(This is a rough draft, so there may be some mistakes and whatnots. And I was also half asleep too xD)
-Sorry if the first chapter is really short, but I couldn't really think of anything else for this chapter-
The late October wind rustles through the forest, pulling the colorful leaves along with it. The ancient trees shiver as the air goddess brushes past them, their children laughing as they follow her in her wake. Animals were frozen in place while the wind passes them by.
A scent is left behind. It was that of a human girl, rare in these parts. Every squirrel, fox, deer, chipmunk, rabbit, snake, mole, bird, frog and toad run for cover, afraid of this strange creature.
Her eyes scan around the enclosed area, a sigh escaping from her thin, dry lips as she realizes that the inhabitants were afraid of her. Of course, it wasn't her fault. The others were as noisy as the whipper wills back in Tennessee, but who know what had happened to those nightly feathered creatures. It had been a few years since she had been in the mountains, and already, she was starting to forget about her old life, when everything was peaceful and quiet.
"Alaina, come on!" a deep but gental voice rings through the trees.
She sighs, not wanting to go back to camp so soon.
"Coming Lex!" Alaina says into the earpiece with a growl, feeling miserable, yet irritated at the same time.
She quietly runs back to where the others were, careful not to make too much racket. They were near X-Alpha Territory, and none of her companions wanted to get caught by these odd beings. Shaking her head, Alaina slows down a little. A single crack of a small twig echos behind her. A second passes before she sprints out of sight.
The boy curses to himself as the human girl vanishes into the trees. He should have been careful, like his mentor told him to when he was assigned to be a Guard for the X-Alphas just a few weeks ago.
"Damn it Conner," he mumbles to himself. "That was the first human you had spotted, and you lost her. Great."
Conner heads off in the other direction, back towards the border near the city.
Alaina sighs in relief as she catches up with her friends from camp. Lex stares at her suspiciously.
"And what were you doing?" he asks.
She shrugs, not wanting to have this conversation again.
"Just trying to make sure our tracks were covered so the guards at the border don't try to follow us," Alaina replies casually.
Lex just rolls his eyes, having nothing else to say about the topic.
"Let's just get back to camp before sundown, alright?"
Alaina and the others nod in agreement. They have all had a rough and tiring day. Except that something didn't seem right. As the group heads westward, Alaina could faintly hear the ticking of a small clock, which now seemed very alien to her.
Rubbing her head, Alaina walks alongside with her best friend Lex. Other than her friend Kassidy and her brother Trey, Lex was the only person that had known Alaina since before the world was sent into chaos almost three years ago, which killed her parents and distant aunt and uncle. Imagining the world back then seemed very strange now, even to her, since she was the most sane person out of all the survivors that she has encountered.
The smell of fresh-cooked meat and vegetable soup causes a moan to whisp through her stomach. She sighs, glad to be back in time to eat.
""So, what do you have cooked up now Crazy Nimph?" Trey asks Melinda.
Melinda smiles, glad that she wasn't called by her old name.
Crazy Nimph was one of the only elderly people that had escaped the Plague by hiding in a World War II bunker, and she was the best cook amongst us.
"Soup and fresh chickies," she says to him with a toothy grin.
Alaina and Kassidy laugh.
"So does that mean we havin' goose for dinner?" Kassidy asks ol' Nimph.
A soft cackle could be hear from the old woman.
"Child, are you goin' deaf? Of course it's goose!" she replies with a grin.
Lex grins as Alaina muffles a giggle.
"She got you again Kass," Lex states matter-of-factly.
Kassidy flushes in embarassment.
"Never had a goosin' before," she says in her southern accent.
"Well, young lady, you are going to have a goose tonight, and you are going to like it!" Crazy Nimph smiles.
His light blue eyes were an illusion to the human girl, when in reality, a dark fury darker than anything imaginable. The nineteen year old Seeker had been trying to get information from the girl for days now, and he was almost to the point to where he was going to torture this rebellious human.
"Where did they find you?" the Seeker questions her.
She sighs, knowing that she wasn't going to last much longer.
"West of the city," the girls says glumily.
He smiles slightly.
"Were you alone?"
"Yes."
"Did you get lost in the woods?"
"Yes..."
She closes her eyes, trying to relax. The Seeker smirks.
"Thought so. Before you were found, were you with any others?"
The girl tenses.
"Why should I tell you?" she asks.
He smirks.
"We just want to know if your friends are safe, Isabella."
She flinches at the found of her name, but she recovers her composure and shakes her head.
"Seperated at the river, nothing more. They probably forgot about me by now, since I wasn't with them for that long."
The Seeker kneels down to look at her face-to-face.
"What were their names?" he asked her soothingly.
Isabella sighs.
"Kassidy Alamora, Lex Sanders, Alaina and Trey Smith, and... Krysten. Krysten Wells."
A yawn escapes from Alaina's lips as she sits in front of the campfire. It had been about a half hour since the others had gone to sleep, and already, Alaina was on edge. She never stayed up this late, ever. There was something bothering her.
"Girl, why you still up awake at this hour?"
Alaina looks up to see Minerva walking to her from one of the make-shift tents the group had found a few months ago.
"Can't sleep, that's all," she replies quietly.
Minvera laughs as she slowly sits down next to the tiredless girl.
"Everyone's got to sleep sometime," Crazy Nimph whispers to Alaina jokingly.
Alaina just smiles.
"You're right," she says to Minerva.
The old lady nods.
"You should get some sleep, at least," Nimph tells Alaina.
"Okay," Alaina replies. "Well, good night, I guess."
Minerva cackles softly.
"Good night deary," she calls as Alaina gets up and heads towards the tents.
