Written in the Stars of Heaven

Melani- Age 17

“Look, her eyes stopped glowing,” I heard a deep voice say as the vision faded, leaving me in blackness.

“Yeah, I see that,” another, more melodic and masculine one sounded, tinged with a slight Russian accent.

“Sorry,” the other said, “I still can’t believe you can actually see her.”

What the hell were they talking about? Why in the world wouldn’t the man be able to see me? And more importantly, what were these dudes smoking? Their conversation was ridiculous. Or, I thought so until I remembered that Felix had mentioned my eyes glowing during a vision too. Damn, so I was alive.

In all honesty, I kind of hoped that my fall had killed me. It would have been so much easier that way. And it wouldn’t have been giving up. Well, wishing that it ended me was a sort of giving up, but not the same, right? I would still fight like hell for my freedom. I’d still do everything in my power to ensure my happy ending. This wasn’t over. I wasn’t over.

“So she’s definitely the one we were after?” a woman asked in a relatively annoying high pitch.

“Unless you know of any other Herllow with glowing eyes, painful visions, and a Mark that looks like hers,” the velvety voice-guy told her in a snappy tone.

By that point, the blackness ensconcing me in its dark hold and the terrifying numb feeling I had began to recede, leaving me free to ponder my next move. What was I going to do? I was surrounded, laying on the ground, hair and sundress soaked in freezing cold water, and exhausted beyond belief. Things really didn’t look so good for me, and I had no plan. Isn’t my life just peachy?

“Dudes, why can’t you just let her go? She’s small and defenseless, soaked to the bone and freezing. She doesn’t need this.” a fourth voice sounded, coming from a man.

“Shut up Herllow. This doesn’t concern you,” the Russian accented one barked.

Herllow? Did he say Herllow? So maybe this wasn’t completely hopeless… There was another Herllow here.

Praying for the best, my eyes shot open and I took in the scene around me in a split second. The tall hottie that had been chasing me towered over me to my right, arms crossed. Another handsome man, blue eyes and dark hair, knelt beside me with a goofy look on his cute face. To my left was a pretty blonde girl with a scowl darkening her features and behind her another cutie with a concerned look and dark hair nervously looked between the three.

Ignoring the burning in my muscles and the icy chill on my skin, I slammed my fist in the face of the man kneeling and used that momentum to roll to the other side, closest to the girl and away from the accented god who had chased me down. I made it all of three feet once I’d stood before I felt sturdy arms wrap around my middle and hold me close to a warm, firm chest. “Not so fast,” he said, his hot breath tickling my ear and having the opposite effect that one would expect from a man hunting you. I- No, of course I didn’t like it. It was just the major temperature difference that caused that shiver. Yeah, that was it.

“She hit me! Nikolai, she hit me!” the guy screeched, clutching his bleeding nose.

“Shut up, Blaze! She’s like five feet tall,” the snobby blonde chick told him angrily.

“You don’t give in,” the hugely tall guy holding me lulled… I mean said into my ear. I was assuming he was this Nikolai.

“I never give up,” I retorted, venom very present in my tone.

“So it seems,” he said, then directed his attention to the annoying girl. “Leona, cuff.”

I heard some scrambling around in a bag before she returned with a silver piece of metal, about three inches tall. Both sides were curved in a semi-circle, with a clasp-like thing on each end, like a really thick bracelet.

Before I had a chance to fight her away, the girl latched the damn thing around my exposed ankle and I felt these prongs come out and dig into my skin.

“What the hell did you just do?” I snarled.

“It’s called a Tracker,” she informed me, smug look on her pretty face. “Not that we ever use it for that purpose. It’s just security for us. But others who aren’t as good at Hunting, put it on the ankles of their prey and if they escape, they are able to send electric shocks through it that incapacitates until they track the Herllow down.”

“Well, ain’t that just dandy?” I muttered, wrenching myself from the hold of the hottie I’d quickly grown to hate. And it wasn’t easy, mind you. He was at least a foot taller than me, and a whole lot more muscled. I suspected the only reason I’d gotten away was because he let me.

When I turned back around to glare at him, I was a little surprised to see him gazing at me in wonder. But it only lasted a few seconds before his cold, stoic expression returned. “Blaze, grab her and let’s get back to camp before nightfall,” he ordered the dude I’d punched. “And get her something to put over herself. She’s freezing.”

How strange. It seemed that Nikolai maybe had a small fraction of a heart after all. I was shivering pretty heavily, and expected to remain that way for quite some time. The mere thought of warmth seemed miles away.

