~ Asteri Calling ~

Chapter One

It started on a Tuesday of all things, Tuesday, the mystery day. It wasn't the middle of the week like a Wednesday, nor was it the end, like a Friday, and it most certainly was not a Monday, which almost everyone despised. It was a Tuesday; the day that no one could truly

~ Astri Calling ~ ~ S.M. Baker ~ 1

define, and almost everyone forgot about. It was that Tuesday on the fourth of March that everything changed and the day Tuesday truly became the most memorable day of the week, at least in Eliza's eyes. A high pitched horn and the annoyingly familiar buzzing of her phone woke Eliza from the abyss. Reaching out with one hand from her spot nestled under a mountain of blankets Eliza peered at the bright screen of her phone. She was tempted to hit the snooze button but her clock was flirting with eight am, and if she didn't get up now she was going to miss her bus. Dragging herself from the mound of blankets tangled around her waist and legs, she just barely avoided landing in a heap on the floor. Still more asleep than awake she stumbled into the bathroom, contemplating just how much she'd hate herself if she took a cold shower. In the end she decided against the cold shower, and let the warm water almost tempt her back to sleep.

Eliza felt off somehow, but couldn't place her finger on what or why. It was just a sick, sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, like when you got off a roller coaster that went upside down one to many times. The odd feeling didn't leave as she gathered her clothes together, carelessly throwing on old jeans and a large t-shirt that dwarfed her frame. Racing down the stairs she spilled into the kitchen, grabbing the note scrawled on a torn piece of paper covered with her fathers messy script.

Eliza,Working an overnighter. Don't forget to lock the

Doors on your way out! Dad

~ Astri Calling ~ ~ S.M. Baker ~ 2

Chewing on the last granola bar as she skimmed his note Eliza cursed quietly when she looked up and saw the time. She was going to miss her bus. Rushing to shove her school work in her backpack Eliza raced out the door, flagging down the bus with a wild wave as he was about to leave. Heaving a heavy sigh of relief she made her way down the cramped aisle, pushing her way past a pack of students from her high school. Shoving herself into a cramped seat towards the back Eliza tried to ignore the heavy metal blasting from the headphones of the person squished beside her. Distracting herself Eliza pulled out her dog eared copy of Pride & Prejudice trying to drown out both the noisy music and her odd feeling. She was only partially successful in drowning out the peripheral noise, but the odd feeling in the pit of her stomach wouldn't fade. The screeching of the bus coming to a halt jolted her from trying to wade her way through another paragraph of Lizzie's still mundane life. Dog earing the page she shoved the beloved novel back into her bag, rose and shuffled as close to the nearest door as possible. Spilling from the bus as the doors hissed open, Eliza half jogged all the way to the track field where MJ practiced before school every morning. She'd met MJ in diapers and they'd been best friends ever since. As she approached, MJ was just wrapping the small towel around her neck; waving Eliza off silently, chest heaving, a small smile spread across her lips.

"Break your record?" Eliza asked. Plopping down on the edge of the squishy turf she threw her bag to the side carelessly and sunk to the ground. MJ nodded, her face glowing with exertion.

"Yeah, I finally did it!" She squealed excitedly. Collapsing next to

~ Astri Calling ~ ~ S.M. Baker ~ 3

Eliza, MJ gulped down the second half of her water bottle, proceeding to throw it carelessly to the side, then stretched out onto her back besides Eliza who was staring quietly up at the bright, clear sky.

Together they stared silently at the large blue expanse. Eliza was lost in thought about the future she wasn't ready for. She wondered wondering if her nerves about graduation had anything to do with her feeling off since she'd woken up this morning

"You know, next year we graduate." Eliza mused, her mind still a million miles away. Eyeing her silently, MJ waited for her to continue.

"The closer graduation gets, the less I know about what I want to do and where I want to go. I can't picture myself anywhere but here, going to school, caring for Dad and managing the pub." That wasn't completely true, but Eliza wasn't sure how to describe the strange flashes and exotic scenes that littered her dreams and haunted her waking hours. Sometimes she could even see them as she went about her day. It had become such a regular occurrence that she had learned the art of looking like she was paying avid attention all the while lost in the conjured dream world that continued to rise and move before her.

"Crap, I need to hit the showers." She was Startled from her reverie, glancing sideways Eliza watched as MJ jumped to her feet and began to gather her things strewn across the turf and grass.

"Do you want to come with me? Or should I meet you here when I'm done?" Shaking her head Eliza moved her gaze skyward, content to stare at the blue expanse with her luminescent green orbs. Shrugging MJ shouldered her bag and headed to the large mostly empty gym. Eliza meanwhile, drifted in and out of sleep until a sharp caw jerked her fully awake. Sitting up, she tried to find where the offending sound had come

~ Astri Calling ~ ~ S.M. Baker ~ 4

from. There, sitting on a lone fence post was a hawk, with an unusual blood red plumage, staring at her expectantly, its dark eyes shimmering with an unusual intelligence. Cocking its head sideways it stared at Eliza for a long moment, then shot into the air and disappeared around a cluster of buildings in the distance. Shaking her head Eliza sunk back to the ground, and tried to drift back to sleep. However, she had no such luck, a scant few minutes later MJ came running up to her, damp hair swishing behind her like a cape.

