Blind & Broken

Chapter Eleven

When the cab is out of sight, I turn slowly, unsure of Bryn's exact location. "Now what?" I ask over the rough breeze whistling around us. My feet are angled slightly, telling me I'm on a slope. The road behind me and slightly higher. In front of me is going to be a wide expanse of trees. I can hear the eerie, yet musical sound of empty branches clanging together in the wind.

"To the woods!" My friend announces, grabbing my hand and pulling me down the gentle slope. "Hurry, before some car stops to try and help us."

I can instantly tell when we're submerged in the forest. The insect sounds are much more vivid, and the knocking branches are directly above us. The steady crunch of fallen leaves echo off trunks as we walk together, and soon it becomes peaceful and I become calmer. If only I had someone with me when I ran through the Rockies; my trip could've been a lot easier.

You could've brought Flicker. My subconscious reminds me and I shake my head to rid of the thought. This was a fresh start. Everyone will be new and I could leave every last part of my past behind me, even if that meant missing a best friend. I have Brynlee.

"Tell me about Flicker." Bryn suddenly says, jarring me from my internal conversation.

"Were you reading my thoughts?"

"I wasn't doing it on purpose, I swear! Sometimes I can't block it out."

"Uh-huh." I say, not believing her. She was totally listening on purpose, but I move on and answer her question. "She was like my sister. Ivy was the sister I was born with, but Flicker was the sister I needed." I smile as I remember. "We grew up together, and many people really thought she was adopted into my family. She was seen with me more than her own family, but I've been told we look nothing alike. When my dad died, we switched our rooms around. Ivy took Flicker's and Flicker joined me in mine. She always helped me get ready and get me to school. She did more than Ivy ever did when we shared a room."

"That was nice of her." Bryn says and I feel her tug on our hands to lead me a slightly different direction. The toe of my shoe clips on a root and I stumble slightly. I realize we've just gone a round a tree.

"Yeah. We were practically inseparable and since the pack acted like I didn't exist, and my mother was out of sorts, she was really all I had. I'll bet she's the only one that misses me now."

Brynlee squeezes my hand but she doesn't argue this time; she doesn't try to tell me I shouldn't think like that. "Are you hungry?" The question takes me off guard and my feet fumble slightly. "I've just realized we never ate anything in the car. What do you have in your pack? I have granola bars."

I shrug and we stop walking so I can get my bag off my back. "I haven't really looked."

"Indie, when was the last time you ate something?" I shrug again. "Indigo! You need to eat and keep up your strength!"

I sigh in agreement and ruffle through my bag until my hands land on an apple. I pick it out and hold it between my teeth so I get get my bag back on. After struggling with the zipper, I finally manage to swing it onto my back and I start eating the apple. It's on the softer side, not my favorite, but it will do until we reach the Pack House.

Holding the apple in one hand, I grab Bryn's wrist with the other and we start walking again. The ground leveled out a while back, and now it's started sloping up, but only ever so gradually. After several steps, the ground beneath my feet changes from the crunch of leaves to the crunch of pebbles and rocks. It also levels out again and a sharp breeze nearly knocks me off my feet. I fall into Brynlee with a gasp.