Everlasting Family

Nathan Griffin- Chapter 16

Montgomery, Pennsylvania- 1889- Nathan Griffin

Chapter 16

The night has been going horribly. My father is in rare form this evening and I am getting the brunt of it. Kota and I made a plan so I just need to survive this hell for a few more weeks. I got together as much as possible before my father got home. Hopefully I will be able to collect more supplies as the days go on.

Laying in my bed with ice on my eye, I'm startled to hear a quiet tap on my window. I jump up and rush over before my father hears the noise and decides to investigate.

"Kota?" I ask, pulling the window open when I realize who it is. "What happened? Are you alright?"

He shakes his head and looks down at Jessica. "We need to leave tonight, Nathan. We won't survive a few more weeks in that house."

My eyes widen at his confession. I look Jessica over first to be sure she is alright. She looks fine, save the terrified expression on her face. Kota, on the other hand, looks as horrible as I feel. His left eye is swollen shut, his right wrist looks broken, and his lip is split. Those are the only injuries I can see right now but I am not naive to think there are no more.

He is right. They won't survive in that house if we don't go now. I'm not so worried about myself, but I can't watch Kota get hurt for simply existing and protecting his sister.

Nodding my head, I tell Kota to wait there. I grab all the supplies I have put together. It isn't much, but how hard could it really be to get more?

Once I have everything, I hop out of my window and walk around the front of my house. Our eyes widen in terror when we see Kota's father talking to mine on the front porch of my house. When they spot us, they take off after us.

Kota grabs Jessica's hand and the three of us start running as fast as our legs will carry us. We make it to the woods behind my house, but refuse to stop running. If they catch us, they will kill us.

"Kota, I can't run anymore," Jessica complains, pulling Kota to a stop.

"Okay, I think we are safe now," I tell them, pulling in air as I watch for signs we were followed. "Let's stay here for the night then find our way out in the morning."

We agree to camp there for the night and the next morning we eat some breakfast, then set off to find our way out of the woods. After traveling through the day, we start to get discouraged and by night fall, we are officially lost.

"We will try again in the morning," Kota assures Jessica.

When she is sleeping, we go through our supplies. We have enough food for one person for two days. We have enough water for one person as well. We agree without words that we save it all for Jessica.

~~~~~~

Two days. That is how long we have been wandering in the woods since Kota and I realized our mistake with supplies. Jessica has been eating alright, but we ran out of water yesterday and she has been asking for it since last night. I hate telling her that she can't have water to drink, but I have no choice.

Kota and I were able to start a fire. He and I have been without food and water for two whole days. We are weak and can't keep walking to find our way out. Having no other choice, we set up camp and lay down to rest. Kota and I won't survive much longer if we can't find a way out.