The Awakening

Finny

Sophie's POV

"Well, this place looks fun," Percy muttered, kicking a stone on the ground.

"Right," I drawled, taking in our surroundings.

There really wasn't much to see, though.

The sky was weirdly distorted, almost pixelated. It was pale blue, but with grains of green woven in.

Around us, stretching for miles and miles in each direction, were stones. The ground was littered with them. I had already almost twisted my ankle twice, just from walking on the uneven and wobbly stones.

It reminded me of walking along the San Diego beaches, on top of the stone walls that often gathered before the shore. My parents would always take me there when the sun was setting. We'd walk along the strip of stones, hand-in-hand, and set a blanket down where few people were.

Amy wouldn't bother to come along with us because she'd rather hangout with her friends, but I selfishly didn't want her there. She would've annoyed me, my younger self would've said. I'd have our parents all to myself, trying to fit in for once. Even as a child, I knew that I didn't belong in that family; that I was an outlier.

As if he were sensing my change in my mood, Percy reached over and grabbed my right hand. He gently rubbed circles on the back of my hand with his thumb. I sent him a small smile.

"You know, we still have a thousand more steps to go. So, wanna play a game?" he asked, swinging our intertwined hands back and forth as we walked.

I nodded, and he continued, "Let's play I Spy."

"Alright," I agreed, eyeing our surroundings with narrowed eyes. There was little to nothing to scope out, but we could probably make it work.

"I spy something stupid," Percy started, grinning like an idiot.

"But, Percy," I whined, looking up at him while pouting my lips. "You can't see your face."

"Y-you," he stuttered, jaw slightly dropped and eyes wide. He cleared his throat, muttering, "That backfired," lowly under his breath.

"Aw, it's okay, Perce," I cooed, letting go of his hand to wrap my arm comfortingly around his shoulders. "Not everyone is good at these preschool games, but you'll get better once you get to kindergarten."

"You little-," he cut himself off as he reached out to grab me, but I ducked under his arms. I broke off into a sprint, not looking behind me and still laughing hysterically.

"Get back here!" he screeched from somewhere behind me. I kept on running, enjoying the way my hair flew about me.

There was no breeze in this place, but there was no heat either. It was like the perfect balance, but it felt restricting for some reason. Without the usual imperfections of the world, this place felt foreign. There was no effort needed to adapt to the climate.

I also wasn't sure what was under all of the stones that covered the ground, or whatever they lied on top of. It made me wonder why Fintan wanted to meet here of all places.

I sucked in a breath when I stumbled over a particularly large stone, twisting my ankle a bit, but not enough to cause a serious injury. I lost balance, and Percy crashed into my back since I was no longer in motion. We both fumbled forward, me facing the stony terrain.

My eyes widened as my face dropped closer and closer to the ground, and my hands reached out to brace for impact.

But, two hands underneath my armpits halted my falling.