(1989 -- December 31st -- 23:59PM)
Shooting stars are what people saw that day. They soared through the night sky like glowing eagles, it was breath-taking. No one, not even those who specialised in these forms of occurrences, knew what was the reason, yet no one questioned it, as they stared at the beauty of rocks hurtling through space at incomprehensible speed. One mother stood with them that day, holding her infant in her arms as they stared wide-eyed at the lights streaking across the sky. The child's name was Zoey and she was chosen that night. For a task unfathomable to anyone at that time.
(1999 -- September 1st -- 15:47PM)
Little under ten years had passed since the phenomenon occurred, and Zoey had turned ten years old. She was like every other little girl, interested in the latest dolls, cute things, such as puppies or kittens, despite that she had grown up often feeling separate from others. Zoey blew the candles out on her birthday cake, with her parents clapping and asking if she made a wish.
"Of course," She said, "But I can't tell you, otherwise it won't come true." She giggled as her mother handed her the first of her presents.
Zoey was tall for her age, being four foot four. She was athletic as well, being extremely flexible and rather strong for her age, she had long brown hair that fell to her waist. She was the fastest girl at her school, being able to run 100 metres in under 15 seconds. She was also prone to angry outbursts, leading her to learn various fighting styles, including, but not limited to, kick boxing, kung fu, and wrestling, to curb her anger and aim it at something less dangerous. In short; she wasn't to be messed with, and everyone knew it.
After opening her gifts; a pair of shoes, two Barbie dolls, and a new tv. She thanked her parents, before asking if she could go out for a bit, before having her cake.
"Of course honey, but don't be out too long. The sun's setting." Her mother warned.
"Don't worry mum!" Zoey called as she left through the back door. They didn't have a backyard, but they did live right in front of large forest, easily half a mile away from any neighbours. Zoey's parents had chosen the house after she was born, since they needed a place that was large and affordable.
The house was Victorian style, though it was updated to have electricity of course, with four bedrooms, a study, two living rooms, a large state of the art kitchen, and three bathrooms; one downstairs, one upstairs, and the other was an en suite in the master bedroom. They had gotten it cheap, as the retailers' had said that no wanted to buy, being put off by the large forest, which many had deemed to be creepy, and the fact that it was several miles from the nearest town. A 'horror movie house' is what they called it.
For the past ten years they've lived here and ever since she could walk Zoey has been obsessed with the forest; to her it wasn't a place filled with dangerous creatures, or home to some horror movie villain, but a place of wonder, with new areas to explore everyday. It was her dream to know the forest of by heart one day.
Now Zoey was deep into the forest. Her parents had set up markers whenever they went out, so that they could find their way back, so Zoey wasn't worried about how deep she went, as long as she could spot a landmark, an arrow pointing in the direction of the next arrow. She strolled down the well trodden path, when she came across a root sticking up from the earth, and arcing over the path, like a bridge. Seeing it as an challenge, as though the earth were saying 'bet you can't get under this', in response Zoey crawled beneath it. As she stood back up she caught something glittering out of the corner of her eye.
Her curiosity peeked instantly. Walking towards whatever was glittering she failed to realise that she was now in an area where not even her parents had ventured, and so there were no arrows to tell her which way was home. Zoey couldn't care less though, her mind focused solely on finding out what was so sparkly. After walking for a few minutes she came to what seemed to be a lake.
"Oh wow! So pretty!" She cried out as she stared in child-like amazement at the lake of what appeared to be liquid silver. It shone brightly in the setting sun's light, but not enough to blind her, as she gazed around. What is it? She thought and walked to the edge, before going to he knees. Leaning forward she reached out and dipped a couple of her fingers into the strange liquid. It was cool, and felt amazingly thick. Pulling her fingers out, with some effort, since it was incredibly sticky as well as thick, she brought them to her face for a closer inspection. The silver had stuck to them, completely hiding her pale skin beneath it.
She brought it to her nose and sniffed. It smelt sweet, yet a little like cleaner fluid. Shrugging, Zoey opened her mouth and licked the liquid from her fingers, shuddering at how sweet it was, and immediately wanting more. Plunging her hands in, she tried to pull them up, but found them trapped by something. Pulling harder, she noticed it was having the opposite effect, with her arms sinking in to the elbow now. Now panicking she pulled and pulled, trying with all of her might to break free of the stuff, yet it didn't let go, instead it continued to pull her in, further and further, now passed her shoulders, and beginning to pull her from the ground. She wouldn't have her cake, Zoey thought with regret.
Continuing to struggle, Zoey was caught of guard when her head was pulled beneath the surface. It was strange; all around her was what seemed to be solid silver, and nothing else. She couldn't understand how she could see, when she was submerged in the liquid, but that wasn't on her mind at that moment. She felt the rest of her body being pulled in now, completely submerging her in the liquid. It was all over for her.
Zoey wasn't sure how long she was there, but she knew she could breathe somehow. It was strange being in the liquid, it felt like she was floating, but at the same time it felt like she was being confined, or trapped in something. As her thoughts warred over these feelings she noticed the liquid shifting, and all of a sudden she could move, despite still being blind. What's going on? She thought and suddenly she felt her mouth being opened by something, and then she felt the liquid surging into her mouth and down her throat, while it also flowed into her ears, nose, and pores. She had no idea what was happening, but suddenly a giddiness spread over her, and she couldn't care less about what was happening, even as her cells were fusing with something completely alien and changing her body. When it was over, Zoey would no longer be fully human.
What could've been hours passed and the sun had completely set, allowing the moon to take over. Zoey laid on the cold earth, though she wasn't cold herself, in fact she felt... well good. As though she had been asleep for a long time, and was waking up feeling refreshed. As she fully woke up she began to wonder where she was, and looked around, noticing the dome shape of the hole she laid in. The earth around her felt strangely wet, as though it had been rained on, yet she was perfectly dry. She stood up and walked to an earthy wall, noticing how high it was, easily being several times her height.
"How am I supposed to get up there?" She whined aloud. Shrugging, she took several steps back before launching herself at the wall. To her complete amazement, she flew over it and into a tree, her instincts letting her reach out and catch a sturdy branch, rather than hitting the bark face first. Looking down she realised that she was over a dozen feet above the ground. Letting go she fell and landed on the floor without so much as a grunt.
She began walking back home. Seeing the arrows her family had left with perfect clarity, as though they were near her, and it were daytime. As she neared the house she heard the voices of her parents calling out her name.
"Zoey! Zoey! Zoooooooey!" Her mother and father called, terror and concern thick in their voices. Zoey walked to them excitedly.
"I'm coming!" She called back, eager to show off her abilities. When they saw her however, it wasn't quite what she had expected. They stared at her for what could've been minutes, before Zoey spoke up.
"What's wrong mum? Dad?" She asked with concern.
"Z-Zoey? Is that you?" Her mother asked in disbelief. Zoey frowned at this, of course it was her.
"Yeah. Oh course." She said.
"What the hell happened to you?!" Her father shouted, causing Zoey to flinch in fright. Her dad very rarely raised his voice to a shout, and when he did it was because he was angry. Very angry.
"I-I-I went ou-out?" She stuttered confused by his anger and question.