Sisters of Moonlight: Brielle: book 1 of sisters trilogy.

Enter The Wilderness

With shaky legs and a hammering heart, I exit the truck. This is it. This is the final destination. No, no. Don't call it that! That sounds like the end. This is a beginning. A terrifying beginning full of unknowns, but the better option for myself and my sisters.

I take a deep breath and go around to the bed of the truck and start removing the packs. I check my holster for my .9mm, strap knives at my ankle and thigh, buckle the .305 rifle to my bag and shoulder it. I pick up the 300 blackout from the truck cabin and put ammo into my belt. Liz and Sky follow suit strapping on knives, putting on their packs, and choosing guns. Liz takes the 5 round 18 gauge shot gun, and Sky takes the AR-15. "Shit, these things are heavy," Sky grumbles. 

I chuckle and pat her mess of curls. "We don't have much choice. We need everything, at least until we can settle somewhere."

We slowly approach the tree line, a bit apprehensive about entering while It's still dark, with about an hour before the sun starts to lighten the sky.

Liz takes a big sigh and clicks on a flashlight. "Well, best to get going! No time like the present!" And she begins walking into the forest.

Sky And I look at each other in shock and hurry after her. Of the three of us, Liz has always been quiet, shy, and in no rush for anything to do with danger. She likes her books, a good cup of tea, and soothing music. Yet here she is, taking the lead.

Clicking on our lights, just bright enough to see a foot or two ahead of us, we start out. Thankfully the moon is nearly full and still visible through the trees, lending us extra light.

"Isn't the moon usually down by now?" Sky asks.

"It depends on where it is in its orbit. Sometimes it's out during the day." I reply. Looking up At the moon, I feel a pull, something that's always been there. Like a feral animal lurking below the surface, wanting to break free and bathe in the moon's ethereal glow. I smile. My dad always said I had a crazy imagination.

The world around us is quiet. The animals of the night have tucked away for their daytime slumber, while the day creatures have yet to wake up. There's no path, so the only sounds are our boots crunching over fallen leaves and small rocks. The forest seems to be primarily evergreens; firs and pines, but there's plenty of maple, which are dropping their leaves as the autumn progresses. It's cold, in the low 30's. I can make out my breath as I huff along. I feel like the night lasts forever, but it isn't long before we start to hear signs of life waking up for the day.

The sun begins it's slow ascent, lightening the eastern sky. It'll be a while before it fully shines on us due to the mountains, which cast long shadows across the forest.

As the day continues we stop several times along the river to hydrate and eat. There are indeed fish in the river, like Liz had surmised, but we agree to wait until we make camp to try and catch any.

Talking is kept to a minimum so as not to draw too much attention to our location. I have no idea if there are people out there who will happily take advantage of our supplies and probably us as well. Because of the lack of conversation, my mind wanders to my surroundings. There appears to be ample wildlife, I'm encouraged as the prospect of having food seems to improve. Once we find a place to homestead, we'll need to stock up fast before winter sets in.

After several more hours following the river and trudging through uneven terrain, at an incline, we start to slow.

"I can't walk anymore," Liz says quietly. She stumbles a few more steps and sits down on a small boulder. "Can we make camp? It will be getting dark in a couple hours, and we need to set up and try to fish, right?"