Chapter 1
I am Addison Harris. I am the Leader.
My mind was racing with confusion.
Leader?
What did that mean?
All I saw was darkness. I had the feeling of consciousness approaching, slowly. The darkness made me feel powerless and weak. I liked having power easily available.
Slowly, but carefully, my eyes were opened, and I was temporarily blinded by the sunlight. I blinked a few times, and was able to come into focus.
All I saw was blue sky. I was confused and curious about my situation. I couldn’t remember a thing about what had happened before, except for the fact that I was Addison and I was the Leader, whatever that meant.
I sat up and took in my surroundings. I was in the middle of a forest. All I could see for about a mile was trees. Once the trees ended, all there was to see was water. It was the same in each direction, like a circular island.
I stood up, and my survival instincts kicked in. I had no idea how I knew this stuff, it was like someone had put the information in my head, like the fact that I was the leader. Before, when I was in the darkness, I didn’t even know my own name. Now I did. Addison. It was a nice name.
I noticed that I wasn’t hungry at all, maybe even a bit full, like I’d eaten a big meal right before that.
I had no aftertaste in my mouth, however.
It was very confusing.
I looked down at my body and saw that I was wearing a tank top with jean shorts. On my feet, I found a pair of sneakers with a check mark symbol on the side. The symbol looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember what it was.
I had a button-up fleece over the shirt, but I shrugged it off and put it on the ground. The blazing sun made the weather too hot.
The thing I wanted to know first was if there was anyone else around, someone who could tell her what the hell was going on.
I started walking through the trees, calling out to anyone who might hear me. I kept walking, crying out in pain whenever my bare legs scraped against a sharp plant on the forest floor.
Suddenly, I slammed into someone. Both of us groaned as we fell back onto the ground.
The other person rushed over to my side, where I was sitting up.
“I’m sorry.” They said. They had a caring and masculine voice. “I was hurrying through the trees when I bumped into you. You okay?”
I looked up to see them. It was a boy, maybe about 16 years old. His build was tall and broad-shouldered. He was wearing a tight, navy blue t-shirt and jeans.
I knew I liked him right away.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” I mumbled, blushing as I stood up. My ankle had a little sting, but I figured it would go away. “Thanks.”
“I’m Carson.” He said, putting out his hand for me to shake.
“Addison.” I said as I shook his hand. He had a firm grip. I let go and asked, “Do you know what the hell is going on? I think I got a concussion or something. I can’t remember anything.”
“Same with me!” Carson said excitedly. I guessed he was happy someone else was going through the same confusion he was. “I only woke up about 10 minutes ago.”
“What a coincidence.” I said, shaking my head in disbelief. “Did you get a weird feeling that someone put information in your head? It was like a thought that someone gave you. Mine said, I am Addison Harris. I am the Leader.”
“That’s strange.” Carson said, rubbing the small blonde hairs on his chin. “Mine said, I am Carson Christopher. I am the Helper.”
“Helper? Leader? This makes no sense.”
“You tell me.” A snobby voice said from behind us. Carson and I spun around to find a girl there. She had striking green eyes that seemed to be boring into me.
“Who the fuck are you?” Carson asked her, pointing with his index finger.
“Who are you?” She asked, seeming annoyed.
Carson gave in. “Carson. Apparently I’m the Helper.” It seemed like he was about to introduce me, but I cut in.
“I’m Addison. The Leader.”
“Aww, c’mon.” She complained. “How come you guys get the cool titles? Mine was Katherine and I’m the Jerk.”
I heard Carson snicker.
“Shut the hell up or I’ll kick your ass.” Katherine narrowed her eyes at him and he shut up. She was tough for someone who looked like a short 16 year old. I assumed I looked around 16 as well, because no one had commented I was the youngest.
“Hello?” A pleasant, sweet voice suddenly interrupted us. We turned to see a girl who looked like she wouldn’t hurt a fly. She was a dainty little thing, with a frilly dress, more suited to a birthday party. She had her dark brown hair in a braid down her shoulder.
“They just keep coming.” Carson chuckled. Then he turned serious. “Wait. Don’t tell me I’m the only male in this place.”
“Benjamin is right behind me.” The sweet girl said. Suddenly another boy came up to us and waved.
“It’s a party in here!” Katherine cried, throwing her hands in the air and almost hitting my head.
“I’m Evangeline.” The dainty girl said. “The Angel.” That was a perfect word to describe her.
“It’s Benjamin.” The other boy that had come up behind Evangeline said. “Call me Ben I’d you like. Or the Intelligent.”
“Wow.” Katherine mumbled. “Everyone gets the cool names except me.”
“Hold on.” I said, trying to wrap my head around everything. “Let’s all say our names again.” I had to admit, I sounded like a leader. “I’m Addison. The Leader.”
Carson raised his hand. “Carson. The Helper.”
“I’m Katherine but you can call me Katherine.” Katherine, the rude one, exclaimed. “But unfortunately, this fucking WORLD decided me to be the Jerk, so here I am.”
“Ben. The Intelligent.”
“Evangeline. The Angel.”
“We all woke up with only the knowledge of our titles and names, correct?” I asked the group. The all nodded. I was suprised that they listened to me. “Alright, so we’re all on the same boat.”
“I don’t see any boats.” Katherine muttered.
Ben looked at her like she was an idiot. “We are exactly 1.23 miles from the nearest water. Addison was exaggerating.”
We all looked at him in surprise.
“How’d you know?” Carson asked.
“How I knew Addison was exaggerating or how far we are from the ocean?”
“Second.” Evangeline said patiently.
“Oh.” Ben shrugged. “I could estimate by how long it is from one place to another.”
We all looked at him in confusion again.
“Nevermind.” He mumbled.
I continued. “We need to escape.”
“Now?” Carson asked.
“No. We need to figure out this place. We’ll escape tomorrow.”
Thank you for finishing this chapter!!!! I’m new to Inkitt so if you want you can give me some constructive criticism! If people like this I’ll write the next chapter!
- Echo
