《Novae Terrae》 Chapter 1: The Glowing Message ¡°¡­ and Rome overpowered their neighbors..¡± I turned my head and glanced at all the other students sitting in on class today. It was pretty funny. More students were in class today than there had been in the whole class combined last week. If anything screamed ¡°Exams are here!¡± You¡¯d be hard pressed not to see me gesture to this room. I mean who could blame us? We all looked half dead. Why was this class an 8 am class? It was wayy too early for this and half the class was suffering from a certain deprivation. It made it even worse for me because I was an undergraduate to this university. I commuted here every MWF and took two classes this senior year. It killed me whenever my alarm clock tried to wake me up, and I had to get to class. I¡¯d have to drive 30 minutes just to get here, not including the extra minutes it took for me to walk and get to class within a respectable 5 minutes. It was pure agony. And this class was hell. I was dying of boredom. However, my professor kept doing his job. Continuing to lecture us about empire and politics while I desperately searched the room for a distraction. Olivia was blowing her hair back and forth from her bangs. I think I watched her for a good solid five minutes. Entertaining, but I started to get lulled by the effect. Next was Luke. Now class always seemed to zoom by when watching him. He was always doing something. This time, however, I seemed to luck out again. He sat in his chair, shoulders slumped. His desk mate ,Sean, watching too as his head started to subtly teeter forward, then sway to the side as he dozed off the class. I drummed my fingers on the desk and glanced at the clock for the seventh time. 8:17. ¡°Uhhhhg,¡± I let out in a quiet groan and rubbed my eyes. And to think I didn¡¯t bring a single pen to doodle with. I glanced at Brook and her tapping pen. This is why I didn¡¯t do morning classes. *** ¡°Ok class, don¡¯t forget exams are this Friday! And I want you to look over the chapters we¡¯ve been reading. Have a good morning.¡± All the students in the room seemed to be shot with an electric bolt as they all fled History. I ,However, was left grabbing my fifty ton book off the table and stuffing it in my backpack. I was one of those students who liked to wait till the professor was completely finished with his class before I packed up. I glanced at the room while putting the backpack on my shoulder. Barely seeing the last student from the class leaving through the door. My professor wiping off the chalk board with a chalk dust cloud wafting about him. That¡¯s my que! I quickly made a speedy exit. That man could TALK. I made that mistake once when I tried to be nice. Trying to be one of the students he would at least know when passing in a hall. Bad choice. I had to talk to him for half an hour about a chapter I barely remembered reading. He was nice, but I did not need that again. I shuffled down the hallway and did what all college kids did. Try to avoid awkward eye contact. This was exactly why I appreciated my friends so much. They were amazing in simple ways like that. Too bad Abby was still asleep in her dorm room. Ugh, living the good life. Next up for today was literature. It was in the same building so all I had to do was take a turn down the right hallway. I turned and looked in front of me. Oh wait, didn¡¯t I have an important email notification I needed to check? Pulling out my phone I skillfully avoided looking at a guy walking the opposite direction from me. In the corner of my eye, he was also tapping at his phone. A smirk spread across my face because of the absurdity. ¡°Laaa la laa laaaa!! YoU kNOw whO IT iS! Laaa la laa laaaa!! YoU kNOw whO IT iS!¡± I jumped and almost dropped my phone as it rang. I hit accept and glanced to the guy I passed. I saw him look at me with a laugh on his face. And I nervously laughed back at him and stared at my phone with murder. I can¡¯t believe I forgot to silence my phone after my alarm this morning! I groaned to myself while I brought the phone to my head. ¡°.. V? ..VV!!!!¡± ¡°Yes,YES! What do you want?!¡± I whispered as I entered my classroom. I was eight minutes early. ¡°Ok this is crazy but I had the weirdest dream when I woke up. I was in this weird dimension with this floating fluff ball. He told me the whole world was going to change with the strike of thirteen..¡± ¡°Wait up what are you talking about? Talk a little slower.