Diana Newbie

Warm sunlight filtered through the blinds illuminating the self contained room which someone had expertly been able to transform to a bedroom and living room.

Diana woke up with a start, her body shaking and her eyes red- rimmed. She grabbed fists full of her hair groaning in annoyance whe

Get up!"

She shrieked her chest heaving up and down, her face tight with anger.

A figure was sprawled in the mud, dirt clinging to her face and her eyes tearing up.

" Mommy?" The figure cried softly, her little voice pierced the darkness. The moon hung limply in the sky outlining the ground below showing the heavily made up woman standing in what seemed like a Forest. The dress she had on was dark red and inscribed with tears, but the more pitiful person here was the figure still stuck in the mud.

" Mommy" she cried again stretching her hand caked in dirt, the woman looked away with her face pressed in a tight line. It made her supposed to be pretty face harsher than it was supposed to be.

" I am not going to help you" the woman stated resolutely fisting her hands together and glancing away. She moved forward with back set straight in a firm line. " You've got to be strong dear, this is for your own good" she said.

Screeches of wild animals could be distinctly heard in the night startling the poor child, she struggled to crawl once more but ended slipping and hurting her leg

The tears came again but she sucked it back in, her body shuddering to a halt. As she picked herself gingerly from the mud river. She half limped, half fell, half walked towards the woman who never stopped.

When she finally caught up with her, she stretched her hand out hopefully once more but kept it down quickly. The woman sighed loudly stopping in her tracks and taking the child's dirty hands in hers.

The child's heart burst with happiness and a large smile gleamed on her filthy face, the woman used her other hand to brush off the clumps of mud on the child's hair revealing brown tangled hair.

" Diana" she started softly biting her lips and grasping tightly the child's arm, the wrinkles in her brow slowly loosened

" Mommy loves you sweetheart. But the world is a dark place, you've got to learn to protect yourself because what you have in this world is just yourself. Yourself can't betray you after all" she finished bitterly staring into the distance.

" I've got you too momma" Diana squeezed her mother's palm grinning from ear to ear drawing back her attention. The woman wanted to laugh but the sound died in her throat

A slight rustle from the bushes and her body stiffened and a fear flashed through her withered face.

" C'mon Diana, we've got to hurry up" she said pulling her through the bushes.

Diana ran beside her mother hearing blasts of gun shots from afar coupled with the growls of dogs

" They are getting too close" Diana's mom cursed, her steps becoming increasingly panicked. She slipped and tumbled down a hill covering her daughter with her body. When they got at the end of the hill, Diana opened her eyes to see her mother's Yelp of pain.

" MOMMY!" The little girl cried confused at the sight of the increasing scarlet stain rapidly spreading on her mother's clothes.

The woman put a shaky finger to shush her, her face bruised from the fall where jagged stones had cut the sides of her face. She struggled to get up, wincing at every step. Crouch in down at her daughter's level, she gripped her dark mud stained shirt.

" We're going to play a little game of hide and seek" The woman started holding back tears of pain.

" Hide and seek?" Diana repeated confused, then nodded eagerly. " Are we the ones to hide?" she asked hopefully.

" Mm- hmm" the woman smiled and fondled the child's hair." But we are going to hide in different places so that they don't get us. Okay?"

She ushered the child into the base of a hollow oak tree which was small enough to fit only one person.

"Stay here and be a good girl for mommy, don't make any noise at all. Alright?" She said, her hear hurting the same as her body when her precious daughter stretched out her pinky finger and hooked it with hers.

" Pinky promise" she promised solemnly staring straight at her, her little face fixed so seriously. A peppery feeling filled the woman's nose. She sucked back her tears and squeezed her daughter's arms.

" I lo.." She shook off the silly notion of emotion and her voice hardened." Remember what I told you Diana, the only person that will have your best interest at heart is you and you alone"

The dogs growling became alarming closer, she pushed her inside the hollow tree which bent and covered her.

And then she ran, she skidded down the rough path falling down once in a while until she could go more, until she was surrounded…

Dianna stepped back in fear at the gut wrenching sound of someone screaming, it bellowed and rang in the seemingly still forest.

The poor child gazed frozen at the direction the cream came from, the cold wind whipping at her slender frame.

" Mommy?" she cried so desolately hunching her shoulders and holding her hands together." I am scared".