatly bigger than a French bulldog. I recall his eyes were a strange color, green or blue maybe but definitely very bright. I convince myself, a white rabbit can have colorful eyes. It's not as strange as the rest of the matter, unless everything was just a figment of my imagination. Rabbits can't talk, and this one certainly didn't know me or where I came from.

The more I try a reasoning with myself the more I'm confused. He could be here watching me right now, but I'm sure I'd hear him nearby. I don't dare move a muscle, hoping there aren't other kinds of strange animals lurking around these woods. Maybe I won't be so lucky with the next creature that I come across. There must be way more harmful animals out here than that talking rabbit.

I force myself to take a long breath, feeling the sharp night air go into my lungs. The smell of wet leaves comfort me, despite my fear of the dark and this forest. But the more I listen the more I become horrified, even though I like the sound of the chirping spring crickets that quickly resemble a pulse. A coo from far behind me rings through the dense trees. It has to be an owl, what else would it be?

Anything.

I cannot force the image of the rabbit out of my head. It haunts me to the core, not because of what he looks like or because he can talk. What gets me is that he spoke like he knew me. This thought makes me have the need to go searching for this rabbit. Unless he has been here the whole time I was asleep and can somehow be quiet enough that my ears don't pick up the sound of him.

The weather begins to worsen and the rain has no sympathy for a cold and lost lonely girl out in this deserted forest. I pull my legs up carefully so I can sit in a ball with my arms wrapped around myself. At an attempt to keep my body heat in this rain my brain forgets about the darkness. I stare at nothing in particular, unaware of what my surroundings are until the sound of rustling leaves startle me.

Instinctively my head moves towards the sound but I see nothing but black. At a moment like this one, I wish my eyes could see in the dark. But no, I am human with eyes exactly like everyone else's. So I sit here in the wet leaves and sticks, uncapable of doing anything until the sun rises in the morning.