When The Moon Falls

Chapter 3 - Lost and Found

When I finally stopped, I found myself deep in the forest. I was lost and alone in the woods in the apocalypse, this definitely wasn't the way I thought I would die. I wasn't sure how I could tell through the clouds of smoke but I knew it would be night soon, so I had to find shelter. I was hungry and tired but I had to press on. 'Who knows what creatures lurk in the dark...' I thought, shivering. I looked around for any hint of human activity. There was nothing. No lights or sounds, only trees and darkness. I began walking, just forward, for no particular reason.  'How could I possibly get more lost?' I thought to myself.

After a few minutes, I heard what sounded like crying. I stopped and stood silent, trying to pinpoint the source. It was coming from ahead, and a bit right. I advanced slowly, wary of what I might find. I crouched in the outskirts of a large clearing. Moss bedded the ground. Under that? Rock. There was a large tree in the center of the clearing. I couldn't see very much in the darkness but the moss around the tree looked stained, darker than the rest, sort of... red. The crying had stopped but I could hear a kind of pained whimpering coming from the tree. 

I crept around the tree, staying to the edges and in the shadows. I was too busy watching for poison ivy or thorns to look at the tree but when I did, I saw a girl. Thick strips of metal bound her wrists and ankles. Heavy chains attached her to huge nails driven deep into the tree. She looked about 11 and she had long dark hair that hung in front of her face. Her pink tee-shirt was stained and covered in mud. Her blue shorts weren't any better. Then I saw the blood. Her arms and legs were covered in gashes, some had mud or grass in them but all were bloody. Her skin was red and puffy. It was blood that had stained the moss, her blood. 

Whoever had done this to a little girl was inhuman. It was horrible! I wondered why anyone would even think of such a thing, and in an apocalypse? When humanity should be banding together to fight the zombies! I was disgusted. I thought of all the things I would do to that person if we ever met. All the ways I could make them suffer for their crime... I stopped myself and almost gasped aloud. I'd never wish pain and suffering upon another person! What was the apocalypse turning me into? I took deep breaths and tried to clear my head of the hatred. I had to help the girl. 

I ran toward her and I immediately regretted my decision. The girls head snapped up at my sudden movement. Her eyes glowed red with cat-like slits. Her only teeth were fangs that hung down out of her mouth.  Her fingers became claws. She unleashed an inhuman cry and, despite the chains, she lashed out at me. Pain flooded my body and my legs crumbled beneath me. I fell, slamming my head on a rock. I passed out for a moment, I loved that moment for I lost all feeling, then I was slammed back into reality. I felt blood gushing from the wound. My head spun. My vision blurred. I knew I had to get away from the girl but I couldn't move. I was paralyzed. I panicked. 'I'm going to die! I'll either bleed to death or this werecat will slice me into pieces!' I thought trying desperately to get my legs to work but they wouldn't. My thoughts all spiraled in my mind, trying to get my attention. 

Suddenly the pain ceased. I gasped for breath. I was aware that I could move and I knew I should but something persuaded me not to. An overwhelming sense of happiness and peace flowed through me and I smiled. I felt as though I was floating. My senses dulled and my mind grew fuzzy. My vision cleared and I saw my mom, it had been such a long time since I'd called her that. Jodi was there too! With Kayla and Nala and Finn! We were playing in the park. Finn pushed Jodi on the swing, Kayla was running from Nala yelling "You'll never get me!" and I was laying on a picnic blanket with my mom. She leaned over me and whispered, "You're safe now. Rest...". Each word filled me with drowsiness. I hadn't realized how tired I'd been until now. "Ok..." I muttered. My eyelids grew heavy and I slid into sleep's darkness.