I wake up, sweating, and for a moment I've forgotten where I am. The sun peeks back at me through the mountains and I squint and turn away. I stand up, and shiver at the vivid memories. Every night, the nightmares haunt me. They never go away. Not after the horrible things I've said and done. I tuck my hair behind my ear and get to work. I gather my things and stuff them into my backpack.
I set off, walking at a brisk pace to escape the sun. I have to get to the next checkpoint, only one step closer to the safe haven. The sun gets brighter as I walk along the mountainous pathways. I can feel the heat increasing as I come up to a grove of trees. I sigh and lay down under the appreciated shade of the Aspen trees. The memory of Ashton and I hurrying home hangs in my mind, and clouds my eyes.
"Aye, what do ya got there, Missy?" An old, raspy sounding voice says behind me.
I jump to my feet, facing of my attacker. He wasn't as old as he sounded, and he looked to be about thirty or so. He had long, brown hair tucked back into a pony tail. He gave me a crooked smile, showing rotten yellow teeth. I take a step back, taking in a sharp breathe of air. He approaches me, trying to coax me away from the safety of my tree.
I take one more step back, and I grab my backpack. Even though I'm parched and disoriented, I ran as fast as my long legs could carry me across the rocky terrain. The man looked after me, looking at me like he was insane and I was fresh meat. I stare ahead of me, my lungs burning, but I keep running. I'd do anything to escape the heck of a world.
After running about a mile and a half, I collapse on the ground and heave. It feels almost like I can't breathe, and dust is all I can taste. I spit, and pull myself up. I grab my backpack and start weakly walking back down the path. I grab an apple out of my bag and take a big bite out of it. The apple is sweet, and it gives me enough energy to quicken my pace to a jog.
I can feel the sweat dripping down my back, and I stop jogging for a few minutes to start walking again. My feet feel light, almost as if I'm walking on air. I think back to when I wished I could do so, when I was about eight or nine. Oh, the good old days. The memory of my family lingers in my mind, taunting me with my bad choices. I look out for the nearest group of trees and start jogging again.
I made up my mind that I would rest again once I arrived there. I looked at my almost broken digital watch and sighed. It was almost four o'clock, and the sun would be setting soon. I tried calculating the distance I ran today, to no avail. I only knew that I had run roughly ten miles in the past five hours. The trees grow closer to me as I become lost in my own thoughts.
I reach the grove of trees just as the sun goes down. I give myself a small smile and pull out a peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich I had been saving. I rip it up into portions with my dirty fingers and bite into it like it's the greatest food in the world. Well, after all, I've been living on dried fruit and canned beans for the past few months.
I savor the rich flavor of the sandwich, and pull out several different animal pelts, a sewing needle made from a chicken bone, and sinew. I chew the sinew until it's nice and soft, and then thread it through the needle hole. I sit against an aspen tree and start sewing the pelts together to make a nice, warm blanket for the winter months. If I make if correctly, It'll fit perfectly into my backpack.
Several times I nip my finger with the bone needle, and scarlet drops of blood fall on the skin side of the pelts. It gives it a faded red color, and it almost looks like some kind of dye. I keep sewing sections together until my watch beeps and it's ten o'clock. I pack the make-shift sewing kit back into my backpack and curl up into a ball on the ground. I make sure I'm not laying on any rocks, and I slowly fall asleep again.
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