Chapter 2: Chapter 02- Meeting Anabelle

I shouldn't be here? In what sense?

I looked at the young woman as I wondered about how much she knew. This blond young woman with green eyes was wearing a white cotton shirt beneath a brown leather jacket. Her brown pants looked to be made of cotton too, and had a modern feel to them. Her hair was braided--it looked quite elaborate and clean too.

"Pardon me? What do you mean?"

She became more lucid and frantic. "Please, go back the way you came! It may not be too late!"

"Back the way I came?" I looked over my shoulder. "I don't know, Miss. This forest has been pretty strange--huh? Hmm."

The tree--that obvious tree was gone. It was just dense forest as far as the eye could see. Actually, it was way denser than before.

"The tree's gone..."

"The tree?" she asked. She tugged on my arm and gripped my wrist. "Hold on, what did you see?"

"There was a totem on a tree."

"A totem..." she said, her arms falling to her side, listless. She had almost dropped her basket, but I caught it. "It's too late for you," she whispered as I noted the basket's contents.

"I see... That's unfortunate." I handed her the basket of berries. "Wouldn't be good for you to drop all of your hard work. They look delicious."

She took the basket back and nodded. "Thank you." She stared into my eyes for a few moments and nodded again. "Okay! Follow me. We have to get back to town."

She walked ahead, gesturing for me to follow.

"Town? There's a town?"

"Yes. If you've arrived, then there is a good chance more will arrive today. We need to alert everyone else and be prepared to receive them."

"More people, huh? Oh, hey, I saw another woman in the woods."

The young woman looked over her shoulder. "Someone else was in the forest?"

"Yes. They looked like they had just climbed out of water, though. Pale. Long hair. Generally creepy air... Is there some body of water nearby?"

Surprisingly, she answered my question with another.

"Did you see them before or after the totem?"

"Before. She pointed me to the totem, actually."

The young woman grimaced. "Then, best to forget her. She wasn't helping you."

"Hmm. That's an interesting thing to say. Miss, could you fill me in on what's happening here?"

She stopped, turned, sighed, and then wore a tired smile. "Listen... I'll explain more in town, but for now... Just know that you won't be leaving here any time soon."

"I won't be leaving?" I smiled at her. "So, I'm trapped here? In this town of yours?" My smile widened. "With you?"

"Yes."

Her seriousness weakened my smile.

"And... are you trapped too?"

She nodded many times, each subsequent nod becoming less noticeable. Her eyes watered. "I am."

"Hmm..." I studied her demeanor and felt a little guilty that I may have taken this lightly. "Very well. Lead the way."

She reacted with surprise. "Are you sure? That's enough for you?"

"For now. I expect to have more of my questions answered when we reach your town."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks." She resumed her walk. "We'll be there soon, I swear. This really makes it easier."

"I believe you," I said as I looked around for any clues or hints to my predicament.

"You're not going to kill me and eat me, are you?"

She went pale. "No! Of course not!"

"Sorry, I had to."

She breathed another sigh of relief and continued as I watched her from behind.

A town that traps people, huh? So, did the goddess take advantage of another world's natural setting to imprison me? But if that's the case, I just need to grow beyond this setting. I know it's possible, so I can certainly do it if I put my mind to it.

I looked at the young woman again.

It doesn't seem like she has any hope... She must have been here for a long time.

"Hey, what's your name? Can I ask that?"

She looked over her shoulder. "Anabelle. What's yours?"

"Mari."

"It's..." Her frown was heartbreaking. "I don't want to say that it was nice to meet you, but.." She put on a smile--one that I was sure was for my sake. "I'm glad I found you."

"I understand."

We continued walking down a subtle trail lined with trees and bushes on both sides. The light-gray sky above was visible through gaps between branches overhead.

"Is it always so overcast, Anabelle?"

"No, not always. Some days are sunny."

"Good. I like variety in my prisons."

She giggled. "I shouldn't have laughed at that."

Truth be told, I wanted to get as many of my questions answered, but I knew that asking too many all at once could disorient this already 'shaky' person. Since asking them all at once was ill-advised, I boiled down my questions to the most important ones.

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• Is there magic in this world?
• What happens when one tries to leave the town? Do they get disoriented and turned around?
• What era are we in, and what level of technology do we have access to?

All three of those questions could be answered when we got to town. As I was thinking, a howl echoed from behind us. I turned around immediately but saw nothing.

