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I woke up, inhaling sharply.
My eyes fiercely looked for Dixie and the heavy weight wore off my shoulders.
Dixie laid on the bed across from me, still shivering. Her usually messy pigtails were messier now, no longer resembling braids but a mop of hair. She was wrapped tightly in raggedy paper thin blankets.
"Dixie!" I cried while running to her. My fingers brush her hair away from my face, a wave of relief flooding into me.
Thank god, she's okay.
I glanced at my surroundings.
Where are we?
"How are you feeling?"
My head whipped in the direction of the voice, where a woman sat in a chair with a gentle smile. Her outfit was simple, while her brown hair was raised into a braided bun. She was middle-aged, however there were signs of a beautiful young woman. The woman's eyes were deep, full of gratitude yet also sad and tired.
I didn't realize that my eyes were glaring, nor that I was hovering in front of Dixie until she let out a laugh. "Don't worry, I'm not here to hurt anyone."
Despite her words, my body wouldn't relax.
"Are you hungry? The little girl was feed a while ago."
She stood up, walking towards the little fireplace after grabbing a bowl. Every step she took, my eyes recorded. With ease and the elegance, she scooped up contents from the pot and poured it into the bowl.
The fire crackled.
"Here you go. Not the best, but still good given the circumstances." Her hands held out the bowl.
Cautiously, my hands grabbed the bowl.
Under my nose, the meal smelled of water with vegetables.
My stomach growled and I stared at her cautiously.
Taking the wooden spoon into my hand, I began to eat slowly. The food filled me with warmth and strength. Taste wise, the food wasn't the worst but it couldn't compare to the old man's stew.
The thought of him brought a sour taste to my mouth.
Still, I ate.
While I did, my eyes wandered throughout the house. It was larger than the old man's, this one containing a separate room and a large living room. A small unused stove sat beside the fireplace along with other cooking utensils. What stood out the most, however, was the various ropes that moved along the sides of the house. I couldn't guess it's use.
"How was it?" The woman asked when I finished eating. "I would have added meat but ever since my husband died in the war, I haven't been able to catch anything no matter how hard I tried."
"Who are you?" I didn't mean to interrupt her, but the insecurity in me was too big.
"Me?" She smiled. "My name's Maria. You can call me Miss Maria."
"How did we get here?"
She sat down once more before taking my plate and setting it aside. "Hmm, well it was three days ago. Early in the morning, I had left the house to see if my traps had caught anything. While I did, I heard the slightest of groaning. I followed the noise and found you two."
I glanced at the bowl in my hands.
While she was kind enough to bring us home and feed us, so was the old man.
A part of me was still wary.
"Child, what's your name?" Miss Maria asked yet I couldn't answer. Instead, she redirected her line of vision to Dixie. "You poor things must have been through so much. To be running around alone."
I remained quiet.
Before she could utter another word, booming footsteps echoed on the porch. Then, a loud banging followed on the door.
"Open up!" A man shouted from behind the door.
A chilling premonition ran through me and I jumped up.
It's them. It has to be them.
I have to hide- but what about Dixie?
[Leave her, they don't know who she is.]
My eyes desperately looked for a place to hide.
"Open up or we'll force the door down!"
"I'm going!" Miss Maria shouted in a feeble pretense.
She grabbed my shoulder, pointing towards the door. Then she preceded to drop several utensils as I dashed to the door. Once inside, I looked for a more hidden area.
There was a single candle that lit the room, and a figure on a small bed shifted.
A boy my age sat up, something about him was off. Despite the poor lighting, I could clearly tell he was pointing at something on the ceiling.
A tattered string hung there.
An attic!
Acting quickly, I reached for it and climbed as fast as I could. As I did, I could hear the little boy put out the candle.
Up there, I felt my way around a few objects and hid behind something tall.
"Have you seen a girl with white hair around?" The man's rough voice didn't remind me of anyone that belonged at the camp.
The people that attacked the camp are still looking for me.
"No sir." Miss Maria responded calmly.
"Move."
Judging from the sounds, they forced themselves in and were wandering around the house.
"This your daughter?"
My heart leaped.
"Yes sir, I also have a sickly son."
The men hummed uninterestedly and walked towards the door. As they entered the room, I could hear the click of flashlights.
"H-hello?" The boy's voice called out.
One of the men laughed. "Poor bastard can't see."
"Oh look, there's an attic. Should we check?"
I could hardly hear past my ringing heart.
"I don't want to, but if we don't check we might get killed." His partner responded.
The sounds were no longer muffled as the attic door was pulled down, one of the soldier's footsteps creaked as he went up the ladder.
Cover your mouth and nose!
On reflex, my hands covered my nose and mouth to cover the breathing as light flooded into the attic.
Only the creaking of his footsteps and the shaking of my heart was all I could hear.
Please don't find me. Please don't find me. Please don't find me.
It was all I could think at the moment.
The soldier grew closer and closer as I squeezed my eyes and begged for help.
He was mere inches away when the boy began to violently cough.
The soldier's partner downstairs groaned in disgust. "Disgusting! Hey Preva, hurry up. I don't want to get sick."
"Me neither, it's clear up here anyway."
I stood still as he went down and they exited the house.
All the air I had been holding in left when the door closed and silence danced in the air.
"You can come down now." Miss Maria called me gently from below. "They're gone."
With shaking legs, I made my way back down.
