The Invaders

Chapter Three

Jesse Owens once said, “We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort.” 

Everyone is good at something in life. For Helen, running is something that she has truly excelled at. She has been running along with a few other humans including her mother who barely escaped and made it inside a forest where they tried to make a life for the past months. But Helen couldn't think of a better life because something plagues her mind each and everyday.

First the hair stands up on the back of her neck, her  palms start to sweat and a wave of nausea washes over her. Her entire body begins to tremble and her heart beats so loudly you can almost hear it. Fear.

Some people can go through life without ever having felt happiness or sadness, but fear is inescapable. What causes a person to be so afraid? Pain. Danger. Harm. The most simple known function of our brain is the ‘reptilian’ brain and is found in humans as well as all mammals and reptiles. This part of our brain controls our instinct and we could not survive without it. If not for our other ‘thinking’ and ‘emotional’ brains, humans would act and respond just like reptiles do. In humans, the fight or flight reflex is a mechanism in the body that enables people to react to situations, by preparing the body to fight or run away from the situation.

So, fear starts off as an instinctive, primitive response to help us to avoid threats, injuries or death. We all fear for our lives when we are approached by a wild Lion or leopard. But beyond that, we can also fear things that are not dangerous or life threatening.

Helen has been thinking more and more about ‘’Fear’’ over the past year and she has been confused why it has been on her mind so much. She was scared to lose people close to her, she was  anxious for the coming year, she was  nervous every time she looked at her mother because she wasn't getting any better and the winter wasn't over. 

She would hunt each day to provide for her mother and herself but she was tired of the constant looking over her shoulders. When would all this end? Could she even have a normal life again? One filled with laughter and love.

Skinning a rabbit she caught on her hunt , Helen laughed at her thoughts. Because she knew that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.

Starting a fire she set the rabbit on a stick over the flames while sharpening her blade. The cold weather was not helping them. There were all kind of creatures coming out in this season to hunt. It was a competition with humans and wild creatures. Helen had her share of experiences with them. The long claw mark across her cheeks is the reminder of why she wished for a better life. Since that incident she never took off the cloth she use to create a hijab. She check her surroundings before removing it and put a piece of the red tender smoked meat in her mouth then quickly replaced it. She gathered the meat and went into the tent which sheltered her mother.