Chapter Three - Water Dogs

Chapter Three

Claire Heart

As I was pulled closer to the dark vortex, the wind grew stronger, and I felt its force rippling through my uniform. Despite my fear, I tried my very best to project an image of determination and confidence as I caught his eye. I knew what I had to do, even if it meant putting myself in danger.

When I was young, my parents were murdered by a drunk driver on their way to pick me up from my dance lessons. I had no siblings, so that left me alone, with no one or place to call home. I received quite a large inheritance because of my family's wealth. Any time I feel low, I try to fill my deep sense of emptiness with material possessions. (Designer bags sometimes worked).

Tanya, Emily’s mom took me in after what happened to my parents. She was a lifeline for me. She taught me what it meant to have a family again, teaching me to skate and even how to talk to boys. But now, Emily is gone, and my world has once again been turned upside down. I felt a lot of things inside me and rage was one of them, fueled by the knowledge that something had taken away the only family I had left.

There was no possible way I could return to Tanya and look her in the eyes. I had promised Emily we would always be together. And now she was lying there, lifeless, covered in glass, and I—I had done nothing.

My hands clenched, nails digging into my palms until the skin split apart. I didn’t feel it. Not over the boiling rage clawing its way up my throat. I had spent years building walls around myself, pretending I was untouchable. That if I controlled the people around me, I wouldn’t have to feel this way again.

It didn’t work. Emily was gone, and now I was just as alone as ever. Anger swelled in my gut, washing through my veins, and stinging my nerves.

“I am powerless and useless to those I care about. I couldn't even protect you," I cried and whispered to no one, "But I promise you, whatever that thing was it will feel pain so much worse than death,” I whispered ignoring the pain I felt in my hands. No signs of life on her face, glass pierced all over her skin, and rivers of blood ran through the tiled floor, contrasting the white tile like roses in the snow. Using my trembling fingers to close her eyes, I said my goodbyes, and before I had a chance to think about what I was heading into, I let go. The vortex tore me away, and I didn’t fight it.

I was ripped from the world, spiraling through a vortex of darkness and purple lightning. It felt like I was being torn apart; oddly enough, I also felt like I was headed toward something more significant. The powerful lightning struck the void around me, purple flashing everywhere. It was so bright and loud that I started screaming into the storm.

"Ahhhh!" without much warning I was thrown out of the portal falling. If I went through all of that to die from falling, I’m going to be pissed. I forced my eyes open to at least watch my demise but was instantly plunged into the water. I held my breath as I landed face-first against the water, and it hurt.

Great, now my clothes are soaked.

The bottom of the pond was significantly quieter than a raging storm. I hesitated. Where was I? The water surrounding my body felt strange touching my skin, it was not regular earth water; it felt almost electric.

"Hmmmppphh" I murmured running out of oxygen. I swam to the top of the water breaking the surface. My eyes scanned the surrounding area. I was at the center of the large pond; a single fruit hung from a tree on a small island close to me. This tree wasn't just any tree. It was white with gold maze-like veins through its bark. Behind that were rolling flowered green hills. The flowers reminded me of flowers my mom would once plant in the orchard behind our house. It was beautiful to look at; I quickly wiped a tear away from my eye; I had to focus.

Suddenly I felt a tug at my foot, "Please God no," I pleaded because I had seen way too many videos on social media about thalassophobia to enjoy what came next, and with that, my body was pulled under and I felt myself being dragged to the bottom of the body of water. Instinctively, my eyes closed, and I forced them open to see what had me by the ankle. Air bubbles slipped free from my lips, I concentrated on the pain, attempting to see what was happening. I couldn't believe what I saw. The jagged teeth of a creature were firmly clamped around my ankle; it had glowing red eyes, full of hunger.

From the neck down, the monster had a bottom half of what was akin to a dolphin. Streams of blood passed in front of my face as I squirmed against the creature. Its jaws tightened even more in challenge, causing me to gurgle in pain. The rest of the air in my lungs was expelled into the watery coffin I was drowning in.

Think Claire, think!

