The hunt

1. Nightmare

I open my eyes and everything's on fire, there's dust and screams.

I can't move, I'm paralyzed. I look up and something is coming down, a big shadow looms over me.

Again?

I know I should move, but I look down and my mom is lying on the ground, I know she won't wake up because the impact of a bomb killed her minutes ago.

Run, my instincts tell me but I'm frozen.

Someone takes my hand and pulls me away, I can hear them instructing me to walk but I can't feel my feet as I stumble behind the person guiding me.

"Yasira! Move!" The voice urges me.

My mind is blank so I just walk behind whoever is dragging me. I think I'm crying and I think I have some cuts, but none of them matter. 

All I can think about is my mom. My mom who taught me almost everything I know, who was fast and strong and would hug me anytime. I want my mom to come too. The image of her body and blood flashes in my mind.

I don't know how much later we stop walking and they make me sit.

"Yasira, are you okay?" a man asks, taking my face in his hands.

"I think she's in shock," someone responds.

"Come here, baby," the voice says and gives me a hug.

13 years later

I wake up, my heart is racing and I'm covered in cold sweat, my face is humid with tears.

"Dad..." I whisper. The ghost of his arms comforting me still haunts me. He was the man who took me away from the danger that day.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

I'm here. I'm okay. I have to repeat to myself as many times as I can to try and believe it.

I can't go back to sleep so I do what I always do when this happens, I look out and wander until the sun comes out.

There's a heavy and strange feeling pressing down on me, so I decide to call my Ikran, Nezir, and fly away.

I try to avoid the old home tree, the memories are too painful and today could be worst so, instead, I order Nezir to fly toward the waterfalls.

When we arrive I sit on a rock by the river, the water falling down beside me roars loudly in my ears, helping me block out all the ideas and giving me a break.

I wait until the sun comes out and in the meantime I sow a net that I use to capture some fish, then I also walk around and kill a type of squirrel that will be useful to eat and make a pouch.

When I feel like I've gathered enough and people at the camp will be up, I call Nezir and we fly back.

Once there I notice that everyone feels a little on edge, it has been this way since the people from the sky came back. The combat groups destroyed another one of their machines and also yesterday there was a problem with the children of the clan leaders.

By problem I mean that the kids were taken hostage. They were able to come back home safely, but still, everyone heard the clan leaders discussing last night.