Witch - Dreamwastaken

1 - The Girl With No Name

Word Count - 2522

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It was damp.

The humidity in the air made her breath become shallow with discomfort as every movement made her stomach bubble with an extra douse of dread and fear. She could not be heard. Not now.

Clutched tightly to her chest was a bag containing her belongings which she had hastily grabbed before hiding. There hadn't been enough time for her to register the events that were unfolding before her. She tensed as footsteps creaked by where she hid, body shaking slightly out of fear and anxiety. The footsteps passed and she let out a silent sigh of relief, peaking out barely and seeing that, in fact, the coast was clear. It was clear that there were many consequences attached the next sequence of actions she would conduct. If she messed up, it would be it for her.

But she would not be dying today.

Taking the opportunity, she emerged from hiding and ran, her feet moving so fast she could hardly even notice the burning sensation of her old shoes digging into her feet and planting nasty blisters just above her heel and on the soles of her feet. Instead, she could only feel the wind rushing past her as adrenaline pumped through her body, leaving behind the village that had kept her under captivity for all her life until this very moment. The sound of her heart racing and her feet scampering drowned by the sound of the heavy rain falling.

She had probably been running for hours on end when the adrenaline finally wore off and she had collapsed in an open field with nothing in sight but trees and wild animals and the rain falling from above. "I... I did it." A crooked smile crept onto her face as a choked sob of relief bubbled out of her lips. "I did it!" She yelled into the void and felt her body shake with pure relief and happiness.

Where am I? She thought, scanning the area around her. She had been mindlessly moving her feet for so long that she had little to no idea as to where she had landed herself. All she had was her bag crammed with her books, vials, and a couple loaves of stale bread. The food would not last her long and she knew it; she had to find shelter and food and she had to find it fast. But the events of the day had taken a massive toll on her body; her feet were bruised and sore, her body was beat up, and she was lightheaded from the exertion she had placed upon herself.

The emotions coursing through her made her start to tear up, not understanding what exactly to do with all the information she had to process through her head. Here she was, in the middle of no where with barely any food, no water, no shelter, and no weapons caught in a rainstorm. She was in an awful position despite having successfully dodged her inevitable demise back home.

'What am I going to do...?'

Just when she was starting to lose hope in what to do, a voice resonated out through the rain. "Wait! I think I see someone!" It was a higher-pitched male voice, not one she recognized.

"What? Where?" An accented voice now. She could conclude that these were not people from the village she ran from. "Oh shit! What if they're a threat?"

"We'll just stay armed and approach them carefully." She started to sit up slowly but failed, arms shaky from the fatigue that had settled in. "You!" Looking up, there stood the owners of the voices. One was a man with all black clothing sporting a sword in hand, however he for not appear especially menacing. The other man had goggle like eyewear over large, puppy-dog eyes and had an array of tools and gismos pinned to his overalls. "Who are you?"

She looked up at them blankly. She didn't know how to respond to that question without sounding remotely suspicious. "I. . . don't know." She said. "I just want to find food and shelter." Looking at their faces, she noticed a hint of sympathy creep into their expression. "I don't really have a place I can go."