Chapter Four

Her whole body was sore. She felt as if she had woken up from a deep
nap. But she wasn’t in her bed at home. The pillow was uncomfortable and the
sheets felt strange on her skin.
Jade opened her eyes to strong, white neon light. She looked to her left
and saw medical monitoring devices, intravenous stands and vital signs
monitors, accompanied by a bedside table holding a call button, telephone,
water pitcher and tissues. The room was white and the window’s binds were
closed. She was in a hospital room.
She got up, groaning, her body feeling surprisingly light, as if she had lost
several kilograms. Besides the consistent beeping of the medical devices, she
could hear the murmurs of two people outside the room.
She quietly got next to the door, trying to figure out who was talking.
“…cannot be explained what caused this trigger inside of her. It must
have been a psychosis episode.”
It was an old man that Jade didn’t know, probably a doctor. There was a
sob. The girl recognized her mother’s voice.
“It’s the first time it ever happened!” her voice trembled “I never
thought- I never… Oh, my girl. If only I took notice earlier!” she cried silently.
“It’s not your fault, ma’am.” The doctor tried to reassure her “You claim
she has been diagnosed with schizophrenia before. Is another family member
also suffering from this?”
“No… just her. She always complained that she’s hearing or seeing things,
and also dreaming every night of them. Ever since she was little.”
“But she never lost control of herself?”
“Never. She has been on medication for years, but only recently, the past
few weeks, she told me they no longer work. We went to a psychiatrist, he
prescribed her new medication, but seems like it made everything worse.” Her
voice died out on the last words.
“I see.” The doctor paused “I’ve never heard of such a case before. There
might have been something else besides her already known condition.
Whatever it was, I don’t think we can find out now.”
 “That’s because she’s been in a coma for days!” her mother said, a hint
of despair in her tone “Can you guarantee me that she will at least wake up?”
“She should.” The man answered “She overdosed on medications. We’ve
done an emergency intravenal cleansing, so in this aspect, she is fine. She also
took a hard hit on the head, specifically, on the sphenoid area, which is a
vulnerable spot. On the brain analysis, we’ve got constant neuronal activity.
We don’t know yet if there is brain damage, we will see soon. We’re lucky
we’ve got no broken skull, but the impact was enough to knock her out.”
“She should wake up, but when?”
“I’m sorry, but we don’t know. It could be in a few days, it could be in ten
years.”
Her mother sobbed at his words, saying again and again how much she
blames herself and how sorry she is, that she’s been so negligent over her
daughter.
“Mom!” Jade called. “I’m here! I’m awake!”
Jade put her hand on the door handle, but it went right through. She
scowled in puzzlement. She wanted to push the door open, but it was as if her
arm went right through smoke. The girl looked behind at the bed she woke up
from and her eyes widened from bafflement.
Lying on the bed, eyes closed and skin pale, was herself, hooked up to
the hospital devices, keeping her alive. Jade stared at herself, unable to
explain what was happening.
Slowly, the memories of that day started to flash in her mind. Her legs
almost gave up holding her weight. The feelings of guilt and fear crashed on
her like an overwhelming wave.
“Am I dead?” Jade thought in disbelief.
If she was in a coma, there would be no reason for her conscious self to
be away from her body. But the doctor has just said that her condition
shouldn’t be fatal. But what if he’s wrong? What if she’s actually dead, or her
body is at least just in a vegetative state?
Jade put her hands on her head, unable to accept this thought. It had to
be just another one of those damn hallucinations or dreams. Taking in
consideration that everything going on in her head has been upside down the
last weeks, seeing herself dead couldn’t be impossible.
 “Ma’am, if there’s any news, we’ll immediately let you know.” The doctor
went on “You have to get some rest. You’ve been sitting here for three days
already.”
“And leave her alone?” her mother protested, her voice wretched with
guilt “No, I’ll stay by her side. If I wasn’t capable enough of doing this all these
years, the least I can compensate with is this.”
Jade’s heart twisted at these words. Without thinking anymore, she went
right through the door, as if it wasn’t in the way at all.
On the hospital hallway was her mother and the doctor. The mother
looked like she forgot what self-care was, her hair messy, her clothes not
matching with each other and dark circles under her eyes. Seeing her mother
like this made Jade’s heart break.
“But I’m right here!” Jade muttered “I’m not dead…”
No response. They didn’t even notice Jade was standing next to them.
