Colorblind Ch.2: Warped

Amy woke up, which was a proper surprise in itself.  One does not tend to wake up while dead.

Afterlife?

She sat upright, blinking.  Everything around her was pure white.  Little splashes of brown and green scattered the area, the only points of reference on a blank canvas.

Maybe this is heaven after all…

Amy placed her hand on the ground in an attempt to steady herself, only to find that everything below her was cold and damp.  Particles of white stuck to her clothing and hair, melting from her body heat.

Snow, she realized.  I didn’t know it snowed in heaven…

“Amy?”

The voice came from behind her.  Amy leaned backwards to see who had spoken her name, only to lose her balance.  She nearly fell flat on her back, had not a pair of hands caught her before she hit the ground.  Upside-down, a vaguely familiar face looked down at her from above, blinking slowly.

“Are you alright?” he asked.

“You’re the one who killed me,” Amy proclaimed, calm as could be.  “What was your name again?  Chad?”

“Shad,” he corrected, lifting her upright.  “You okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be okay?”  A broad grin broke out across her face.  “I’m in heaven.”

Shad let out a deep breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.  “Hate to break it to you, but you’re not dead.”

“Then I must be comatose in a hospital somewhere,” Amy rationalized, waving her hand in a flippant manner.  “That was one doozy of a fall.”

“We never hit the ground.”

“Excuse me?”

“We never hit the ground.”

“Then what did we land on, a bush?”

“No!”  Shad grabbed her shoulders.  “Listen to me!  You and I are very much alive, and conscious.  We fell out of a window, yes, but we never even hit the ground, or any bushes for that matter.  Got it?”

Amy was silent for a moment, digesting what he had just said.

“Sooo…what happened, then?  Did we land on a fireman’s tarp or something?”

“Nevermind.  You’re impossible.”  Shad stood, then began to gather nearby sticks, tossing them into a pile.  “You must be freezing to death.”  He took a particularly long stick and tapped it with the tip of his finger, a tiny smile crossing his lips when it ignited.

“How did you do that?”  Amy wondered aloud.

Shad’s smile promptly disappeared, replaced by a grunt as he tossed the lit stick onto the pile.  “Nothing you need to worry about.  Go back to sleep.”

“No, really.”  Amy crawled closer to the growing fire.  “You made a spark out of nothing.  How did you do that?”

“I just can, okay?”  Shad brushed the snow off of the ground around her, then pushed her into a reclined position.  “Sleep.  The best thing you can do right now is go back to sleep.”

“What if I already am asleep?”

“Huh?”

Amy’s eyes widened.  “Maybe this is all just a dream.  I bet I just fell asleep during math class, and I’m imagining this whole thing…”

“Whatever.  Go to sleep, wake up, same difference to you.  You’re obviously delirious.”  He stared down at her with intense emerald eyes.  “Now sleep.”



What a strange dream.

Amy rubbed her eyes, only half-awake.  Fragmented memories drifted through her mind: explosions, windows, snow…

Glaring heat spread across her face, forcing her to open her eyes.  Bright orange flames danced only a few feet in front of her.

Where did those come from?

“I’m such an idiot!”

Amy jumped to her feet, head swiveling in an attempt to pinpoint the source of the voice.  She was surrounded by an infinite number of pine trees, each one threatening to dump a load of snow on her head.

Where am I?

“All I had to do was leave her there, but no!” the voice continued.  “I had to go and take her with me!”

Amy took a few steps towards the noise.  A tall, slender boy with dark hair wove in and out of the trees, kicking snowdrifts as he muttered to himself.

“It’s all going to end up just like the first time, isn’t it? Unless I take her back before--”

Amy dared to speak, interrupting with a dazed, “H-Hello?”

He drew in a sharp gasp, eyes wide as he turned to face her.  

“You…"  He pointed towards Amy.  “Are you…sane?”

“What?” she exclaimed.  “What kind of a question is that?  You’re the one walking around mumbling to yourself!”

His eyes narrowed.  “A valid point.  You were babbling on about ascending to heaven not too long ago, if it makes you feel any better.  Do you have a problem with my concern for your mental stability?”

“Hmpf.”  Amy plopped into a sitting position, her back facing him.  “I don’t see any reason why you should be concerned.  I am perfectly fine.”

“Suit yourself.”

The snow crunched with the sound of his footsteps, then all was silent.

Amy sulked for several minutes, waiting for him to say something.  But he didn’t.  She turned around, only to see that he had disappeared.

