Another Kind

• 1 •

I've been running for god knows how long. Away from my mother, away from home, away from myself.

For three nights I've been away from home. With the forest my new home. In a tree lying asleep, to be woken by the mornings sun. I can barely feel my feet while the hunger takes away the movement from my body. I look down to my feet, deep cuts run all down my legs leaving tails of dry blood. My shoes covered in mud to where I can't even see the soft blue anymore.

A few steps in and I'm about to collapse. That is until I see a large house with smoke coming from the chimney. I get a boost of hope while I limp over to the front door. I just hope that my eyes haven't given out, and I'm imagining this.

As my foot makes the first step on the porch I feel like my knees are about to give. I knock three times on the dark wood door. This house is way to nice to be all the way in the middle of nowhere.

The door swung open to reveal a middle aged man. He looks very familiar, have I met him before. His eyes widened at the sight of me. He quickly reaches out to catch me as I stumble a bit.

"J-Jade?" I meet the mans eyes as he says my name.

"Do you..know me?" I voice comes out shaky. The mans mouth opens to say something but it's too late. Darkness begins to consume me. The last thing I saw was the kid standing behind the man with a teddie in her hands.

•••

    "You up kiddo?" A voice said to my left.

    I pealed my eyes open to reveal a large rectangular window cut into the wood walls that surrounded me. The bed I am in lays flat on the ground. I looked to my right to see a nightstand with a lamp on it, and to my left was a man. The man who opened the door.

   I tried to sit myself up but was stopped. "Don't over work yourself. You're dehydrated and you have a major fever."

   He bent over to his side and grabbed a small towel out of a bowl. He rung it out and layed it on my forehead as I layed back down.

   "I'll take your temperature again just to see where you're at right now." He smiled then grabbed a thermometer from the side table.

    "Where am I?" I asked as he sat back down beside me.

    "Hard to say. I don't really know what you call the middle of the forest. You're very far from home Jade." I looked at the man who stopped what he was doing to look at me. "You've grown so much."

    "How do you know my name." I asked sternly.

    "I knew your mother a long time ago." He smiled and put the thermometer in my mouth. "You were only 10 at the time."

    "Hm." I said waiting for the thermometer to beep. When it did he grabbed it from my mouth. "I never caught your name."

    "Miles." I nodded and looked up at the ceiling. "Your temperatures gone back to normal but I would still relax a little bit. I'll have Fiona come with water and clean your cuts."

    "Is it just you and the little girl living here?"

    "Little- you mean Griffin..." He looked to his feet and scratched his head. "I'm the only adult amonst 5 children. 6 including you now."