¡± ¡°He..oh sorry! It just felt so real! I never dream about fantastical things. He told me my psych was sensitive and that I was sleeping at the right time to connect with a test broadcast? Well, whatever that means. I¡¯m still trying to understand what he told me! I mean it was a dream.. I think? Wow. It¡¯s still blowing my mind.¡± ¡°Wait, what?¡± I squinted my eyes and started to massage my head with my free hand as another student entered class. ¡°You had a weird dream Abby?¡±The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Yes!! But I called you because of how real it felt! You like fantasy things. I thought.. I don¡¯t know¡­like if it was actually real, you might know what I was talking about?..¡± ¡°Umm.. no?.. I have no idea what you''re talking about.¡± I was still whispering but stopped when the professor walked in. ¡°Sorry Abby, class is about to start.¡± ¡°Oh! Yeah I forgot! Sorry!! I''m just, I don¡¯t know, look out for whenever the clock strikes thirteen?..¡± ¡°Yah sure. Buy! I¡¯ll talk to you at dinner tonight ok? See you later!¡± I whispered then hit end on the call. That was bazar. I scratched my head and figured today might just be one of those days. *** Literature was literature. Class slowly went by as we discussed some poems that were assigned to us. We had to get in groups and talk as if we knew what the heck we were reading. Good thing a student named Ethan was In my group. He somehow just knew how to decode the mysteries of poems and I was perfectly fine with agreeing with him. After literature, I went and studied for one of my other classes. After that, I found a nice little nook in the cafeteria and got myself some burrito. Not half bad for the college cafeteria if you asked me. But now I was heading back to my car to leave for my house. I was cutting through one of the college buildings because of the rain when something yellow came in view of my peripheral vision. I glanced to my right then to my left. But it followed me around the room as I shifted my head. The yellow.. thing never leaving just beyond my focus ¡°What the heck?¡± I spun around in a full circle and watched as it followed me completely again. Then it came into focus. I stared with gouging eyes and a mouth half opened. That yellow.. light had expanded and produced a.. message?.. right in front of my very eyes. I had read it. I had even heard something as I read. What. Just. Happened. My stomach did a little flip as I looked at the brightly lit words in front of my face. This can¡¯t be real. I read through the.. message.. again and sucked In a breath as my eyes skimmed over the words ''struck at thirteen¡¯. Abby. What did she say again?! I think I remember her saying that her dream mentioned something about how our world would change at the strike of thirteen.. If it was even possible, my eyes widened even further as I reached for my phone. Somehow the message disappeared as I looked at the time. 12:52 p.m. Does thirteen mean 1:00? As In military time? What does this mean?! I was left standing In the hallway as rain pelted against windows. The tree''s branches hitting against the windows as the wind blew them. I looked around trying to see if any other students were about. I desperately needed to see if anyone else had seen and heard what I had. I was speed walking when a guy and a girl with frantic steps turned the corner and we almost collided with each other. We all stopped and stared at each other. The girl spoke up first. ¡°Did you see it?!¡± She asked breathly. I glanced at them and nodded my head. ¡°Frick!¡± The guy said. He looked like he ran a marathon. His breathing hard as he sweat through his shirt. Weirdly, that snapped me out from my daze. ¡°I saw it! But did you guys see the time it mentioned?¡­¡± I didn¡¯t get an answer. Others came stomping as they too started to look for others. They spotted us and ran as they joined our little group. ¡°Did anyone see the glowing message?!¡± ¡°What does this mean! This isn¡¯t real is it?!¡± The little group turned into a crowd as other students and staff started to exit rooms and we all gathered in the entrance. My brain was still spinning as everyone started talking over themselves. What is going on? I thought to myself. I thought this might not be real, but everyone saw it too? However, I stopped dwelling on it as I was shoved against someone. This was a problem! I was in the midst of the growing crowd and I was being pushed and shoved in each direction as the crowd talked about the glowing message. I almost escaped the crowd when I felt my butt starting to vibrate. ABBY!! I reached for my phone and hit accept. ¡°HELLO? ABBY?!¡± I yelled as I tried to hear who was on the other end. ¡°v¡­ MAEVE?!!!