Bare Feet

Chapter 1

Just wanted to do a quick note before starting, and mention two things...  

The first is a thanks to thebrokenplaces for the cover, and hence the dedication. Secondly, I've recently dislocated and broken three of my fingers, keeping them from being able to be re-positioned into place. We're waiting for the swelling to go down before deciding on surgery, but as a heads up, updates may be only once a week instead of twice for a while. Sorry!

Enjoy. =]

- Charlie 

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          She weaved through the trees, jagged branches tearing at her skin with little memory to guide her. The panting of her own breath made the hairs on her skin rise, laced in beads of sweat, at first unaware of where the breathing was coming from. The forest floor squished beneath her feet caking between her toes and beneath her nails. She wondered where her shoes were.

          She didn't know how she had gotten that deep into the woods, and she regretted chasing after the puppy. She was going to be in so much trouble. So so much trouble. She never should have left the school yard, surely Mr. Bryson had noticed by now she was gone.

          It had been such a nice day out, and although she only had a ten minute break between classes, she and her friends always took the outdoor route to loop back to homeroom. And then there had been that damn dog, it looked just like Bono, her dog, except it couldn't have possibly had been him, this far from her house. Still, she could never have forgiven herself if it was him, lost, and she didn't go check.

          Breaking free of the conifer trees and canopy of towering needles she approached the edge of a ragged hill, the side barren of grass. In one swift leap, she was sliding freely down the embankment and towards the buzzing town she had lived in all her life.

          "Hey! You, ma'am, are you alright?" She skidded to a halt, breathing heavily, exhausted. She rubbed the back of her hand over her forehead and streaks of mud coated it. Further examining her arms, she realised she was covered in scrapes and had thorns embedded in her hands.

          "Yeah, yeah just late. I'm trying to get back to school on time, but I guess it's a bit too late for that." She laughed nervously and ran a hand through her hair, pulling out thistles, realizing it was a matted mess.

          Great, she'd have to spend a good twenty minutes in the bathroom before she could even think of presenting herself. The man's face was contorted in confusion and scepticism, but he nodded slowly. "Thanks though. Sorry, I really need to go."

          Ignoring the stitch in her side, she backed away before turning and breaking into another run. Rounding the corner and racing down the rest of the block towards the schools back entrance; she took the gum covered stairs two at a time and launched herself through metal doors, sprinting up another set of stairs before the doors even managed to click shut again. The cold tiled flooring against the soles of her feet reminded her she had no shoes, and she headed towards her locker pod to grab her gym shoes. The pods and halls were deserted, confirming she was late. How late, she was still unsure.

          She turned the lock on her locker, lining up the numbers until it stopped and she pulled the door open. "What the hell," she muttered under her breath, an empty locker staring back at her. Her books, her bag, her shoes, everything was gone. She groaned, silently cursing her friends. They must have hidden them to make things even harder. She slammed the locker shut and then cringed at how loud it was before bouncing around the corner again and into the backroom.