-Intro-
Amy sighed, wiping a straying tear away from her cheek; fingers rosy and numb from the chill night air. The wind tossed her long black hair about her face relentlessly. She wished she’d worn a coat, pulling the thin jacket tight around her shoulders. It seemed to be another one of those nights.
How long had it been? Two or three hours, probably. Somehow, it felt like much longer. Amy hated having to leave the house like this, but tonight the stress had been too much to for the girl to handle. She knew her father would have a tough time with liquor withdrawals, but enough was enough! Wincing, she rubbed at the quickly darkening purple hued bruise on her right arm. The road seemed to slide into the horizon, going on and on. There was no one out here to torment her, but she’d brought a can of mace- just in case.
Grey clouds stretched into the night sky like a yawn, blotting out the dull moon’s light. Sighing, she retrieved a small battery flashlight from her bag’s bushel of different key-chains and trinkets. Amy briskly trotted along, flicking the artificial light from tree to tree. She hummed a familiar melody to herself quietly in attempt to mend her quickly fraying nerves. Quite frankly, the shadows the light was casting was not a help.
Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to leave like that… What if Dad’s gone and accidently hurt himself?
Amy frowned slightly, turning and chewing her bottom lip uneasily. She groaned unhappily, inwardly cringing at the thought of going home. Deciding it was best to leave her father to regain his poise, more out of unease than intuition, she started setting up a small camp in a cluster of oak trees. The oaks were aged, having grown together with passing years. It was a good place to set up; Amy doubted that any large animals would go through the effort of squeezing between the trees just to get at her meager camp.
Shrugging her bulging backpack off slender shoulders, she set it at the base of one of the oaks. A quick rummage in one of the many pockets of her trusty bag produced a large cloth sack. She untied the knot holding the thing in shape, laying out her worn blue sleeping bag on the dewy grass. It was too late in the night to safely look for kindling; there were many bears and coyotes prowling about this time of night. Amy pulled a small electric lantern out of her backpack, set it on dim, and placed it atop her worn zipped bag. It was a poor stand-in for a fire, but it would have to do for now.
The stars shone bright; crisp night air chilling her to the bone. Thankfully, the sleeping bag was quite thick enough. She slid into the wooly fabric, curling into herself out of habit. There was no one around but the trees and the occasional hoot or howl. Bliss.
All faded to black as the foggy haze called sleep crept upon her.
~~~~
The night passed swiftly. Warm sunlight streamed through the thick oak tree limbs, gently stirring the girl from her doze. Stretching with a small smile, Amy wriggled out of her navy sleeping bag. Her smile was replaced with clenched jaws as she opened her eyes.
Her food supplies had been ravaged in the night. Little opossum tracks littered the ground all around her camp. Thankfully nothing else had been touched, just her food. The girl groaned, rubbing at her throbbing temples. She took a deep breath, an audible sigh escaping her chapped lips in exhale.
