A land divided

Chapter 6

We just kept running and running. My legs were burning and I could hardly breathe. We finally found a safe place to take a breath. I tried to talk but I kept gasping for air.

"I know - this is bad timing but - I never caught your name."

"It's - Dahlia" Dahlia, nice name.

"My name is Elijah" I said, she nodded and took a deep breath. We had been running for what seems like hours. We need to stop and rest for a moment. I looked around and could easily see the glow in the distance.

"Come on, let's go." She said. I grabbed my things and grabbed Nathaniel, but something was wrong. He wouldn't stop crying. The woman reached into my bag and pulled out a bottle. I hadn't even realised it was in there. It still had some formula in it, and I had the food I brought from the house.. She held it upto Nathaniel's face and he quickly reached out to grab it. She let him eat and I was surprised how quickly she knew what was wrong.

"I forgot to feed him yesterday, did you feed him while I was asleep?" She nodded.

"I fed him and changed him, I didn't want him waking you up." I was surprised she would take responsibility for a child she didn't need to take care of. I didn't bother asking why. Once Nathaniel was done eating she put the bottle back in my backpack and we set off.

We started walking over an open field. I kept getting bitten by bugs, guess I didn't wear very good clothes for this, but then again I had no clue I would be wandering around with a woman I've barely met. We walked through many different areas. First, we went through a swamp. I got bitten up really badly, but luckily there was itch cream in my backpack. Next, we went through a very sandy area. It wasn't a desert but it was similar to one. I drank a lot of my water and had to refill everytime we passed a fountain, pump,or sink. Then we went through a mountainous area. It was beautiful, but the constant threat of an avalanche kept me walking. We walked for a week straight. Of course we stopped to sleep, eat, and keep clean. Finally we reach the far lands. The grass was green, the sky was blue, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. We continued forward and reached a small yellow house. There she was. A tall, dark haired, caramel skinned woman. Nathaniel's mother. I knew her face, how could I forget what she looked like after what she did.

Me and Dahlia approached her. She saw Nathaniel and seemed happy that he was ok but sad her plan didn't work. She was the first to talk.

"I-I'm sorry. I just thought if he was in the healthy lands he would have a better chance to do what every little kid deserves and I-" I cut her off. I handed her Nathaniel and he instantly sprung to life. He was like a toy with dead batteries and suddenly he had new ones. But something seemed wrong. The mother looked up and had a look of horror in her face. I turned around and there it was. The original fire had chased us down.