Chapter 44: The Truth

Azia's legs felt like jelly as she and Zeke weaved their way through the woods. She worried her knees would buckle and give way with each passing step. She gripped onto any tree trunk or thick branch that stood in her path, internally grateful for having something, anything, to momentarily put her support on.

When the path was clear and she had to walk by herself, Azia wondered if she would even make it back to the compound in one piece. Every inch of her ached. She could have crawled into a ball on the dirt and slept right then and there. The only thing that motivated her to get to the compound was her mother's anxiety – that and the dirt and grime that covered every inch of Azia and her clothes. She ached to get the smell of stale sweat, and foreign wolves off her body. She ached to scrub the blood from her face.