Dreams such as this often frequented Amberley Clarke's mind.

Ever since she was small, she had suffered from nightmares; ones so dark and vile that she would often wake up trembling violently and lying in a pool of cold sweat.

Amberley didn't know why she had them. She didn't know what they meant. She only knew that they made sleep terrifying and excruciating.

This one particular night, Amberley awoke with a startled jolt and lay, frozen, for several seconds as her brain registered what was happening. Slowly, she shifted her body into a sitting position and rubbed tiredly at her swollen eyes. She tilted her head back and gazed through the open window nearby. Thousands of twinkling stars sparkled brightly against the inky black back-drop of the night-time sky.

With a frustrated sigh, Amberley kicked off her covers, retrieved her robe and shuffled clumsily outside. The chilly, dank air nipped her bare skin and Amberley shivered as she pulled the robe tighter around herself. She lowered her body onto the front steps that led up to the porch running the full-length of the house. She rested her ginger head against one of the big, wooden posts and stared, admiringly, up at the sky above her.

"Can't sleep again?"

Amberley jumped in surprise and turned around to see a woman standing in the doorway behind her. She shrugged and nodded in response. "Yes. I suppose."

The woman tucked her short, brown hair back behind her ears and folded her arms over her chest as she came to stand next to Amberley. "I've never known someone who doesn't like to sleep," she chuckled softly. "You're the only exception."

Amberley sent her a half-smile. "Can you really blame me, Eunice? The nightmares - they're getting worse."

Eunice furrowed her brow in concern. "What did you dream about this time?"

"Something about me and a sword," Amberley guffawed sarcastically. "No big deal."

Eunice raised her eyebrows.

"I'm serious!" Amberley protested laughingly. "It was nothing, I swear."

"Right," Eunice rolled her eyes. "Well, I'll go brew you a hot cup of tea. I have a feeling this is going to be a long night."

Amberley nodded and watched Eunice as she retreated back inside. She didn't have the heart to tell her that, in the dream, the woman she had killed was her ...

Amberley had always wondered if her dreams meant something specific. What did they mean? Where they memories? Where they a foretelling of future events?

She had no way of knowing and no one of which to ask.

But, deep down, she was sure of one thing.

She wasn't normal.

If anyone knew her backstory, they would probably agree.

Amberley was only seven years old when her and her entire family were forced to flee from the impending danger overtaking the world. Earth had been ravaged by an apocalypse that left a trail of death, violence and misery wherever it went. The Clarkes had no where else to go and thought they would be safe out in the desolate wilderness of the Accona Desert.

But they were wrong.

A deadly radiation from the sun had scorched the Earth's surface and had deformed the plants and the animals. What was once safe and secure was no longer so and the wilderness, instead of being a sanctuary, turned into their worst enemy.

One morning, Amberley had awoken, tired, thirsty and hungry, when screams and yells of terror arose from amongst the campers.

"Raiders! Raiders!" the shout rang out. "The Desert Raiders are here!"

Amberley remembered her mother grabbing her hand, her feet pounding across the rough, sandy ground, her throat raw from screaming, her heart hammering in fear.

The splintering sound of a gun-shot rang out and Mrs Clarke collapsed to the ground.

"Mummy!" Amberley sobbed. "Mummy! Get up! Get up!"

Mrs Clarke shook her head and cradled her daughter's face in her hands. "Mummy can't get up right now, sweetie," she whispered hoarsely. "Mummy wants you to run, okay? Run as fast as you can! Don't stop and don't look back."

Amberley was only young and didn't understand that her mother was never going to get up again. So, she ran and she ran and she ran until she fell, exhausted, to her knees in the middle of a deathly-silent wasteland.

"Mummy! Daddy!" she screamed. "Where are you?"

They were gone and so were the rest of the campers who had been with them.

Poor Amberley didn't know how to survive out in a place like the Accona Desert. She wouldn't have lasted long on her own anyway. But she was forced, by the searing hot sun, to continue walking until she reached a small oasis several miles away.

As she crouched down to greedily lap up the water at the small brook trickling through the greenery, Amberley recalled hearing a loud whooshing noise. Looking around, she noticed a huge, dark hole in the ground nearby. However, this was no regular hole. The edges of the abyss were blurred into blue, flickering lines that were spinning so fast it made Amberley dizzy. A series of loud pops, hisses and crackles escaped from the spinning circle, drawing a naive Amberley straight to it.

As she curiously peered down into the never-ending canvas of darkness, Amberley felt the ground beneath her feet give way. A strangled scream arose in her throat as she plunged to certain death. 

That was the part that Amberley couldn't remember with as much clarity as the rest. The lurking memory tugged at her mind as blurred blotches of the scene flashed before her eyes.

She fell. She hit a hard, solid substance. She blacked out. When she awoke, she found herself amidst an array of starched sheets and thick quilts that were situated in a tiny, thatched hut. A kindly face was looking down at her, a gentle voice was speaking to her, a warm and soothing broth was being spooned into her mouth.

Amberley didn't understand what had happened at the time but, as the years rolled by, she peppered Eunice Giovagnoli, the woman who had saved her, with many questions. Eunice generally didn't like to bring up the past and would often answer her in very short, snappy tones. However, what Amberley did gather from her was this - she had fallen into a portal and had been transported to a land back in time; a land called Arodia.

Ordinarily, this would've been a difficult story to believe had it not been for the rigid, metallic substance that were Eunice's arms, shoulders and neck. The lady, no matter how kind and understanding, was not fully human. While she had a human form, Eunice also contained some robotic appearances and traits.

Amberley had always wondered why Eunice lived in the middle of nowhere, with no people or houses for hundreds of miles; but she was always told that the others who were out there were not good and if they found Amberley, a fully functioning human, they would kill her.

Amberley had never doubted Eunice. Why should she? She had rescued her from the others before. She was keeping her safe and protecting her at the risk of her own life. That was a price Amberley could never repay.

It doesn't mean she wasn't curious though. Deep down, she always wondered what was out there.

Would she ever find out?

"Amberley! The tea is ready!" Eunice called out from the kitchen.

Amberley blinked several times to shake herself from her reverie. Pushing herself up to her feet, the wide-eyed, wondering girl glanced up at the stars once more and sighed.

"I'm coming."