Jade put her hand on her mother’s shoulder in reassurance. She froze when
she saw that her hand went right trough the woman’s body. The girl was
completely invisible.
“I’m right here, damn it!” she yelled in distress “Mom, I’m right here! I’m
not dead!”
Nothing. Jade whimpered in frustration. She couldn’t stand just looking
at her mother suffering over her.
Fists clenching, Jade went back to where her body was lying in bed,
unmoving.
“Wake up!” she ordered “Wake up, you useless piece of garbage! All
you’ve done is make everyone suffer! Make my mom happy, at least once!”
Again, nothing.
“Why?! Why are you always so useless? Just get up! I’m not dead! I can’t
die like this! This can’t be the end!”
Nobody was hearing her. Nobody was seeing her. It was as if she wasn’t
even there.
Jade got on the bed and lied down on the exact spot and position as her
body, hoping to fuse together somehow. She closed her eyes and tried not
thinking anything, shutting her mind down. After some minutes, she opened
them back up and got off the bed. To her disappointment, nothing happened.
Her body was still lying on the bed like a vegetable.
 Tears started rolling on Jade’s cheeks. She couldn’t make sense of
anything happening anymore. She couldn’t tell if this was reality or again, just
another stupid dream.
And if she really was dead, was this the after-life? Was she going to be a
ghost, invisible to anyone, for the rest of the eternity, just roaming around the
world? Was she forced to live like this now, until the end of time? Is there
really no heaven or hell? If this really was the after-life, then it was hell of
disappointment.
Despite the blurry vision due to the tears, she still managed to see a new
appearance in the room.
The same wooden door that haunted Jade in every dream she’s had
lately, was now suddenly in that room. Its old, medieval appearance
completely out of place in that hospital was typical.
Jade glared at it with hatred.
“I’m done!” she seethed “I’m so done! Ever since I’ve seen you for the
first time, my world has gone crazy. Just what’s the deal with this?! What’s the
point of appearing to me, only to be completely pointless? Get out of my
sight! I’m so fucking done with doors!”
As if it had listened, the door slowly opened itself, revealing bright light
on the other side. Jade couldn’t tell what there was, but it was definitely
something different compared to just dark tunnels.
“No! I’m not going there!” Jade shouted, as if the inanimate object could
understand her words “I don’t need any more of this bullshit!”
The door opened itself even more, as if it was inviting her to come in.
Jade gave this a second thought. If the door appeared then it has to be a
dream. Recently, she would always find new information about everything
that’s been happening in her dreams. She heard terms and names bound to
that world, which has never happened before. Maybe she could find a clue
that could lead to her waking up. Or whether she’s actually dead.
Jade drew in a breath and stepped in front of the threshold. She
hesitated. What if she was going to meet the dark ghost again? What if she
was just going to see Eldor in ruins?
It’s a dream. It’s most likely just another dream. She’s probably already
dead so she has nothing to lose anymore. And if she’s alive, then it’s just a
dream. Nothing else.
 Jade gathered her strength and courage and stepped inside.
She felt her feet touching soft, cold soil. Her lungs had the pleasure of
taking in the freshest and cleanest air, as if Jade has breathed from a newly
opened oxygen tank. The sky was white, no clouds, no color, no sun or moon,
just white. The girl found herself standing at the top of a hill, no plants or any
lifeform in sight.
She turned to go back, but the door disappeared. Jade instantly felt
uneasy. Was she going to be stuck there now?
Not knowing what to expect, Jade walked towards the top of the hill. She
shivered, the air colder than she expected it to be, as if she was walking during
a late fall evening. She realized in astonishment that she was completely
naked, thus feeling much more uncomfortable than she already was.
She stood still a moment to listen. It was eerily quiet besides faint,
unintelligible sounds coming from the top of the hill. Curiosity getting the
better of her, she went up ahead.
After getting at the top, Jade saw that the hill was split in two and about
fifty meters deep was a river, its rushing sound now clear. Jade felt a bit of
anxiety for standing on the edge of a tall cliff, but she kneeled anyway,
studying the river more thoroughly.
The river actually had no water, it was mostly a flow of dense mist,
forming weird shapes that didn’t mean anything, and flowing further.
Jade listened to its peculiar sounds. It was no normal ripple. She realized
in shock that the sounds were muffled echoes of human voices, all speaking
over each other, completely unrelated. It was like all were talking to
themselves, mostly in grief and sorrow, but the majority spoke in different
languages, which Jade couldn’t understand.