"Keep walking, Mari."

"Yeah, sure... Wasn't that concerning?"

"It's okay. Today is a good day. The beasts of the forest won't pursue us... They're just reminding us that they're here."

"Creepy. What kind of beasts are we talking about? Dogs, foxes, or wolves?"

"Some kind of wolf. I don't know. I've never actually seen them myself. And... well, I don't really like hearing about them."

"Curious..."

"Mari, why did you come here?" Anabelle stumbled a little. "You don't need to tell me if you're uncomfortable."

I opted to lie a little. If this was a low magic world, telling her I was transported by a goddess would make her think I was crazy. That, or it could provoke a mental breakdown for her.

"I actually don't remember how I got to the forest... What I do remember is that I was screwed over by this horrible bitch of a woman... She transported me here."

"Transported? You mean... do you think you were knocked out and dumped here?" 

"I mean, maybe? I don't know what happened after she attacked me. Not really. You know... it just kind of all went white."

Anabelle mumbled something before glancing at me again. "Did you do something that warranted her attacking you, Mari?"

"That's an interesting question," I shot back.

"Ack--sorry, I am sorry. You don't have to answer."

"No, I will. I don't mind. Yeah... I worked for her. She was my boss. I was sort of like... a contractor? I would go and... relieve bad workers of their duties."

I studied her reaction. Substitute 'duties' with 'life' and you would know what it was that the goddess had me doing. But, at the time, it was in the service of the greater good... I kept looking at her for a reaction because I wanted to see if she would judge me. She was quiet, which urged me to speak.

"It's not a very good job, huh?" I said with a weak chuckle.

"I wouldn't say that... People get fired, right? Especially if they don't perform up to a company's standard. I understand that... You probably made a lot of enemies, though..."

I shrugged. "They'll never see me again, so I don't really care."

"Is that true, though?" 

I raised a brow at her.

"Do you really not regret anything, Mari? Firing someone--you're making their life difficult for a little. Doesn't that affect you?"

"Hmm... Before this boss that betrayed me... Yeah; I regret the stuff from before her... back when I was a younger and stupider terminator. But I resolved to do better. That's why I don't regret what I did in the service of that boss."

"I see... Do you still carry those initial regrets with you, then?"

I raised a brow again. What was with this line of questioning? She was fishing for information. She had started by trying to ascertain if I was a 'good' person. After accepting that I was a 'victim,' she moved on to asking about my feelings about the job. Given that she was focusing on 'guilt' or 'regret,' she must have been trying to quantify how much of it I felt. 

"I do carry those regrets with me. They motivate me to do better," I said.

She nodded. "I see... You sound strong, Mari."

"Thank you. I don't really feel like I am, though."

"I'm so sorry that you've been dumped here... Do you think she thought you were dead?"

"That woman was smart... She must have known how to check a pulse. Maybe she thought the forest and its animals would finish me off."

"Yeah..." Her eyes were on me, studying me. "You said you were knocked out?"

"I did. I don't know what happened between the attack and arriving here."

"Was the injury bad?"

She suspected me. I laughed and rubbed the back of my head. 

"Yeah, my head really hurts, you know? It's still throbbing too. My back too, now that I think about it."

"We have a medic in town. They can check you out."

Hmm... Was she going to have the medic confirm I was injured? The fall I took when I landed here--never had I prayed that I was so bruised and battered. 

"I would love that."

"Good... It's right over there."

We passed by the last line of trees and arrived at a clearing. There, a few minutes' worth of a walk away, was a picturesque village nestled in the valley between two large and rocky hills. I could already make out the gabled roofs--they were all tiled and red.

"Looks like a picturesque mountain village." I quickly scanned this clearing. It looked to be surrounded by forest on all visible sides. I had to wonder if there was forest behind those hills too.

"You can take comfort in its beauty," Anabelle said. "Come on. We'll go to the town square."

The rest of the walk was quiet. There was a pleasant breeze rolling in over the tall grass too. It seemed to soothe her. Even her hair seemed to be enlivened with a heavenly luster. The closer we got to the village, though, the louder a clamor became.

"Is something going on, Anabelle?" I asked, my eyes on the crowd in the so-called town square.

"I--I don't know." 

Anabelle ran toward the crowd, and I followed. I heard the distinct words as we drew near--

"More people have arrived!"

They weren't talking to us.