While Elinora was exploring the town of Alos,

  back on earth evil powers were watching a boy,

waiting for the right moment to set their plan into motion.

Back on my way home from training I couldn't shake the feeling someone was watching me. It was the same feeling I had for the last two weeks. Most days after practice I took the bus back home. The bus came ever two hours and not many people were taking it. Especially not at 7 pm in the middle of winter. The strangest thing, however, was that I recognized no one, sure the driver was the same, but that's about it. An old man with his dog and a family we all the company I had on this trip. A text message from my mom temporarily relieved me of my paranoia.

Mom, 7:11 pm: Adrian, when will you be home? I kept some dinner for you, it's in the fridge.

My mother did worry too much. But I could understand her I was often out till late in the evening. Practice after school, meeting with friends, it was a rare occasion if I were home before 7:30 pm. 

Me, 7:12pm: about 20 mins.

Pressing send I was hit by another message from one my friend, Marcel.

Marcel, 7:12 pm: How was practice? When will you finally tell Rosie?

I meet Marcel two years ago when he joined our team. We did go to the same school but since we were in different classes we never had much to do with each other.

Me, 7:13 pm: Practice was fine, I'm sure we have a shot to win this thing next week.

Since I was a child I loved playing hockey and so it was only a matter of time until I joined a more professional junior team. Sure I wasn't a pro yet, but that why I was training every chance I got. Rosie was a whole nother topic. I meet her when I first started school. We got along great and became fast friends. Over the years I developed a huge crush on her and it was obvious to everyone but her. At least that's what I'm told. I tried talking to her about my feelings but I chickened out every time. My latest plan was for me to tell her next Monday.

Me, 7:14 pm: I’ll tell her Monday.

Looking out the window, the weather did get worse over the course of the day. While the weather cast predicted a mild shower, what we got resembled more of a storm. The sky was pitch black, I could hear the wind howling and the rain violently splashing against the window. It gave me an eerie feeling. I felt lucky I hadn’t missed the bus today.

Luck, however, wasn't on my side as the bus came to an abrupt stop followed by an announcement from the driver. "Dear passengers I'm sorry for the inconvenience but due to some unforeseeable event we are stuck for the time being."

Looking back to the driver I could already see what he was talking about. Right in front of the bus lay a tree blocking the road. Not wanting to wait however long it would take them to clear up the road again, I decided it would be best to walk the rest of the way. Besides, it was only another forty minutes walk. Not optimal, surely but still better than waiting the whole night. I just had to let my mother knew I would be a bit late.

Me, 7:20 pm: There was an accident, I'm fine don't worry.  I might take a while.

Our practice hall was constructed on the other side of town, right behind a small patch of woodland. So I had to walk the short path through the woods which the city didn't bother to light up. In the summer, when the sun shone till late evening I actually liked to walk back home. The woods were calm and the warmth of the evening sun mixed with the cold breeze had a soothing effect. Today was different and I saw enough horror movies to know how this could end. I hoped this wasn't the beginning of someone's fucked up story for me, but when I saw the street lights illuminate the city's streets only a few hundred feet away I felt the tensions slowly ease off. 

Making my way back into civilization, leaving the muddy woods behind, the rain had already slowed down. Instead of the massive flood that accompanied me on most of my way, only a light shower was left. Still drenched and wanting nothing more than to finally hit the warmth of my home I started to sprint the rest of the way. That meant I tried. After a couple of steps, I couldn’t move anymore. I tried to look around but even my head came to a standstill, only my eyes seemed to be unaffected. And then I noticed it wasn’t me not being able to move, I saw raindrops and leaves motionless hovering over the ground. Time was standing still and the eerie feeling from before was completely replaced by fear.

“Ah, finally. You don’t know annoying it was to wait for this moment.” A woman’s voice said from behind. She sounded to be in her mid-thirties, her voice was supported by the subtle the clicking of her heels in the cold evening.

With every step, the clicking sound got louder and my panic rose. I desperately tried to move again but it was no use and soon I could feel the woman’s touch on my back. Slowly she started to caress my back. 

“Don’t worry, “ she said, “ you’re much too precious for me to hurt you.” I felt her breath in my neck as her hands started to circle around my chest. I closed my eyes hoping this was all only a really, really terrible nightmare. When I opened my eyes again, she stood right before me. She was clad in an elegant black dress with crimson hair and her soulless brown eyes stared directly into mine. 

"I'm Jenna by the way and this, " she said with a smile, “might hurt." She rammed her hand into my stomach. Time reappeared, the rain continued, leaves began to descend again and I collapsed to the ground. Grabbing her engrafted hand I pushed as hard as I could but it wouldn’t budge. Something streamed all through my body and it made me want to vomit. An immeasurable heath build up inside me, my insides were on fire and my eyes felt like they would burst every second.

Grabbing my hair with one hand, making me looked up at her again while violently pushing the other deeper inside me, she said,  “tell me, what is your name.”

There was something inside me compelling me to answer, and another, telling me I had to resist. Collecting all my strength I resisted, the heath began to fade and I thought, just for a moment, maybe I could win this battle. 

“Stop resisting.” She pulled me closer, twisting the hand inside me. The heat rose again, worse this time. I couldn’t endure this much longer. 

“What. Is. Your. Name. NOW.“ I tried to resist as much as possible but the pain was too much. With my face already tear-smeared I just wanted it to stop.

