Chasing Storm

A/N: I broke up chapter 1 into 2 different chapters, that way it wasn't as long. I also did some editing to it.



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Darkness was all she felt. It was all she wanted at that point in her life. She had lost everyone she knew that warm summer night. Something happened, something happened that shouldn’t have. Something came to their world and took them away from her. Her mother, her father, and her two sisters were gone now from a life that they deserved to live. The pervious year she had lost her oldest sister. Now, now the rest of them were gone, leaving her alone.

She looked up at the night sky remembering their screams. There was nothing anyone could have done. The doctor said they would have lived. “They should have lived!” she said, as she became angry. She allowed herself to show that one emotion. Their screams were the only thing that she could hear.

She had to sleep in the barn outside because they had caught a virus that for some reason did not attack own frail body. The doctor had told her to stay out there until they were all better. So she stayed outside. He said they would be better and that they just needed time.

Time was something that had run out. That tragic morning she went into the small town that she called home and noticed there was an old wise man selling potions. He said that they could restore the health to even the sickest of all people and that they would keep anyone from being sick for their entire life. She had bought enough for the remaining of her family.

She had turned 10 that very year. That year the winter was mild and the summer came sooner, something that rarely ever happened in Apilin Mountains. She was working for some of the town’s people for as much money as they could spare. She wanted to go different places when she got older and she knew she needed to save as much as possible. All the money that she had saved up for that year went towards those potions. She didn’t have enough money for herself but she didn’t care. She didn’t want what happened to her sister the year before happen to the rest of her family.

By the time she got home the doctor had already left for the day so she went to the barn and went to attend to the chores of the farm. By the time she had finished all of the work, the bright sun had laid its head down for sleep and his sister moon has taken up watch over the lands. The air was still warm when she herself laid her head down to rest. Rest came easy to her but she was awoken to the sounds of screaming. By the time she got the wooden barn doors open she saw her house was burning down and her family along with it. Some men on horses were the cause of it. She could see them with torches and she could smell the smell of flesh burning. She tried to run to her family but somebody had picked her up, stopping her for doing anything.

She closed her amethyst eyes to the memory, allowing a lonely tear to roll down her porcelain face. She remembered what happened after that. It was something she didn’t want to remember. What happened that night over 11 years ago turned her into what she was today. No, she didn’t want to be what she was. She hated who she was. But she could never go back. Not after what happened to her on that warm summer night, all those years ago.

She sat up and looked at the embers that were the only thing remaining of her fire. Eleven years is a long time but she still remembered. Those screams haunted her dreams. The same night that replayed over again in her dreams. She grabbed a log from the pile and threw it onto the fire, sending small embers flying into the wind.

With that night going over into her mind again, she sighed and laid back down looking up at the starless sky. She jumped up again when she heard hoof beats coming her way and grabbed for her oak bow. “Whoa Frost. Steady boy” a man shouted. The amethyst-eyed woman relaxed when she heard his voice. “Good evening’ Storm” he said.

“What do you need Black” she asked him. Her voice barley above a whisper but loud enough that she knew he could hear here. The man was about 6ft tall and was around 60 years old. He used to have jet-black hair but has grayed out over the many years now.

He leaned over and placed his hands on his legs while saying “Allow me to catch me breath girl”.

“That horse of yours needs more breath than you do just for carrying you large ass” she stated coldly. His baritone laughter bellowed into the cool night air, awakening anything close. She smiled lightly. She always smiled when she was around him. He was the one that found her lying on the ground a few days after that man had beaten her. Her thoughts froze as she saw him sit down on a fallen log. “What do you want Black” she asked again.

“Always straight to business you are Stormy girl. All right, don’t give me that look. Remember I’m the one that took care of you. I’m the one,” he said but she cut him off.

“Yes you are the one that cleaned my bruised body after that night you found me and raised me like your own child.”

“What a mouth” he said and started bellowing again. “Alright, alright. Some people started going missing again in the last four months. Everyone is getting all riled up and want only the best to find out what is happening” he said becoming all serious.

“Wolves.” she said. She placed another log onto the fire and sat back down.

“You know their ain’t no wolves in these parts of the world. They want the best”

“Go find the best then” she snapped back at him.

