Chapter One

The frozen ground under my feet made strange noises as I dashed across it, not daring to turn around and see how close they were. They had taken my whole family, everything, burnt my home into ashes, and now they just happen to be trailing me. Maybe just to make a clean job out of it. Of course, the nearest town would have taken ten minutes to reach of horseback at a steady canter, but when you're running for your life, you don't really have time to pack.

    I still couldn't turn around when I crossed a small, barely frozen creek. I had lost my sense of direction, who knew even if I was heading towards the town? Only a person in the sky of course... A person in the sky... Should I just climb a tree? My numb brain processed. Not enough time! Shouted another part of my mind. But just then, a branch snapped and I lost my concentration just long enough for me to slip on the sleek ice underneath me. I began to slid down the hill I had been inching down just seconds before. Cursing, I grabbed hold of a small tree and slowed down to a freezing halt. I heard the pounding of footfalls, and knew they weren't my own. My heart beat faster. Being on a open hill with no cover, I couldn't possibly make it. A man broke the cover of the trees at the top of the hill. I gave a slight unhappy frown before blinking. Oh yeah... And also before the man suddenly exploded.

    His bow landed near me, and even though I didn't know what had happened, my fingers suddenly sprung to life and restrung the bow. I searched for the quiver and arrows, and found them exactly where he had exploded. I didn't feel to well after looking at the small, bursted pieces of his body, and I had to lighten the load in my stomach behind a nearby log.

    When I spied another man behind a tree, it felt like my fingers had suddenly become my brain and an arrow was in his direction before I knew what had happened. I didn't wait around long enough to see what sort of damage I had caused, but I heard a squeal and thought I might upchuck again. Can you toss your guts when you don't have anything in them?

    Two hours later, my feet hit the ground and suddenly stopped; which is how I knew it was time to find a resting place. Fortunately, I discovered a thorn thicket and a hole under a log. I crawled under the log and debated whether or not to light a fire. I decided on no a minute later, since the smoke beam might attract their attention. That's when I remembered the bag my father had packed in case of an emergency. I had grabbed it when I ran out the door, thinking the whole family would follow me. Well, they clearly didn't.

    In the bag I found a fresh canteen (actually, six of those), a small blanket, a dagger, a small packet of bread or something, some beef that had become moldy, some beef that hadn't, berries (fresh) and some crumpled leaves that I had no idea what to do with. I dranked a quarter of the water in the first canteen, ate some of the beef, placed everything back in the bag and wrapped up in the blanket, leaving the bow next to me just in case they did come. Maybe they'll be gone tomorrow, was my last thought before I drifted off to sleep.

I will add more later but my foot fell asleep. Going to wake it up!