The Departed
Prologue
It was cold. The type of cold that sank deep into your bones and left you grasping for warmth for the remainder of the day. An icy breeze swept past her as she stood at the top of a large hill, surrounded by evenly spaced oaks and pines. Her light blonde hair whipped through the air, a few strands wrapped around the front of her face covering her sea blue eyes and cutting off her view of her breathtaking surroundings. She removed the hair from her face gently; the dried leaves and twigs underneath her plain black boots cracked as she shifted her weight to her heels.
A loud sigh emanated from her and she watched as her breath materialized into a thick fog. The icy temperatures greedily absorbed and demolished any heat that remained in the air and too soon her breath was gone completely without a trace. The only thing remaining to prove it had been there at all was just a memory. Looking down over the land she watched as the sun set in the sky behind the rolling fields. Hues of pink, yellow, and orange adorned the sky above it. Goose flesh rose on her arms as another violent breeze swept past and the only sounds that could be heard were the aftermath of the wind and her own soft breaths. There were no other signs of life anywhere near. Not even small creatures scampered around which she found incredibly unusual.
Suddenly the once solid ground was no longer solid and she plunged quickly through the surface. Her body and mind barely registered the freezing water that now engulfed her, her only thoughts being those of survival. She swam towards the top quickly only to find the hole she had plunged through was now closed up and panic began to set in. The water was like a murderer. It was silent and collected as it muffled her screams and held her in its embrace, having no mercy on her as the last little bit of oxygen escaped her lungs.
Ansley continued to pound on the ice but it was now thicker than before. There was no hope for salvation. Her body was becoming numb but that made the burning in her lungs painfully prominent. She was losing energy as she noticed a shadow above the ice. She exerted her last bits of energy to yell and beat on the glassy ice hoping to get the persons attention but they simply stared at her watching as she slowly slipped away.
Black spots filled her vision and water began to fill her lungs. She couldn't move her body. A warmth spread over her and she knew she was dying. Pressure was put on both of her shoulders and she began to convulse violently.
"Ansley wake up!" Leaping from her lying position she came face to face with her terrified looking younger sister. Ansley looked to her right to see her opened window. A shiver racked her body as she watched the harsh breeze waft the falling snow inside until it landed on her built in bench to add to the collection of snow that had already accumulated there whilst she was asleep. She stood and wrapped her arms around herself to keep in what little warmth she had left, as she walked across the room and shut the window roughly.
You were screaming. Are you okay?" Mirabel's chocolate eyes were wide, her voice thick with alarm.
"I'm fine. Just a bad dream." Her sister's dark brown hair was strewn in different directions and it was clear to Ansley that she too had been having trouble sleeping. She walked back to the bed and sat down beside her younger sister and ran her hands through her own scraggly hair, grimacing as her fingers got caught in a very large, very complex, knot.
"Are you still having trouble sleeping?" Mira nodded sleepily whilst running her hands over her face as if she could simply wipe away the exhaustion. The older of the two looked upon the younger in pity. She knew the sleep deprived feeling all too well and over the years she had formed quite the relationship with insomnia. "Would it help if you slept in here tonight?" Mirabel simply looked at her in disbelief.
"What am I five? Thanks for the offer Ley but I'm fifteen. I don't need you, or anyone else for that matter, to ward off the scary ghosts anymore." Ansley laughed at her prideful nature and waved her off, giving up on the attempt to help knowing she would never accept it. With one last smile, which she knew meant goodnight, she was gone leaving Ansley at the mercy of her own mind. Lying back once again she cocooned herself into her thick comforter that she had kicked off the bed and closed her eyes as she prayed for sleep to find her. Her prayers were answered but just as she was about to drift into a deep, dreamless, sleep she saw a shadow dancing along the wall and felt a cool touch on her exposed cheek. She shivered but by this time she was too far gone to pay much attention to the strange happenings and fell asleep.
A loud sigh emanated from her and she watched as her breath materialized into a thick fog. The icy temperatures greedily absorbed and demolished any heat that remained in the air and too soon her breath was gone completely without a trace. The only thing remaining to prove it had been there at all was just a memory. Looking down over the land she watched as the sun set in the sky behind the rolling fields. Hues of pink, yellow, and orange adorned the sky above it. Goose flesh rose on her arms as another violent breeze swept past and the only sounds that could be heard were the aftermath of the wind and her own soft breaths. There were no other signs of life anywhere near. Not even small creatures scampered around which she found incredibly unusual.
Suddenly the once solid ground was no longer solid and she plunged quickly through the surface. Her body and mind barely registered the freezing water that now engulfed her, her only thoughts being those of survival. She swam towards the top quickly only to find the hole she had plunged through was now closed up and panic began to set in. The water was like a murderer. It was silent and collected as it muffled her screams and held her in its embrace, having no mercy on her as the last little bit of oxygen escaped her lungs.
Ansley continued to pound on the ice but it was now thicker than before. There was no hope for salvation. Her body was becoming numb but that made the burning in her lungs painfully prominent. She was losing energy as she noticed a shadow above the ice. She exerted her last bits of energy to yell and beat on the glassy ice hoping to get the persons attention but they simply stared at her watching as she slowly slipped away.
Black spots filled her vision and water began to fill her lungs. She couldn't move her body. A warmth spread over her and she knew she was dying. Pressure was put on both of her shoulders and she began to convulse violently.
"Ansley wake up!" Leaping from her lying position she came face to face with her terrified looking younger sister. Ansley looked to her right to see her opened window. A shiver racked her body as she watched the harsh breeze waft the falling snow inside until it landed on her built in bench to add to the collection of snow that had already accumulated there whilst she was asleep. She stood and wrapped her arms around herself to keep in what little warmth she had left, as she walked across the room and shut the window roughly.
You were screaming. Are you okay?" Mirabel's chocolate eyes were wide, her voice thick with alarm.
"I'm fine. Just a bad dream." Her sister's dark brown hair was strewn in different directions and it was clear to Ansley that she too had been having trouble sleeping. She walked back to the bed and sat down beside her younger sister and ran her hands through her own scraggly hair, grimacing as her fingers got caught in a very large, very complex, knot.
"Are you still having trouble sleeping?" Mira nodded sleepily whilst running her hands over her face as if she could simply wipe away the exhaustion. The older of the two looked upon the younger in pity. She knew the sleep deprived feeling all too well and over the years she had formed quite the relationship with insomnia. "Would it help if you slept in here tonight?" Mirabel simply looked at her in disbelief.
"What am I five? Thanks for the offer Ley but I'm fifteen. I don't need you, or anyone else for that matter, to ward off the scary ghosts anymore." Ansley laughed at her prideful nature and waved her off, giving up on the attempt to help knowing she would never accept it. With one last smile, which she knew meant goodnight, she was gone leaving Ansley at the mercy of her own mind. Lying back once again she cocooned herself into her thick comforter that she had kicked off the bed and closed her eyes as she prayed for sleep to find her. Her prayers were answered but just as she was about to drift into a deep, dreamless, sleep she saw a shadow dancing along the wall and felt a cool touch on her exposed cheek. She shivered but by this time she was too far gone to pay much attention to the strange happenings and fell asleep.
♠ ♠ ♠
Okay so this is just a short prologue that I decided to post to see what people thought. Drop me a comment giving constructive criticism or just telling me what you think. Thanks:)