The Girl From Above [Ground: Zero, Book 1]

2: Don't Panic

Ryan knew this was going to happen one way or another. Considering her pathetic life up to this moment, she wasn't surprised it would end with her falling off a cliff. Though, when she originally imagined jumping, there was a distinct lack of a ginger elf boy.

She inhaled, wind and dust whipped at her face. Tears had started to well in her eyes, threatening to fall. Ryan clenched her teeth, a cold chill digging into her cheeks. Of course she was crying, she always cried in situations like this, she could never just suck it up and be normal, not even in death.

She shut her eyes. Despite the initial feelings stirring in her stomach, the only thought that seemed to form in her brain now was incoherent screaming. The cold lashes on her face pinched at her ears, the whistle of the wind mocking her.

Was she really going to die like this? Was this how she was going to be remembered? As a stupid little girl who fell into a valley?

Her tears trickled down her face. She tried to blink them out, hesitantly opening her eyes. If she were to die in this place, she might as well know why it was closed off from everyone.

She wasn't sure if her eyes were shot from the crying or not, but the valley below her was almost entirely red. Long red grass filled the entire valley, red pine and aspen scattered all around. The red flora mixed with the cool greys of the mountains gave the illusion that the valley was smothered in the blood of something larger than she could comprehend.

If she hadn't been falling to her death, she might've enjoyed the view.

She looked up to find that Zack still had his hand wrapped tightly around hers, he cracked a nervous smile when she faced him. He said something that she couldn't make out, pointing down at the fast approaching ground.

"What?" Ryan yelled in response.

He said something again, but all she could make out was the word "panic."

She knew what he said had probably been "Don't panic." But after what happened next, she doubted that it wasn't "you're going to panic" or simply "PANIC NOW!"

Zack's body began to flicker violently, parts of him would disappear and reappear faster than Ryan could process them.

A cold and wet ball of fear formed in the back of her throat. Her mouth trembled as she looked over to her hand, it was distorting and forming in and out of reality just like Zack. She stifled a scream. This was fine. It was just her hand after all, no big deal, it's not like she needed those. Who needed hands? Hands were overrated.

She held her breath. It didn't matter, the ground was growing nearer, it wouldn't be long before...

She imagined her body bloodied and crumpled in the red grass, her neck twisted at an unnatural angle. Would her blood blend in with the grass, or would it stand out?

She shook her head, trying to erase the thought from her mind. She could handle this, she could remain calm. She would die with dignity, she owed herself that at least.

She took a deep breath, her eyes trailing to Zack again. His distortion was spreading up her arm, surrounding the rest of her body.

A shock went through her entire body. Various profanities flew through her head. She tried to pry herself out of Zack's grasp but found herself frozen in place. She could only watch helplessly as the ground grew nearer, her body slowly fading to nothing.

"Hey, are you ok?" Zack said.

She struggled to respond, instead of splatting onto the ground, she found herself standing on it, her legs and body still intact. She hastily stepped forward, only to stumble onto her knees.