I kicked hard at the jaw of the beast with my opposite heel, hoping that it would loosen its grip enough for me to wriggle free. But, of course, I had no luck. The air in my lungs scratched and clawed at my throat trying to escape. I felt the fear of death begin to sink in my stomach like an anchor. A faint tickle of electricity shuttered through my body, finally, I couldn't hold it any longer, and I gulped water.

I clawed at my throat. I couldn’t breathe. My lungs convulsed, burning for air. My vision blurred, and for a moment, I thought this was it. Again. After falling and portals and demons or something, I was going to drown. But the pain never came.

The water filled my lungs, but… it didn’t suffocate me. Instead, it flowed through me like air, cool and weightless. My body stilled, confused. No. No, this wasn’t normal.

I took a cautious breath. Then another. I was breathing. I looked at my hands, watching strands of glowing blue energy pulse along my skin, disappearing as fast as they came.

The monster noticed a change in my emotion, and I swear I saw its horrifying eyes hesitate for a moment.

With renewed strength, I kicked harder and harder at the beast's jaw. Blood filled the water around us, but it was no longer just mine. Finally, the beast let go of my ankle, allowing me to swim to the surface. I broke the surface with a gasp; the pain in my ankle only grew as the feeling of adrenaline faded. I waited for the beast to come back for me. I left my injured leg dangling like bait so I would be able to use my good foot again.

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But as I stared down in the water, I noticed that I was being chased by not just one sea monster, but many of them. The blood alerted a herd of them, and they were coming at me with speed.

I swam desperately for any piece of land and turned occasionally to see how far they were. One of them was close to my bleeding ankle, but it was only able to grab hold of my shoe with its jaw. I kicked it away and kept swimming towards the shore.

I heaved myself onto the small patch of sandy grass that was in the middle of the water and stared at the sea creatures as they turned away. I threw a coughing fit, I didn't realize that I wasn't breathing.

"Well, that went splendid,” I thought sarcastically to myself.

My body gave out and I fell backward onto the soft sand. With my back to the ground, I finally got a better look at the weird tree that shared the small island with me. The colossal white tree stood in the center of the island, its bark veined with molten gold. Its branches stretched high, unnaturally tall. At its heart, a single fruit pulsed with soft golden light, its surface shifting between scarlet, orange, and silver like a mirage. It wasn’t just hanging from the branch. It was suspended in the air. I stepped closer, heart pounding. The closer I got, the heavier the air became, like the tree was watching me.

I reached for the fruit and plucked it from its floating state. My small hands could barely hold it. It was huge! At least if I got hungry, I would have

something to eat. I removed my school jacket, fashioned a makeshift backpack out of my arms, and shoved the odd fruit inside.

"Time to go, Claire," I muttered to myself as I hobbled back into the water and headed for the bank close by. I am not embarrassed to say that I muttered a prayer or two in hopes of warding off the evil dolphin dog thingy. I readjusted my shirt and skirt after climbing out of the water.

“Deep breaths Claire!” I whispered to myself.

The pain in my leg is constantly aching, which makes the walking quite hard.

I hobbled for what seemed like hours, occasionally sitting on a rock or in a bed of flowers to rest my ankle. Finally, the rumbling in my stomach got the best of me, and I pulled the fruit out of my

jacket-made backpack. My mouth watered as I stared at the bright fruit. Was it safe? I sniffed it…

“Well, that smells incredible. If it's my time, it's my time,” I chuckled to myself and bit down into the fruit.

The Gorple as I called it (Don’t make fun of me), juices filled my mouth, and it tasted incredible! It

reminded me of my favorite meal that my mom would make for me, tuna casserole. I swallowed and began to take another bite before a pain so extreme caused me to drop everything. My insides felt like I was being torn apart, my knees buckled and I fell to my knees. My stomach churned and twisted; this was way worse than the time I had covid. It felt like something was swirling around and gathering at the center of my being, destroying anything in its path.

The pain continued for what felt like forever, but I am sure it was only a couple of minutes before it subsided. I pressed my fingers against my stomach, feeling for whatever had caused me so much pain, nothing was there.

That’s probably not good.

