Emmalise Stocking

Chapter 1

6 months later…

Twoot twoot. Twoot twoot.Twoot twoot. Twoottwoottwoowttwoot.

“Mmmmph. Shut UP!”

Emma groaned and rolled over on her bed, flinging the covers over her head to drown out the cheerful sounds of the birds outside.

Twoot twoot. Twoot twoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooot.

“ REALLY?!” Emma angrily threw off her covers and sat up. She rubbed her eyes before opening them and glared up at the ceiling and then towards the door to her hut. “Freakin birds. Can’t a girl get some sleep around here?” She huffed and then raised her arms above her head in a stretch and let out a huge yawn.

Emma gazed around her home with sorrowful eyes as once again, her dreams had decided not to seep over into her reality. In her dreams, she was in her small two bedroom apartment lying in her double bed. Her school books and papers were scattered across her desk and her room had seen better days of tidiness. But she was happy… oh so happy.

However, her reality was this… Emma was in her hut, a home she had stolen from a den of rabbits, and sitting up on her bed, a towel and t-shirt she had managed to snatch from a local park’s trashcan. Her covers were draped over her, a portion of a wind jacket someone had left at the park, and she looked around to see her home was cluttered with food wrappers, twigs, sticks, matches, pieces of newspaper and other odds and bits.

Emma had pride herself on being a great scavenger and she raided the local park every night. Luckily, her hut was located not far from the park. It was just on the other side of the little brook where she lived. She dare not travel to the park during the day. They were always there during the day… and late into the evening, usually.

Emma stood and dropped her cover to the ground. She was completely nude but wasn’t ashamed. It had become the norm. No one was around to see her anyway. She still kept her clothes and put them on for special occasions. They were all that she had. She refused to wear rags, though she had thought of it. It was just way too degrading.  She had also given up on her hair. She used to run her hands through it every morning to brush out the tangles but, over time, it became too much to manage. Her once beautiful long brown wavy hair was now plastered to her head and matted. She had thought about chopping it all off but she didn’t have the tools to accomplish this.

Emma walked over to the short tunnel that led outside and crawled up before moving the door, a piece of drift wood, aside. She shielded her eyes from the sun and let them adjust before peering out towards the green field ahead of her. The sound of the babbling brook was so peaceful to her. She was so happy to have found this location to live. It has suited her needs just fine for a long time.  As Emma crawled out and got to her feet, a shiver went down her spine. Two things hit her at once. One, she was cold… but two, she realized that it hadn’t been cold like this before…

Emma had stopped keeping track of time. She had been alone for so long… since that day. She had managed to survive on her own in such a monstrous world. But the weather had been quite pleasant. She had never had to battle the cold. But the temperature WAS dropping… she could feel it. She crossed her arms over her chest and let out a short hiccup sob as the reality hit her once more.

Emma was afraid. She feared the cold and she feared what would become of her. But those fears weren’t nearly as terrifying as the fear she had of getting caught… by them. She wouldn’t let them… she’d die first. She had no idea what had become of her people.

Had they been caught and caged? Had they been placed in a laboratory and experimented on? Had they been sold as slaves or pets? Were they even still alive? Or… had they been treated like celebrities? Were they living in luxury? Emma doubted that… but, after all she had been through, she was terrified to find out what had become of them.

Emma walked through the tall grass and knelt by the brook. She dipped her cupped hands in and brought them to her lips, taking in big gulps of water. She did this several times and then splashed her face. She shuddered harder.

“Man, even the w-water is fr-freezing.” She wiped her face with the backs of her hands and stood up.

Twoot twoot twoot twoot.

Emma couldn’t help but smile at the singing birds now that she was outside. Singing birds meant that the weather was still warm enough for them. She thanked her lucky stars that she wasn’t small enough to get carried off by one of them. Though, an owl or a large hawk wasn’t out of the question. She hadn’t encountered one of them yet and she hoped she never would.

