The Moon Goddess [3] ✓

☾Running with Wolves

We ran like the wind was on our side.

It was day four in the wild and Ever and Noelle suggested we run again. We packed up everything, leaving nothing behind for anyone to trace. Well, not that I had much anyway.

I felt guilty. I should do something, anything to let them know I was here, but what could I do? I should've tried harder to escape but now it was too late. Why didn't I do something? I'm useless and helpless.

The only thing I could do now was wait.

I hugged my deer skin tighter against my shoulders. Milo taught me how to skin the deer, which was disgusting and messy but oddly calming. He also saved the antlers and fashioned them into some sort of headband crown thing. He called them souvenirs.

I felt a snowflake melt on my nose and I looked up at the stormy clouds.

"It's a good thing the snow will hide our footsteps." Zander was my walking buddy. I couldn't even see the others, they were already farther ahead.

We stopped by a river and I cupped my hands to drink. The water was freezing but thankfully not frozen, like all the lakes we've passed by. Meanwhile, Zander was digging up mud and slathering it on his face.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Making sure our scents are covered. Plus, it looks cool. Now come over here." I hesitated, unsure of whether or not I wanted to hide my scent. It was the only thing I had left that would help them find me.

Regardless, I bent down next to him and put some mud all over my face, careful not to get it in my eyes. If anyone saw me now they'd think I was some barbaric monster.

Dirt was stuck in my chipped nails and my hair was a tangled web. My feet were calloused and numb but what really bothered me was that the hairs on my legs were starting to grow.

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you were one of us." He said and stood up, continuing on our way. I didn't know if I should take that as a compliment or not.

We carried on, trekking through the light snow sprinkling my hair.

"Wait here, I need to pee." Zander told me suddenly and ran back into the wilderness, leaving me. I couldn't believe my luck.

I was alone. Completely alone. . .

I looked at the land behind me. I could run, I could just run.

I could see my life change back to the way it was before. Wake up, go to school, go home, do homework, go to sleep. So normal, so easy.

But. . .

Did I want to see Cassie? Did I want to see my parents? Go back to a place where I obviously didn't fit in?

I couldn't decide. It should've been easy but for some reason, I really was torn.

My head yelled at me to move and run as fast as my legs would carry me. I didn't belong here either, they treated me like some thing they wanted to get rid of, like dead weight. My head told me that this was not my life and I needed to go home. Everything else would just fade away, like a confused dream I once had many days ago.