I took pride in the cautious way Mr. Buff Blaze looked at me as he slowly approached. “You’re small for such a hit,” he mumbled.

“Yeah, well don’t forget that. Now get your grubby paws off of me!” I protested as he wrapped a huge hand around my right bicep.

“I don’t think so. Now hold still so we can go grab you a coat from one of the bags,” he told me, roughly jerking me forward.

Begrudgingly, I followed along. There wasn’t much I wouldn’t do for a jacket, sleep, or some food. And if all I had to do was let some good looking oaf pull me around, then I’d do it.

“Who are you?” I asked the other guy who hadn’t spoken to me yet.

“Name’s Avan Saunders. I’m a fellow captive. Pleased to make your acquaintance,” he smiled a big doofy grin, holding a tan hand out to me.

I just looked at it for a second, then back up to his handsome face. What was it with all the gorgeous men?

His amazing looks didn’t make up for the fact that I found his bubbly attitude mildly annoying at the moment. “Shut up,” I said in response, taking guilty pleasure in the shocked way he gaped at me. Apparently I was supposed to be on his team. Too bad I was on my own and didn’t have the time or desire to align myself with anyone.

Blaze laughed beside me, digging around in a duffel bag. “You know, you might not be so bad to have around. I kinda like your attitude.”

“And I kinda want to punch you again. We done with our confession hour?” I snapped. I was going to make these stupid Reapers regret taking me against my will with everything in them.

“Everyone shut your faces,” Nikolai barked. “We need to get a move on, so pick up your asses and walk.”

“Someone’s grouchy,” I said in a sing-song voice.

“I don’t need your commentary, so shut the hell up. Your senseless running has put me behind schedule as it is.”

Apparently I wasn’t the only one not looking to make any new friends, I thought as I allowed Blaze to help me into a navy blue fleece parka that was way to big. The sleeves hung several inches from the tips of my fingers and the part around my shuddering body fell to the middle of my thighs, adding to my beat up appearance.

*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*

About forty-five very silent and tiring minutes later, we arrived at a clearing with several tents set up around a make-shift fire pit. It wasn’t a Five Seasons for sure, but I’d take it gladly after what I’d been through. Hell, I’d probably even refrain myself from any complaints at all. Well, that’s going a bit far for me. I would definitely minimize my complaining.

“This is where you’re making me sleep?” I asked, purely for the satisfaction of pissing someone off.

“It’s too good for you, bitch. Why don’t you go find a nice hole to crawl into like the rest of the ugly-ass moles?” the chick, Leona, snapped in a snobby matter that instantly had my blood boiling.

“What did you say?” I sneered, whipping around to face that blonde idiot.

“I called you ugly. Got a problem?”

“Yeah, actually I do,” I informed her angrily, utilizing Blaze’s distraction and ripping my arm out of his grip. Before he could grab me again, I lunged for Leona, throwing myself on top of her. She was close to my size, only a little taller, but the momentum was enough to knock her on her back while I straddled her stomach.

Reeling my arm back, I slammed my fist into her shocked face. The pain her skull caused in my knuckles made me hesitate before slamming it right back into her nose, which was leaking crimson blood. “Call me ugly one more time!” I yelled, grabbing her by her hair and repeatedly smacking the back of her head on the cold ground.

My little outburst didn’t go any further, much to my dismay, because Nikolai had rushed over and secured me around the waist again, pulling me away from the snobby bitch. Somehow I didn’t think he objected too much. He was so fast, he could have probably caught me before I even tackled her.

“Calm yourself!” he commanded harshly into my ear. “You won’t cause anymore problems for me, got that?”

“Whatever, Boris. Get off me,” I muttered, pulling at his strong arms.

“His name’s Nikolai,” Blaze called, trying to stifle his laughter.

“He’s Russian. Boris is a Russian name. I’ll call him what I want.”

“What should we call you, sexy?” Blaze asked.

Nikolai finally relented and let me fall to my knees on the ground. “Nothing of consequence,” I mumbled, climbing back to my feet and brushing the dirt from my knees as Leona also got up, holding her bleeding nose.

“Fine then. I’ll just call you ‘sexy’.” That cocky grin made my scowl deepen.

“Melani. Call me anything else and I’ll make sure to give you another dose of that,” I replied, gesturing to the furious blonde.

“Is that a promise?” he smirked.

“Blaze, enough.” Nikolai sighed, rolling his baby blue eyes. “Get dinner started.”

Laughing to himself, the huge idiot let go of my arm and went over to a cooler stationed near one of the tents.