“Umm…hello?” she called, searching her memory banks for his name.  “Shad?  That is your name, right?  Hello?  Are you there?”

A snowball smacked the top of her head, causing her to look up.  He was perched in the barren branches of a maple tree.

“Hey!” Amy shouted.  “What are you doing up there?  Get down here!”

He shrugged, tossing another snowball from one hand to the other.  “You don’t have any idea of what’s going on here, do you?”

“Of course not!  Which is why you should get down here and tell me--”

Shad lowered himself by his arms, then let go, landing softly on the ground.

“How much do you remember?” he asked, cutting her off midsentence.

“How much do I remember of what?”

“Yesterday.”

“Yesterday?”

“Yes, yesterday.  At school.”  His brown eyes were reduced to exasperated slits.  “Would you please stop restating the questions and just answer them?”

Amy glared at him.  “Why should I bother answering any of your questions when you’re so rude about them?”

“In case you haven’t noticed,” Shad gestured towards their surroundings, “it’s snowing.”

“Yeah, so?  It’s January.”

“But it doesn’t snow in Florida, now does it?”

Click.

“Oh.”  Amy bit her lip.  “So…we’re not in Orlando anymore, are we?”

He rolled his eyes.  “Sure ain’t Kansas, Dorothy.”

“Then where the heck are we?” Amy yelled, suddenly remembering the events from the previous day.  “Why were those people after you?  How did we manage to fall out of a two-story window without sustaining any injuries?  And who are you?”

Shad stared at the dying campfire, mumbling incoherently.

“Hell-o!  I can’t hear you when you’re talking so quietly!”

He coughed once, then whispered, “I think we’re in Virginia.”

Amy’s eyes widened.  “Virginia?”

“Mhm.” He swallowed.  “Or possibly West Virginia.  I’m not entirely sure.”

“You don’t know?  You’re the one who kidnapped me, and you don’t even know where we are?”

“It was an accident, okay?” Shad turned around, folding his arms across his chest.  “I warned you not to get involved.  I told you to leave while you could.”

“How do you kidnap someone accidentally?” Amy plopped into a sitting position, a vacant stare dominating her expression.  “And how did you even get so far as Virginia in such a short period of time?  Oh my gosh, you didn’t drug me, did you?  I swear, if you so much as—”

Shad clamped his hand over her mouth, crouching beside her.

“Shh.  I need you to remain calm,” he enunciated in a low voice, his eye contact unwavering.  Once Amy had stopped struggling, he released her.  “If you freak out, you’re going to get us both killed.”

“Killed? What do you mean, ki--”

“Quiet!”

Amy took a deep breath.  “I’m quiet, I’m quiet.  Now tell me what’s going on here!”

Shad crossed his legs and closed his eyes, unresponsive.

“Hey!”  She waved her hand in front of his face.  “You awake?  Talk to me!”

His tawny eyes flickered open, annoyed.  “I’m trying to think of a way to explain it to you.”

“Think faster, please?”

Shad scratched his head, wincing.  “I suppose there isn’t any way around it.  We…warped.”

”Warped?”

“Warped, teleported, call it whatever you what.”

Amy crossed her arms.  “Explain.”

“It was an accident," he repeated.  "I'm still not sure myself how it occurred.  It's only happened one other time, and that was years a--"

"Wait," Amy interrupted.  "Stuff like this happens to you regularly?"

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm rather far from what you would call normal."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yes, Amy."

She nodded.  "I understand now."

"Good."

"I must be dreaming," Amy concluded.

Shad rolled his eyes.  "If you say so.  I would tend to agree that it is the most logical explanation."  He prodded the dying campfire with a stick.  "Hopefully I can get you back home within a week or two."

"That long?"  Amy pulled her cell phone out of her pocket.  "I should tell my parents that—"

"You're not going to get a signal out here."

"I'm still going to...crud, you're right."  Amy stared at the phone for a moment, then returned it to her pocket.  "No service whatsoever."

"We'll be back soon enough if we start moving."  Shad stood, pointing in what appeared to be a random direction.  "This way.  Let's go."

Amy looked around, finding nothing distinctive about the direction he chose.  

"How do you know it's the right way?"

"Trust me on this one."  Shad charged into the woods, his long stride making it difficult to keep up.  Amy watched her breath linger in the air, wrapping her arms around herself as they abandoned the nearly-extinguished campfire.

"Is it far?" she asked, shivering.  "It's awfully cold."

"Not too far, he confirmed.  “There should be a town nearby.  Maybe someone there can help us.”