"Are you okay dear?" She asked with concern when she saw my pale face.
"I- I just need a bit of air." I stumbled past her and made my way outside, sitting down on her porch.
They were looking for me...
Just what do they-
A strand of my hair came into view and my breath became shaky.
"It's- it's all because of you!" I cried and tugged on it. "It's because of you I'm in this mess!"
Tears streamed down my cheek as I continued to yank on my hair.
"It's your fault that old man turned in! It's your fault that the camp got attacked! That Addie and Gus and all those people are- are dead." I paused. "It's- it's my... my fault."
Burying my hands into my face, I sobbed.
I hadn't realized someone had walked up behind me until my back was being patted softly. Even then, my eyes continued to cry until tears wouldn't come out anymore.
"Thank you." I sniffled once I calmed down.
"Are you feeling better?"
The boy sat next to me and under the sunlight, I was able to make a shocking discovery.
Across his eyes were scars and his pupils were milky white.
He was blind.
"I- I am." I stuttered and looked away.
Mom always said it was rude to look.
"That's good." He smiled.
I shifted slightly. "Uh, thank you for earlier. You saved me."
"Oh it's nothing. I hate them more than anything on this planet."
"Did they- did they do that to your eyes?"
He shook his head, "Not directly. When I was smaller, they were going to take me away to become a soldier. My mother, instead of sending me off to die, decided it was best find a way to make it impossible to leave. They didn't take me because of my eyes."
I swallowed hard, clearly shocked. "Your mom did that? Miss Maria?"
She didn't strike me as the type of mother to hurt her children.
"Don't you- don't you hate her for it?"
He laughed. "She knew I'd be better off blind than killed off in a war. I'd rather hate the men that forced her hand and made her live with the guilt."
I grew quiet.
"So instead of hating yourself, just hate them."
"I- I don't think I can." I whispered.
"You can do it. Besides, I can only dream of protecting my mom. You can actually protect the people you love."
I was reminded of Addie, who encouraged me to learn for the same reason.
"Is there a training camp near here?" My question was sudden, but that didn't faze him.
"Yeah, by the river. Why?"
I smiled, my eyes still stinging from the tears. "I'm going to learn how to fight!"
"What?"
"I've seen it in films, there's no better way of fighting your enemies than getting to know them first!"
He grinned, "Its crazy but I think it just might work."
"Hey," I turned to look at him, "I never did get your name. What is it?"
"I'm Benjamin. Benji for short." He held out his hand.
I grabbed it and shook it. "I'm Snow. How old are you by the way?"
"Hmm. My mom says I'm sixteen this year?"
"You're a year older than me!"
"You're fifteen?" He asked.
"I think so," I shrugged, "at least that's what I was told. Though it makes sense, I left home when I was fourteen."
He grew quiet. "Why are you alone Snow? Why are those men looking for you?"
My glanced at my hands, debating whether I should tell him or not.
I- I think I can trust them.
"They actually want to use me for my connection with the ice element." I started, "They took my mom and attacked the camp that rescued me, so here I am. Hiding away."
"Are you going to look for her?"
"My mom? Yeah, but I don't know how. I even have to help Dixie look for her parents too."
"The little girl inside?"
I was about to nod but quickly responded instead. "Yeah. I escaped with her."
"The two of you were really brave."
His comment made me smile. "Not really. Well Dixie was, I was scared out of my wits."
He laughed.
"It's- it's been a while since I've spoken to someone my age." I confessed. "It's funner than I remember."
"Really? How come?"
"Well my dad kinda locked me up at the beginning of the war. Said it was to protect me, but I wasn't able to meet anyone or even go outside. At first I didn't really understand and felt trapped, but I do now. He just wanted to protect me..."
"Hmm then we're the same... haven't spoken to anyone in ages either." He chuckled.
My lips broke into a smile.
"Would you like to be my shut-in friend?" He asked with a lopsided grin.
My smile turned into a grin. "I would love to."
"Then it's a deal."
There was a knock that came from inside, then Miss Maria peeped through a crack on the door. "Come inside, I don't want you to get sick."
Benji nodded, "Okay."
He and I stood up, making our way inside.
"So when do you plan on going to the camp?" He asked.
"I won't be going until Dixie gets a little better."
"Good. I'll have someone to talk to for a while then." He smiled charmingly.
Once inside, I turned my attention to Miss Maria who looked at me worriedly as Benji found a way towards a seat using the ropes.
"Thank you for hiding me." I bowed gratefully. "I owe you my life."
She scoffed. "As if I would turn in a child."
My thoughts drifted to the old man.
"I should just be glad we look weak enough to barely get by. People like them find trampling on the weak boring."
Dixie's shivering seemed to be less violent, causing me to smile in relief.
We're going to be okay, aren't we Dixie?
I caressed her cheeks slightly and felt a surge of determination in me.
My head swiveled towards Miss Maria. "You said you haven't had meat in a while right?"
She nodded.
"I can set up traps." I offered. "The person who taught me also said I was a natural. I could bring you meat so in the meanwhile, please, let us stay."
Her eyes were wide in shock for a few moments before she let out her gentle smile again. "I was going to let you stay regardless of what you could give me!"
I grinned in relief, "Thank you Miss Maria."
"You're welcome."
I looked back down at Dixie, a new sense of hope and determination filling in me.
Everything is going to be okay.