Ethereal

Chapter 9: Reckless Deeds

          Air burned every time I breathed in. The smell of smoke clung to me, and I knew if I looked up, I would see the smoke streak from the orphanage following close behind me. I had only ever traveled to the neighboring villages when the Matron's needed help transporting crops during harvest season, but I had always been in the back of the truck and never paid great attention to how far the villages were. All I knew was that they existed east of the fields.

          I started to slow down, the muscles in my legs beginning to cramp. I wondered dully if the village was close. I wouldn't have been surprised if it was miles away and I would have to walk for the rest of the day to get there. What if the Rebels tried to follow me? I was out in the open, the bare field offering no protection. If someone did see me and tried to pursue, I'd have to run – and from the tightness in my chest and the lingering singe coating my airway, I knew I wouldn't get far.

          Worry built up in my chest. What if one of them had seen me at the orphanage, and they were coming down the mountain right at this very moment? I paused to turn around, my eyes squinting to try and see any moving figures at the base of the mountain. I couldn't see any.

          "Deep breaths," I told myself, "they're not coming for you. They're not going to bother going after one person. I'm sure they have better things to do with their time - like spitting on puppies and telling kids that Santa Claus isn't real." I put my hands on my knees, trying to slow down my breathing. The logic as I was saying it made sense, but my mind was slow from the lack of oxygen, muddling the words together in a senseless heap.

          I breathed in one more time before straightening, forcing my legs to move. The sun was already climbing further up into the sky, and if I wanted to make it to the township before dark I needed to keep moving. My muscles ached with each step, my boots rubbing uncomfortably against my heels. They were going to blister soon, but it was something I was just going to have to deal with.

            A soft wind blew from the mountains and ruffled my sweaty hair. With every step images of the burning orphanage flooded my vision. Even though I tried to focus on the sound of my boots slurping through the mud, I could still hear their screams in the back of my head. I could feel tears brimming in my eyes, teetering on the ends of my eyelashes as if they were debating whether or not they wanted to fall. A moment passed before I felt my cheeks grow wet and I felt the makings of a sob working up my throat. I didn't try to stop my tears, instead I let them slowly travel down my cheeks, growing steadily stronger.

           I thought I had felt grief when I was separated from my family, but the intensity of this emotion was something I had never experienced before.

          What was I going to do now? When I was first leaving the orphanage, I had a plan, with people depending on me to see it through. Now that they were gone, where was I going to go? How was I going to survive?

          My mind whirled with different thoughts that I couldn't make sense of, muddling together until my brain felt like mush. All I knew was that I needed to make it to the nearest village and as far away as I could get from the rebels. I could figure things out later.

           Something suddenly latched itself onto my foot, almost popping my hip out of its socket as I fell onto my hands and knees in the thick mud. I sat back on my heels and flipped around to see who was behind me, but there was no one.

          I heard a thick hiss by my feet. My eyes turned downward just as the soil seemed to come alive, slowly swallowing my feet into the earth. I couldn't stop the scream that came tearing out from my lips as I tried to rip my legs out of the earth's grip. But the harder I tried to pull, the deeper I continued to sink.