Frozen In Stone Chapter One

Aaron felt like screaming at the top of his lungs and running down that cursed hill and throwing himself into the jagged rocks and shark infested water.1

But no, of course, he couldn’t. He just had to be on this mission with a man that liked nothing more than to make him feel uncomfortable. He just had to be sent to explore this damnable little island because no one else wanted to.2

Sid tapped him roughly on his head, bringing him out of his…somewhat suicidal thoughts and into reality. Aaron grunted and continued climbing up the rocks.3

Above him, he heard Sid reach the top of the mountain of large rocks they were climbing and disappear behind the top. Aaron groaned and pulled himself up after him and straightened himself up so he could see what lay ahead.4

Aaron gaped, openmouthed in shock.5

When they had been sent to explore the tiny island, they had been told to look for anything worth investigating, such as possible mining sites. They had never expected to see…well…6

“Ruins…” Aaron whispered softly. A few feet in front of him and to his right, Sid nodded silently at the site before them.7

Before them, towering up into the sky, were buildings of stone. Ivy and other vines climbed up the walls, making the buildings look ancient…and they probably were. It had been so long since anyone had built anything out of stone. A huge tower rose to their left, taller than the other buildings by far. The top of it had turned to rubble and even know stones were tipped precariously, threatening to throw themselves to an untimely death in the waters below.8

Aaron shivered, remembering how he had been thinking of throwing himself to those same waters.9

Sid coughed and adjusted his pack. He turned his shaggy blonde head over his shoulder and shouted to Aaron, “Get moving, you! I’ll take this building on the left, you go look to see if there’s anything interesting down those steps!”10

Aaron nodded and walked towards the steps, noting how they looked on the verge of crumbling. He stepped down them oh-so-carefully and found himself on a small dirt pathway into a….garden?11

Yes, it was a garden: Plants he had read as extinct were in full color, violent shades of blue and red everywhere. Tiny white flowers with an overpowering yet gentle perfume climbed the stone wall to his right, and to his left the path opened into a sort of courtyard. Shocking huge red flowers poked out along the pathway among more delicate and shimmery yellows that looked like falling silk. Tiny violet flowers guarded a stone bench where a faded lion face growled out at him from beyond the grave. He flinched before moving his eyes upward.12

And there lay a girl.13