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Chapter One

I was cold. Not to mention I was also wet. My hands were blue from the lake and my mother bundled her cloak around me. Each word she said reverberated in my head a thousand times, making it useless to try to pick out what she was saying. I looked up at her kindly face and asked one question, "Mama, am I dying?"
Her face swam as I had a sudden dizzy spell. My hair had turned into icicles in the cold air and my nose burned. My clothes cracked as my movements broke the ice that had frozen over it. I reached over to my mother and pulled her close, crying on her leather padded shoulder.

I suppose you may be wondering what just happened. Well, first off, my name is Penelope Moore, and I nearly died the fateful day when I fell through the ice.
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I smiled at my father when he splashed flour all over his face. He grinned at me and crossed his arms, pretending to pout. I rolled my eyes and said, "Father, that wouldn't've happened if you just put the flour in the bowl," I shook my head, "not all over your face."
His grin grew wider and I asked, "What?"
He flung a hidden hand which released flour all over my face and my apron and shoes. "Father!" I laughed.
After that, we were all business. We kneaded the bread, rolled it, and finally, placed it into the oven. My dad grinned and whispered in his lovable Irish accent, "You have magic hands, Pen. Keep at it and maybe you'll be as good as me one day!"
I laughed and shoved him away with my bread-dough covered hand. It was great to hear his voice. He thought the accent was embarrassing, especially living here in America where mostly everyone had the same type of voice.
My mother was British and my father, Irish. It made an odd couple, but I loved them both. Unfortunately for me, they both had these awesome accents that made my American voice sound dull and listless.
Lately, my life seemed dull and listless.
As this occurred to me I said to my dad, "I'm going to go take a walk in the woods, okay?"
He nodded, but a hint of concern pulled on his face. "Don't go near any water, Pen."
Would they ever forget the time when I fell through the ice in winter and nearly froze to death? Maybe not.
"Papa, it's summer! I'm not going to try to skate on water!"
"Good girl." He ruffled my red hair and chortled.
I raced to the door and snagged up my shoes, yanking them on to my feet. The leather traveling boots were a little snug, but not to the point of blisters. My black shorts soaked up the sunlight as I stepped out of my family's summer cabin. The sweet, warm summer breeze felt beautiful on my floured face. I had completely forgot! With one swipe of my arm, my arm had swept off any excess powder. I smiled and trotted off, towards the grand forest.

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Chapter Two

I skipped through the forest, my boots leaving eddies of leaves in their wake. A stream gurgled nearby. I swerved away from the sound, my feet heading on to autopilot. Sunlight streamed through the thick leaves of the huge oaks that towered above me. Bushes dotted the dirt pathway and flowers sprouted from the bases of trunks. It was the most perfect forest in every way possible.
I passed by many campers, who I all greeted with a smile, and I received a friendly wave in return. Life was beautiful and the planet was blessed with so much of it.
My smile vanished.
But so many died.
On Earth today, I thought, we don't even have a quarter of the plants and wildlife we had millions of years ago.
I shook her head: it was so easy to be depressed.
I distracted myself with the screech of an eagle. I smiled as I recognized the call: a steppe eagle. My favorite animal. Absolutely gorgeous, with their mighty wings.
It swooped above my head with an angry caw. My grin disappeared as I ducked. It called again and attacked. I ran as fast as I could, North, I think, trying to outdistance the spontaneously mad bird.
After the fourth attack, it grew bored and flew off, giving me a small break from its fury. Despite myself, yet another smile touched my lips. What an odd eagle.
Soon, I realized that the eagle had made me lost. It drove me off my usual path into a place that was stifling warm and gave me a sickening dose of dread. All my instincts screamed at me to turn around, but my feet would not obey. Neither would my curiosity.
I padded through the warm area and came across an odd sight. A burned, huge oak tree. Its wood was completely black and the ground around it was scorched. A steady breathing escaped from a hole about thirty feet up. I began to climb up the tree, one branch at a time. Luckily, the branches weren't burned all the way through so I could get some purchase on the tree.
I screamed as the branch I was standing on snapped. My hands instinctively shot up to grab the next one, but there was none. I fell down, five feet, ten feet, fifteen feet, twenty feet. I landed heavily in a bush, and the wind was knocked out of me.
My vision grew hazy and it felt like someone was squeezing my throat closed. My mind fell into the abyss of darkness, I was unconscious.

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