Shattered ax

"Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while," ~Anonymous :)

Prologue

“She’s blind.”

“Horrific. Throw her away.”

“Ma’am, this is your child..”

“No, she’s a monster. We don’t want her. Get her out of my sight.”

The nurse looked troubled. “Um, this is your daughter. You can take her to the orphanage or put her in foster care, but we can’t keep her.”

“Excuse me?”

“It’s your kid,” The nurse said sternly.

“I don’t want this demon..” her mom screamed.

The vision faded into black, then nothing.

Chapter 1

“You...are a failure. A failure. Get out of my house.”

“Mom-”

“Your sisters were always better. No one wants you here. Leave. Now.” Astrid could feel the hate radiating off her mother’s aura. Rage, disappointment, worry about Astrid’s poor spoiled sisters.

“I was always hoping this day would come,” Astrid said bitterly, pulling her black hoodie over her eyes. 

She then turned for the door, stepped outside, and slammed it, slammed it so hard that a deaf man could probably hear the echoes from across the world. 

Outside, rain poured and poured, drowning out the city sounds, soaking her hoodie.

She ripped off the hoodie and threw it on the ground.

Rainwater soaked through her shoes, chilling her toes, sending goosebumps up her spine. Hands numb, feet cold, her dark hair dripped with water. She felt around for a bench with her stupid cane and sat on one. Her eyes stung with tears as she listened to the rhythmic dripping of water coming from all directions.

She had no one anymore.

Astrid had never felt so alone.

~~~~~~

Astrid felt a hand on her shoulder. “Astrid,” a voice said. An ancient voice, a man's voice. “Who are you?” Astrid asked nervously, her teeth chattering.

 A cool breeze swept over her forehead. 

“I’m blind, you’re blind. Who knows anymore? Bet you’re really regretting throwing your jacket, eh?” the man laughed softly.

Holy crap this man was scary. “How did you-”

“I just know.” Astrid could feel the old man’s wink.

The man stops suddenly as if looking for something. 

Silence.

“Finn wants me to cut to the chase,” the old man says after a while, the slightest bit of disappointment in his voice. “He always lectures me about my time management skills,” He mutters to himself. 

He probably didn’t know Astrid could hear him say that, but because of her blindness, she had enhanced hearing. “He wants you to meet me at this address, tomorrow, 12PM sharp.”

“But I’m bli-”

“If you’re the right person, you’ll see.” He said mysteriously. “Are you coming?”

Any trace of doubt vanished from Astrid’s voice. She knew she could trust this old man. “What do you mean? Heck yeah! Not like I have anything else to do.”

“I like that spirit! Don’t worry, we’ll take care of things with your fam-”

“Screw them.”

“You might need this.” He felt around for something and handed her something shaped like an ax. It didn’t feel too heavy nor too light. “Thanks . . . I guess,” Astrid said, but where the man was, there was a gust of wind slowly dissipating.

While she was considering whether it had been too impulsive to accept the offer so quickly, the temperature started to drop steadily, which she took as a sign that the sun was sinking. She needed to find a place to sleep, and fast. She grabbed her old-lady cane and nearly slipped on a puddle.

It was going to be a long night.

~~~~~~~

“Finn reports success,” A middle-aged man reported. Next to them, there was a girl about 15, and what seemed to be her brother (Around 12 or 13). They both had red hair and freckles. The girl wore a white shirt, a shiny belt, and ripped jeans along with a denim jacket. The boy wore a shirt and shorts. 

“Is she a wolf? Or a tiger? Oh, oh, maybe an owl-”

“No, you buffoon,” The sister hissed. “She’s human!” 

“Oh. I didn’t know,” The boy said sheepishly.

“Of course you didn’t,” The girl rolled her eyes. The man came to the boy’s aid.

“Finn thinks she might be a shapeshifter,” He said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. The boy shot his sister an “I told you so” look. She pretended not to see. “But we’re not completely sure yet. She’s arriving tomorrow.”

“Awesome! Someone who’s not my sister!” The boy said excitedly. The girl glared and the boy stammered, “I-I didn’t mean it like that.” 

“Jenna. Noah.” 

“It was her fault,” The boy called Noah said automatically.

“I’m sending Adam to the train station. I expect you two will be good?”

“Of course, father,” Jenna said. “We won’t let you down.” She kicked Noah in the shin. “Ow-yes father.” It was now his turn to glare at Jenna.

The man raised his eyebrows. “All right then. I’ll be on my way.”

