Shira blinked her eyes open drearily to notice two things that were very out of place.

One: It was really hot out, and it was winter where she lived.

Two: It was very loud, and she’d been alone at the beach.

She glanced around warily, noticing she was laying against a brick wall on a dirty cobblestone ground. She was also behind a tent that apparently belonged to a vendor. Other vendors were scattered around the busy square she was laying on the side of. People haggled, sold, bought, and ran to a from places. Children played among the legs of the adults, screaming and giggling playfully.

Shira suddenly realized just how hot is was and pulled off her coat, tossing it on to the ground next to her unceremoniously. She then tugged off her long-sleeved shirt to reveal the black tank-top beneath. She kept on her jeans, obviously, and stood up to look around, brushing her short hair from her green eyes.

Shira suddenly heard a shriek and her head snapped to see a woman attempting to run from a tall, handsome man holding her by the top of her arm. Shira noticed that everyone around her noticed, but were ignoring the poor woman’s distress.

Let’s get a little fact about Shira into the open. She’s brave, and she doesn’t like it when people are stupid.

So, following along that little fact, she sprinted over and grabbed the woman away from him, shoving her into the crowd so she could get away. She then herself took off at a sprint from the tall man. Unfortunately, she dove into a thin spot herself and he took off after her in pursuit, people moving out of his way. A few shrieks and screams started to let loose.

“Why, you little bitch!” the man roared, taking off after Shira quickly.

Shira glanced around in a panic. Where to hide, where to hide?

Just as she spotted a place she heard a loud crack from behind her and turned to see what had happened. The man brandished a gun, and had missed her by an inch, destroying a pot standing behind her. She was about to run again when another ear-splitting crack rang through the air, and an intense pain shot through her body from her stomach.

Shira gasped, but refused to let herself fall. She looked up through her dark, spiky hair to see the man turn and leave, leaving her good as dead.

Shira managed to make it through the nearly-empty courtyard now to find a place beneath a staircase, collapsing to her knees. She was glad she’d brought the long sleeved shirt with her as she ripped long strips from it and tied them in a make-shift bandage around her middle, gasping with the pain. She finally passed out.

--

One day and a whole lot of pain later, Shira got caught. She sat rigid with fear whenever someone pounded down the stairs above her or walked by, but they managed to miss her in her small dark hiding place.

That was, until the “cop” as she called him, found her.

In truth, he was just a high-ranking guard for the protection of the government. But, having such a job, he had other responsibilities too. There were a few laws, and one of them was no camping out under staircases that led to important government buildings.

Shira was almost asleep, attempting to ignore the pain in her middle when she suddenly heard footsteps.

She gasped, pushing against the wall with all the force she could, but he spotted her.

“Hey you!” he snapped. “Get out from under there!”

Did I mention Shira was also extremely prideful?

Shira gritted her teeth, slowly pulling herself out from under the stairs and showing absolutely no pain to the guard. He was holding a gun at her and a light emitted from his hand to see her face.

“Keh, a girl!” he scoffed, walking over and grabbing her arm as he put the gun in his belt. “Hard to believe someone like you would attempt to get the facts out a place like this.”

“What?” she asked, screwing her face up in confusion.

“Shut up. You’re coming with me. I don’t believe you were trying to get into the place, but you still have to be checked out so I make sure you’re not spiked or something.”

Shira looked at him with her mouth agape as he pulled her along to a sleek car. He pushed her into the back seat and slid into the front, screeching away from the stair and down the cobblestone road.

It was only then that it all hit her. Shira wasn’t at home. She’d been shot. She had no idea what was going on or why she was in a car being taken to some place she had no idea existed. The pressure of it all made her swoon, but she made sure the “cop” didn’t notice and simply put a hand over her stomach, glad that her top was black so that he couldn’t see the blood that was starting to leak through her shirt.

“Here we are,” he said, pulling over and getting her out. She followed him obediently up more stairs to a large metal door, which he opened and pushed her through.

“We have to run your mental waves and see when you last had a contrib.”

She raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing as he led her to a dark room. He clicked open the door and snapped, turning on a light. “Stand there,” he said, pointing to a circle on the floor and writing something on a paper.

