How The Allies of Old began: BORN Chapter One "Waterfall"

Painting in Acrylic by @therealpaul

Hey everyone!

Firstly, I was overwhelmed by the response to the post of my book release, though by now I shouldn't have been surprised- the people of steemit rock so much harder than anywhere else on the net!

For those of you who missed the post, I briefly explained how the series began as an idea for a Young Adult novel, and that I had in fact written what amounts to a novella taking place the summer before REBORN begins, and decided to release it here on steemit. The first two and a half chapters of the novella were moved over into the final version, so for those of you who have already read, or are currently reading the novel I'll make a note in the post where it changes so you can start from there if you'd prefer.

Once again, thank you everyone for your encouragement and support! Now without further adieu, I give you BORN

Enjoy!

Chapter One

Anna mused that there were few things, at least in her limited experience of life, that were more beautiful than a waterfall. She closed her eyes against the fine mist blanketing her face and listened.

It was a combination of things really. The constant thunder of its endless pour over the sides of well-worn rock, but when you listened closely it was as if there were hundreds of individual streams all calling out their own unique, triumphant cries as they jumped over the side in complete and joyous abandon, and when you put it all together it became one voice, like a well-trained symphony.
And that was what she saw of it with her eyes still closed and her head thrown back, breathing in the chilly vapor that refreshed her innermost being, yet another element of its glory. She slowly opened her eyes and began moving backward out of its delicious spray to fully take in the sight. She drew in a breath and experienced a shiver of pure pleasure. It was mesmerizing to watch and she grinned foolishly at the thought that those hundreds of slivers of water looked like strings of diamonds leaping into the shimmering robes of an angel, rippling the gown as they flowed to the bottom.

She heard voices headed her way and it broke apart the magic of the moment. What is it about people that they can rarely be in tune with nature? They're always loud and oblivious to everything around them except the sounds of their own voices.

She watched as the group came stomping over, somehow managing to be heard over nature’s thunderous music. As they reached the rocky edge they stopped in unison, and for a moment there was absolute silence. Not so unaffected after all, she thought with a small smile. She turned away and walked back towards the park’s expansive lawn thinking her ungenerous thoughts of the group were just a mite hypocritical. In a few minutes her friends would be arriving and the six of them would hardly be pensive and quiet as they made their way down the river bed to the main waterfall. She paused in her ambling and glanced back at the group who had resumed their loud bantering. Glancing skyward she decided it was only in solitude that a person could truly be at one with the natural world.

Giving her head a shake she forced her thoughts to take a lighter tone and found herself reveling in the delicious warmth of the day. The sun was out in full force and she knew the grass would feel wonderful, so she slid her sandals off and curled her toes in the soft green blanket. She dropped down on the spongy warmth and stretched out on her back, relishing the way the breeze from the falls tickled across her face. Just give me a pillow and I could easily take a nap, she thought. But the girls would be there any minute so she settled on playing her most cherished childhood game-cloud animation. There were large pieces of white fluff scattered and floating across the great blue and she found her first cartoon immediately as a Viking ship came into focus, proud sails billowing in the wind chasing after a...large dog? Yup, complete with a lolling tongue. To the west a clown on stilts was bending down to pick up....nooo, not a clown, a transformer, and he was stepping out of another dimension. Good one, she mentally applauded herself...

"Anna banana fo fanna!"

She sat up and grinned as she spotted her friends making their way across the clearing.
Jenna was singing and bopping her head, her wavy long black hair swishing back and forth. Her blue-violet eyes glittered with humor as she bumped her generous hips against her sister. Jess laughed and bumped her back though when she did it the motion was far more sensual. With an hourglass figure that tapered into long legs, shoulder length golden hair, and striking light green eyes, Jess might have just stepped out of a magazine. The siblings did a dance skip and Anna grinned at the spectacle before shifting her focus to the others.

Macey was watching the sisters with an expression of mock hilarity, a look that was often seen on her attractive and lightly exotic face. Her athletic body was naturally tanned year round, evidence of her South American roots, but her shining glory was definitely her smile. White and wide and genuine, it was nearly always present. She reached out and goosed Jenna, quickly dodging retaliation as she laughed.

“Hey, what about me?” Jess sulked teasingly.
“Ooh baby, get over here,” Macey made a kitty sound.
Anna grinned through the exchange, catching Holly’s eye roll in her peripheral as the smaller girl came up behind them.
Marina caught it as well, “Oh come on Hol, you know you want some!”

Holly looked up at the much taller blonde and smirked,

“Don’t even think about it,” she warned.

Marina made a move towards her and Holly darted away with a squeal, her wavy brown hair streaming out behind her.
God I love my girls, Anna thought. They were all so different yet they complemented one another perfectly.
They reached her and she hopped to her feet, joining the two sisters of the group in song, doing a little shimmy shake.

"Party tonight!" Jess clapped Anna five and bumped hips with her, still dancing.

"You know it! So what guy are you lusting after today?" She raised an eyebrow, her lip curving in a teasing smile.

Jess smiled back at her in a very impish way, so Anna prodded, "Who is it, spill!"

"Nathan Ryden," Jenna stated, rolling her eyes, "she totally made out with him the other night at the pier."

"I did not make out with him, it was just one kiss!"