She noticed that some of the weird shaped that the mists were forming,
were human faces.
She took a step back, completely horrified. So, she really was dead. This
must be the after-life, and down below were the souls of the deceased. If her
life really is over, then that is the end. That is the end of her pointless
existence, of her dull life, of her overall depression and misery.
Jade thought she was too young to die and didn’t plan to take her own
life, but she also felt relief, knowing that it’s all over.
 Then she immediately felt guilty, knowing how much her parents will
suffer now because of her death. Jade wanted to go back, to wake up and tell
them that she’s fine.
But how can she go back? The hills and river stretched until the eyes
could see, nothing else in sight. She’s dead now, she has to accept this truth. It
was her time to go, although, not in a way she could ever expect. She was
disappointed at the thought of how she died. Whenever she’d heard of people
slipping in their bathroom or falling down stairs and dying from that, she
always thought that it must suck to go out like that.
“Well, guess what.” She thought, the irony of this making her bitter “It
really does suck.”
She stood back up and looked down at the river. Why was she up there
and not with the rest of the spirits? Was she supposed to do something or was
she going to be put under some sort of ritual that she doesn’t yet know about?
Why was she completely alone? People die at any second, so if this was really
the place everyone goes to when they lose their life, why is nobody else
around?
Maybe she was just supposed to jump there and join everyone. Maybe
everyone is alone in this. But what’s next? What if they’re actually going
somewhere and this is some weird way of going to heaven or hell?
There were some good moments of thinking and denying this solution,
feeling like an eternity, until Jade finally accepted her fate and made the
decision of jumping down.
She faced the cliff, looking down at the river of souls. After several
countdowns and failed attempts to jump, Jade finally closed her eyes and let
herself fall.
Immediately, her face hit a hard surface, as if she had landed on
concrete. Grunting, Jade started raising herself, but her hands weren’t on the
ground. Jade gasped in fear as she saw herself floating in the air. It was as if
she fell on an invisible glass platform that played the role of a bridge, blocking
her from falling into the river.
“What the hell?!” she whispered to herself, her heart racing.
Her instincts kicked in and, as if she could fall any minute, she quickly
sprang on the other side, panting.
 Why didn’t she fall? What stopped her? Is there something else she’s
supposed to do? Again, is she really dead?
In the distance, Jade saw a rocky hill, with a huge cave at the base of its
russet stone wall. She looked around. Other than that, all she could see were
the same lifeless hills and fields stretching far towards the horizon. Letting
herself driven by the desire of wanting to find out what’s going on, Jade ran
towards the cave.
At the entrance, Jade noticed that the cave was looking very natural. The
inside was dim and very damp, the ground full of small puddles, pretty
spacious, with stalactites sticking out of the ceiling. But most importantly, Jade
saw a light at its end, that wasn’t far away.
Her bare skin prickling from the cold and her feet aching from walking on
rough stone, Jade went after the light, hoping to finally find answers.
At the end of the tunnel was a smaller exit, completely covered by
lichens, moss and hanging plants and roots. Through their leaves, light pierced
the green wall. Jade’s hope grew bigger. This was the first sign of life in that
place.
Jade ran her hands through the lichens, feeling the warmth of sunlight on
her skin. The next moment, she made her way out of the cave.
Before her was the forest of giant oak trees, the forest of Eldor. The trees
were bare, leafless, their barks cracked and peeled off in multiple spots. The
daylight was invading much easier the woods. Between the dried-out trees
were tall saplings and a lot of undergrowth. The green of their leaves and the
warm temperature suggested Jade that it was summer.
That was the image of a forest’s rebirth, after a catastrophic event, years
prior. Jade recalled the fires in these woods and now she was seeing the
aftermath, how nature was regenerating itself.
It seemed like Jade was following chronological events, as if the dreams
were trying to tell her something. But why now? Why has nothing happened
for the past sixteen years that she lives?
Surprisingly, Jade forgot about meeting the dark ghost anymore. She
tensed. She was in an even worse condition to face him.
She walked through the forest, which was mostly silent. The bird’s
chirping wasn’t that melodic like before. The bareness of the trees gave the
landscape a sinister tint, but the regenerating greenery helped in giving away a
memory of what used to be like there before. Jade couldn’t tell how much
time has passed. Months? Years? Decades? She couldn’t explain herself how
time works in that dimension.
