The Lores of Lyra - Burning Star [Book III]

Chapter 5 - A Huge Surprise

Chapter 5 – A Huge Surprise

Running through the dense forest was similar to running inside a maze. Amelia had no idea where she was. She didn’t know how far she’d gotten, nor did she know how long she’d been running. All she knew was this: she didn’t want to stop.

Her feet padded against the ground as she steered around the massive branches. A storm had covered this part of the country in the past week, and the signs of Mother Nature’s force were evident. Trees had fallen, their branches tangling together with the shrubbery. The earth had dried, but she could still spot a few puddles around. Only a few birds chirped in the treetops, but Amelia didn’t focus on them. The only sound in her ears was the echo of her own beating heart.

With a tear stained face, she ran to the right. The most sensible thing would be to stay at the path, but Amelia didn’t feel particularly sensible. Shame, anger and pain filled her insides. Never before had she felt so hurt, and never before had Eric made her feel so worthless.

She weaved through the trees, her eyes searching for a place to rest. Her breathing was shallow, and her heart pounded against her ribcage. Her left side pained from side stitch, and her face felt stiff from the dried tears.

“Ungh!”

The ground came closer to her face when her foot was stuck on a root. She squealed and put out her hands for protection, hoping to break her fall. Pain shot through her hands, and she groaned when her body collided with the earth.

Solem, why can’t you be on my side for once? I’m a— well mostly—a good girl, she thought.

Amelia pushed herself off the ground and leaned back on her knees. Looking around, reality finally caught up to her—she had no idea where she was. Looking at her hands, she saw scrapes across her palms.

Amelia was lost. There was no point in denying it any longer. She didn’t recognize anything around here, and she couldn’t hear the soldiers any longer. The sun had moved from its early position, meaning she’d been wandering these woods for a ridiculous amount of time.

She pushed herself from the ground and looked around. It would be best to find Eric and Joshua again. The thought tore her insides to pieces, but it was needed. She wasn’t fit to wander the woods on her own. She decided to begin to moving back to the soldiers, and with large difficulty, she tried to use the small glimpses of the sky to navigate after. Amelia’s only problem was that she didn’t know how to navigate without the stars. Everywhere the trees stood tall, towering above her and shadowing her from the sky. Only a few glimpses were allowed through.

Groaning heavily, she kicked a rock lose on the ground. It was agonizing to be in the wrong—especially when she didn’t feel she was. Amelia believed that she’d done the guys a favor, and if they couldn’t see that, it was their loss.

The wind was starting to become heavier. A shiver spread throughout her as a draft chilled her to the bone. Glancing upwards, she took notice of the gigantic oak she was standing before. Contemplating to climb it, she moved her attention to the trunk of the tree. It was rough, and she didn’t believe her scraped palms would be able to hold on. She’d end up falling down and hurt herself even worse if she tried.

But then again, she needed to do something to get back. There was no possible way of backtracking her movements, and without an idea of directions, she could end up being stuck out here.

A twig broke behind her, and she started to look around, frantically, searching for the source of the sound. Dread filled her, and was helped on the way by rush of adrenaline that shot through her. Soon after, she could hear  heavy padding from her footsteps echoing throughout the forest as silence spread behind her.