She walked slowly over to the circle, ignoring the pain that was blossoming in her stomach. She felt the heat of the blood she was bleeding trickled lightly down her stomach. It was getting really bad.

He glanced up at her, dark eyes staring her down.

“Name?” he asked, turning back to the paper.

“Shira.”

“Age?”

“16.”

“Ok...And don’t move.”

She glanced around before he pushed a button on the wall behind her. A strange shock, not painful but not comfortable, shot through her head.

“Ok...you’re only under stress...Natural...” he muttered to himself more than her.

“Now...” he pushed another button and looked at a screen on the white wall.

“Holy crap!” he said, looking at her incredulously. “You haven’t given a contrib. in ages, if not ever!” He stared at her. “Sorry, but you’ve gotta give one, whether you like it or not.”

“Um...what?” she asked, the first real sentence she’d said on her own while here...wherever it was.

“A contribution. You have to give the lifewave some of your energy and power. Follow me.”

She nodded, totally lost, but followed him anyway.

“It’s going to be really hot,” he said, opening the door to a white room with a strange vent on the wall and a bench. “Take a seat and it’ll only be two minutes.”

She stared at him as he closed the door. She suddenly heard a whirring and a blasting heat came out of the vent.

She gasped before realizing it was almost like a steam room. She’d always liked steam rooms. The two minutes passed quickly and he opened the door. “You didn’t seem to mind that at all.”

“Uhh...no.” she said, blinking in confusion.

“It’s strange. You’ve never given a contrib. ever, apparently, and yet they don’t bother you at all. We almost never get that, except for the rare ones who come in for more than required.”

“What?” she asked, confused and overwhelmed. Not only did she have no idea where she was, she had no idea what the hell he was talking about.

“The ones who come in more often to get paid for it. The more you give without being required, the more you get paid.”

“You mean I can get paid for being in here for a few minutes?” she asked, a smile finally beginning to develop on her face.

“Well...yeah.”

“I’ll take ten minutes more.”

--

Shira stepped out of the scorching room feeling the best she’d been for ages, at home or here.

“Wow.” The “cop” stared at her with an expression of awe. “Never seen someone that excited to be in a hot room.”

She smiled at him, then suddenly realized her stomach didn’t hurt. She instantly lifted up the bottom of her shirt to look at the bandages beneath. Dried blood covered them, but nothing new. She slowly unwrapped the bandages, earning a curious and shocked look from the “cop.” She gasped, seeing the hole from the bullet wound completely closed, just a little red.

“Wow.” She stared at it for a moment. “That did wonders for my injury. I’m glad I dug out the bullet when I did.”

He stared at her for a moment with a ‘wtf?’ expression.

“Long story,” she said. “Can I get paid and directions to a good hotel?”

He nodded, mouth agape, and led her slowly out of the office-like room and to a different room.

“Here’s 300 for the ten minutes. You’ve really helped.” He was starting to get over the shock of her being shot and the like. “And here’s a map. That place right there,” he circled a building with a red pen, “is a really good hotel that’s surprisingly cheap. It costs about 50 a night.” She nodded.

“I’ll give you a ride,” he said, staring at her as she took the map.

“Ok.” She followed him back to the car, and he let her into the passenger’s seat this time.

“I’m Hale, by the way,” he said, glancing at her.

“Nice to meet you, Hale. I’m Shira.”

“You too...”

The rest of the drive was in silence.

--

Shira slowly pulled herself out of the car, viewing the hotel in front of her with a raised eyebrow. She was stopped partway with a hand on her arm.

“You need anything, Shira, let me know,” he said. “Just go to a guard stop and ask for my name.”

“I’ll do that, Cop,” she said, using a nickname already.

“Cop works too when you’re just talking to me,” he said, laughing. “Though I don’t know what it means.”

Shira smiled lightly at him. “Thanks.” She waved before closing the door and taking off.

Shira walked into the hotel slowly, making her way to a desk. A tall woman with thinning hair glanced up at her.

“Can I help you?” she asked, viewing Shira’s disheveled appearance with contempt.

