Below you can read the previous installments:
- Part One
- Part Two
- Part Three
- Part Four
- Part Five
Hope you enjoy; it would mean a lot if you left a comment :)
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Alynn
woke up to her shoulder being shaken. Memories of the raiders flashed through
her mind, jolting every sense alive. Alynn sat up abruptly, eyes wide, and body
poised for action.
Enna scrambled back, “Relax, Alynn.
We’re fine.”
Taking a few, deep, calming breaths,
Alynn sat against the tree she had been sitting by, her body racked by shaking.
She closed her eyes, rubbing away the sleep that threatened to reappear. A
small tickling on her leg drew Alynn’s attention. She darted her gaze towards
her skirt, and saw a good-sized, eight-legged creature crawling peacefully.
Alynn screamed, flailing her legs, standing up and shaking it around. Her
uneven heartbeat returned, a throb began in her head, only getting more intense
as the seconds ticked by. She stopped moving and looked down. It was gone.
“What is wrong with me?” Alynn
stared desperately at Enna.
Hesitating, Enna walked towards Alynn,
and then wrapped her in a hug, “It isn’t your fault. You just need to breath;
you aren’t usually like this.”
Alynn pushed away, shaking her head,
“You don’t seem fazed.”
Enna licked her lips, casting her
gaze aside, “Not on the outside. I’ve always had a better time of hiding my
feelings, and keeping my doubts in check. It is who I am, and you are just
different. You will relax over time.
I’ve already had my time. I can’t sleep after all this action.”
Again the moment played in Alynn’s
mind. Her parents. The dragons. The raiders. Why had God let this happen?
Family was everything to her, and to lose them in a matter of a day… It was too
much to bear.
Enna’s stomach growled, bringing a
serious matter to attention.
Alynn nodded, as if this was a
statement, “Let’s go look for food.”
With Enna guiding the way, the
sisters trekked back to their village, which wasn’t a very long walk. As they
reached the end of the forest, Alynn hesitated. What would be left of the
village, if anything?
Forcing herself to take steps
forward, as a baby might do when it first learns to walk, Alynn stepped into
the view of her village.
It was in ruins.
The smell of burnt wood and smoke
lathered the air; the quaint cottages and houses were now destructed in piles
on the ground.
A hand found its way into Alynn’s,
squeezing it as if to send encouraging messages.
“There is nothing left.” Alynn
choked on her own words, leaning her head against Enna’s shoulder.
Enna led the way into the heart of
the village, where happy people once mingled, and children gathered to play
games. This was no more. Devastation marked
every path and building. A few lone chickens milled about, pecking at the
ground for leftover feed that had been blown away.
“Hello?” Enna called out a desperate
call, hoping for someone to appear to assure them that everything was alright.
There was no answer. The wind blew
its mournful song. The trees bowed towards the ground in grief. This village
was scarred by raiders.
Alynn stepped over a frame of a
doorway that lay in the road, walking towards the former General Store.
It was no longer recognizable. The
roof was gone, a wall was torn out, and all the products were scattered on the
floor or missing. Enna bent down, grabbing a bag and gathering supplies. Alynn
stood there, watching, frozen. There was that one question that kept coming to
mind.
Why?
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Byeeee!
- Katie
Absolutely love the edits you've made. Sad to read, but you do a great job capturing their despair.
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