Suddenly, a distant rustle of leaves made Jade’s blood freeze in her veins.
She immediately ducked behind the nearest bush and peeked through the
leaves. She saw two men wandering, wearing comfortable clothes, made for
hiking apparently, and huge backpacks on their backs.
Should she ask for help or information? Does she expose herself to
danger with this? Her questions had again no end.
Jade decided to follow them. She quietly walked, careful not to make a
sound, not to startle the strangers.
They walked casually, talking about their families and friends and how
they’re planning to go fishing together soon.
The girl crept closer. She tried figuring out how she was going to explain
her situation and presence there without sounding ridiculous. She also wasn’t
certain whether she could trust them.
The couple suddenly stopped. Jade crouched even lower, hiding after a
small bush of ferns.
“You hear it, don’t you, Hans?” one of them, a young man, spoke “We’re
not alone.”
“You’re damn right, Tom.” The other, another young man, no older than
thirty answered.
Jade felt the color drain from her face. How the hell did they notice her
existence when she has not made any sound at all?
“Reveal yourself!” Hans ordered, pointing a crossbow in Jade’s direction.
Tom took out a sturdy knife, preparing himself as if a wild animal was about to
jump at him.
Jade raised her hands in surrender and got up slowly, breathing heavily in
panic.
“I don’t mean to be a threat.” Jade spoke, forcing herself to sound calm “I
just really need your help right now.”
Hans lowered his crossbow. He had a tanned skin tone and black hair, his
arms fairly muscular. “Who the hell are you? And why are you naked?”
“I’ll explain.” Jade answered “But please, do you have some extra clothes
you could spare?”
 “How do we know you’re not one of them?” Tom pressed “How do we
know you’re not bait?”
Jade opened her mouth, but no word came out. She really didn’t expect
them to be this hostile.
“Dude, chill out.” Hans put the crossbow at his back “They’re too prideful
and full of themselves to do something like this.”
Jade was wondering who was this “they” that the men accused her to be
part of, but she was too afraid to ask any question.
Tom sighed and he also put his weapon in his pocket. He took off his
backpack and started searching through it. Jade almost sighed in relief as she
saw him extract some clothes.
“Here.” He said dryly, handing her a white T-shirt, some short, brown
sweatpants and a pair of worn sneakers “It’s what I have on me right now to
spare.”
“T- Thank you so much.” Jade quickly got herself dressed, noticing that
the men were watching her every move. The clothes were uncomfortably
oversized, but she couldn’t complain.
“Are you lost?” Hans asked “Do you belong to some group?”
“No, I’m just lost. I don’t know how I got here.”
“What do you mean?” Tom narrowed his eyes “Don’t tell me you don’t
know at all where you are.”
“I don’t, actually.” Jade said “I’m… not exactly from this area.”
“You’re in Eichenwald, the biggest and most popular forest territory
belonging to ThunderClan.” Tom spat the last word “Everyone knows this.
Unless you’re from another Clan territory.”
“Why were you naked, anyway?” Hans questioned “Why do you need
our help?”
Jade hesitated, not knowing where to begin. She still didn’t know
whether anything she was seeing was real and it’s not just all in her head
again.
“Answer me!”
Jade flinched.
“If you are one of those pieces of shit and you’re not admitting this, I
swear, I’ll rip your-“
 “I died and now I woke up, saw my dead body, got led to some hills with
a river of dead spirits, went through a cave and now I’m here.” Jade blurted in
panic “I have no idea of anything you are talking about. I don’t even know if
what I’m seeing right now is real and I’m damn sure I’m not interested in
hurting you.”
The men stared at Jade in pure shock, as if she had grown another head.
“You think…” Hans looked like he was choosing his words carefully
“You’re not from this world?”
“I keep seeing this world in my dreams.” Jade explained, hopeful of
getting help “But, technically, it shouldn’t exist.”
“Holy shit.” Tom muttered under his breath “So, it’s real.”
“Yeah.” Hans nodded, not letting Jade out of his sight “We are set for life
now, brother.”
“What? What do you- “
“Oh, nothing.” Hans grinned “We might have what you’re looking for.”
Jade took a step back.
“Sorry for earlier.” Tom said, suddenly sounding friendly “It’s just that
people aren’t so… nice here. We are just cautious. We have a house in the city
where you can shelter for a while, eat a good meal too, you must be hungry
from that trip.”