¡± That was not Abby. ¡°MOM! WHY ARE YOU CALLING?! I shoved my finger in my left ear and pressed the phone closer to my other. ¡°ARE YOU SERIOUS?? THE LIGHTS! THE MESSAGE! ARE YOU OK?? DO YOU KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING?!¡± I glanced at the growing panicked crowd as they all spouted out opinions and reasons why the world was now ending. ¡°I DON''T KNOW! BUT ABBY TALKED ABOUT SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THIS THIS MORNING!! SORRY!! THAT''S WHY I THOUGHT SHE WAS THE ONE CALLING ME! NOT YOU!!¡± ¡°HONEY, I DON''T WANT YOU¡­¡± And that is when everything went white. Chapter 2: Who Knew Forests Grew in Buildings? Nothing. Everything was nothing. I couldn¡¯t see anything, feel anything, hear anything. Everything was just¡­ nothing. It felt like I was just existing. Nothing more. Nothing less. Then, my everything started to crack. It was like looking at glass shattering. Revealing something I should never have seen. Me as a little girl riding her bike for the first time. Me hiding as my parents fought. Me getting a good grade on math. Me watching dad slap mom. Me playing in a jungle gym at a park, laughing. Me crying when dad hurt more than just mom. Me laughing with my friends at something funny. Me calling the cops on my father. Me learning I had half siblings. Me staring at the scars on my mother¡¯s wrists. Me faking my smiles. Me, mom, and my siblings going to the mall. Me graduating. Me¡­. It went on and on. I was watching my life like a film. Then, all of a sudden, I was standing in a white room. Marble surrounding me in every direction. ¡°What a strange life.¡± I turned around and was faced with something even more bazaar. Something white and fluffy was hovering in front of me. It¡¯s eyes gold. It¡¯s ears round crescents on its head, and it¡¯s hands and feet almost hidden by its¡­ fluffiness? ¡°Mortal, what do you think of the life you saw?¡± I stared at it in utter confusion. What is it talking about? What do I think of what I saw?¡­ But Wasn¡¯t that my life?.. ¡°Hhhh¡± It let out in a sigh ¡°Time is not limitless, mortal. I would not try to comprehend what Is. Think, but do not Think.¡± I looked at it. Then I looked at my life. Everything I went through. Every good thing. Every bad thing. It wasn¡¯t the best life, and it wasn¡¯t the worst life. I thought about it. Then stared at it. ¡°I had the courage to persevere.¡± It looked at me and nodded to itself. ¡°Good. You are one of the more worthy of this New World. Go. There will be joy and hardship ahead of you. Like all those with you. What is happening is what Is. No more. No less. GO.¡± Everything went blank. *** Heavy. Everything felt heavy. I let out a groan and sat up. I cringed as I moved some of my muscles. Somehow my arms, legs, and even my lips hurt. Let me rephrase, EVERYTHING hurt. Then I winced. I had moved my hand and touched the back of my head.. ¡°What on earth happened?¡± Then I actually looked around at my surroundings. I laughed. Then shut my eyes. Trees. TREES. Whatever I saw, that was NOT the college campus ¡­. right? I cracked one eye open and gulped. I wasn¡¯t imagining it. A literal Forest was surrounding me. I got up quickly, but groaned as my backpack felt like fifty pounds instead of fifteen. I staggered over to the closest tree and looked around. Very tall trees surrounded me in every direction. I desperately looked around for anything then¡­ ¡°Thank goodness!¡± I said with relief. Believe me, not to the forest, but to the very familiar building standing just behind some trees. The college building I was in was still there! I squinted at it, but realized not all of it was there. It looked like it was blown up.. or just separated from the rest of it..? I¡¯m not proud, but I think I yelped as I fell on my butt.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. How could anyone accept a glowing message, a fluffy fluff ball that talks, and even more glowing messages as a new reality? And I didn¡¯t even mention the FOREST that had now grown inside a building I was just in?!!!! My mind was scattered. Or in better words. Scrambled. I looked over the message reading it, but not reading it. Then I focused on one specific word. ¡ª¡ª¡ª Name: Maeve Banet Age: 18 Level: 1 Gifts: Abilities: Strength: 4 Constitution: 8 Agility: 10 Intelligence: 12 Charisma: 11 Wisdom: 12 Willpower: 26 Perception: 15 Stat Points: 18 ¡ª¡ª¡ª What. The. Cracker. Jacker. What was I looking at? Was this some sort of game status?