Seven

Kira

Mom and I dragged our aching feet through the thick woods, exhausted and afraid. The oak and pine trees had branches tangled above us. The air was cold and damp, with a hint of wet earth and leaves. A thin mist hung low to the ground, which made it hard to see very far ahead.

We could see our breath as we walked, and the chill in the air made us huddle deeper into our jackets. We had been walking for hours, and hunger pangs gnawed at my belly.

Desperate for anything edible, I scanned our surroundings, but the trees offered nothing but leaves and twigs. My mom's eyes, sunken with fatigue, met mine, and I knew she was just as famished as I was.

The fear of not surviving made my heart pound, and my senses were on high alert. Ever since Dad turned rogue on my tenth birthday, Mom had always been the strong one, but now she leaned heavily on me.

"Honey, are you sure we're going the right way?" She asked weakly.

"Yes, I think so," I lied, more to reassure myself than her. We wandered