The Girl In Shadows

'There is no choice of running away today, I have to do it. I am so close to it. I can't run away forever in fear.' The girl thought.

Her heart was pounding in her head and her eyes carried the drowsiness of three sleepless nights. She walked across the dishevelled trees, making her way with a jab of the knife, though the real jab was in her heart-a deeper cut. Her tangled blond hair touched the tip of her waist, weaved with bits of withered leaves and dust. A rabbit fur was tied around her waist, dripping blood as she moved. It was a rough hunt, but she had made it either wise. She felt sticky with the splotches of blood in her hands and ragged frock, but washing those stains won't wash away her sins.

It's okay to commit sins as long as it helps you stay alive

That was the only thought that helped her to keep moving.

That's it. The girl's stormy eyes finally met the sparkling lamp post, and a gasp left her mouth. She looked up at the starry sky and kneeled, her knuckles lined together, fingers interlocked. She muttered a small 'thank you to the power above and took a deep sigh. She glared viciously at the cubicle beside the lamp post, in which two navy-blue dressed officers stood, one holding a handheld transceiver and the other working on a register.

The girl knew she couldn't handle both the muscled officers at once and needed a distraction. Her tensed eyes started to scan the barks and the thick forest floor. Nothing. Just some pebbles and thorns. Her gaze shot up when she heard a rustling from her left. It was an animal. These few days of hardship had made her learn the laws of nature the hard way. Suddenly a deer bursted out of nowhere and ran towards the small cubicle.

"Muntjac alert. Kylan out on defence. Over and Out" The guy with the handheld transceiver spoke. Kylan moved out of the little room and ran after the Muntjac, chasing him with a rod.

'God's sign' The girl thought and disappeared in the dark shadows of dusk. A few moments later, The walkie-talkie guy was lying unconscious on the tile floor, giving the way to the teen girl.

She was hiding behind a tree, trying her best to stay as quiet as possible. She could feel every nerve of her body, burn and yet be cold. Her heart pounded vigorously as she tried to keep her breath low. Before her, was the dream she once saw. An army school camp. Young soldiers queued up in a perfectly straight line, their bodies as stiff as lead, arms and legs straightened up in an 'attention' position. Each wore a camouflage uniform.

Suddenly, a tall man appeared in front of them with a whistle tied up around his neck. The girl's sight became blurry. Her hands grabbed the tree bark in support. Old memories started to flush back in her mind. 'Dad' an inaudible sound came out of her mouth.

Dwayne Perrie was the girl's late father. A handsome military man who loved her daughter more than his life. The girl still has a faded image of her, sitting on her father's shoulder, while her precious dad would tell him jokes and swirl around here and there, while she would scream in joy. They were the best moments of her life until her arrogant stepmother entered the scene. She used to scold her for baseless reasons and tortured her, locking her in a room, thrashing her with a broom and what not. If her father saw that, his second wife would get a pretty good scolding so her stepmom was careful not to trouble the poor girl around him. After her father died, the silver rays of pure moonlight gave her the strength to pick up all her shattered pieces and stand on her own feet. That night, she ran away from her own house.

"Hello everyone," The tall officer said, pulling the girl out of her messy thoughts.

"My name is Louis Carpet. Louis Carpet. Got it? Louis Carpet. And I am your new mentor. Yes, new mentor."

The girl was trying her best not to laugh out. What kind of person was he? He is speaking as if he had been memorizing the whole script at night and was still conscious about that. Or maybe he thought that his new students were really dumb.

"Y'all will now, ok right now introduce yourself. You heard it right introduce yourself" The mentor continued.

Creases of regret and grief started to form on the student's forehead and some even let out a groan as if cursing their fate to get such a dumb mentor like him.

Suddenly, A gust of wind started blowing, making the girl lose her balance and she stepped on some twigs, banging her hand loudly on the bark.

"Who is it? Come out. I said to come out" The mentor yelled. The girl was too shocked to move. She took the wise decision not to reply. If she gets caught, God knows how many scars she would get.

"Boys! Go and find the trouble maker. No one means no one breaks the rules.

A shiver of fear crawled down the girl's spine. She analysed the view and saw a proud building rooted to the ground, a few feet away.

"I can do this" She calmed herself down and slowly walked in the shadows until her feet hit the building's cement. Her fingers crawled up to a small red pipe, probably for sewage. This was her last chance. She tightened the grip of her hands, placed her foot firmly against the rough cement and started climbing.

She reached the last window, which was fortunately open and slipped inside. A relaxed sigh left her mouth as she leaned over the window just to see a group of perplexed boys. She smiled and turned back but soon her expressions changed. Her skin turned pale as she saw a teen boy standing in front of her, with a loaded gun set on her forehead.