Just a Background Character

Chapter 7: Differences

I felt hands grab my body, and gently shake me. My senses were slowly coming back. I could hear leaves rustling and voices talking.

"Is she awake?" A small, young voice asked.

"No, not yet." Another voice answered, closer to me.

I guessed the second voice was the person who shook me. They both sounded female. The first one sounded younger than my little brothers-no- cousins, and the other sounded around my age.

"What happened?" The young voice questioned.

"She must have passed out. From exhaustion or anything." The other one responded.

Passed out? I attempted to force my eyes open. I blinked quickly. My vision slowly came back to me. An older girl was crouched next to me. She was about my height, but a lot skinner. She was wearing a heavy, old coat, and ripped, old jeans. Her hair was most likely blonde, but it was so dirty; I couldn't tell. Her eyes were a dark brown. They were dull, but clear. A young girl stood behind her. She was short, and just as skinny. Her hair was the same color as the older girl's, but longer. They had the same eyes too. They must be siblings, or at least related.

"Hey. Are you awake?" The older girl asked.

I managed to do a small nod.

"Hi! I'm Atlas!" The small girl jumped in front of me.

"Atlas-" The older girl began.

"What are you doing out here? Do you know this is the Kilen Woods? If he sees you out here, he'll call you a trespasser, and threaten to call the police! He once caught me picking berries, and eating them! He yelled at me, and hit me! It's so unfair! I didn't mean to! I was just really hunger, and-" Atlas rambled.

"Atlas! Stop scaring her with that rambling!" The other girl snapped.

Atlas only smiled mischievously, but stayed quiet.

"Can you get up?" The older girl asked.

"I-I think so." I mumbled, slightly embarrassed.

The older girl nodded, and grabbed my arm. She pulled me to my feet. I wobbled for a moment, but quickly gained my balance.

"What's your name?" The older girl asked.

I paused. What do I say? Evelyn? Kayla?

"Evelyn." I said out of instinct.

"Evelyn?" The older girl checked.

I nodded.

"Well Evelyn, I'm Hannah and this Atlas." The older girl explained.

I nodded in response, not knowing how else to respond.

Hannah took Atlas's hand, and began walking down the trail. Away from the way I came. Where were they going? Were they just leaving me here? Hannah turned her head around to stare at me.

"Aren't you coming? Or are you going to stay here? If you stay here, the Kilen guards will surely catch you." Hannah looked only slightly confused.

I was surprised. Go with them? To their house? I hobbled after them. When I caught up, they continued to walk down the path.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Home." Atlas beamed.

When we finally left the woods, I was exhausted. I saw the sky was getting dark. How long was I passed out? How long was our walk? Hannah walked to a small village just out of the woods. The houses were small, they weren't even really houses. More like shacks. They were dirty and falling apart. Hannah walked to one of the larger ones. She pushed open the door. I quickly took the shack in. The floor was dirt, and the walls were falling apart. A small counter was against the wall to our right. There was a small cooler on the right side of the counter, and a small old stove on the left side. Small cabinets were half on the wall. An old couch was on the left side of the room. A small, old box TV sat in front of it on an old wood table. In the middle of the room was an old dining table with 5 chairs or boxes spread around it. Along the center wall were two doors. Both were opened. I could see one big bed in the left one, and two full size beds in the right one. A small boy darted towards the opened door. He was toddling fast. He looked only about three years old. He had the same hair, and eyes as Hannah and Atlas. Hannah lunged forward, and grabbed the small boy.