The Girl From The Woods ~ Natasha Romanoff × Adopted Daughter

3.

Tilda's POV:

"Why does it have to be so cold?" I've been walking for two hours now and all I can see is forest. Just forest. I'm cold and hungry. It could also be because it's just lifting and I'm only wearing shorts with a T-shirt and I haven't eaten for two days because Dave has forbidden me to eat again.

But I had almost accepted my fate and was getting ready to freeze to death alone in a forest until I could make out the outline of a house through a few trees.

At the time, I didn't know if my head was playing games with me, like when you walk in a desert without water and keep seeing things that aren't actually there.

But as I approached the house, I realized that it really was there and that I wasn't imagining things. I was now only a few meters away from the house and saw that it wasn't actually a house, but a caravan.

The caravan was made of metal and was quite big, unlike the caravans I had seen before. The area around the caravan was rather bare and you could see that someone had cut down trees to park the caravan there.

I walked slowly around the caravan and tried to look in the windows to see if anyone was living in here. As far as I could tell, it was empty.

I took a firm grip on my teddy bear and approached the door. 'What if someone does live here and they send me back to Dave?' At that moment, my stomach rumbled, signaling that it was hungry.

I plucked up all my courage and knocked on the door. 'If anyone opens the door and asks me about my parents, I'll just tell them they're dead. Then they'll take pity on me and won't ask me any more questions.

I wait a few minutes and after knocking a few more times, I decide to try and go in as there is obviously no one in there. I slowly took the handle in my hand and pushed it down. Luckily for me, the door wasn't locked and I was able to open it further.

"Hello, anyone there?" I was a little unsure whether someone was at home, but when no one answered again, I decided to go in.

I closed the door behind me and to my surprise, the living room of the caravan was warm. I was really glad it was warm, because God, I was cold.

So I walked slowly through the caravan. There was a small kitchen right by the door and a small living room with a couch to the right. To the left of the kitchen, a small passageway led past a bathroom and at the end a fairly large bedroom with a double bed.

I put Barry and my blanket down at the end of the bed and made my way back towards the kitchen. I went through the cupboards in the hope of finding something reasonably edible.

At the bottom of one of the cupboards, I found a bag of potato chips and a packet of pasta. Since I don't know exactly how to cook, I opt for the chips.

The kitchen has a small table with two chairs where I sit down and eat the chips. After eating 1/3 of the bag, I go back to the bedroom, hoping to get some sleep because the last few hours have been really exhausting.

I take Barry and go to the other end of the bed with him. But before I went to bed, I took off my T-shirt, because even though I don't know if anyone lives here, I don't want to make the bed any dirtier.

I threw my T-shirt into the corner of the room and got into bed. I pull my little baby blanket up so that it covers me and put the big comforter over it. With Barry in my arms, I slowly drift off to sleep. I was out in less than 10.

Nat's POV:

After me and Steve had to go off the grid, I called my old friend Mason and told him my situation. He eventually gave me the coordinates to a hidden house where I could stay for the time being.

The house was in Norway, in the middle of the forest, which is great because then I don't have people around me. Don't get me wrong, I like people, normally, but in a situation where you're being hunted by the whole world, it might be better to stay hidden until things have calmed down.

So I get into my car and enter the coordinates into my satnav. The sat nav tells me that it will take me about 2 hours to get there.

1 1/2 hours later, I pass a supermarket and decide to do a little shopping, as I think Mason hasn't filled the house with food. And if there's any food left, it's probably expired by now.

I managed the last 30 minutes and finally arrived at the house. Or should I say caravan? "He could have at least told me it was a caravan and not a house" I muttered to myself.

Although it's a caravan and not a house, I have to say that it looks pretty good for having been here in the woods for a few years, as Mason had told me. And the surroundings aren't bad either.

Trees have been felled around it to make room. There's enough space, but the caravan is still tightly surrounded by trees. I decide to go inside first to make sure no one is in there.

With my gun in my hands, I walk slowly and carefully, especially quietly, towards the door. The door opens with a slight crack and I am met by a reassuring silence.