Chapter 5

I have been lying curled up on the forest floor for what felt like a life time. My eyes have almost swelled shut from crying and from the smoke that drifted from what once was the town of Blue Rivers into the forest that remained. It had got so dark that it didn't really matter if I could see anyways. Every breath hurt as my heart shattered over and over again. I shifted slightly and a burst of pain shot from rib cage. I must have broken a rib in the blast. The blast that burned my parents to ash. I am grateful for pain in a way. It reminds me that I am still breathing and that this isn't a horrible nightmare, but that this is really happening. Most of all I'm grateful that my body matches my soul. Broken and bleeding. I shift again and the leaves below me crackle, a familiar sound that reminds me of all the times Dad took Max and I to explore this forest and learn about the ecosystem and all of the wild life that he devoted is life to studying. With the crackle of the leaves comes the another sharp pain from my side. I whimper and inhale with the beautiful pain, finding more peace in physical suffering than in the emptiness that eventually will be left in its wake. Suddenly another crackling sound fills the night air and I freeze in terror. Did they send foot soldiers as well as A.I. drones? Wouldn't that just be overkill? At that moment, I realize that though moments ago the thought of being able to follow my parents and my brother into death seemed like the greatest act of mercy that could be bestowed on me, a part of me still wanted to live, to fight, despite having nothing left to fight for. It's the same part forced me to drag myself away from parents bodies, dig myself out of the rubble and run into the cover of the forest. The footsteps are getting closer and closer and I panic. I desperately try to move away from the approaching figure but my body is too broken to stand and the attempt causes me to scream in pain. I shuffle backwards until my back hits the base of a tree, tears streak down my face once more when I realize that I am trapped. The tall dark figure is now looming over my trembling body and I am completely at his mercy. I hear a trembling voice crying No and please don't hurt me over and over, and realize that the unfamiliar voice is coming from me. I close my eyes as he leans over, one arm grabbing me under shaking knees and the other snakes around my back. As he lifts me from the forest floor that in the span of just hours had become my only home, his large hands press on my broken ribs and I cry out again. Waves of nausea and dizziness hit me as the pain caused by his hands is unbearable. My head rests on his warm broad chest as my vision fuzzes around the edges. I inhale his warm earthy scent as I drift off into blissful oblivion.