She couldn’t explain herself what it was, but there was something weird
about the sudden twist in their behavior and she wasn’t so curious to find out
what it was.
Heart pounding almost out of her chest, Jade turned and started running
as fast as she could. She heard the men yell curses at each other and to catch
her.
The girl didn’t look back. She couldn’t tell how fast they were, but she
didn’t afford to slow down one bit.
Suddenly, a piercing pain in her calf knocked Jade on the ground,
screaming in pain. An arrow was sticking out of her back leg. She cursed under
her breath and tried pulling the arrow out, but the anticipation of awful aching
made her hesitate.
She heard the distant swishing of leaves and cracks of twigs getting
closer. Adrenaline urging her to get going, Jade clenched her teeth and pulled
out the arrow, stifling a whimper.
 She got back on her feet but a sudden, massive headache knocked Jade
back down. All her muscles started tingling and the world around her was
spinning, as if she got very drunk out of the blue. Gasping, she tried leaning on
her hands, but her palms were burning.
“Weird, I didn’t put any poison on that arrow.” Hans’s voice was muffled,
as if he was speaking from very far away “Not that you’d get far anyway.”
Through a blurred vision, Jade saw Hans bending over her and grabbing
her by the shoulders. With wobbling hands, she grabbed his arms in weak
protest. She let out a grunt as he let her drop on the ground.
“What the hell?!” he exclaimed “My hands! I can’t feel my hands! I can’t
move them!”
With the corner of her eye, Jade saw the arrow, right next to her. She
weakly got a hold of it, but it got slapped out of her grasp.
“Can’t believe you’re unable to catch a little girl.” Tom mocked his
partner “Don’t you know how big is the reward on her ass? Everyone in this
country started chasing this myth and we have her right in front of us!”
Jade’s headache started clearing, as fast as it had come. She came back
to her senses, but her hands still felt like they were on fire.
When Tom turned to get rope from his backpack, Jade quickly grabbed
the nearest rock and landed a hit on his head. Groaning, he was off balance.
She jumped to her feet and pushed him by the shoulders, throwing him on his
back.
“I can’t move!” Tom cried “Shit, I can’t feel anything!”
Hans attacked her. He grabbed Jade’s arms, but she headbutted him
hardly and pushed him by the shoulders, just like she did his partner.
“Agh!” Hans spat while on the ground, yelling with rage “She’s
ThunderClan! She’s fucking ThunderClan!”
Jade stared at them confused, seeing the two men sprawled on the
ground, completely unmoving, except for their heads. They were throwing all
curses possible at her. She had no idea about fighting or how to defend
herself. Defeating these men has been ridiculously easy.
Not letting this chance go, she kept on running, her pace much slower
due to the injured leg. She doesn’t know how much time she bought herself,
but their voices grew fainter and fainter, until she could only hear the sound of
the undergrowth brushing her skin.
 She slowed down to rest for a bit. Her wound was pulsing and bleeding.
She couldn’t run much anymore without making the injury worse.
Just what was all of that?! Why did they chase her? Why did they say
she’s got a price on her head? Why did they say she’s Thundersomething?
Up ahead, through the trees, was a small wooden cabin with smoke
rising up from its chimney, signaling the presence of an inhabitant. Hoping to
find some shelter, Jade went to it.
It was an old cottage and up close, it looked abandoned. The wood was
old and unkept care of and the windows were broken in some spots. But it
was certain that someone was living there.
Judging from how the last interaction with people went, all Jade had to
do was present herself as just a lost girl in the forest and not say anything
about being from a completely different world. She didn’t understand why,
but the first thing she had learned is that people go crazy if she says that.
“Come in!” the voice of an old man called from inside. Jade hasn’t even
knocked at the door.
Jade gulped, hoping that the man might have just heard her, and opened
the door slowly. The inside was pretty empty. A fireplace in the corner, a
wooden table and two chairs in the other corner. There was also a metal bed
and a carpet in front of the fireplace. On the carpet was kneeling an old man, a
dark blue cloak covering his head.
“Finally, you have answered my hails.” He spoke with his back to Jade “I
have waited sixteen years for this day to come.”
He turned, revealing a deeply wrinkled face with a huge white beard and
blue eyes, sparking with weird emotions.
“I’m not insane, as they say. Our legendary krieger has truly returned to
Eldor.”