Fading In

Chapter Two

I hadn’t woken up to anything specifically. My brain had just decided to come to. I fluttered my eyes open, but quickly winced at the crust that had built up the night before. 

Or maybe the day before? I thought as I looked into the sky once again. The stars shined bright at me, as if they were all watching my every movement, but in a good way. 

The darkest nights make the brightest stars. I thought to myself, letting my brain adjust to being awake. 

It was night. I pushed myself to sit up, but my body hurt more than it did before. I groaned and forced myself to get up. My body had protested with every movement I made, but that wasn’t something I could worry about. I had no idea where I was. I hadn’t the slightest clue how long it had been. Flashes of what seemed like the day before came across my mind. The memories forever engraved forever in my head: My fathers dead body on the ground, the man growling at me, the way he looked at me with such ferociousness, and my great escape. I had no idea how I even made it out. I wanted to weep again. I wanted to give up and lie on the ground until I felt better. 

I tried to pull myself together. I had to find someone. I had to find some place where someone could help me. I took one step forward and my body screamed in agony, but I ignored it, and continued to push my body forward. 

I didn’t get too far before I noticed a rock holding down a white piece of paper on the ground. Curiosity got the better of me and I bent down to pick it up. My muscles definitely didn’t appreciate my actions, but that soon left my train of thought after I scanned the contents of the paper. 

This was directed to me? I thought as I read the words over and over again. 

“The river?” I asked myself.

I hadn’t the slightest clue that there was a river nearby, but I also did take in the fact that I was completely lost. I had no idea how north compared to south, especially with the sun down.

Or was it west to east? My mind wandered away from the topic at hand and I began to walk aimlessly around. 

I looked at the paper again and read the words aloud, “Head down south and follow the river. You’ll be safe there” I mumbled the last part. 

I grinned at the small smiley face that sat in the bottom right corner of the paper. I looked to my left, and then to my right, but still wasn’t sure where to go. 

Which direction is south? Wait- I stopped my train of thought and asked myself why I was listening to the paper anyways. What if they found me and left this? What if it was a trap?

Questions after questions raced through my head. I decided to ignore the paper, not that I could use it anyways. I was unfortunately not the best at directions. I wasn’t sure what to do with the paper, but I didn’t want to leave it on the ground, so I decided to put it in my bag. 

My bag! Where’s my bag? My brain went on full search mode as I turned and  fumbled around to find my bag. 

Thankfully, it wasn’t super dark, but it wasn’t like the moon had guided my path with its light. I was barely able to make out the worn out black bag on the ground, it blended in a bit too well. After successfully shoving the paper inside, I started to walk in a random direction. 
I was a little anxious to be out in the forest at night. Back at the house I would sneak out and enjoy the nightly breeze, but I had never wandered out into the forest. On top of that I wasn’t familiar with the area. I took a breath and put on my big girl pants. 

I’ve witnessed a murder. I’ve run away from home, without a choice, of course. I fought a man twice, no, triple my size. I’ve slept outside on the ground. I can do this. This is nothing. Easy peasy lemon sq- I was cut off by my thoughts when the sound of a branch snapping echoed out into the night. My heart dropped. It didn’t take more than a millisecond for me to take off running again. Although, this time it hurt. I felt the soreness in my legs and the pain in my stomach. It hurt so much, but my fear got the best of me. I felt my legs almost give out, but before they even had the chance I tripped over the uneven ground and went tumbling forward. I groaned out of pain and opened my eyes. I slowly pushed myself off the ground and scanned my surroundings. Everything seemed normal except the sound that swept through my ears. The sound of water rushing.