Daddy.

Where are you sending me now?

You left me in that room.

Tore us away from each other.

Tom cried the most.

Now I am alone.

Yet not.

Never.

Anne woke up, curled up in her sleeping bag that was only a few steps from their firepit. The fire was now no more than a smoldering heap of ash. This was the third camp they made as they followed the train tracks, making progress during the day in the shadows of the many trees on their path.

Kate yawned loudly as she pushed herself out of her sleeping bag. Darius's was already empty as he was out of camp early to scout ahead. It was still dark, yet the birds were already chirping to signal the start of the new morning.

"Wake up sleepy head. Darius is not here. We need to give the crystals another try."

Kate poked Anne's sleeping bag.

"We need to keep at it so one of them starts to like you. No lazy days allowed!" She kept poking.

Anne did not move.

"Anne?"

Kate rolled her over on her back. All color drained from Kate's face, making her just as pale as Anne. “Anne!” Kate yelled and immediately pulled her onto her lap. Anne stared blankly into the tree canopy above and breathed hoarsely.

“No no no this is too soon! We should have more time. Weeks more! Think Kate, think!” Kate grunted between her gritted teeth, then started rummaging in her bag next to her. She pulled out a handful of small crystals and rolled them around in her hands until she picked one out of the bunch. She threw the rest back into her bag and then pulled Anne’s shirt up to expose her stomach. Kate held the crystal up to her lips and whispered to it. The crystal burst forth a harsh yellow glow.

“Anne, Anne just hold on. This might feel strange, but don’t fight it. This is going to burn.” Kate told Anne, who could only manage to blink her eyes. She hastily rested the crystal on Anne’s navel and pressed it down with her palm. The light from the crystal under Kate's hand doubled in intensity, forcing Kate to keep her eyes shut. Anne’s body began to shake violently as she dug her hands into the ground, letting out a horrific scream.

“Stop! Stop! It’s cold!” Anne yelled.

“It’s too cold. It burns! Leave me alone! Stop please, please!” She pleaded.

Black smoke violently bubbled out all over Anne’s skin, bellowing more around her navel where Kate’s hand was pressing the crystal.

Stop.

Anne’s screaming ceased, then a loud rush of force blew outward from her, blasting everything around her away. An unusual quiet surrounded the camp as the dust and leaves settled. Kate pulled herself to her feet where she had been flung several feet away. She winced as she straightened her back and limped back to Anne, who was breathing steadily when Kate dropped onto her knees next to her. Anne’s breath was a visible white plume that peacefully drifted away as she exhaled into the frigid air around them. The sudden cold sent goosebumps across Kate’s body.

“I- I don’t understand,” Kate whispered.

“Don’t understand what?”

Kate inhaled sharply in surprise. She was met with a confused look from Anne, who then nonchalantly sat up, let out a long yawn, and looked back at Kate.

“You are up early,” Anne said and ran her fingers through her hair to try and tame it. “What happened to you? You are supposed to sleep inside your sleeping bag, stupid” Anne giggled as she pulled a few crushed dry leaves out of Kate’s hair. “Wait, are you crying?”

Kate pulled Anne into a tight embrace, struggling back the tears. “You scared me,” she whispered. “Don’t do that to me.”

Anne pulled away from the embrace and looked around intently. "Kate, what happened?"

You were hardly breathing-" Kate stopped mid-sentence. “Calm down Kate, calm down. Calm down. Take it easy.” She repeated to herself.

The crystal around her neck was shaking violently, its light dimming and brightening at random intervals. “Hang in there… hang in there,” Kate mouthed softly.

The trembling of Kate’s body subsided slowly and her crystal also calmed down. Anne looked on, finally breaking the silence.

“It’s that burning inside you, isn’t it?"

Kate did not answer.

“Wait, I’m still confused. Who trashed the camp? Kate… Kate?” But Kate was fixed on picking up the small crystal from the ground that she had pressed against Anne. She rolled the crystal around between her fingertips. The crystal was roughly the same size and shape as the one Kate is wearing, but pitch black with numerous cracks running through it.

“It’s… dead,” Kate whispered. “How is this even possible?”

“Ok. What is going on?!” Anne squeaked with a mix of uncertainty and fear and jumped to her feet.

“Why were you crying? Why did you just have an attack?” Anne paused. “And why is there blood in my mouth?”

