☑ THE SHADOW | Peter Maximoff

t h i r t y - o n e

~ 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐚 ~

The road outside the house was narrow. It was gravel, and had so many potholes there was no way a car would safely be able to drive along it, but it was a much better chance they had at finding civilization.

It was hours they walked. Amara's feet were almost numb to the pain by that point, and she kept her eyes and ears on high alert with her mutation. She considered walking in the forest alongside the road so they would be a bit more hidden for a brief moment, but her feet ached even more at the thought of the rough forest floor.

The sounds of the cans of food rustling in the background were gentle with every step Peter took. She noticed about an hour in that he was walking closer to her, which was odd. Close enough that their arms brushed. But what she also noticed was that it didn't feel odd. It didn't feel awkward anymore, or like the walk was only happening because of survival. It was almost comforting.

The walk, however, was still silent. Amara was alert, and so was he.

At a two-way divide in the road, she crossed her fingers as the two of them decided to go left. It was only more walking after that.

It was cloudy, just like it had been every day since their escape, meaning she couldn't hope to figure out the time or which way was East and which was West. She had nothing.

The breeze was just as goose-bump inducing. The only solace she could find in the fact that every tree they passed looked the exact same was that they were still moving, and no one had found them yet.

When Amara's stomach began to turn from hunger pains, Peter opened up one of the cans of beans, and with one spoon, they split the can between them. She would take a bite, then he would, until eventually, the can was empty, and they were left feeling more hungry than before.

They walked. A conversation might've sparked between them, but it didn't last long, since every time a few branches tussled, or a twig snapped, they were scared into silence.

The next time that the road split in half, they were just as confused as where to go. Since they went left the first time, Peter decided right the second. And once again, it was only an endless road surrounded by layers and layers of forest.

Until...

Kahuna, It whispered. Listen.

Her hand immediately reached for Peter's arm to stop him, and she paused, doing as It said. She closed her eyes, using her power to help her listen and kept her grip on Peter's arm tight, just in case danger was approaching.

"What is it?" he asked, but she didn't answer.

Her eyes moved beneath her eyelids as she continued to listen until finally, way, way off in the distance, she heard voices. Voices. And lots of them.

She gasped. "This way!"

Her grip on Peter was lost when she started forward, her pace brisk. She knew that Peter was confused behind her, but she followed the sounds closely, and she was grateful that he trusted her enough to keep quiet and follow her.

The scenery slowly changed, with the gravel road beneath their feet getting muddier and harder to walk in, and the thick of the forest thinning out. When they heard the bell of a clock tower chime, they looked at each other for a split second, then broke into a full on sprint.

It was just a few minutes until they paused on the road because in the distance, they could see the outline of a smaller, run down town with many people rushing through.

Deciding to keep their energy up, Amara and Peter walked the rest of the way and paused right at the edge of the clearing. The town was much busier than expected, with people bustling left and right, stopping at each of the little stands or pulling their kids and carts through the muddy terrain.