¡­ I somehow willed the yellow glowing message back in front of me. And I screwtinized it hard. Well, it definitely said we ¡¯earth ones¡¯¡­. were all given gifts. Like a literal Status sheet that tells us everything about ourselves?.. Wow. I really don¡¯t know if I should be freaking out more or what¡­ I sighed and leaned up against the very real tree. I looked over my Stats. Welp, to be honest. I think it summed me up pretty well. That is, if the average was seven¡­ yah.. I¡¯m really weak. I could understand those seven stats, but what was a ? Or an ? Surprisingly, the useless message actually explained something. ¡°Huh.¡± Yah, this thing was totally reading my mind. I don¡¯t know how long I sat there against the tree. Thinking. Trying to understand. Sitting there, I just gazed at the forest. Then I looked up in the air. ¡°It stopped raining.¡± ¡°Also, where is everyone?¡± That huge crowd of people was gone. But if I was able to come back to the exact spot I was originally, then the others must too? Looking back, the yellow message did say I was one of the first to arrive.. That thought made me wonder if my perception was accurate. ¡°Oh, forgive me.¡± I said sarcastically. ¡°Why would I ever doubt the all powerful yellow screen.¡± Yep, that was how I dealt with stress. I faked it till I made it. Give me like a year, and I might be ok¡­. Maybe. I sighed and looked at the¡­ trees. What did happen to everyone? Were my mom and little siblings ok? Abby? did they wake up earlier than everyone else like me? Would they ever wake up? I was just about to try and use my cellphone, when all of a sudden something popped. I almost jumped as a person appeared three feet off the ground and smashed into it. Right in front of me I stared at him and understood everything. Ahh. That was why I was so sore. I dropped my backpack and quickly ran over to him and checked his pulse. Good. He was breathing. I didn¡¯t recognize him, but he must have been someone inside the crowd. He had summer clothes on and his backpack was laying half way under him. His brown hair a complete mess as it covered his face. I waited a few more seconds and was rewarded with a groan I quietly stepped back to let him gather himself. He slowly sat up and started to curse profusely. ¡°What was that?!¡± He stopped rubbing his head and finally looked at the forest surrounding us. I watched as his profile froze up. ¡°Frick.¡± I realized he could stay like that all day if he could. But I wasn¡¯t waiting for that. I needed to talk to someone about what just happened. ¡°You good?¡± I asked concerned. He jumped up and turned with wild eyes looking straight at me. My eyes widened and I raised both hands slowly. ¡°Whow there dude, I¡¯m as lost as you are. Were you, I don¡¯t know, also brought to some place¡­¡± He brought both hands up and rubbed them down his face as he let out another groan. ¡°What the heck is happening? Last I remember I was trying to figure out what this.. this message was in a huge crowd in the Hall. When suddenly I was¡­¡± He left off as his eyes glazed over. He stared into space as he tried to understand everything that had and was happening. I was about to ask him more, when the forest was filled with the sound of pops. *** People were now popcorn. Simple. I had to sprint to a tree just for cover as people appeared out of thin air. The guy I was talking to just stared as many more people.. popped¡­ into existence. But because he did that, he also got squished as a middle aged woman appeared right above him. I cringed as I watched the middle aged women smack right into him. He yelled out and fell to his back as the heavier lady was lucky enough to have a soft landing. He must have gone unconscious because he didn''t get up. I continued to watch the human popcorn and after what seemed like five minutes, the last of the pops stopped and everyone was at least sitting up and staring at the forest. Then the almighty yellow message decided to grace us. All hell broke loose. Chapter 3: Pshhh, Arachnophobia? Nahh ¡°What is happening!?¡±..... ¡°Where are we!¡±....... ¡°This can''t be happening¡­.