Jesse leaned with her back against the sturdy palm tree in the back of their yard, crossing her arms over her chest and propping one foot up against the trunk. She cocked her head to one side, allowing a string of her dark chestnut hair to fall into her face, dangling in front of her eyes. Simply reaching a hand up and brushing the strand away, Jesse directed her gaze back up at the sky again.

She lifted her hand, wriggling her wrist to get a clear view of her watch. As expected, it was only early afternoon. Jesse looked back up, a frown finding it's place on her forehead as she gazed up at the light pink tint to the sky, looking like the sun was already setting.

"Odd." Jesse murmured to herself.

Letting out a soft sigh, she shook her head and pushed herself off the tree. The wind was probably just kicking up some dust, they were in the middle of a really dry summer after all.

Jesse turned back in the direction of the house, beginning to walk towards the building. She had barely taken a few steps before stopping herself in her tracks, head snapping to the side. Jesse raised her eyebrows, her mouth opening slightly as she stared at the strange plant in a mixture of confusion and awe. A small plant, probably not having sprouted long ago, was hiding amongst the shrubbery. It's leaves were a vibrant purple, lilac at the stem.

Jesse walked over to the plant, hesitantly kneeling beside it. A sweet smell met her nostrils, making her pull her head slightly back from the plant in surprise. It wasn't necessarily a bad scent, in fact it reminded Jesse of something sugary. She leaned in closer again, pushing some of the leaves aside as she noticed the lumpy shape of a fruit. It almost looked like an apple, yet completely different. Red at first glance, but almost pink upon further inspection.

Jesse glanced over her shoulder back at the house, before turning back to the plant. She reached out a hand, clasping her fingers around the pinkish fruit and carefully picking it. Clutching it like a valuable prize, Jesse got to her feet again.

She wanted to run back to the house and show a friend what she had found. Lukas was out at that moment, but Petra was home - not that Jesse expected her warrior friend to be nearly as interested in the fruit.

But instead, Jesse found her gaze locked on the object she held in her hands. The sweet scent was pricking her nose, smelling a lot more appetising now that it was right by her face. In any other case, Jesse probably would have been a lot smarter about her actions. But she felt almost hypnotised at that moment, all her usually sharp instincts now just leaning towards taking a bite from the fruit.

And Jesse did.

Much to her disappointment, the fruit didn't taste as delicious as it had smelled. It almost reminded her of a watered down watermelon.

Jesse shrugged, beginning to walk back to the house with the fruit that now had a large bite into the side of it. Now that she's actually eaten part of it, her racing mind had stopped to think whether that was a smart idea or not. Still, she felt a lot less concerned about her actions than she probably should.

By the time Jesse reached their porch, she was already beginning to feel off. Somewhat unsteady on her feet, the world tilting around her. Black dots danced in front of her vision, nausea coiling in her stomach.

Jesse stopped, resting against the side of the building. She reached up to wipe some of the forming sweat from her forehead, taking a few deep breathes in hope of ridding herself of the dizziness and the nausea.

The results weren't as she had hoped, if anything she was only beginning to feel worse. Subconsciously Jesse dropped the fruit she had been holding, resting her one hand on the wall, while the other was still positioned on the side of her head. She felt dangerously close to either passing out or throwing up.

"Something's wrong." Jesse mumbled the obvious to herself in a croaky voice. "Just get inside... Get Petra..."

She pushed herself off the wall, reaching her trembling hand out to the door. Jesse's fingertips only just brushed the surface of the doorknob when her hand jerked back, the muscles in her arm contracting painfully. A pained cough burst from Jesse's throat as she staggered back from the door, her body trembling madly. Sharp coughs began to rack Jesse's body, while her muscles continued to tighten in spasms. Everything was hazy around her.

The last thing Jesse heard before she blacked out, was a panicked voice calling out to her.

"Jesse!?"

___

I swear the story gets better than this XD

This prologue is probably the only part of the story I genuinely dislike, but I didn't want a long, lengthy intro. It's a short story, I wanted to get to the point.

If I stop being overly critical and look at it again, it's okay xD

Moving on! I hope you guys liked this quick introduction to the story, and are looking forward to the first chapter! See you with it in five days!