Chapter 2

Astrid woke up in a cold sweat. That had been too real.

She had been having visions about things since age 5. They were visions of either the past or the future. She was never sure if it was real. 

She checked her pocket for the paper. She unfolded it and smoothed it on her lap. 83722 Softwind Avenue, it said. She didn’t see the paper, she just knew what it said.

I’m kinda concerned for my sanity, she thought. Okay, so the train station is 20 degrees to the north and the wind… she paused for a second, licked her finger, and held it up to the air. 54 degrees to the southwest. So the train station must be... there. She turned until she was sure she was facing the train station, then took another second to double-check her calculations. 

          ***

She bumped into 10 people in 30 minutes, but she got to the train station in one piece. “Excuse me, is this the train station?” Astrid mumbled. She had a bad habit of mumbling when she was nervous. 

“Yesss, honey,” said a woman with a syrupy sweet voice, slightly British. Astrid didn’t know why, but something about this woman was off. Astrid stumbled blindly to the check-in counter. “There’s a line behind you girlie,” the man at the desk said in his deep voice. “Uh, sor-” 

“Wait, are you Astrid Albans?”

“Yes, sir.” What was it with strangers knowing her name?

“Come right in.” Some people at the back of the line grumbled, annoyed that she had gotten a ticket when she had come last. She couldn’t see which way he was pointing, but he must have been pointing at a train. 

“Wait,” Astrid fumbled around in her pocket and fished out a twenty. 

“Nah,” He said. “Plus, Finn’s gonna kill me if I charge her…” He said the last part so quietly that Astrid wasn't sure she had heard him right. 

“Thanks, sir.”

“Call me Adam.”

“Wait, which way is the train?” Astrid asked, her cheeks flushing. 

As she got onto the train, she could hear the British woman stumble into line beside her on the train.

As the woman made small talk, all Astrid could think about was the fact that the train was damp, smelly, and the cheap leather (or at least, it felt like leather) seats were peeling and rotting. The woman took up so much seat space that Astrid was practically neck to neck with her and squished against the window.

“It’s time,” The woman muttered to herself, and Astrid woke up from her daze. “Time for what?” 

The woman seemed surprised for a second but then shook it off. “Time for this, honey.”

The cold, sharp blade of a knife pressed against her neck. Astrid was terrified, and her mind was running through strategies.

“Wait, timeout,” Astrid said.

After a period of silence, the woman said, “I don’t think you can-”

Astrid took advantage of the silence and snatched the knife from the woman and threw it out the window. 

“Give me a minute,” she told the woman politely and grabbed her ax. Then she sliced the woman’s face off. It was like cutting butter. Then, the woman disappeared. One moment she was there, next she was gone.

“I think I just murdered somebody,” Astrid said to herself. 

“Yes, you did. Good job! You got your first kill.” The voice was completely out of the blue. At first, she was afraid it was the woman whose face she had just cut off, but no. It was the man who had given her the note. 

“What do you mean, good job?”

“You killed your first Essethye! This calls for a celebration.” He said as if she were a dog who had just mastered a new trick.

“I didn’t kill her thigh. I killed her face.” 

“Essethye, not thigh. They are extremely dangerous and...oh no Finn’s gonna kill me if he figures out you’re in danger...”

“Is  anyone gonna tell me who this Finn dude is?” Astrid said, a little annoyed.

“He’s not a dude,” the man said, a little offended. “He’s ancient. A few thousand years old at least.”

“Can I ask you a very serious question? Am I dreaming this whole thing?”

“Maybe…”

I glared in his direction.

“You’re not.” He said quickly.

“Why do I have to sit in this stinking train anyway? What’s the point of all of this?”

“Look outside.”

“How many times have I told you. I. Can’t. S-Whoa.”

Outside, it was beautiful. Plants and various flowers bloomed in the bushes, and tall trees as ancient as her grandmother. Green grass against a bright, blue sky, silvery clouds, animals of all sorts. 

Out of nowhere, she started crying. Sure, she could see in her visions, but as soon as they were over, she forgot all about them.

“It’s okay,” the man patted her. “Also, don’t tell Finn about this.”

“I won’t,” Astrid pulled herself together. The man looked like Dumbledore, but with a grayer beard and gray eyes that looked like they had seen everything.

Astrid realized she had never seen herself before. All she knew was that she had dark hair, and that was practically it. 

“A mirror?” She said in a rush. He handed her one. She looked into the mirror…

And a stranger stared back at her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tell me if I should continue the story :>

Thanks for reading!

~Author