¡± It was all too much. And I watched helplessly as the crowd of people shouted over each other. Many of them comparing what happened to them. While others just stood with blank faces. And me? I stared at the yellow message. What did that mean.. Did other¡­ things.. Come to earth too? ¡­. I didn''t know. But I couldn''t just stand around in this forest. If the yellow message said others were here, they could be anywhere. And that meant¡­. I left my tree and headed to the building. Outside wasn¡¯t safe. If people were able to pop into existence, what was to say something else couldn''t do the same? The crowd of swarming people were everywhere. Groups would form, then split to talk to other groups. And when I took one look at them, I headed the opposite direction. I wanted to avoid any form of speculated questions. I didn¡¯t mind a small group¡­ but there were just so many people. I stepped over¡­ plants¡­ and roots as I headed to the more held together building. The whole situation still leaving me in shock. Plants I¡¯ve never seen were everywhere. Even the trees were slightly different shades of brown as I passed them. To my right was a slightly purple tree. The others around it in other shades of blues and deep reds. When I glanced up, the leaves were just.. big. They looked like they could be the size of my torso. Well.. as best as I could tell. I was speculating because I could still see them even though the tree was at least six stories tall¡­ What was I doing? Sure a building could be safer. But I was completely surrounded by a forest. Strange plants inhabiting a world they never belonged to. And I was planning on what? ¡°Escaping to something familiar.¡± I sighed and kept walking. Avoiding any bush or shrub that looked suspicious. As I walked, I went over my options. The college building was still standing. I and maybe even the crowd of people could use it as a shelter while we figured.. whatever this was, out. I mean, it was a solid shelter for goodness sake. But what after that? I shook my head as I stepped over parts of a crumbling wall. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. The building was in bad shape. Dust was in the air. Pieces of the building were scattered across the forest floor, and¡­.. I looked up and stumbled backwards in horror. Webs. Thousands of webs covered the walls, the doors and even the windows. A web the size of a car blocking off one of the entrances to a hallway. What in the world??? I couldn''t look away. There were just so many webs. ¡°What are you¡­ Frick..¡± I flinched as I looked over my shoulder. Standing right behind me was the guy. The one who got squashed by the woman. He looked up and down the room and back at me with disbelief. ¡°What¡­?¡± He slowly passed me and entered the building. The room in front of us was dark. The trees of the forest not helping when it was shading everything underneath it. I glanced at the dark ceiling lights. It made since¡­ We were surrounded by a literal Forest. Of course there would be no electricity. Whatever happened to our world, it somehow teleported us or this forest here. Heck, most likely destroying the sewage and power. We both stood there for a few seconds, then the guy dropped his backpack and headed right into the building. And I watched as he went to one of the windows and touched the webs. ¡°What are you doing!¡± I whispered. He glanced at me as he shook his hand. Trying to dislodge the webs he touched. ¡°What happened to the building? We were seriously just in here..¡± He looked around the room and saw the hallway. ¡°Frick that¡¯s big.¡± I couldn''t believe it. He started to walk to the ginormous web blocking the hallway. ¡° Stop it! We don''t know what¡¯s been happening!¡± ¡° ..But why are there so many we¡­¡± Something. I.. The guy stopped moving as his head fell from his neck. *** Everything was in slow motion. His head slowly rolling away. His body crumbling to the floor. And the blood¡­ It was everywhere. Blood was pooling from his neck. And red painting the walls when it splattered everywhere. And all of this happened within seconds. I gagged. There was nothing else for me to do. I watched in terror as something glistened from within the hallway. Slowly moving its way out from the shadows as it stared at me with black eyes. Click click click click click click¡­ The air was filled with the metallic smell of blood and I could hear something clicking on the floors and walls. Something.. Somethi¡­. Spider. A ginormous Spider. I couldn¡¯t breath. It stared at me as it slowly, but gracefully, clicked its claws my way. Click click click click click¡­ The spider moving its pinchers every other second. Click click click click click click¡­ Legs that were longer than mine Click click click click ¡­ Legs¡­ leg.. that was stained crimson¡­ Click click¡­ I ran. *** Frick Frick Frick Frick!!!!!! I knew it was chasing me. But what was I supposed to do!!!!!! I stumbled and ran away from the building. The Clicks a faint taunt as I passed trees. Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh!!!! His head just¡­. It was just¡­ the blood!!!! I could hear the clicking getting closer. I wasn''t going to last. I ran. And I ran right to where the crowd of people were. I¡¯m such an idiot!!!! ¡°RUN!!!!!!!¡± I screamed! People turned and others froze as they saw me running at them like a maniac. But I just kept running. Running as I tried to steer way from them, but also still run away from the.. the¡­ Spider. That¡¯s when I heard the screams. Chapter 4: A Blade for Despair It was a massacre. Nothing else could describe the scene playing before my eyes. I was frozen. Nothing in my life could have prepared me for what played out like some show on a stage. Things littered the forest floor like leaves from their trees. Limbs of arms. Legs. Heads. Hands. Anything. Everything. And I had done this. I did this. I watched. Petrified to my spot. Screams filled the air as people ran. People fleeing to the trees. Trying to use them for cover. I stood still. Watching. I watched as a man shoved a girl aside. Him getting stabbed instead of her. The Spider¡¯s razer leg blurring with a flash. Not that he did much. It was a Spider after all. And there were more than just one leg. I watched as both of them lay on the ground. Gazing at each other as blood leaked from the holes in their chests, and blood dripped from their mouths. Minutes passed and I stood. Stared. I did this. I did this. Red lay everywhere. Grass was Red. People were Red. IT was Red. My foot moved forward. What have I done? Tears ran down my face as my foot took another step towards Red. People were everywhere. Not moving. Moving. It was quiet now. A hush that told more than all the screams before it. They¡¯re all dying. Dead. I looked. And I turned my gaze on it. ¡°Tchchchch Tchchch Tchchch¡­¡± Vicious tearing could be heard as I watched it eat. Each step bringing me closer. That should have been me. ¡°Tchchchch Tchchch¡­¡± My mouth was now filled with salt. My vision blurry as I stumbled over bodies. Why did I run? < > It stopped. Slowly turning its head towards me. A meal. Something it had missed. Something to feast on. I chose. *** I knew there was pain. Excruciating pain. Pain that should have left me on the forest floor, crippled with spasms. But I didn''t care. It clicked its legs as it stood up over the body. It stared. And it came. Click click click click ¡­ It was fast. Moving with unimaginable nimbleness as it glided across the forest flow. Not pausing as it slashed through people. People half dead. But dying. Dead. Click click click ¡­ It was feet in front of me now. The space between us dropping within seconds¡­. A foot.. And I slashed. *** My body was moving on its own. My mind blank as I tore through the spider. And it froze as I slashed through three of its legs. Shocked it no longer had eight. ¡°AGHHHHH!!!!!¡± I cried out in fury. It tried to slice me in two with blazing eyes and sharp legs. But for the first time, it wasn''t fast enough. I cut another. And another. And another leg off till it lay twitching on the floor. The source of so much despair. So much death. I fell to my knees. It lay with its twitching legs. Purple blood oozing from its sliced limbs as I stared down. It¡¯s dead.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. I killed it. How?.. I looked down at my arms and stared. They weren¡¯t there. Instead, I was looking at two delicate looking Spider limbs. Razor sharp limbs. Identical ones to what I just sliced. I threw up. I retched everything in my stomach till I was left gagging. The pain from my throat a scorching heat as I processed everything that happened. What did I just do???!!! I lay like that till my sobs stopped shaking me, and I tried to regain my composure. The smell was horrible. Death filled the air like a tangible thing. And I was the cause. How many people survived? I desperately looked around. Too many questions filled my head as I looked at the sea of bodies laying on the forest floor. By the time I stood up, my arms had already returned to normal. It must have happened while I was crying. I could still feel the residue of pain in my arms as I felt them changed. My eyes went to the bodies. I made myself go through the crowd. But no one could survive the amount of blood loss or the size of holes each body showed. So I left. I stumbled my way away from the bodies. Away from the buildings. And away from my guilt. I would always remember. But I would always try to forget. I left. *** I would like to say that I was ok. That I somehow would heal from everything I witnessed. But I wasn¡¯t. I wouldn''t. I mindlessly walked in the forest. Passing by the tall trees. And getting cut by