Emma made her way over to a tree which sat directly across from her hut, stepping over the trail of black ants that marched determined across the rocks. Its huge base held its roots in unusual patterns that made for a few good sitting spots. Emma climbed up onto her usual perch and sat down. Her eyes gazed across the familiar scene of her own backyard and she sighed. As if on cue, her usual morning friend came twitching along near the base of the tree.

“Well, good morning, Ticker.” Emma grinned as the injured squirrel twitched and looked in her direction. He immediately hobbled over on three feet and sat on the root opposite her and twitched his tail happily.  Ticker had been Emma’s reason for living up to this point. She knew she would have given up long ago had it not been for someone or something to talk to… and she refused to resort to chatting with volleyballs.

Ticker came to visit her every single morning since she had come to find a home in the rabbit’s den. He never actually let her touch him but he did stay nearby while she vented to him about her life. If she saw he came up empty handed for food, she’d always bring him a little snack from her den. Emma saw Ticker as her friend and her pet… and he seemed happy to oblige.

“It’s cooler today. And the wind is blowing harder than usual.” Emma sighed. “I’m concerned, Ticker.”

Ticker didn’t seem concerned at all. He just twitched his little nose in Emma’s direction before turning about on his root to check for danger.

“I just don’t know what to do… I’ve never had to do this before. It’s hard enough surviving like I am… but how will I keep warm?” She looked at her furry friend. “I suppose you won’t volunteer to cuddle, will you?”

Ticker churped out a response and took off down the root and quickly wandered off in search of food.

“Gee, thanks Ticker… I knew I could count on you.” Emma slipped off the root and wandered back over to her den. Inside, she quickly pulled her clothes on – no bra, pale blue panties, a dark green short-sleeve top, jeans and a jean jacket. She slipped her black converse on and, once again, wished that she had worn her Doc Martins that day. Boots would be so much more useful in her condition.

Emma grabbed her stick, that was as tall as she was with a sharpened end, and wandered back outside.

She really didn’t need to hunt for more food at this time. Living by a park made it easy to pick up some left over crumbs or completely unopened candies and granola bars that kids carelessly dropped.

The giants here were much like her own people, Emma had thought several times, just… bigger. She had observed them from afar and really had no ill will towards the average giant – though she feared and hated those who captured her people on that day…

The cold air hit Emma once again and, even completely dressed, she shivered. Exploring was definitely out of the question today. But she knew she couldn’t afford a day of rest. She needed to stay fit and toned.

Emma was never into sports and hated exercising. Despite that, she had a natural thin frame that was neither athletic nor skinny… just average build. Her breasts were on the smaller size but her hips were curvy. In her world, she stood 5 feet 5 inches tall, but in this world she had calculated herself to be not much bigger than a doll – maybe 15 inches at the most – though she never had an actual ruler to find out for sure. Her once bright blue eyes were now dull and grey due to the malnutrition she received and her poor living conditions. Still, for all she had been through, she was a determined little lady.

Emma rested her spear next to the root of the tree and began doing sit-ups. This was followed by jumpy jacks, push-ups, jogging in place and stretches.

Emma stood back up, grabbed her spear and climb back up onto the root of the tree, squatting in place and looking out for any danger. It was cold… so cold… and the wind seemed to be blowing harder. This was not good. Emma could feel herself wanting to cry but she swallowed and composed herself. Now was not the time to panic.

Emma awoke with a start. Her face was set. She lifted a hand and wiped off moisture only to be hit with another drop. She shielded her face and looked around her as the rain started to come down harder. She cursed herself for having fallen asleep against the tree. She clambered off the root and took off towards her den, forgetting her spear. She all but dived into her den and moved the wood back into place.

The rain Emma knew wasn’t a big deal… she used to love the rain. But here, it was like getting pummeled with a giant water balloon each time it hit. The sound of it used to be peaceful but now it just made her shudder.

Emma walked over and gazed at her pile of food. She pulled out the other half of the rice krispy treat she had eaten the day before and took it over to her bed. After her quick sweet dinner, Emma collapsed back onto her bed, not even bothering to undress as she knew it was just going to get colder with the rain. Emma went to her happy place – her dream escape – back home to the life she knew, the world she grew up in, the place where she was happy. And she soon drifted off to sleep.