The Unseen

"You can see me?"

                She couldn't sleep. The night had gone into the grey hours of the morning and still, she couldn't sleep. Her green eyes watched everything around her as the blonde tendrils of her hair spilled into the dewy grass. Water and dirt collected up on her skin, making it smell as earthy and rich as the ground underneath her. She sighed and let the cold wetness of the night seep into her clothes.

A million thoughts ran through seventeen-year-old Maya Jameson's mind but none of them could help her situation. She needed a new plan, a new place to go.

She was dirty and smelled like week old socks. Her food had run out and she was left with a box of raisons and one moldy apple that she abandoned after the first bite. Her mouth went sour at the thought of tasting it. No way was she eating that again.

Her water supply was reaching its limit and the streams were too muddy for her to drink out of. The modern woman wasn't meant to live in the forest she thought and looked up into the stars. If only Orion's belt was filled with food. Warm delicacies would've rained down on her like chicken, lasagna, apple pie, chocolate cake, sugar cookies, mac and cheese—good god she was hungry.

Her stomach roared like an angry lion. She tried to satiate the hunger with a box of raisons but it did her little to no good. She needed real food with more substance than a shriveled up grape. Her fingers curled around the raison box until she could feel it ball up in her fist. Maya pitched her arm back and threw the box as far as she could throw it. It thudded against a tree and fell into the grass.

The day had been like a crushing weight on her chest. Going into the woods in Arizona had been a big mistake. She was sure by now that she'd greatly underestimated the size of it and was now lost in a midst of trees. Maya looked around her, trying to find some sort of familiarity in the path she had taken. To her complete dismay, she could find nothing that was familiar.

Maybe I need some rest she thought. A good night's sleep would help her figure out her hunger problems in the morning. Her eyes begin to close to the sounds of the crickets in the early hours of dawn. She thought of warm sunny meadows and rippling grass. The sweet, leafy smell of fresh dew and summer rain filled her nose. Her head lolled onto her shoulder. A light yawn left her dry, chapped lips. The wind suddenly turned warm and shooed away her goosebumps. She felt at peace. She felt...

Grrrrrrrr

Hungry. Oh so very hungry. Her eyes flew open and her hands immediately fell to her stomach. The rumbling started again and grew louder and more demanding by the minute. She had to do something, anything within her power to take away this burning ache.

Maya got up and ran. Her thin body protested against the way her legs were moving but she couldn't find it in her to care. The weakness of hunger fueled her huntress-like determination. Her dirty blonde hair blew back against the wind, causing knots to form in the already messy tangles. I'm going to have a meal tonight she thought no matter how tired I get.

She walked and ran for what felt like an hour, searching through trees and brambles for remnants of food. When her body could no longer take it, she collapsed back onto the ground again and waited for the effects of tiredness to kick in. Why hadn't she gotten to a house by now? Surely, someone had to be living out here in these woods.

Her eyes fell to the sky. It was no longer pitch black, but a very very dark blue. This wasn't a good sign. Morning was coming along and if she didn't steal now, she'd be too hungry and weak to steal again. Her already paper thin patience and lack of energy were bound to catch up to her soon.