Venya had always wondered how she would react in a catastrophe.
She had imagined different possibilities.
Would she run blindly, screaming her head off?
Would she collapse silently, unable to move?
Or would she become a rational robot capable of finding perfect solutions?
Nope.
She now had an answer, and it was nothing like she had expected.
She had run blindly, true.
“But I didn’t scream,” she congratulated herself.
Apparently, she had an aggressive side.
The beast had probably just been curious about her.
The singing disco queen had emerged.
And somehow, oh yes, somehow she found the whole situation funny.
“I’m a fucking joke.” She laughed, her body shaking.
Her laughter began to crack as she leaned against the rough plank wall of this dark, smelly shed.
The wounds on her thigh throbbed badly enough to drown out the sting of the scratches on her back.
The soles of her feet burned and bled.
She wrapped her arms around her legs.
Her forehead rested against her knees.
The apron the girl had given her covered her dirty legs, giving her a little warmth and making her feel less naked.
She felt bad about dirtying the garment.
She licked her lips.
Should she leave the shed or wait for the red-haired girl?
Before she could decide, a wave of nausea rolled through her.
Her eyes filled with tears, and she covered her mouth with both hands.
Her throat tightened, and her upper body jerked with the gag reflex.
She retched, but nothing came up.
Except a little saliva.
The blow to her head must have been worse than she had thought.
She touched the swelling at the back of her head.
It wasn’t bleeding.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t pass out.
Venya had not woken up in her own warm bed, as she had hoped.
At first, she had heard voices mumbling words she couldn’t understand.
When she opened her eyes, unfamiliar faces were staring down at her, their eyes wide and their hands reaching out to poke at her.
When she moved, they gasped and recoiled.
But when she simply asked for help, they were terrified of her and immediately began hitting her with brooms and whatnot.
She froze as the blows struck her arms and legs, leaving bruises.
Her laughter died at the memory.
She wiped a tear from her cheek with her dirty but delicate finger, leaving a clean streak behind.
She couldn’t believe the villagers had attacked her.
Until now, the worst thing that had happened to her was the car accident in her teens.
In a way, she had been blessed.
She had lost consciousness immediately and missed the worst of it.
Venya had only been a teenager then, so she had shrugged it off.
Her parents had been utterly devastated by it.
Suddenly, she heard footsteps outside and saw a shadow through the gaps in the plank wall.
She flinched and grabbed the nearest object, a broken axe handle, with both hands.
Her fingers tightened around it as the door slowly opened.
Venya squinted against the dazzling light.
The dark figure in the doorway was the red-haired girl.
She let out a breath through her teeth, and the tension drained from her shoulders.
When her eyes adjusted to the light, she saw the wide, bright smile on the girl’s face.
She had a wooden bucket full of water in one hand and a cloth bundle under her arm.
After she put the bucket down, she shook the bundle open with both hands.
And ta-da!
It was a nice, light-blue, cotton-like dress with elegant frills.
Melia held it high, her face beaming.
She continued chattering at high speed, which made Venya grin even though she didn’t understand any of it.
She had never met anyone as lively as Melia.
It was hard to guess her age, but she was definitely in her teens.
Fifteen?
Sixteen, maybe?
She was a little taller than Venya was now, and her red, uneven braids swayed back and forth as she spoke.
The scarf around her head hung loosely, almost falling off.
Venya took the bucket and drank from it greedily even though the water might not be exactly up to modern hygiene standards.
After she had cleaned herself while Melia guarded the shed outside, she felt a little more like herself again.
She then put on the still-damp dress, which was a little too loose.
After picking all the sticks and leaves out of her hair, she used the rest of the water to smooth it and stepped out.
“Thank you,” she whispered hoarsely, her voice wavering.
Tears blurred her vision as she threw her arms around the girl.
Melia’s scarf finally gave up and fell to the ground.
The girl picked it up, scrunched it into a ball, and stuffed it into her pocket.
Melia took a kerchief from the pocket of her skirt and gave it to Venya.
While Venya dabbed her face dry, Melia undid her braids to let her unruly red curls free.
Then, with quick, practiced movements, she tied Venya’s hair into a reasonably neat braid.
Oh, right.
The apron.
Venya rolled her eyes and turned back to the shed to find it.
The apron was even dirtier now from lying on the damp shed floor.
She offered it back to Melia, glancing away with a sheepish smile.
But the bubbly girl just laughed and continued her cheerful, incomprehensible chatter.
Before Venya could decide what to do next, Melia guided her to the other side of the village and pointed in several directions.
Venya tilted her head and scratched her temple.
She couldn’t understand what the girl was trying to explain.
Melia puffed out her cheeks and threw her hands up in frustration.
Then a smile tugged at her lips.
She quickly looked around, snatched up a small stick, and crouched down to draw a rough map in the dirt.
Now this was a language Venya understood.
Before Venya left the village behind and set off along the route Melia had shown her, Melia tore strips from her apron.
Together, they wrapped Venya’s feet with the strips to make walking a little less painful.
They used the rest of the cloth to bandage the gashes on her thigh.
The map was simple and showed no distances.
All Venya had now was her memory of it.
She couldn’t be sure if she was on the right track.
If she had understood the map correctly, she was supposed to find some kind of place where she could stay for now.
She hadn’t understood what kind of place it was or how she was supposed to recognize it.
Hopefully, there was something to eat.
Her stomach grumbled, and she rubbed it gently.
The buns Melia had given her were long gone, and they would probably be all she got to eat today.
With any luck, she would be back in the real world before tomorrow, and this nightmare would be over.
The wraps did little to ease the pain in her feet.
Blood still seeped through the bandage around the gashes on her thigh.
She held up the hem of the dress as she walked, trying to keep it clean.
The pretty dress was her only possession in this world, apart from the two red satin ribbons from Melia’s braids.
Several ox carts passed her on the wide road, as did people traveling on foot.
Luckily, the worst they did was stare at her suspiciously, and Venya was grateful for that.
She didn’t have the strength for another sprint.
Finally, she saw the first landmark: a watermill beside the rapids.
She needed to turn at the crossroads just before it.
The road narrowed, and the peaceful fields gradually fell behind her.
The forest closed around the road, growing darker as she went.
The sun was high, and the warm weather made her sweat.
The road probably just felt longer than it actually was, but she estimated she had been walking a little over an hour.
Then she caught a glimpse of something beyond the bend.
A ramshackle fence and a broken gate stood ahead.
The only man-made structure in sight.
This had to be it.
The place stood in lonely grandeur beneath the trees, surrounded by a wild, overgrown garden.
Venya slowly raised her gaze.
The huge two-story building was covered in vines that had worked their way into the walls and roof, prying parts of them loose.
An old sign lay on the stone front steps, miraculously intact.
Elegant lettering covered its surface, but Venya couldn’t read a single word.
“At least it has a roof,” she said with a sigh.
Mostly.
Are you interested in finding out what’s inside?