“Room for one for a night,” she said, sliding over a hundred. The woman nodded, suddenly nicer, and gave her 50 back.

“Room 230, second floor.” She handed her a key and pointed down the hall to an elevator. Shira nodded her gratitude and took off to her room to let things stew.

“So,” Shira said to herself once in her small room, furnishings all eerily black. “Let’s get all my facts together.”

“Last place I remember before ending up on the road was standing on the beach, when a rock suddenly hit me from behind, knocking me into the water. That’s it there.

“I was in a marketplace when I got here, that’s for sure,” she noted. “That man was trying to get something from the woman, and it wasn’t her herself...it was probably a debt.

“No one helped. That means they probably knew who he was and didn’t want to create a scene or get on his bad side, like I succeeded in doing both.

“He shot me because I let the woman get away and then hid. He probably thinks I’m dead.

“I was caught underneath the stairs of some important building, and he probably thought I was staking out or something, and mentioned theft.

“I was then brought in to contribute my energy or whatever to a government system, and apparently most people don’t like it. He’s a guard for something, not a cop. Most likely has something to do with government. He also had something in his hand to create light. It’s high-tech here, yet it’s not.

“And I somehow got here, got on someone’s bad side, got shot, got healed in the hot room for whatever reason, got paid and am now staying at a hotel in a city, time, and world I don’t know.

“Right. I’m tired.” She lay down and fell asleep instantly.

--

Shira stared at the map in her hand warily, unsure of what to do. She had decided to go out, but had no idea where. This map showed a basic section of the city. She really needed food and hopefully water, and had the money to get it, though it wasn’t regular money.

Shira straightened up on the bed, also realizing she needed clothes and a serious bath. She instantly went to the bathroom, taking a five minute shower with the provided soaps and the like before returning to the room, still in her dirty clothes. She had no possessions on her and her coat had been abandoned. He long-sleeved shirt was torn up.

“First, clothes,” she said to herself, beginning to make a list in her head. “Second, food and water. Then I explore.”

She nodded then left the hotel, leaving a small tip behind.

She found a clothes shop soon enough and bought some loose dark green pants and a black belt. She also put on a dark green shirt that was like a t-shirt but without the sleeves. She bought some scissors and trimmed her hair away from her green eyes. She then moved on to get some good food.

After a meal of some noodles she didn’t know what they were, a shiver suddenly rolled down her spine. She spun around to see the same tall, handsome man who had shot her. He had long black hair pulled into a ponytail, a few bangs falling into his brown eyes. He was wearing all black and she noticed the gun at his side. As if feeling her gaze, he glanced up to lock eyes with her.

“Impossible...” he whispered, her unable to hear it but seeing it on his lips. Her eyes widened and she spun on her heel, sprinting through the large crowds, smells of foods wafting through the air.

“Get back here!” he snapped, running after her.

“This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening!” she muttered to herself in a panic as she wove through the crowds of people.

“You little—“ he said, finally grabbing her forearm and yanking her flush against him. He pulled her arm and yanked her into an alley, shoving her up against a wall and pinning her with an arm on either side of her head.

“How the hell did you survive?” he asked, anger and confusion etched on his face.

She didn’t say anything, just peered up at him with emotionless eyes through her hair.

He stared at her for a moment, the expressions on his face telling her that he was fighting a battle with himself in his head, before he did the unexpected.

He leaned down and kissed her full on the lips.

Insert passing out here.

--

Shira blinked her eyes open slowly, glancing around nervously, realizing she was in a different place than she had been when passing out. She was in a large king sized bed, in a cement-room without windows, but was decorated ornately to show that it was someone’s home. She looked at a wooden door that looked very thick and strong. She glanced to see a different door leading to a bathroom, another leading to a kitchen, and one more leading to a small living room.

She suddenly felt extremely sick and jumped up out of the bed, sprinting to the bathroom and puking into the toilet. She retched for a moment or two more before wiping her mouth with her hand. She suddenly felt very dizzy and passed out cold again on the tile floor of the bathroom.

--

This idea is from a dream I had. I like it. I plan on updating this soon. It’s nice and long.

I hope everyone likes. o.O

-Jaws