The In-Between

Lost

Casper opens Their eyes wearily, Their body feeling like it's being tugged by thousands of invisible hands, hungrily latching onto Their clothes as They desperately try to escape its grasp. All different colours dance around the brunette, bright, dull, vibrant, dark, warm, cool. It was very confusing, though there were two things They could make out. One, They were travelling somewhere at a very high speed, like a gust of wind with an insane amount of strength is pushing them, and two, They were travelling inside a cylinder-like space, being able to make out how light bounces off the walls. Their chest was tight and Their eyes were stinging, having to hold onto Their oval glasses for dear life. Caspers body gets smacked up against the wall of the tube and They gasps harshly, Their lungs screaming. Their ears were popping and being blocked randomly at a hasty paste, and They could feel Their body becoming motion sick. Their arms flail to Their side as They feel one of them softly graze the tube's wall. Expecting to feel something solid blocking it, Their fingers instead phase right through, the sudden stillness in them tugging Their whole body out alarmingly, tossing it onto some much needed solid ground.

Casper quickly looked up on Their hands and knees as They observed the area around Them despite Their panicked state. They couldn't see anything, everything was pitch black, yet They knew Their eyes were open. Hesitantly They stand up, Their legs shaky. White noise filled Their ears wearily. "Hello?" They try to announce Their presence to any hidden creatures non threateningly. Suddenly, They felt the wind on Their skin. A sharp gust. A gentle breeze. Still. Their head snaps behind him, scared, afraid, helpless. Their shaky breath was the only thing that accommodated this vast, empty void, though it didn't feel empty to Them at all. Something, someone was watching. A creature, perhaps a monster?

he takes a step forward, not even being able to see Their brown boots, before They bump into something. They gasp sharply. Two piercing white eyes landed upon them. They didn't seem threatened, alarmed, or aggressive, but content, calm, observant. Casper screams in terror as They stumble back, landing on Their backside as Their hands catch him, stumbling the opposite way from the eyes. They were at a humane level, about two feet taller than him, towering over the boy.

Despite its undisturbed manner, They were petrified. It didn't feel new to him, it didn't feel eerie or mysterious, but rather it gave off a strange sense of familiarity, something They couldn't shake off. The eyes got closer to Casper. "Get away!" They cried, though it did not heed Their demand, not that They expected it to. They get up quickly, scrambling to Their feet as They step back some more. Their breath became faster and Their heart was pounding out of Their chest.

With nothing to lose, They turn the opposite direction and run.

Where? Casper didn't know. But the child knew They had to get away from him.

In the split seconds Caspers eyes were still locked on his, They saw his expression changed. It's amazing how much emotion eyes can convey, even to the smallest cheek lift. They saw the eyes become alarmed, like something in him snapped, and Casper soon heard a petrifying sound.

A scream? No, a roar. Something not even old folklore books or pirate crew stories dare to describe. Something vexed, vengeful, desperate. They felt the ground shake under Their fragile feet, quickly getting violent as Their legs kept on boosting Them forward. Casper didn't give up, They couldn't stop trying, They weren't going to back down.

The shaking suddenly stopped, though They were still running. Then, a blinding white light was met with red eyes. It gave off a sense of divine royalty and elegance. They couldn't make out the figure in front of Them as Casper fell towards the light, a ringing noise overcoming Their senses.

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The kids lungs churn as They cough violently, keeled on the ground as icy, sharp wind pierces Their skin. The sudden change in temperature makes Them shiver as They make out the mounds of snow underneath them. Once again Casper stands up, though being able to see Their surroundings.

A snowy, pine forest was surrounding them, snowflakes drifting down from the sky, though more abundant than a normal snow day. Everything seemed normal, familiar to them, though in a good way. Their boots crunch through the snow as They make the most out of Their brown knitted sweaters warmth.

Making it to a clearing in the forest, They felt the wind starting to strangely pick up, becoming more harsh on Their skin than prior. The brunette didn't think much of it, but soon They wished They did as Their vision became a white blurry mess.

The wind howled around Casper as They squint Their eyes, hissing at the harsh pain as the cold temperatures dropped and snow stabbed Their body. They tried to keep moving forward but it was no use, the wind kept on pushing Them back despite Their efforts. They cough violently as Their knees cascade on then, Their body becoming a little ball.

Naively, Casper accepted Their fate as Their mind finally soaked in the events that had happened to him.

They was trapped in who knows where, stuck, lost, and far, far away from home, though that doesn't really matter. This will have no effect on anyone, not Their 'friends', not Their cousins, grandparents, or even Their own parents. No one will care.

Tears prick in Their eyes as Their hands clasp around Their stomach, violently wailing. It wasn't like anything could hear Them anyways.

"Hey!" A distant voice called to Casper. Like a spark of hope flickered in Their heart, They looked up. A figure, blurred and hard to make out, stood in the distance, holding a tall object with a powerful source of light adorned on top of it. They coughed harshly, before They began to reply.
"Hello?!" Casper shouts, attempting to defeat the wind's roars. They grit Their teeth as the cold starts to numb Their body.

Like the wind and snow was non existent, They saw the figure start running up to Them hastily, like it cared about getting to them. As it got more closer, They realised this was no human, and realised Their foolishness of bringing attention to themself once more, not learning about the prior event.

It had pointy, long ears, spiky claws, and some odd accessories on it. Where its eyes should be, two glowing shapes replace it.

By now it was only a few feet away from Casper, and knowing it wasn't human, They knew They couldn't trust it. It walked closer to Them until They could completely see it, ducking down to Their height.

Its face had two pairs of pupil-less, glowing eyes, and sharp spikes coming down from its top lip. It had fluffy, medium length brown hair and multiple freckles on its pale skin. It wore an orange, brown and green striped sweater with a bag hanging off its shoulders. It wielded a wooden staff with an aqua glowing orb on the top of it, using it as support when ducking down.

The figure's expression was startled, confused and very anxious.  "Hey... Kid? Are you meant to be here?" He spoke softly and calmly to the best of his ability, with a subtle Irish accent. Caspers breath was shaky as Their forming tears felt like ice. All They did was shake Their head as no words dared to escape Their mouth.
"Well let me help you out of this storm; I would hate to leave you here" He offers. The child agreed, not knowing what would happen if They said no. The Irishman presents a hand in front of Casper, and They take it cautiously.

Though the wind attempted to knock the brunette down again, the new acquaintance guided Them along, obviously used to this weather.

Word Count: 1334

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Ijeigtubgreunrhfreuh im so exited to be writing ab this shit now!

If you feel like theres a lot of unexplained stuff in this chapter, its intentional, it will all make sense eventually.

If you have any question ab the characters (or anything) introduced so far please feel free to answer (unless telling you will effect the plot)!