Notes

She was sprawled across the forest ground, dark brown hair and limp limbs askew around her. A brisk wind shook the trees, leaves and twigs falling onto the ground. Small drips of some fluid flew onto her face, and she twitched, her body not used to the cold liquid on her skin. Her eyes flew open and she sputtered in shock when a large amount of the cool liquid was dumped on her unexpectedly. To her surprise, she saw a boy around her age holding an empty water bottle over her face, dark eyes glinting in the shady forest.
“Oh look, you’re alive.”
She sat up with a bolt and slowly began inching away from the strange boy, bringing her dirty, wet shirt sleeve to dry her face. Just as she cleared water away from her eyes did she begin to acknowledge her surroundings. Trees towered above her, leaves fluttering through open air and onto the ground. Tall grass grew and swayed with the gentle breeze, adding an eerie, unkept feel to the already overwhelming forest environment. Rotting leaves and other dead contents of the forest surrounded her. She instinctively put her hand up to push a strand of hair behind her ear, and to her disgust, she felt a thick clump of mud. She quickly wiped her dirty hand on her ratty, faded jeans and looked back up at the boy, offering his hand down to her. Declining the gesture, she pushed herself off the ground, standing alone, still looking cautiously and questioningly at him, and backed away a few steps.
“I’m sorry, who are you and what am I doing here?”
With an overly dramatic sigh, he dropped his hand and replied, “Just come with me and we’ll explain later. Or I guess you could just stay here, it’s your choice.”
He crushed the plastic bottle in his hand and threw it to the ground, turning on his heels and beginning to walk into the shadows.
While resisting the urge to keep storming him with questions like who this ‘we’ was and why she should even trust him, she picked up the bottle, shoved it and her hands into the pockets of her hoodie, mumbling and swearing about how she had no clue what she was doing and what she was getting herself into.

They trudged through the forest, the girl ensuring a safe distance was kept between the two of them. She didn’t know if she could trust him or not, but she figured that sticking with someone, even a stranger, was better than being alone in a dark, unfamiliar place. He moved swiftly and silently, making it hard for her to follow him through the shadows. She stalked behind him, tired but determined to make it to some place of safety or refuge. Just as she was about to collapse from exhaustion, she stepped onto a rocky path with the boy. They were still surrounded by vegetation and shadows, but to her, being on an actual path seemed like an improvement from tramping through the thicket. They trudged along the path for another few minutes when she saw some lights through some bushes in the distance. She sighed in relief at the sight of being close to something familiar. Stranded in an unfamiliar place with a stranger, achy and confused, was not ideal for her, and at the moment, this light signified refuge or a safe place where she could get her thoughts together. They stepped off the path and into some bushes, approaching a small clearing, and she stood dumbfounded at what she saw.