From One World To Another

Found

I awoke with a groan. I was tired, my body aching, and what I was seeing didn't quite register in my brain for a few seconds. Once I realized I was under the bush again, I immediately shut up and looked around.

No one was around, or at least no one seemed to be.

I waited and listened.

Birds were chirping, leaves were rustling in the wind, and nothing seemed amiss.

I hesitantly crawled out from under the bush, making sure to not lay even a finger on the grave of the poor chipmunk. I then walked around the area that had formerly held my village.

The rays of run were leaving the land, taking my sense of security with it, slowly but surely.

During the day, I had cried in the middle of my lost village before eventually crawling back to my bush so I could sleep in peace. I had already looked for something, anything, that would signal that I was not the lone survivor, but...

No one would ever be able to tell that a village once stood where I was standing in that moment.

I looked around before my stomach rumbled. I gripped it tightly, wondering when the last time I ate was. I quickly decided that I needed to find food, but...

In my last life, there was food left over from the fallen soldiers. I had bread for a few days, and more than enough water for a couple of weeks. I never had to go anywhere in search of food even before that, as my parents always provided for me, even when the war broke out.

I didn't know where to start. I looked left, right, and then left again.

The forest was behind me. To my left was the path that led to the river. To my right was an empty space of land where the graveyard once stood. Ahead of me was more forest, though there was a path that supposedly led to another town.

All I knew was that I was hungry, and I didn't want to run into those people again. I took two steps toward the forest ahead of me before an awful thought came into my mind...

What if the people already destroyed the other town?

I felt myself quiver in fear at the thought of coming across them again. I shook my head, deciding that I didn't want to risk it. I couldn't just follow their tracks either, so I decided to head down to the river.

The path leading to the river was winding and steep. The flora was green and overgrown, but it looked beautiful nonetheless. The soil was rich with nutrients, but we never bothered farming, as we got food from the next town over in exchange for things like meat and this silt.

I came to a stop at the river and decided to just follow it, going the opposite way of the other people. I walked, and I walked, and I walked until it got too dark to see. By then, I would have eaten anything put in front of me, even liver and onions. I also had sore feet, ones that had me rubbing them until I eventually fell asleep to the calming sound of water passing by.

Dawn came soon enough, bringing with it all sorts of animals and sounds. With day on its way, the animals decided moving was beneficial to their wellbeing.

I took a note from their book and continued walking, following the river while hoping that my fate wouldn't have me die just yet. As I walked, I noticed that no animals ever seemed to be at the river. I wondered why, coming up with all sorts of theories.

Maybe the river had poisoned water.

Maybe the animals were too scared to approach me.

Maybe the people were nearby...