“Pack up, now!” Darius’s voice boomed from the other side of camp. He was out of breath and drops of sweat glistened on his face as the first rays of the morning sun broke through spaces in the tree canopy. He glanced around the camp, frowned, then went straight for his rucksack.

Kate threw the black crystal into her backpack, then she and Anne both started rolling up their sleeping bags and packing up as fast as they can. Anne mouthed a silent “Are you ok?” to Kate, to which she gave a small smile.

They were walking briskly with the train tracks off to the right of them. Anne kept looking back to try and see if anyone was following.

“They are looking for us,” Darius said.

“I saw a scouting party only a few minutes away from the camp. We need to get as far away as possible before they find it. I think I saw-”

A sharp howl cut through the air. “-trackers” Darius rasped. They burst into a run. Their baggage swung wildly from their backs. Anne’s small body was nimble, but she was struggling to keep up with Kate. Even Darius kept up a fast pace with his robe fluttering behind him. The tracks made a slight right turn, turning away from them. Soon the tracks were out of sight. Another howl came from behind them, this one sounded much closer.

“Don’t stop, and don’t look back,” Darius said between heavy breaths. Anne’s legs were burning, yet she managed to keep up.

Hunted again. This feels just like the time we ran from the farm. Why are these people so eager to get me. What do they want from me?

“Anne!” Kate yelled. She felt a hard tug on her arm as Kate pulled her out of her run. They stood on the edge of a roaring river.

“You almost ran straight into it,” Kate said over the rush of the river that filled the area with a loud rumble. The riverbank on both sides was about 2 feet above the water level.

“We need to cross this,” Darius said. They looked around for any means to cross. “Where are the train tracks?” Kate asked him.

“That way I think”, he pointed downstream to the right.

“But we won’t make it. We need to get over now.”

“There!” Anne yelped.

Far to their left, a large dead tree had fallen over. Its gnarled roots were broken and upturned as the river had dug out the ground that had held it in place before. It had lodged itself into the riverbank on the other side.

“Go!” Yelled Darius, and they hastily followed the river upstream towards the big fallen log. The fallen tree was so large at the base that Darius could barely see over it. The roots that stuck out like hundreds of crooked knotted fingers proved to be an easy climb, and they were all on the log within seconds. Darius went first, moving briskly across and fighting to keep his balance. The bark was soggy and slippery, but Kate soon made it to the other side as well, with Anne a few steps behind her. A loud wet crash suddenly shook the tree, throwing Anne off the side and ripping the log partly out of the riverbank. She caught one of a few dead branches that stuck out of the side of the tree.

“Anne, hold on!” she heard Kate yell, but then a deep growl vibrated through the air. Her heart was hammering in her chest. A giant three-eyed wolf had jumped on and was clawing its way toward Anne. Its giant claws ripped chunks out of the wood as it tried to stay on the log. It stood a few feet taller than Darius with a large bottom jaw that split into two halves when it opened its mouth, bearing rows of razor-sharp yellow teeth.

Anne held on. She was hanging waist-deep in the river, being pulled by the rapid flow rushing past from underneath their improvised bridge. The wolf was right on top of Anne. It held out its huge right claw. It stuck. The tree gave way. It ripped out of the riverbed and swung violently downstream as it smashed into the water. The wolf let out a loud yelp and crashed into the water with it, flailing and struggling against the current. The creature and the giant log grew smaller as it was swept away.

“Anne!” Kate yelled with her eyes frantically searching.

“Here… I’m here,” Anne said weakly. She was clinging to the riverbank. Her arms were dug elbow-deep into the soft soil of the riverbank wall, her legs dangling weakly in the fast-flowing river.

Kate and Darius rushed to pull her up and with a struggle, they lay panting on the other side. Anne was on her back, still.

“Anne! Anne, wake up,” Kate pleaded.

“She is breathing,” Darius said. He looked up and down Anne’s body, then rolled her over.

Blood was streaming from numerous deep cuts and scratches on her side. Anne’s backpack drooped loosely over her back in two halves. “Kate, help me lift her a little,” Darius asked. He moved the ruined backpack aside and pulled up her shirt as Kate lifted her a few inches by the shoulders. Kate yelped and let go, dropping her back on the ground with a wet thud.

A large gash was carved from her right shoulder to her left hip and was belching blood. The sockets in her back that intersected the large cut were unscathed.

“Anne no! No!” Kate cried. The crystal around her neck was visibly reacting and started to glow.