He picked up her backpack and started looking through it. He pulled out four purple potion bottles and held them up to her. “Still have them do ye,” he said.

She looked up and glared at him and mumbled “Shut up ya old fool”.

“Storm it wasn’t your fault. By lord’s name, it’s been almost 12 years now” he said.

“I’ll do it,” she said as she lay down onto her brown futon without a word more. She looked up at the starless sky again. Tonight she wouldn’t hear the screams anymore. She knew it wasn’t her fault but she couldn’t help it. She was angry for it happening, angry with her and them.

The wind picked up a little bit and blew some of her red tresses into her cream colored face. She easily swept them out from in front of her purple eyes. Storm wasn’t like the women of her town. She stopped wearing dresses along time ago and never got married at the age of 16. She wore a pair of brown leather leggings and a green tunic. She carried around her leather backpack every where she went. She was going on 22 years old and never even wanted to get married.

“How many?” she said out of the blue. She turned over onto her side when he didn’t say anything. “Black, how many?” she asked again.

“What?” he asked like he just was awakening from a slumber.

“How many?” she asked again.

“So far around 100 people. Why do ye ask?” he said.

“Because I said I would do it. They disappear like the ones did along time ago?” she asked.

“Everyone thinks so” he answered back. Her oldest sister was one of them.

She turned back over onto her other side and fell asleep. No, no dreaming of that painful day, not tonight. As she fell asleep the wind snuffed out the rest of the fire. Black’s horse Frost settled down next to Storm’s own horse Oblivion and the only thing you could hear was Black’s snores and the wind.

Storm woke to the sun just coming over the horizon. To some people the scene in front of them was a beautiful thing to wake up to but for her it just meant it was just another day to start another job that she hated. She looked over and saw that Black was still asleep. She leaned over and picked up a smooth emerald colored rock and chucked it at his head, hitting him right on target.

“Get ready old man” she yelled.

“Ready for what?” he asked.

“We got a job to do remember or is that brain of yours dying like your health?” she yelled.

“Ah. Damn child I ain’t a going. You gotta be kidden. I’m getting to old for this” he said and went back to sleep.

“Damn old ass” she mumbled as she got up.

She walked over to her pack and stuffed everything into it. She grabbed her oak bow and settled it in its rightful place on Oblivion. She strapped on her quiver of arrows over her shoulder and fixed it so she could easily reach an arrow on her back. She walked over to her gold handled long sword that rested against the trunk of a tree nearby and picked it up. She swirled it around a few times and the rightful place on her left hip. She was an archer but she still carried it around just in case she was rendered without her bow during a battle. She was not skilled in sword-man ship but she had learned some moves from old Black.

Her body was athletic and because of her active life style her legs were mostly muscles. She didn’t really have much upper body strength but she could hold her own weight and that was important when it came down to it. Her left arm was a little scared from releasing the bowstring so many times.

She slung her pack up onto the back of her own horse, Oblivion who was a pitch black Friesian stallion, and placed her leg up into the stirrup and swung her other leg over the saddle. “Come on Oblivion, let’s hurry up and get this job done” she said to her horse and kicked it to get it going. She turned Oblivion towards the nearest town and kicked her into a gallop.

The town was small and cozy but if something different happened and they didn’t understand it then they became panicked. As she got into town she could see the worry in everyone’s eyes. A man ran up to her and said “Storm, we’ve been waiting for you”.

‘Great he already told them I would do it’ she thought.’ Storm thought as she stilled Oblivion.

“It’s just like how the people years ago disappeared. One minute they would be here and the next the wind would pick up and they would be gone. No body has seen any of them and everyone is staying inside their homes” one person said as a crowd started forming around her.

“Well if its like what happened years ago, then staying inside or out wont keep ya safe” Storm replied raising her voice so all of the could hear. She didn’t want to scare them but she wouldn’t lie to them about it either. With that everyone fell silent. “I will find someone to start looking around for some of them. They might be playing a trick on you all” she said and with that she headed towards the beach. She knew a man that would go and search for these people so she didn’t have to.

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A/N: As you can see there is a hell of a lot more talking in this one than in English Kashu. lol.