Autumn's Fall

V. Morning in the Forest

The shrill sound of Angus' alarm went off, waking the three figures huddled together for warmth and safety. They had survived the first night.

Cecilia rose gingerly from her sleeping bag, "Owwww." Sophia rubbed her aching back, "Why does it feel like we walked for a century last night when it was only a few hours?"

Angus staggered to his feet, legs throbbing in protest at their usage after so long a walk.

"Alright troops, let's move out. We've got to keep ahead of anyone that might be looking for us." That set his sisters' hands moving quicker and their hearts beating faster.

So far, all they could hear was the sound of the flowing stream next to them, chattering birds, and squirrels frolicking in the trees. Once they heard a car coming up the road. All of them held their breath, standing still until the vehicle passed by.

Breakfast was a mixed meal from their rations, and they were finished eating sooner than any of them wished. Looking through their packs, Angus took stock of what remained of their stash. If they continued to ration properly, they should have more than enough to last them for their journey. They may even have leftovers, for which he was thankful.

After repacking their tent and bedrolls, they buried their trash and headed off towards the road. For now, they would walk along in the woods parallel to it.

Sophia readjusted her pack and jumped to avoid stepping in an anthill, "Where are we going today Angus?"

"We'll be following the road until it turns off to the left at a deep ravine. We'll have to go down it and up the other side to reach a path. That'll take us up and over the pass by Hidden Crest which is the lowest point around here for miles. We'll stop at the top of the pass for the night."

"That far?! I'm gonna have blisters on my blisters."

"It'll be alright, we'll be there sooner than you think. Try thinking of something else to take your mind off of the trip. We might be able to see the lights of home from up there when night comes. Do you remember camping at the park on the other side of the pass?"

"I remember. We went fishing a lot on the lake. Mom fried the fish for us for dinner and we fell asleep at night listening to the waves on the lake shore." Sophie swatted away a branch from in front of her face and tried to see ahead of her, but all she could see was the never-ending trees and shrubbery before her.

It was hard going for the children. There were no paths to be seen this far into the woods. They had to pick their way through fen and fern, tall grasses that cut at their exposed ankles, thick bushes and low branches that clung to their clothes and hair so that by the time they stopped for lunch all were more than a little cut up and all were exhausted. Lunch consisted of three trail bars, some mixed fruit, and a fresh bottle of water for each of them.

Sophia was feeling rather tired compared to her two siblings. But despite everything that had happened, she was enjoying the beauty of the woods around them. Autumn was just around the corner, and there is no place like an old forest, filled with all kinds of tall and ancient trees, to see the wonder of it. Everywhere she looked were shades of most any color—fiery reds, bright yellows, cool oranges, dark to dirty browns all mixed up together, some all on the same leaf, in a colorful cacophony of a canopy covering them with hits of a pale blue sky peeking out from the branches overhead.

After their rest, which all of them considered much too short, they slung their packs back up and kept on trudging through the forest. The road was beginning to look awfully tempting after all their battling through the woods. But they knew that all it would take was one stray car they couldn't outrun to end their escape.