Shrugging to herself, Blaise began walking again. She didn't know exactly where she was walking to, but something told her to go outside and enjoy the fresh air. She passed Cafe Lorenzo, the book shop called Granny's Stories, Sally's Sweets, and all the other buildings and homes in between. Finally, she reached the Lake. The Lake was supposed to be the portal to get to the Human World. No one knew exactly how you got there once you jumped into the Lake. The few people Blaise knew about who jumped in there never came back out.
The Lake's water was black and thick, almost like oil. The black water was calm and non-moving. On top of it was a thin layer of golden something. Was it sparkles or pollen? No one knew. People thought the Lake was disgusting with its sludge waters and golden dust. But Blaise thought it was a beautiful mystery. No one knew what happened once you jumped in. No one knew what lied on the other side, (if there was one.) No one knew if you lived or died.
Blaise thought of it as an adventure she would like to have. An adventure if you lived, an adventure if you died. Some people might have thought of that as sick. Not the living part, the dying part. What kind of person thought dying was an adventure? People in the world Blaise lived in never wanted to die. They stayed young-looking even as they aged. They had friends and lives they never wanted to give up. If a person living in Blaise's world died, there was no Heaven, there was Hell. Not the Human Hell. Their Hell, called--well, it didn't have a name since no one spoke of it. The stories of that place said that if you went there, you felt the worse pain imaginable. You suffered in your sorrow and drowned in your fears. And that's just putting it mildly.
Blaise thought everything roughly interesting or anything that happened once-in-a-lifetime was an adventure. She didn't get out much, as people said. Nothing interesting happened in her life. She mostly stayed holed up inside Rayne and didn't talk to many people. Listening to music or reading pretty much took up her entire day.
Out of curiosity, Blaise cautiously stuck a hand into the black water of the Lake. A warmness enveloped her like she was dipped in sunshine and love. She's never felt anything as beautiful as this, and she gasped at the feel of it. A wonderful yellow and green light took over her vision. She wanted more of this feeling. She felt herself being pulled closer to the water. Blaise tried to pull away, but her mind took control of her body. God, she needed more. Her arms were fully in the water now and her head was getting closer. She could feel something tickling her face and-
Something roughly yanked her backward, a good few feet, and onto her back, slamming her shoulder into the earth. A gasp slipped through her lips. She felt as if a bucket of ice-cold water was poured over her head.
"What the hell were you thinking?!" a voice roared.