the shrubs that littered the ground. This world wasn¡¯t mine. People had died. My arms were¡­ wrong. And I was thirsty... How could I live if I couldn¡¯t drink or find food? I was alone. I couldn''t even call my mom or anyone I knew, because I had lost my phone. But would I have been able to anyway? The world was different now. And everything was bound to change. Heck. I wasn''t the person I was yesterday. *** Time had slowly passed. I had been aimlessly walking through the forest. When suddenly, I noticed how dark it had gotten. The sun was setting. And I was in the middle of the woods, miles away from piles of bodies and blood and ¡­ and¡­ I shoved it away. Putting those thoughts in a box in a room I would never enter. I stared at the message and felt anger boil inside my soul. Everything had gone wrong when those messages appeared. But, what was I to do? I had a suspicion they were the reason my arms were BLADES hours ago. I hated them. But they also saved my life. I hadn''t tried to.. change my arms into blades again. In the first place, I didn''t know how I had done it. But I was scared. It wasn''t natural. With the sun setting, I began to feel nervous again. A Spider had come from a building I used to use. And now I was in a forest by myself. My sanity hanging by a thread. And the only things I had were¡­what? Yellow messages and hands that could turn into blades that oh yah, I had NO idea how to do. I was lost. Hungry. And very thirsty. And literal minutes ago, I had just peed in a bush. ¡­no toilet paper. There was nothing for me to do. So I looked at the ground. The bushes. The strange plants. And after one sweep of the forest grounds, I nodded to myself and took to the trees. I was fine at climbing trees. I did it plenty of times when I was a kid. And even though I wasn¡¯t that strong, I could hold myself up. Muscle mass a blessing in terms of my own weight. The tree I happened to pick was one of the varieties of blues. The bark a dark contrast to my pale shaking hands as I gripped the bark at odd angles. And I just climbed. I climbed and climbed like a sloth. Slow, but steady. Personally never looking down as I went higher and higher up the tree. But after a while it became too much. The tree was too tall. I didn''t know what I was thinking when I saw the ginormous tree and went. Ahh yes. I''m good at climbing trees, yep. Totally. "Dang it." My already shaking hands had turned to full body shudders as I slowly made my way to the top. My arms weak and soar. My.. I was just tired. But I kept at it. And through that my endurance was reworded. As I climbed, my hand finally reached a divot from a branch. And with that I would be able to stop. To rest. To sleep. Please. I slowly pulled myself to the side of the tree and let my back rest against its trunk. My eyes closed as I breathed heavily. Peace. And guilt. I opened my eyes and gazed at the visible sky. The sun was painting its clouds with golds and pinks, while the land below it filled a canvas with hues of purples, reds and blues. The tops of the trees a striking contrast of greens. It was beautiful. But I hated it. I tried to limit my thoughts. They would wander to the events that happened today. But I would have to gently guide them into a corner, where I would shove them off a cliff and watch as they tumbled down toward sharp rocks. Because I would surely break if I didn''t. However, I did let myself think of the messages. And even the . ¡ª¡ª¡ª Name: Maeve Banet Age: 18 Level: 2 Gifts: Abilities: Strength: 4 Constitution: 8 Agility: 10 Intelligence: 12 Charisma: 11 Wisdom: 12 Willpower: 26 Perception: 15 Stat Points: 20 ¡ª¡ª¡ª Dark images flashed through my mind when I looked at the Ability Numbed Pain. Some from my past. But the most resent the pain from my arms. It had hurt. But I knew. I had known the pain was excruciating when changing my arm. But it didn''t. I hadn''t passed out. I felt a shudder go through my body as I thought about it. But then I thought about it. I gazed at the message and quickly went through the other Abilities. I read everything before me like it could be any guide from a game. But it wasn''t. It was real. These were mine, weren''t they? I felt and I experienced everything they said. No exception. Somehow they now were me. What were my Gifts then? Were they something ingrained to me also? Something that didn''t sugar coat itself, but bluntly told me what was me? I let myself read and reread every message. Letting everything sink in. It was a lot. But the day was long. And as I lay there with my back to a tree. I fell asleep.