Spirit Blood

Chapter 3: Trepidation

Alexandra had not stopped running. Sweat and tears rolled off her face as her legs pushed forward, ignoring the fatigue building up in her thighs. Although she could feel the soles of her feet burning as she slammed her feet against the pavement with each stride she took, fear was her ultimate driving factor at this point, and no pain, tiredness, or stress could slow her down.

It was unclear where she was headed. She had no sense of where she was at this point. All the buildings had blended together, making everything around her look the same. She had no idea of what street she was on or even what neighborhood she was in.

However, finally something looked vaguely familiar. In the distance, she noticed an array of colorful towels hanging on the rail of a balcony of a small apartment in front of her.

Alexandra started jolting toward that direction, burning through the last shreds of energy she had left.

The lights in the apartment were on, a sign of comfort to Alexandra. When she made it to the front door but turned to the left toward a tall tree. She looked up to where the tree was planted and gazed into the window high above. Lights were still vibrant through the glass, and the shadow of someone walking could be seen against the trunk of the tree.

Branches were scattered around the ground. Dried leaves and twigs cracked as Alexandra stepped on them as she walked closer to the tree. Her bare, cut hands gripped the coarse bark and her feet edged into the tree, getting a good hold of herself. She started to climb up the tree. Small pieces of tree bark fell onto her face as she moved slowly higher and higher. As she was getting closer to the top of the tree, she gripped onto a large branch. The weight of her body was finally sinking into effect. She struggled to pull herself up on the the large branch. Her arms were weak. He clenched her teeth as she forced herself to move onto the branch.

When she finally got herself onto a steady branch to sit on, she could feel the swaying of the tree's body. The wind was wild that night. The trees danced their leaves to the howl of the wind, fluttering their branches as they moved.

Alexandra, waited for the swaying to subside before she started to move again. She carefully slid her body down the tree branch, denying herself the right to look down to the ground. As she crept farther and farther down the branch, she could finally see clearly through the window.

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Farah stepped out of the shower. The steam from the water filled the bathroom and fogged up the mirrors.

She picked up a towel and vigorously rubbed her hair down to quicken the drying process. Long strands of her black fell on the ground as she wrapped her head hair in the towel.

She faced the mirror and wiped her hand against the fogged mirror to reveal her reflection. Exhaustion was written all over her face. Her eyes were sunken and her features were weary, begging for sleep. She grabbed night cream. She pumped two large doses of the moisturizer, one on each cheek. Her hands gently massaged the lotion into her skin, revitalizing her weathered face.

When she felt that her hair had finally dried down to a manageable state, she unraveled the towel and released her damp. Hints of lavender lingered from her hair.

In just her underwear, Farah walked to her closet to pick out some baggy clothes to wear to prepare for bed. She turned the closet lights on. It was a mess. Clothes were stacked across the floor, hangers were scattered, and the few clothes that were hung, were barely held up by the hangers. She began digging through the heep of fabric in search of anything suitable for bed.

She pulled out a large red T-shirt. The words "BOSS" were printed across the front in bold white letters. The print was slightly faded, and the lettering appeared cracked.