Skye Larkin and the First Book of REM

Prologue: The Beginning

         The day wrapped itself around the inhabitants of REM and squeezed. It smothered everyone in its blistering heat. Listless 

branches hung to the ground  too tired to dance in the breeze. Flowers drooped their heads and prayed for rain. Even the wind was

exhausted.  Too worn out to even cool the heat, it just pushed the hot air around. It was the kind of day in which one should sit

directly in front of a fan, or better yet an air conditioner. A day meant for books and some ice cold lemonade. Definitely not a day

for strenuous activity. Most definitely not a day for running, unless of course you wished to pass out from heat exertion.

         Had someone happened to look out their window, they would have been surprised to see someone running. If it had been Your

mom, she would have tisked. She would have stated that someone had ought to know better. Your mother would have wondered

where that poor child's mommy was, and she would have yelled after the girl to stop!

         The girl ran but she was tired and hot. Sweat matted her curls down, and the effort had made her cheeks red. Her breath

came out in rasping gasps. She had come such a long way already, at a pace that suggested her life depended on it. It very well

did. The Torments were fast approaching.

         They ran after her never tiring or ceasing, long hairy ears flopping in the wind. She was surprised how fast they ran, their hairy

feet never seeming to touch the ground.  Sure, they were only about twenty inches high, and she towered over them,  but she knew

they were ruthless. Once set loose they would not stop till they had their prey.

         Reluctantly, she stopped and leaned up against a solid oak to catch her breath. The sound of nearby twigs snapping urged

her forward, so she brushed the sweaty curls from her brow and continued to run.  The Torments were gaining. All they could think

of was the girl, and they raced after her, never losing her from their sight. She could feel their yellow eyes boring into her back. So

she ran faster. She knew if they touched her, the mental anguish they would put her in was more than she could bear. Sweat

poured down her temples, and her side ached and begged her to stop but still she ran. She had to. She had stolen the First Book

and there was no turning back now.  The book clutched to her chest didn’t look like anything special. It was tattered and bound in

age mottled leather but still she clutched it like it was  precious. 

         Ahead of her loomed the Formidable Forest, the most dangerous place in REM.

The trees reached toward her with their gnarled branches beckoning her to enter. Leaves rustled and crunched under the feet of the

animals who ran from the approaching danger. Their warning calls rang through the forest. The girl ran in without a seconds thought.

She had to get away from the Torments. A safe haven for the book must be found. In her haste she never noticed the glowing. She

just ran right through the yellow and green swirling vortex that had suddenly opened ahead of her. If she had seen it, she probably

would’ve gone around it to some other adventure, but that would be a different story.

      She noticed she was suddenly alone. Nausea rumbled in her belly as the whirlwind tossed and turned her about. Then her

heart painfully flip flopped as she came plummeting down.