Golden (Prologue)

         

My heart was pounding in my ears as I heard them closing in.  The large brown wolf weaved through the trees ahead of me.  I pushed my legs faster, trying to keep up.  Their shouts were getting closer.  It should have struck me as odd that they were gaining on us, but my mind had been corrupted by fear.  We were getting so close.  She had said that if we could jump through to the other realm, we’d be safe.  She was the only one who could get us through.  I could just barely make out her confused thoughts, formulating our escape.  Suddenly, a loud bang! assaulted my ears and I saw the brown wolf collapse.

         

No! I screamed and I felt myself shifting back just as another shot rang out and my right shoulder exploded in excruciating pain.  The old leaves crackled as I hit the ground.  I tried to move my arm, but it was paralyzed.  I dragged myself closer to where the wolf had fallen.  The wolf had changed back to the beautiful woman that was so familiar to me.  I flipped her onto her side and saw her front completely drenched in blood.  Her green-gold eyes stared into the distance, seeing nothing.

         “Mom!” I screamed, sitting up in bed.  The textbooks I had been studying from fell to the floor.  I looked over at the clock.  It was almost midnight.  Footsteps came thundering down the hall and my bedroom door flew open, revealing my mother standing there in her fluffy pink bathrobe.
         “Artemis?  Honey?  What’s wrong?” she asked, attempting calm, but her eyes darting around the room showed her true panic.  I shook my head and tried to smile. 
         “Nothing, Mom.  It was just a bad dream.”  I tried to laugh it off, but my voice and my bottom lip both started to quiver. 
         “Oh, my poor baby,” she whispered.  She tiptoed through the mess that was my room and, clearing away a few of the papers scattered across my comforter, sat on the bed and pulled me into her arms.  Her comfort and pity made my tears fall freely.  “My sweet girl,” she laughed softly.  “Was it really that bad?”  I didn’t trust my voice, so I nodded.  “Oh, sweet girl, don’t fret.  It was only a dream,” she said, stroking my hair.
         “You’re probably right,” I said uncertainly.  Before I could add my true thoughts to the conversation, I heard soft footfalls stop outside my door.  We both looked to see my youngest brother, Luca, standing in the hall, rubbing his bloodshot green eyes. 
         “Mommy?  What’s going on?” he asked in that cute little tone that most five year olds had. 
         “Oh, it’s nothing, honey.  Sissy just had a bad dream.  Come on, let’s go back to bed.”  Mom kissed my forehead once, walked back into the hallway, and lifted Luca into her arms. He locked one tiny arm around her neck and kept a firm grip on his scraggly teddy bear, Seamore, with the other as they walked out of sight. 
         I tried to let my mother’s words be of comfort to me as I gathered my books and stuffed them back into my backpack.  I tried to believe her words that made perfect sense as I pulled on my PJs.  But as I pulled back the covers, I knew that what I thought had just been a nagging suspicion was the truth.  What I’d seen wasn’t a dream: it was a prophecy.