“So, were you guys having a campout or something?” I asked, only partly joking. I didn’t really understand what they were doing out here in the middle of no where.

“Haven’t you heard?” Leona snapped.

“Bird is the word!” Blaze shouted from where he was. Family Guy. Quality comedy.

“What I was saying,“ she continued, shooting him a sinister look. “You have quite the bounty on your head. Every self-respecting Herllow Hunter is out here looking for you. Of course, we are the best, so it‘s rather pointless for them.”

“Right, that’s just wonderful. Exactly what I asked for when wishing on stars as a kid. Damn balls of gas, betraying me like this,” I mumbled quietly to myself, shaking my head back and forth to add character to the personal rant. “You know, I trusted you. And what do you give me? Huh, stars? I get a huge Wanted poster with my face plastered on it. Thanks Big Dipper. Great pal.”

Having finished with my little monologue that should have been inside my head but wasn’t, I looked up to find four sets of eyes on me. Blaze, wearing a teasing smile, Avan’s head tilted and looking slightly worried about my sanity, Leona frowning so deeply I was sure she was going to wrinkle prematurely, and Nikolai… I was most surprised by his expression. He seemed to be both amused and very focused on me. Like I was the only thing in the world for him to look at. Weird.

“Alright, I’m finished talking to myself. Carry on,” I said, pulling the fleece jacket tighter around me and going to sit next to Avan on a log by the unlit fire pit.

“You’re quite the interesting little girl, aren’t you?” he asked casually.

“You could say that,” I replied. “Only I’m not a little girl. I’m seventeen for God’s sake. I bet you’re like twelve.” Of course he wasn’t, but I didn’t like being called ‘little’. I had been all my life, because of my small stature, and I wasn’t about to let anyone believe I really was.

“I happen to be eighteen, thank you,” he grinned. “And I apologize for the insinuation that you were anything but the very large, commanding spirit you seem to be.”

“You better be. And I might be a little sorry for snapping at you before.”

“Don’t sweat it. Being with this group for so many days has toughened me up. Between Leona and Nikolai’s constant tempers and Blaze’s annoying antics, nothing you could do would put me out.”

“I doubt that. But yeah, they seem nightmare-ish. What’s their problem?” I asked, watching as Nikolai looked all hot collecting kindling for the fire.

“Well, I honestly think Blaze and Leona are just naturally like that. She’s a bitch by nature and he doesn’t know how to act normal. But our trusty leader is a different story,” he said, lowering his voice and faking a wide grin when Nikolai glared over at us.

But I was intrigued. “How? What’s his deal?”

“He’s blind.”

That explained the impossible light blue of his eyes. But he didn’t act blind in the least. He had no issue defeating the guy attacking me, nor did he find chasing me difficult. And he knew about the river I’d run into long before it could be heard.

“Are you sure? He seems to function wonderfully.”

“I know, right? But from what I’ve gathered listening to Blaze and Leona talk, he feels vibrations from everything. Like the atoms and whatever moving within anything in an impressive range. You ever seen that Avatar: The Last Airbender show?”

I was a bit embarrassed to admit I’d watched something made for ten year olds, but I had. It was secretly amazing too. Long live Zuko and Aang.

“Uh, yeah,” I muttered.

“Great show. You know Toph?”

“Of course. Badass Earthbender who feels everything around her that touches the Earth from the vibrations. She’s one of my favorites!” I gushed, excited to be talking about what could have easily been the best tv show ever made.

“Yeah, well Nikolai is pretty similar to her. All of his senses are heightened too, so he can probably hear me right now,” Avan explained. “He has absolutely no disability because of his blindness. He’s more capable than probably anyone in this realm. Even the Keepers.”

Damn. I loved Toph. Why did that jerk face have to be so similar to her? Was there no fairness in this world. And what the hell was a Keeper?

“Please elaborate on the term ‘Keeper’, teacher,” I asked, making my voice go high like a eager schoolgirl.

He laughed, shaking his head at me. “You know, I might decide to like you, despite the rough exterior.”

“Well doesn’t that just warm me from the inside out. Now get on with it,” I said sarcastically.

“Keepers are the protectors of the Herllow society. Those who come to Animus Terra at an early enough age are enlisted in a training school that teaches defense against Reaper. It’s really intense, and they are held in very high regard. Keepers are like royalty to us, and our only hope to survive Reaper advances on our kingdom,” he told me, as my eyes were riveted on Nikolai building a fire. Who knew such a small act could look so sexy on someone.

“So they are similar to these Herllow Hunter people, only for the opposite team?” I asked, doing my best to pay attention.

