The Unlucky Ones

Chapter 1

       The thin low hanging branches whizzed passed me in a blur, swiping at my forearms that I held across my eyes for protection as I ran further into the thick green forest. I pushed myself faster and faster until I could feel the burning sensation in my legs become like a fire engulfing my muscles. The air in my lungs became heavier and made it increasingly difficult for me to breathe without a loud panting noise escaping between my lips. But I couldn't give up just yet.

I could hear the light footsteps behind me beginning to quicken in my direction. My heart picked up in my chest, and the loud thundering beat in my ears drowned out the steps of my assailant till I could hear them no more. My legs were losing their speed and I fell into step with my pounding heart, hoping to stay ahead and out of his clutches.

       "Kayla! Kayla, wait for me. You're going too fast!" I heard Billy scream for me through the dark forest. His voice sounding so small surrounded by the echoes of the wildlife all around us. I giggled to myself and quickly hid my body behind a big tree, engulfing my frame. The branches twisted up towards the clouds and through the other branches of the nearby trees. I gazed up trying to follow the long limbs all the way to their tips but quickly I became lost in their entanglements.

       "Kayla where are you? It's not fair, you got a head start! " Billy's cries shook me from my trance and I began to listen to how close he was to me. His footsteps wondered for a few seconds before they began to sound like they were inching closer and closer to where I was hiding. The leaves crunched beneath his feet as he closed in on my hiding spot, then he halted. His steps were no more. I anxiously waited to be caught as my heart raced in my chest. I wanted to peer around the large tree so bad, hoping to see that he hadn't caught onto my location. Instead, I held my breath and stayed firm in my spot, covering my mouth to prevent giggles from sneaking out through my tightly closed lips.

       "I gotcha!" Billy yelled as he tagged me. He quickly began to run in the opposite direction of my hiding spot, disappearing into the thick greenery, and I hurried to catch up to him before it was too late. Though Billy was a few years younger than me, he was extremely fast, and he knew the forest floor better than me by a mile. I began pushing through the leaves and branches trying to catch up with him. The leaves crunched fiercely below my feet as I continued my assault, pushing myself as hard as my body would let me. My heart began pounding once again, and this time made it harder for me to listen for Billy's light footsteps in the distance. But I continued on, my legs taking me over, following after him instinctively like a hunter chasing their prey.

       I could see his blue shirt blowing all around him, as I gained on his small form. I reached my arm out to grab at him and as my fingers began to grace his shirt, I felt my foot being yanked back by a force I could not overcome. The ground meeting my face quickly became a reality, and I instinctively reached my arm out to cover myself. Billy continued onward but turned his head to look over his shoulder to see what the commotion behind him was. His face lit up with an expression of 'oh, crap' knowing the fall wouldn't have a great outcome. "Kayla! Are you okay?" I looked up at my little brother as he ran back towards me, tears beginning to form and fill my eyes. I pulled both my legs to my chest and tried to soothe the pain away. He came around the large branch protruding from the ground that I had tripped over to examine my foot, not really knowing what to look for. I moved my hands away so that Billy could see my injury. He touched around the skin softly, trying to find any area of pain signifying that it wasn't just a scrape I had suffered. I winced as he went further up towards my ankle and pushed his finger down on my bone. He looked at me with a frown on his face, mentally telling me that we were going to have to come up with a good lie to cover this up.

       We were never allowed to come out into the woods without an older person around, but Billy and I had found a way to sneak out a few times to go exploring. Our grandparents home was engulfed in a forest. Unlike us, they lived in an area with cold winters and beautiful summers, miles out from the city. They were nestled within large trees and greenery, and it was never tiring to look at. Every summer my Mom, Dad, Billy, and I would come to visit for two weeks. It was always the same as the year before. Great food, the outdoors, music, memories, and laughs. It was my favorite part of every year, everything I could have hoped for. I wished with my whole heart that my parents would move us to a place like this, with so much to explore and see. But despite their love for the wilderness, they had city jobs and loved the lights far too much to give it up for the life they had both grown up in. So for now, these two weeks of summer were my small slice of heaven, and I would always treasure them.