"Uh huh, is that what we're calling five minute long tongue action these days?"

Jess glared at her sister, then gave it up and grinned.

"Okay," she confessed," I guess I made out with him a little."

"Nathan, really? Since when do you like him?" Marina piped in as she tied her long blonde hair back in a lopsided ponytail.

Jenna raised a brow. "Do you really need to ask that question? It was just a matter of time since he's one of the last remaining cute guys in our town that she hasn't had a fling with."

"You are so mean to me, and you make me sound so bad!" Jess pouted.

Anna patted her shoulder. "There is absolutely nothing wrong with being boy crazy, your sister just likes giving you crap."

"Oh pu-leeze," Jenna drawled, "this coming from you? You've kissed exactly two people!"

Anna blushed and shook her head. "It's not my fault that guys look at me and see a cute little sister."

That earned her a chorus of boos.

"Anna, what are you talking about, you’re gorgeous!” Jess put a hand on her hip, a frown creasing her brow.

"Yeah, false modesty is very unattractive," Jenna added.

Anna smirked at the sisters. "Hey, I'm not being falsely modest, I just happen to know that my pixie look does not elicit strong sexual urges from the opposite sex. Since some of my friends have guys eye-screwing them everywhere we go, I should know!" Being five foot three and petite of build she always felt she was too tiny and childlike to be considered sexy. It was only her silvery blonde hair and unusual turquoise eyes that allowed her to admit she was attractive.

"What about Austin?" Holly offered.

"He doesn't count."

"And why not?"

"Because we’re friends and I just don’t…couldn’t...I don't know," she finished lamely.

"But he's tall and handsome, and I really don’t think he considers you too childlike,” Jess pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah, you guys keep telling me that and even if it is true it’s only because I have such an amazingly sexy personality…see, I'm not falsely modest, in fact I find myself fantastically awesome!" She stuck out her tongue and laughter filled the air around her.

"Eh hmm,” Holly cleared her throat once the laughter died away, “if you want to talk about pixie-ish, let's talk about me instead." She waved her hand over her body and raised her eyebrows.

Anna shrugged smiling, "We're both pixies." Holly was a little taller but even slighter in stature if that was possible. Anna had to admit she had her friend beat in the boobs department, but Holly was very pretty, with eyes that changed from steel grey to ice blue depending on her moods.

"So," Marina chimed in, tapping her foot in mock impatience,

"are we going to stand around all day discussing our looks or go see our waterfall?"

“Their” waterfall was located at the end of the mile long trail, a much taller version of the one Anna had been soaking in before they’d arrived. They followed Marina down to the stream and spent the next hour in a riot of laughter as they splashed their way towards the great falls. Over the years of their friendship, particularly once they’d turned sixteen and could drive themselves, they’d spent a great deal of time at this particular park. So much time it had begun to feel like an extension of their backyards.
When they reached their destination they all stopped to pay homage to the great waters rushing down from high above. Though it was narrow, the sheer height from which it fell was greater than that of Niagara Falls making it impressive in its own right. Sometimes, when there were few people around, they would swim at the base of it. Today the park was busy and they would not escape notice if they were to jump in with their typical banshee cries so they restricted themselves to the benches that lined the wooden railing.

Their conversation consisted mainly of their five day camping trip to the Grassroots festival. Every year the neighboring town of T-burg held a music fest on the fairgrounds that attracted people from all over the country. Since the grounds were considered private property no official law enforcement was permitted inside the gates lending an air of freedom that was difficult to find almost anywhere else in the continental U.S. They did employ security guards since there was generally upwards of fifty thousand people in attendance, but the guards’ main function was to keep the peace, something there was surprisingly little need of. Anna’s dad believed this fact went a long way in supporting his belief that TV news was nothing more than propaganda meant to inspire fear in the heart of the public with their perpetual stories of violence, therefore enabling the government to have that much more power. She certainly saw his point, but at eighteen years old she was far more concerned with the fun she could have then the state of current affairs.

"Sooo, are we ready to head back?" Macey took a step in that direction indicating that she was and they all stood. Macey was never overtly demanding, she would always tell you what she wanted in a question, but after years of friendship they all knew that when she was done with a particular place she would become mildly and increasingly irritated if they continued to stay.

They walked back through the canyon continuing their discussion of the festival. Holly had been doing her research (the small brunette could always be counted on for that, organization and planning were her specialties) and she had made an itinerary for them based on the bands they liked most. Since there were five separate grandstands it was necessary to know who was playing where and at what time so they would get the most out of the experience…According to Holly anyway, as far as Anna was concerned she would be happy to flit from one area to the next just as long as she had plenty of time in the dance tent.

When they were once again at the grassy field that led to the parking area, Anna halted to salute her “entrance” waterfalls. She turned to the girls with an expression of thoughtfulness.

"Isn't it amazing how two hundred years from now, barring any major catastrophes, that water will still be pouring down over those rocks?"

"You think too much Anna," Marina grinned, pushing her playfully.

She shrugged, smiling back. Well I think it's cool, she thought defensively, it's just too bad I won't be around to see it.

Buy Your copy of The Allies of Old: Reborn HERE-

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=linnet+mclaughlin

Original illustration by @therealpaul, cover layout and final design by @son-of-satire