“You could say that. Herllow Hunters are the most elite fighters in their country too, but they are mobile, searching for their prey. Keepers remain in the cities, and with important figures, used solely for defense.”

“Ok, that makes sense. The Reapers and Herllow are at war, then?”

Avan rubbed his chin in a thoughtful manner. I though only people on tv did that, but whatever. “In a way. Each side launches attacks every now and then, but it’s not an all-out war. Herllow kind of have rule over the realm right now, but we all know that Armon, the Reaper King, is planning to turn the tables at some point. He wants to be king of every race, and has created Herllow Hunters to slowly take out our population.”

This caught my interest. Pulling my eyes off of Nikolai, I turned to face Avan. “So the Herllow nation is just sitting around, waiting for this Armon dude to take them out?”

“Like I said, we are a defensive people. The offence is left to Reapers,” he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Why in the hell is the Herllow king doing that? Doesn’t he know that he can change his M/O and probably win this thing based on surprise alone? His people are getting snagged all the time, and he just sits on the throne, waiting? What’s wrong with him?” I burst, appalled at the leader’s idiocy.

“You really are the Chosen One, aren’t you,” he murmured with awe, “You’re the one who’s going to change everything for this realm. Wow, Melani. I can’t believe I’m actually talking to the Chosen One.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t get too star struck. I still think the Herllow King is an idiot.”

“That makes two of us,” Nikolai said, passing by us, having set a raging fire in the pit.

“What was that about?” I inquired, looking back to Avan.

He only shrugged and stood up to get closer to the warmth of the fire. I followed, appreciating such a simple concept as being warm more than I ever had in the past. The fire felt amazing on the bare, ice cold skin of my legs. The cold water in the dress and on my hair had dried for the most part, and I felt as if I was soaring. The sensation of being warm chased off the aching in my entire body from the strenuous physical activity of the day and the stress since I’d arrived here. Sadly though, it didn’t ease my biting hunger.

“Hey Blaze,” I called, “what are you making for dinner?”

“Lady, I don’t cook. I opened a package of hotdogs, and you are all on your own from here. So, it’s ready.”

I was, of course, the first to the food, having ran at full speed toward Blaze the moment he declared it ready. I didn’t even stop long enough to find a bun or put it over the fire. The second I retrieved a hotdog from the plastic package, I shoved it in my salivating mouth and reveled in the unhealthy deliciousness of it.

“I guess you were hungry,” Avan commented, pulling one out for himself and pushing it on a sharpened stick he’d apparently found.

“I haven’t eaten since getting here two days ago… wow, only forty-eight hours… Plus however long I was with that serial killer back in the normal world. My brother never specified how long I was with-”

“Serial killer?” Nikolai asked curtly, cutting my rambling off. It was probably for the better, seeing as how my mouth was stuffed full of hotdog. I don’t know how he managed to understand a word I’d said.

“Yeah,” I responded, swallowing my food. “But I’m obviously still alive. He only shot me. My twin is working on finding his hide-out. That reminds me, I should really check in with him…”

The Russian god eyed me nervously, for reasons unknown to me. I mean, he was blind. “You’re sure he didn’t kill you?”

“Well, pretty sure, yes. How would that even work, me being dead there and alive here?”

He only looked at me funny, which I found weird. Again, back to the whole blind thing. Toph never really looked head-on at anyone, vibrations or not.

“What?” I asked around another mouthful of food.

“Nothing,” he grunted, shaking his head as he moved back over to the fire to cook his dinner.

“Weird guy,” I said to Blaze.

“Yeah, he is. But I think his extra-weirdness today has to do with the fact that he can see you. Like, with his eyes, and not his body.” He too had skipped the fire and was shoving half of the hotdog encased in a thick bun into his mouth.

“He can see me? Why?” I asked, finally understanding the long gazes and funny looks.

“He doesn’t know. Probably has something to do with you being the Chosen One and all. Or maybe it’s just that you’re the hottest thing in the entire realm. It would be a pity to not be able to see you.”

I rolled my eyes before locking them on Nikolai. Poor guy. It must be difficult to have to function without his vision. Not that he needed it, as he’d already proved, but still. And then to suddenly find this chick he could actually see. I’d be a little thrown too. And I didn’t think it had to do with my admittedly good looks. Maybe it was my role in their prophesy… I was supposed to fix everything, wasn’t I? Why not his eyesight? Not that doing so was at the top of my list of priorities. No, that was finding a way to escape this group of buffoons without getting shocked to death via the stupid, pokey band around my ankle.