I sat up and glanced at the place where I dropped the fruit, the Gorple had shriveled and turned brown and rotten. The golden aura that it had once exuded was no longer present. Which was probably a bit worrisome. I stood up, readjusted, and continued hobbling forward. I didn’t have time to waste.

You’re doing great Claire.

Climbing hill after hill, following what I hoped would be the direction of anyone else who had come through the portal. My feet began to hurt. My name-brand shoes were not meant for long-distance travel. Neither was the wound in my ankle.

I sat on the grass, tore a piece of clothing from my jacket, and wrapped it around the wound like I was taught one time in summer camp. Then I sighed and looked around, I heard a loud thud.

I swear I felt my skeleton jump from my body, I dove to the ground. Even though I was on dry land I couldn’t help but think.

Please no more demon dolphins. I slowed my breathing to listen.

"Alexander! The Sword Guild requested help with the orc camp! So why are we not going to help them?" spoke a small feminine voice.

"Be quiet Sarah, I have made my decision. And the last time I checked, I was still the leader of this party; not you," snapped Alexander back. While he was firm on his decision, I could hear the

remorse in his voice as it cracked. I crawled closer to try and get a peek at the group.

"I know, but we could at least offer our support to the injured. We have a healer, if we could..." My hand slipped while trying to raise my head over the rocks I had hidden behind. A small rock gave way and I tumbled down towards the group. Stupid rock. I held my breath while rolling to a stop. The conversation they were having fell silent. Then I heard the sound of metal.

"Who's there?" Alexander boomed shaking me to my core. The sound of footsteps grew closer.

"Eeep!" I squealed. Standing up and attempting to look as confident as possible. I readied myself in a martial arts stance I had seen online one time and added a fierce glare for effect while still avoiding putting as much pressure as I could on my ankle.

The group closed in on me, each glaring at me warily. Alexander's eyes narrowed, not blinking while he looked me up and down. My uniform was still wet, and the clothes stuck to my body, leaving nothing to the imagination. His eyes descended from my face, I could feel the heat coming off my ears.

"Alexander, don't," whispered Sarah.

Alexander took a deep breath. His grip tightened around the blade he still held in front of him. I prepared for the worst. He finally opened his mouth to talk.

"Who are you?" Sarah asked, as she tried to step forward and Alexander stopped her, stepping closer to me.

"What is such a beautiful girl doing out here in the Orc Hills all alone?" He asked gently, flashing me a wink. I limped away from his touch, "My dear lady, I can't imagine how scared you must have been without someone to keep you warm and to protect you. Do not fear, the great Alexander is here," He pumped his muscles like a bodybuilder.

I opened my mouth to respond but was instantly interrupted.

"My lady," he gasped, "What happened to your beautiful ankle? Let our great healer mend your

wounds. Such a gorgeous woman should not feel the pains of battle," He held his hand out toward me to accentuate his dramatic point.

"Can please not call me that?" I said.

Did this douche expect me to kiss his hand in thanks? He continued to flex his muscles, so he did not notice Sarah pull back her staff and smack him on the side of his head.

"Hey! What was that for?" he mumbled while rubbing his head in pain. Sarah stepped forward wearing a smile that gave off comfort.

"Hi, my name is Sarah, and this," she gestured toward the rest of the group, rolling her eyes at Alexander, "Is the Travelling Hearth Guild? What's your name? What town are you from?

I brushed off the dirt from my uniform and stood proudly.

"My name is Claire Heart, I’m uh--not from around here." Her eyes narrowed slightly,

"Well, Claire Heart, we are headed to the city. Would you like to join us?" Sarah extended her hand.

My fingers twitched, I didn’t know these people. They looked normal, human, even, but so did the last thing that tore my world apart.

Alexander grinned, flashing his white teeth just a little too sharp. I don't know anything about the world I am in now and they seemed genuine enough.

"Okay, as long as you can keep him from doing anything perverted," I gestured toward Alexander

while making a faint smile. He reflected a look that I could only describe as sadness. Sarah laughed, and I shook her hand.

“Welcome,” she smiled.