She was walking. The slow nighttime air brushed across her face and rustled her sleek, raven black hair, the heat from the summer present even during the coldest of nights as her zori absorbed all the sound her feet made against the cool stone path. The same could not be said for her father, whose asagutsu shoes made piercing clicking noises where he walked, and his heavy footsteps only made him louder. She held his hand tightly, staying so close to him she might as well have been a shadow, or part of his expensive montsuki. She looked up at him, not recognizing his face but feeling safe next to him. Near him. She wondered where they were going. She asked him. He did not respond, merely tightening his grip on her hand and continuing to walk. She was becoming worried, looking around anxiously, until her eyes landed on her mother. Her brothers, by their lake. Her face lit up as they approached, and she greeted them cheerfully. Her mother did not respond. Her brothers did not respond. She became more worried. Her mother looked sad, downcast, and was avoiding eye contact, and did not speak. Her brothers were staring at her, whispering between each other and hushing one another on occasion. She felt a weight around her leg. Ankle. Looking down, she saw a chain around her ankle, short, and attached to a large rock. Sacrifice. She didn’t get a chance to think further about it, having been lifted up by her father’s strong hands and thrown into the lake. Murky water filled her mouth as she tried to scream. For help, for questions, just in surprise… She watched the soft light of the moon turn green and disappear as she was dragged beneath the thick layer of algae and duckweed that coated the waters. She struggled, her hands clawing through the lenient ebb of the water like it was air. In her struggles, she became tangled in the long vine-like stem of the lily pads, trying to use them to return to the surface but to no avail as they were pulled under and bobbed back up away from her. She looked up at the surface one last time, despair dripping off of every piece of her being as everything faded to black.

I’m not breathing. I am alive. Bright, warm light filtered through a large door and small, dusty windows covered in spiderwebs and debris. My body felt heavy, as if I was still waking up from a dream or being held down. Both seemed to be apparent as I came to my senses, my eyes focusing on my surroundings. Or what I could see of them, at least. I seemed to be inside of some sort of suit, my only connection to the outside world being what I could see through the two small holes in front of my face. Upon trying to move again, I found that the suit was made out of some sort of metal, likely the reason I felt so heavy. It didn’t move when I pushed against it, pulled, squirmed, remaining an unyielding prison. I was scared. Where was my family? Where was I? Voices coaxed me out of my spiraling state, and I zoned back in just in time to see someone enter. It seemed to be a man, of sorts. He was reasonably tall and looked rather burly, and his hazel eyes were framed by short, warm brown hair. Stubble covered almost the entire lower half of his face, as if he’d recently shaved but had done a very poor job. I would have jumped to the moon if I could when a rancid smell washed over me, and looking around to see what in the world could have ever smelled that bad, I saw a dog. A golden retriever, I think. It had silky wheat colored fur and large brown eyes that almost distracted me from the lolling tongue that was most definitely the reason the smell was all coming my way specifically. It seemed to have noticed me, regretably, and was nudging my prison with its nose and barking in a pitch that could make me deaf if I ever tried to listen to its words. It gained the attention of the man, however, and he walked over, crouching down and finally seeing me. Had I been under a table? I must have, for it to take that long. The man smiled warmly at me, reaching out and looking for a way to open my prison. He muttered a few words to himself, or possibly the dog, and stood up once more before leaving. Obviously he would. Who would want something like this? My concerns were all but squashed when he returned with what I could only assume was a toolbox. He sat near me again and began fiddling with his tools on something with the outer plating. And then bright light exploded in my face, and I felt my limbs loosen and fall limp. Outside. I am out. Free. Blinking rapidly and taking a gasping breath, I tried to gain a sense for my surroundings. Water was pooled around me, as if it had stayed with me all these years like a warm embrace that I could do nothing but accept. I looked up at the man, his head surrounded by the warm light pouring out of the garage door like a halo. He was kind.

The floor was cold beneath her feet, the frost seeping through her shoes as she stepped into the classroom. The man had taken her in, and his spouse was just as kind as he was. She did enjoy living with them, she was happy. Looking around, she first noticed the odd look of this classroom. It had high stone ceilings with dark gray marble pillars arching up, almost hiding the dark water on the sides, churning gently and lapping at the floor just inches above it. Moss and ivy were spread sparingly around the room, and the desks and chairs were run down by years of water damage. Her bright orange hair curled around her face, almost hiding the numerous freckles that she had gained as of recently. The other kids didn’t like her… sitting at her desk, she felt it creak underneath her weight, the soft wood holding her gently. First days in new places were always intimidating, but something felt off. Wrong. Her suspicions were proved right as the water around them began to churn, waves leaping over the edge of the room and spreading across the ground. She pulled her feet up and out of the water’s way, ears pierced by the children around her screaming and running to an exit that was no longer there. She steeled herself and slid out of her chair, quickly making her way through the water, her feet splashing against it and threatening to take her down with one wrong move or change of balance. Sliding to a stop at the edge of the platform she was on, merely moments before the water exploded up in front of her, drenching her hair and clothes as it descended upon her. She glanced up to see what had come out of the water just then, her eyes widened in shock and horror as she laid her gaze upon what she knew was her mother. Her mother was… different, like she was, but worse. She had long, golden orange hair that was slick and oily, pooling around her limbs that were covered in a light speckle of turquoise scales and her legs had fused together into a long appendage that looked eerily similar to that of a snake. Her mother screeched loudly, the sound shaking the room and causing the water to rise more, pooling around the girl’s knees. The mother lurched forward, wide mouth opening to showcase rows and rows of needle thin teeth as it crashed down upon her.