Sierra of Serenity

First Chapter of my young adult fantasy work. Sierra is your average everyday teenager who's life is about to change when a guy she believes is her spirit guide drops a necklace on her bed one night.

Chapter 1

            Fear latched hold of me like a child’s hand on a candy bar as I shot upright in my bed awakening me from my deep sleep. Cold sweat dripped from my forehead down across my round face. I was convinced I could still hear someone calling my name. Sierra. It was like a creepy whisper, lingering through the night. I blinked repeatedly knowing it was still part of the dream. I wanted to shake the voice from my head. I took a deep breath and slowly lowered myself back down on to my pillow and closed me eyes. As I did this a second voice entered my mind but not just in my mind, I felt he was in my room.

‘In your darkest hour or death of night, I’ll be by your side ready to fight.’

The grip of fear took hold of me once again. I didn’t want to open my eyes. He was in my house. In my bedroom. His voice was so calming, almost musical or whimsical in a way but still I knew he was there. I felt safe with his voice but who was he and why was he in my house in the middle of the night. With all this running through my sleepy head, I rubbed my brown eyes and looked around my darken room. I couldn’t see anyone or anything at first, then I noticed him, as soon as I made out his silhouette I knew I’d seen this image time and time before, this happened every time after the dream. I felt strangely safe, like I knew him or at least he knew me. I felt like he was some sort of spirit guide watching over me. The feeling is almost impossible to explain, I’ve never told anyone about him or the dreams. He appeared from nowhere, I couldn’t make him out clearly but it was like my mind filled in the blanks. He stood tall at the end of my bed in some sort of black warrior looking outfit. It was the best way I could describe it, like some weird black leather or material, tightly clinging to his muscle ripped body. I edge forward a little, just to get closer, to see him clearer. I focus on his face but its to dark all I can make out is his sparkling violet eyes and pointy elfish ears. This is the part when I know it’s all in my head, as the characteristics of his face that I can make out are nothing like regular people. Usually at this point he either vanishes with the departing words of ‘Our time will come.’ Or I slump back in to my pillow saying something like ‘I wish you were real.’ But this time something else happens. He holds something, dangling from his large manly hand. Part of the moonlight shining through my window catches it. It looks like some kind of golden necklace with pendant hanging from it.

‘Its time Serenity,’ he says in the same way he spoke before so I could hear him not just with my ears but also in my mind. He dropped the necklace on to my bed and it landed at my feet, I reach for it but get distracted from a noise. It’s like a large gust of wind and behind my strange late night caller, a type of diamond shaped opening has formed out of nothing in the darkness. Like some sort of portal or door to another world. I’ve never seen this happen before. The edges of the diamond doorway were black and shimmering as he walks through and disappears in to the darkness. The noise ,the stranger and the doorway disappear and I am left alone in my silent still room.

I sit for a moment staring blankly in to the darkness then lay my head back down, thinking to myself for a moment “did that really all just happen?” I blinked a few times, glanced around the room and say out loud to myself ‘Sierra. You are never watching a science fiction marathon with AJ again.’ As I gradually drift off back to sleep.

 

            I awoke a short time later; absolutely wide awake in the darkness pondering what I had now convinced myself was a strange dream.

As I lay in my comfy double bed, all rugged up, cosy under the warm blankets starring out my slightly open window in to the night sky, just gazing at the twinkling wonder against the dark, dark night. I can feel a slight cool breeze slipping through gently blowing against my face. Thinking is there really other worlds out there, I shake this out of my head knowing full well it’s all made up and something I do not believe in. I groan out loud in frustration knowing I really need to get back to sleep. I imaged if I stare at one star for long enough it would send me off to sleep, a plan I knew I would clearly not succeed in. I wanted sleep as I was dreading going to work in the morning, pretty much like most days. I work roughly 4 days a week, random shifts mostly but tomorrow being Tuesday was my full day, open till close. My job isn’t that bad when I think about it, I’ve been there since I was 17 so just over two years now. I so against brands and labels but I work in one of those ‘funky chick’ clothing shops, quite ironic actually since 'funky chick' is something I am far from. I would best describe myself as average. Very average! But that is just how I like it. I’m, about 5’ 10, thin but not too thin, I have a few curves. My hair is black short and messy, which is great as it’s so easy to maintain, also I don’t need to spend hours in the shower washing it. Just average, nothing exciting about my life. My best friend AJ, now he would say I’m boring. Which I usually come back with “better boring than a geek.” To look at AJ you wouldn’t think he’s a geek, the guy is kind of cute in a strange way, with his bronzy coloured hair always in place and his shiny green eyes, he’s shorter than me and thinner than me. He totally rocks the innocent boy next-door look very well. He is also very smart, which most girls are kind of in to at that moment, but sadly for AJ he gets too excited when he talks about smart stuff and ends up confusing them when he too techy speak and they walk away. AJ's basically the brother I never had, the closest thing to a sibling or even family I have now. He’s my best friend since we were ten. It all started when I threw an apple at his head at the park down the street, Sarah Gallic dared my too of course and me wanting so bad to be her friend did it. The moment I throw it at him I instantly felt terrible, so I raced over to apologise. Although he’d never admit it he was crying, then I started crying. Some how we became friends out of it. Every year for my birthday he gives me an apple and every now and then he likes to remind me, “Hey Si, remember that time you threw an apple at my head...” he's such a goof ball I really don't know what I’d do without him sometimes.

Maybe I should call him, he'd be awake for sure, that boy never sleeps. He’d still be glued to the TV watching more of those sci-fi space shows, he’s crazy about them and always telling me about what planet or space war took place the night before. I just nod and smile, now and then I go watch them with him although not to interested in what is going on or following the story line at all, but that what makes AJ a geek and me boring.

 

I turn away from my window view and stretch across for my mobile phone sitting on my oak bedside table. I look at the time. 1:37AM. Realising its not as late as I thought I punch in AJ's number.

‘Could you have not waited for a commercial before you called?’ He abruptly says in a whiny voice as he answer his phone.

I roll my eyes, like I know whether it would be a commercial or not.

‘I can’t sleep,’ I tell him in a cute little tired voice looking for sympathy.

‘Pfft. I never sleep.’

‘What ya watchin? Maybe I should tune in. might send me to sleep.’ I love getting my little digs in about his nerdiness.

‘Very funny Sierra, I’ll be the one laughing though when all the popular people watch it and we talk about it twenty four seven.’

‘Yeah good luck with that,’ I think he thinks that’s his mission or something, to convert everyone over to trashy late night sci-fi. ‘We both know there aren’t aliens or time travel, different dimension, parallel worlds and what ever else they fill your head with. Lets face it, we’re stuck with this boring world whether we like it or not. Anyway back on planet Earth,  I have to work all day tomorrow with Tianna.’

‘If she rocks up,’ AJ laughed. Tianna isn’t the most reliable and there is always some sale far more important than work.

‘She better.’

‘I’ll come in a see if you’re surviving.’

‘Thanks AJ, you’re the best.’

‘What are friends for? Now get some sleep Si, you’ll need it. The Galodinians are just about to find the traitor.’

‘Oh I better not let you miss that,' Sarcasm was one of my good qualities I feel it just comes so easily to me, 'Thanks again AJ, Goodnight.’

‘Night.’ I hang up my phone, check my alarm is set to wake me up in time, close my eyes and gradually drift off to sleep.

Author's Note

I love feedback on anything and everything. Grammar tips would be awesome as I can sometimes struggle with sentence structure.