"You ready to go?" MJ asked cheerfully, though Eliza's mood was decisively more muddled.

"How'd your homework go?" They walked towards the now unlocked front gate; Miss Terrance standing next to the said gate, smiling as students passed to pour into the empty halls.

"Awful as usual, though I wonder why you keep on asking when my answer is always the same. How did you do on the English homework?" MJ groaned loudly, Eliza smiling smugly next to her. If she had to be miserable in math, at least MJ had something she was equally loathed to do.

"It was torture, though I get the feeling my plight doesn't fill you with sympathy." Eliza laughed silently and nodded to Miss Terrance as they passed.

"If I have to suffer through Math, I'm glad you have to bear English. Besides, its good for you." MJ snorted as she shoved her track bag into her locker.

"Like math is so good for you?" Voice brimming with sarcasm MJ followed behind Eliza as she pushed through the people crowded around the locker next to hers. Bag and things shoved in her locker both she and

~ Astri Calling ~ ~ S.M. Baker ~ 5

MJ waded their way through the buzzing crowd, determined to make it to class earlier, rather than later. Their first class was with Mr. Lathiski who happened to be a stickler when it came to punctuality. Eliza was determined to not be the cause of his ire. Pushing through the last line of students blocking their way, they entered the classroom to find it all but empty, with only Mr. Lathiski quietly muttering over a stack of papers he was viciously marking with a red pen.

"Good morning Sir." MJ whispered, the silence almost deafening after the thundering chatter of the overflowing hallways. Glancing up at them he smiled tightly then turned back to his work, content for the moment to pretend they didn't exist. Eliza ignored both him and MJ moving swiftly to the empty desk letting her binder crash to the chipped surface, then proceeded to crash into the nearest chair, already ready for the school day to be over. MJ, bless her, didn't say anything, just sat silently next to her and pretended to organize her already perfect binder. They sat quietly as the clock ticked on, watching as other students began to trickle in as the minutes to the bell drew to a close.

"Good morning class, I hope you've been studying." Mr. Lathiski called out, rising from his desk, the chair squeaking in relief.

Eliza could feel herself slipping away almost as soon as the lecture began, eyes heavy with sleep. When her half closed eyes caught a glimpse of bright, unnatural color they snapped back open, a very familiar landscape already beginning to ink its way across the room. The other occupants were ignorant to the lush, unnatural forest teeming with life filling the dingy classroom. Internally Eliza sighed, wondering why her waking dreams had to invade her now of all times. A group, she was reluctantly becoming familiar with, of two leather clad soldiers were

~ Astri Calling ~ ~ S.M. Baker ~ 6

making their way across the expanse of forest that had painted itself across her classroom.

"You think we'll get latrine duty for sneaking out like this?" Dirty blond hair and dishwater blue eyes peered into the forest, straight at her hunched form. Every nerve in Eliza's tried body tingled and buzzed as his eyes seemed to stare straight at her.

"What are you looking at?" Asked a sandy blond woman who peered curiously in the same direction as her companion. Abruptly she turned her eyes away and shoved the blond man playfully in the shoulder, dislodging his intent gaze from her sleep hunched frame.

"Nothing, I just have the strangest feeling..." He trailed off glancing back Eliza's way once more, before giving his head a vigorous shake.

"You really-" The woman was cut off by a deep growl. Snapping around she was too slow to dive out of the way of the huge black shadowed thing that jumped at her as she let out a shriek; barely managing to escape when the blond haired man distracted it. Eliza watched, gut clenching as the thing lunged at the sandy haired woman again. She hadn't even realized she'd yelled "watch out" until the image faded from view and she was left with every pair of eyes in the room staring at her, hand reached out towards the empty space where the sandy haired woman had been only moments ago.

"Are you alright?" MJ leaned over hissing in her ear as the teacher slowly turned back to the whiteboard, her classmates eyes soon following behind.

"Yeah just fell asleep." MJ looked like she didn't believe her, but dragged her eyes back to the front of the class. Eliza could feel her intermittent gaze until the bell rang and Mr. Lathiski dismissed them to

~ Astri Calling ~ ~ S.M. Baker ~ 7

their next period. As she was slowly gathering her things MJ shot her one last look before she disappeared into the crowded hall packed with chattering students. As soon as she'd fully disappeared Eliza's shoulders slumped in a combination of exhaustion, relief, and fear. Inhaling deeply letting her eyes fall closed Eliza reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose, heart ready to beat right out of her chest.

The rest of the day passed in a dull lifeless blur, but the shadows of her waking dream were never far behind. The image of the black thing and the sandy haired woman's horrified expression were burned in her minds eye. Later, as she sat waiting at the bus stop, Eliza caught a glimpse of the same strange bird she'd seen that morning perched on a post across the busy street, its figure sliced and contorted between car windows and crowds of students. They stared at one another silently, but when the next car sped past, breaking their gaze, the bird had vanished, as if it had never been there, not even a hint of its feathers fluttered in the distance.

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