The Time Ring

Even if it looked like Mandy went back to school, she didn't. She walked through the numerous corridors, careful not to get unwanted attention, and got out through the front door. She looked twice around her just to be sure. There was no one, of course. It was the middle of a school day. No one was out at that hour. When she found herself out the gates the first thought she had was to go back home, but then she remembered her mother and the other servants. There were going to be too many questions and it didn't worth the risk and nerve. She was already stressed enough.

Mandy started to walk aimlessly on the road. There was no sign of human creature and not even aliens. She stopped when that thought came to mind. Why would she think about aliens? She chuckled.

"I'm going crazy"

When her words rolled out her tongue, she felt like she wasn't as crazy as it might have seen. Or that was what she wanted. She furrowed her eyebrows at the forest. Passing it by, it felt different. It looked quite beautiful from outside and she was curious how did it look on the inside. Was there green plants, high trees, beautiful colored flowers and animals roaming around happily. The image was indeed beautiful. She became entranced by it.

"It's worth the risk. One glance won't be fatal" She whispered and walked towards the entrance of the mysterious place.

The forest was nothing special. It looked like any other forest in the country. But something about it was different. She felt different. It was silent and nothing seemed to be wrong, yet she had that feeling something was not like it should. Her eyes traveled over every tree, every flower and every bush. As she moved further, she started to feel more and more anxious. She stopped when she found a clearing.

"Wait. A clearing?"

She walked around and found a lake. Unconsciously, she put her finger in. The water was a clear blue. She closed her eyes and got her finger out. She sat there and contemplated her life. She was curious why so many people were afraid to come in. It wasn't dangerous at all. At least, not yet.

Amanda's eyes opened suddenly when she felt a shill down her spine. The silence started to fade away. The leaves started to move and she could swear someone started to mumble about a ring. She couldn't understand what was so special about such an object but it looked like everything was leading to it.

The girl got up and stretched. She tried to block out the mumbles and the abnormal activities. She sighed and closed her eyes. She started to think about a good explanation for her parents when her dear English teacher was going to tell them that she left school. Oh, yeah. Another big problem. The tutor. She groaned when his face appeared in her mind.

"Parasite" She mumbled.

When she opened her eyes she noticed something flying rapidly past her. She rubbed her eyes, thinking that she might have started to hallucinate. One moment there was a shadow and in the next, nothing.

"It already went from bizarre to insane" She turned around to make sure whatever that was - if it was - disappeared. Unfortunately, the sight changed. In front of her was water instead of a tree. She furrowed her eyebrows. How could the small lake change its place? She turned again, expecting to see the lake in its place but it wasn't there. She came face to face with a tree. She turned again to find another tree. That went for a few seconds. She felt like in a bad horror movie when the girl gets drugged. Wait, she hadn't seen such a movie. The surroundings were driving her crazy. Her thoughts were doing the same and she heard that voice again.

"Amanda" The voice sang. It was amused by what was happening to her. She was scared and her head was pounding like a ticking bomb. She shut her eyes tightly. "I see you"

"Stop" She whispered. "I want it to stop!" She started to rub her temples. "Stop already!" That was the end. Everything did stop and faded away to blackness. She fainted.