“Kate!” Darius yelled and grabbed her arm. She froze and looked quietly at him.

“Pull yourself together! She needs you.” Darius’s voice was clear and serious. Kate’s crystal calmed. “I know we can’t mend this, but I know you can stop the bleeding.” He said. Kate looked confused for a moment, but then her face lit up. “Yes, I can! But…”

“Anne will die. What I think is of no importance,” Darius whispered. With that, he got up and walked away. Kate braced herself and hurriedly rubbed her hands together.

“I’m sorry Anne. I will try and be as gentle as I can.”

She made a fist, then extended her index and middle fingers. She gave a few shuddering breaths, then focussed on her fingers. Her fingers glowed dark red, then orange, and finally bright yellow. The hot glow was visible in the shade that was given by a few nearby trees, with the sun already halfway to its peak.

Kate lowered her fingers to the bleeding cut that had now drenched Anne’s entire back in deep scarlet. She dug her fingers into the folds of the cloven flesh and skin. Anne’s body sizzled at the touch, sending wisps of smoke wafting from the wound. She showed no reaction. Kate rigorously slid her blood-crusted fingers all across the wound and under the skin. The taste and smell of burnt flesh pushed Kate to the edge as she fought the urge to throw up. She quickly finished with the large gash and proceeded with the range of smaller yet also deep cuts on Anne’s side, pulling large splinters out of Anne in the process.

Darius stopped next to Kate. “You did well, my child. I see no more bleeding.”

Kate nodded slightly and sat curled up quietly next to Anne, holding her knees and staring blankly at Anne’s wounds.

Movement from across the river caught their attention. Three men were standing on the other side, staring at them. Two of the men were geared for reconnaissance, each with two wolf creatures sitting idly next to them. These were much smaller than the previous giant wolf, reaching only about hip-hight when seated.

The man in the middle had a painful looking hunched back and was fully masked from his nose upwards. Large green spheres sat in his mask where his eyes would be, and the rest of the mask was black and devoid of any other detail. A third man with a wolf came running from the side, giving the masked man a quick message and pointing downstream. The masked man did not take his eyes off his prey but with a swift flick of his hand all three recon men and their wolves darted off in the direction the other had pointed.

“The tracks. They must have found the bridge where the train crosses. We need to move,” Darius said, pulling Kate up to her feet. “Give me your backpack. I need you to carry her.”

“Of course. Anything,” Kate replied.

Darius carefully lifted Anne onto Kate’s back with her arms over her shoulders. Without a word, they both started running.

“Where are we going?” She asked.

“We need to get to where the train turns south over the ocean, but that’s still a day’s walk from here,” Darius said between breaths as they ran. “There are some hills just north of there. If we can make it there before nightfall… and not get caught before then, we might be ok. They need to cross the river hours south of here which will buy us time.”

They managed to keep a decent pace till late that afternoon. They had no signs of anyone following them. At last, they could see a small formation of hills not far ahead, which stretch north along the coastline. The sun stung them from behind as it hung low, for the trees that provided the shade for most of their journey were now but shrubs and bushes. The train tracks were now visible again far off to the south, yet still no sign of the men and their wolves.

Clumps of trees lined the base of the hills and they found a spot that is well hidden from sight to anyone passing by to the south. Kate’s muscles cramped and burned. Darius helped Anne off her shoulders and laid her down on her side against a small incline. Kate let out a cry in pain as she struggled to bend her knees. She dropped down hard on her side during her third attempt to lie down. Anne was still breathing, but otherwise was not responding at all. Darius pulled a bottle of water from his rucksack and gave it to Kate who gratefully accepted it, taking large gulps. Darius’s movements were also sluggish and stiff, and he groaned with any large movement he made. He poured a little bit of his water over a cloth and placed it on Anne’s forehead to cool her.

Darius finally rested with his back against a large boulder, taking long sips of water and dabbing his forehead with a cloth. The last rays of light streaked across the sky as the sun slowly passed down into the depths of the horizon.

“So you think they will be back?” Kate asked, having calmed down a bit but still unable to move around normally.

“I… I’m sure they will. They left us alone for some reason. They could have easily caught up, yet they didn’t. I honestly do not understand.” Darius replied. “What were they waiting for?” he added as he wondered out loud.

“For this moment, naturally,” said the masked man as he sat calmly on the incline, pushing a stubborn lock of hair out of Anne’s face.