Cliffs

Lilly rested her hands on the pebbles below her. She could feel the wind of the mountains on her skin. She dipped her feet in the river, loving how the blues of her nailpolish and the blues of the water mixed and matched so perfectly. The water was soft and shallow, at least where she was sitting. Lilly picked up a large pebble in her palm and tossed it lightly between her hands. She'd lived here all her life, with her family in a wooden house on the other side of the river. She could see it, a little bit. The house was shadowed by rows and rows of lush evergreen trees. 

Just as she was about to bask in the dim light of the sun, she heard a noise. It was crossed somewhere between a roar and a whistle. It shocked her Lilly, so much that she shook in her spot. The noise echoed through the trees and rippled the river water. It vibrated through her, like music. To afraid to look around, she gripped the pebble tightly, her knuckles going white. The veins in her hands were dark blue and pushed up, as if they were about to break through her skin. 

Lilly had heard noises before. She was no stranger to them. Her little brothers and sisters were always shreiking, crying and laughing. So much that she was driven to swim to the other side of the river. She shivered again, reminded that she was wet. The water still dripped from her hair, though the sun had turned her from wet to damp. The roar then came again. It was louder and more thunderous then before. It didnt scare her this time. It made her more curious than anything else. 

Lilly scrambled to her feet, lifting herself by her elbows. Lilly turned to the mountains. The grass was a bright, moist green. So moist she swore she could see dew drops hanging from the blades. On the mountains, a dirt path was paved by the natives, right to the top, where the huts were. She moved swiftly up the path, the mud and dirt sticking to her feet. She tried running, but gave up easily, her knees knocking and giving into themselves. She skipped, but as the roars began more frequent and louder, her head began to hurt. Like it was swelling. She began taking longer steps and within three minutes she was at the top of the mountain. She pulled a maroon colored elastic band off her wrist and tied her curly dark hair into a bun. It only took Lilly a few seconds to realize that the roars of the Thing had died down to faint vacant whispers.

 A smile crossed her face and she put her hands on her hips. From the top of the mountain, she could see over the whole village. The wooden homes on stilts, a family of about four lighting a fire by the riverside. They were barbecuing chicken meat. She could smell it crackling, even from up and her stomach grumbled. Lilly smiled, squinting her green eyes. 

Just as she was about to step down onto the path again, she felt a weight press down on her shoulders. She thought nothing of it and shrugged. The weight was still their. She pressed her hands on her shoulders to massage them, but shreiked loudly when she a thick fur on her palms. She shuddered, the first thought that crossed her mind was " am i an animal?". But when Lilly put her arms to her sides, she knew that she wasnt digging into herself. A sharp pain rushed through her, from her head to her toes. Something that felt like metal was clawing away at her skin. Her screams began to echoe in her ears even louder, when something wet sniffed her legs up and down. She could feel its breath on her. Warm and rough. Uneven. 

Lilly kicked her long legs in every direction, with each a new pain rushing through her. She felt it pick her up, hanging her by her skin. Lilly cried. Tears streamed down her cheeks. She'd never cried like this in her life. Not when Grandpa got sick, not when the dog ran away and not when her best freind Darryl moved. Her voice got hoarser and hoarser and she felt herself moving. The Thing was carrying her. 

When she'd run out of tears she saw trees. Not lush evergreen trees like the ones back home. These were big and willow. Their leaves were a sandy brown, autumn color, though spring was just starting. She heard voices, deep and rough. They were murmuring something, at least until one of them said very loudly " Capi, bring her to the cliff". Curiosity overwhelmed her once again. Another said " Yes, Capi we'll roast her by the waterfall". This one flopped her stomach. The pace this monster named Capi was moving at changed from a lazy walk to a run. 

He was running with her. Lilly was shivering. He was moving fast. So fast that the tress began to look like a mess. The colors of green and brown of the trees mushed and danced around her. She laughed, not knowing why. Tears still came down her face. Capi just kept getting faster. 

In the blink of her pretty green eyes, they were by the waterfall. The monster Capi set Lilly down on her bum. She was on top of a dirt clod. 

Finally, Lilly could get a could get a good look of these creatures. She warily looked up to 3 big faces. The monsters where at least 14 feet tall. The had horns, almost like tusks on the bridges of their noses. She could see one was a woman. She wasn't sure, but there was something feminine about. She had long black hair and honey colored, big black rimmed eyes. The one standing directly on next to her on her left was a bit taller than her, with a smaller horn on his nose. He was gray, unlike his counter part ( they were holding hands) who was a dark brown. His eyes were the same honey color, though he had snow white eyebrows. The next one, Lilly knew was the creature Capi. She could see it by his golden, brown tinted thick fur. His eyes were blue, black rimmed as well. 

Lilly shivered. The female was licking her thin lips. All of the creatures were overweight. If they had been human, they would have just been fat. " Lets fry her" the female said. Lilly glanced, trying to protest, though they words " NO!" wouldn't escape her mouth. She shook her head fast. She wasn't tied and wanted to get up. She tried to stand but her knees buckled. She fell again. 

" Wait a second Janice, I wanna see something" Capi said. Lilly had slid of her dirt clod and was now on the solid rock floor. She gazed at the waterfall behind them. It was gorgeous, the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. It feel from a higher point on the mountain and was a glorious transparent turquoise. 

She turned her attention back to Capi, still shivering. Another metal spike from before jabbed her in the leg. " Ow" she shouted. It was Capi's foot. " Whats your name" he said fast. She wondered if that was a rhetorical question or if she should answer. She took the latter. " Lilly" she stuttered. Capi nodded, his fur swinging back and forth. " And how old are you?" he said, keeping the same position, rock steady. " I'm 13" she said more steady. Capi nodded, then shot a nasty, disgusting smile at the one named Janice. " Fry her" he said. Lilly let out one loud shriek, kicking, pain reviving her as Capi picked her up by her hair.

 She started crying again. Capi held her over a fire she didn't realize was there. The flames played with her feet and she didn't have the energy to scream anymore. She felt sharp jabs at her body. From her abs to her. She heard a sigh of disgust. " She's to damn skinny" Janice said. The one Lilly didn't know the name of said " She's got some meat on her bones". She felt Capi's grip on her hair slacken and lowered her into the fire. she sobbed and felt the heat of the fire on her legs. Before she was burnt, Lilly heard a shout let go. 

That was the last thing she heard before she felt herself swing meters into the air. The last thing she remembered feeling was the cold water on her body. Lilly was underwater. She could see the schools of colorful fish brush her. She couldnt breathe. She held her arms around herself as she sunk. She closed her eyes. And once again felt herself being lifted up into the air. 

Lilly felt a weight press down on her stomach. The words " Breathe Lilly" were in her ears. She opened her eyes. Somebody was embracing her. Hugging her. She put her hands on somebodys muscled arms. " Your alive Lilly, your alive". She couldnt beleive what she was seeing. She was looking into deep, saltwater blue eyes. The eyes that couldnt belong to anybody else. It was Darryl. He was back. Everything was okay.