★ Shiloh's Point of View (POV) ★ "I just need some time to think by myself for a little while." That's what I had told them. It was true, technically. I was going outside to think. It's just that I couldn't explain more than that. I never could. And... I never would. I sat down on the edge of my old, wooden deck, and rested my arms on my knees. It was a nice day. Nice weather. If you're me, that is. Thick, dark clouds hung over the sky, blocking the sunlight from touching anything within my sight. And yet, as soon as I started thinking, as soon as I went off into my own little world, I didn't notice it. That always seems to happen with this weather. Only when something breaks up your thoughts or conversation will you notice it. Or, again, maybe that's another weird "me thing". I sighed, wanting to stare at the ground in front of me, but that hurts too much. Feels like breaking some sort of unspoken promise. So, I looked around. Watched the birds. The squirrels. Thought about how simple their lives are. Difficult, yes, nobody in their right mind could deny that. But simple. They really only have one goal: Survive. Drink water, eat, sleep, don't let a carnivore find you, find a mate, have offspring, raise them, live the rest of your life, and then it's over. No two worlds they need to keep separate. No secrets. No promises. Just a life with the need to survive. And sometimes, some of us don't even have /that/. Ooookay, looking at the animals wasn't helping at all... "Yeah, I'm definitely the only one with this stupid... /problem/," I muttered, running a hand through my hair in frustration. I couldn't blame anyone. Not really. Then the rain started. First, it was a sprinkle so light that you can hardly tell it's even there, and even if you can, you'd assume it would pass quickly. Sounds familiar... Then it picked up, and it seemed to increase faster the more rain comes down. I didn't care. I still sat there. It was cold. I /still/ didn't care. I /still/ sat there. Because, like I said, I found myself not really noticing it. Only my thoughts. With another sigh, I decided to just say them out loud. Nobody was around to hear them anyway. "This was never going to be easy. I knew that. Or, maybe I didn't, but I do now. Time seems to pass faster every day, and every day, no matter how different, I find that they all have one thing in common. What I think about. It's not a choice, not really. It just... /happens/, at this point, sort of like breathing. I guess, the truth is, after everything, I can't seem to stop thinking about- " And that's when it all went black. [End of Chapter One]
★ Click or Space to see Shiloh's Picrew. ★ All characters's Picrews: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1222557315 ★ Words in {braces} are the inner dialogue/thoughts of the character whose POV the chapter is in. ★ Words in /forward slashes/ indicate italics, meaning that word is emphasized. ★ First Chapter: You're here! ★Previous Chapter: Impossible! ★ Next Chapter: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1222518977 ★ Let me know if you would like to be on the ping list! —(that just means I'll tell you whenever I release new chapters) ★ Ping List: @thana46 ★ Story title, plot, and characters belong to me, @AspenStar_Anon — Other than slight inspiration from "The Hunger Games" and "The Maze Runner". ★ Writing entirely by me, @AspenStar_Anon