“My... my name is, “ I tried to stop myself but it made the burning sensation even worse. “Ari…, Ari-” Somehow I knew if I told her, it was over. I would lose myself. But I couldn’t win this battle, with every passing second the heat rose burning into every fiber of my being. I had no choice anymore and with tears in my eyes I cried my name, “Arine.”

After the words left me, I felt a shock, my soul temporarily leaving my body. It only lasted a moment and I was connected with my body again. I felt her removing her hand and the heat was finally gone. Completely exhausted, I was glad I wouldn’t have to endure this any longer. But at the same time, I knew this was only the beginning.

“That was more tiring than it should be. Now stand up, I want to take a closer look at you.”

Her voice didn’t leave any room for disobedience and I wasn’t in any sort of situation to argue. Still exhausted  I tried my best not to fall over. I haven’t had any idea how, but she now stood at least a head taller than me. Grabbing my chin again and inspecting my face with great detail she spoke again, “You look just like her, how wonderful.” 

She beamed with joy when she started to stroke my hair, “such a lovely dark colour and those eyes.” Yes, whatever she had done, she seemed to be very satisfied with it.

I looked down upon myself and noticed what she did. I saw my face reflected in one of the many puddles and knew even if I got away, there was no way I could return to my old life. The face of a seventeen-year-old girl stared right back at me. What would I tell my family? Or the police? Some strange women stopped time and turned me into a girl. It was ridiculous, I knew it and she knew it too. 

"Now, for the finishing touch, " she said and pressed her palm against my back. A cold shudder ran through me as I felt the heat once more. Not a burning sensation, instead I felt it scraping strange lines and circles all over my back. Looking back I wished for the burning sensation back, I tried hard not to scream. And just as soon as it started, it stopped.

“Come one, we haven’t all day.” She said as she walked back into the wood. Frozen by fear my feet started to follow her. I wanted it all to stop, I knew I would never see my friends again, Rosie, my family, and even my stupid cat Mr. Colonel. How could I survive without them? Did I even want to? I had to do something, say something, anything. I couldn't just leave my family behind like that.

"Please, I can't just leave my family." 

Jenna turned around and gently stroke my cheek, " Arine, don't you think I thought about that?" her voice belittling me.

"It wouldn't be nice if some sweet child just randomly disappeared would it?” She said, her face taking on a sinister expression, “you remember the bus you took today?" Yes, I remembered and I had a gruesome suspicion about what she was about to say. I nod, terrified of her answer.

"Tomorrow the local police might find a vehicle with their inmates so unrecognizable crushed no one will be able to identify anyone." She said making it sound like the most natural thing.

"You… you killed them?" I didn't want to believe it. Was it my fault because I took the bus? Could I have saved them if I hadn't gotten to practice today? She didn't say anymore and she didn't had to. Completely petrified by fear I stayed silent until we hit our destination.

Somewhere deep inside the forest was a gigantic vortex. It’s green and cloud-like surface made it seem like a portal into another world. And at this point, I was sure it was. We crossed the portal and ended up in clearing next to a small town. We had enough cover that no one saw us arriving, and as soon as we arrived, the portal closed.

I followed her thru the city and finally found the strength to speak again, “What do you want from me?” There was no use, and I knew it, but I still had to try. Maybe if I just asked the right questions I could elicit some answers.

“Oh, sweet Arine, “ she said turning around and looked me up and down with hat gross grin of hers. I really disliked her doing this, it made me feel terribly uncomfortable. 

“You will soon enough find out, in the meantime, “ she came much closer and continued to whisper in my eye, “if you ever want to see your family again, you should be a good girl and do as I say.”

I followed her the rest of the way until we came to some sort of port. It looked like a normal port back home with only one difference, the ships took off into the air. Wouldn’t my life have been torn apart I might have been amazed at the sight. But all that was left were thoughts about how everyone will think I’ve died, never seeing my family and friends again and all the things she took from me.

Making our way to one of the many airships, Jenna whispered her instructions to me. She wanted me to enroll as a student in Alos and fight in the school’s upcoming show battle. Since she couldn’t enter Alos for some reason, she gave me a necklace with an incorporated black crystal.

“I want you to wear this at all times, “ she said, and even more threatening she continued, “ and I advise you to not lose it.” I would have to protect this necklace with my life.

With me as the last passenger, the airship left and form now on I was on my own. High above the clouds, I saw the Ocean, mountains, landscapes, and towns that had to made up this world. Yet my feelings were gone. Sitting on the upper deck I just wanted to forget it all. For a moment I thought about jumping, but feared what Jenna would do to my family if I did.

Lost in my own world I didn't notice at first when the captain announced our arrival at Amerbias capital city, Alos. Getting off-board, the necklace started to pulse. It told me exactly what to do next. Taking my first steps towards the academy’s administration, something caught my eye. Only a few feet apart I saw her. Her green hair and mesmerizing eyes caught me in a trance. Hope started to reappear in my heart and I knew it uncompromisingly linked to her. 

The necklace pulsed again, forcing me to continue on my way. But I knew if I ever wanted to get my life back, I had to find this girl again.

Following the necklaces lead, I finished my enrolment all the while being absorbed in thoughts about the mysterious girl. Late at night, when I first stepped into my new room all my emotions came crashing back down. I never cried this hard in my life. Soon my cries became sobs any my sobs became soundless whimpers until I couldn't anymore and sleep overtook me at last.