I dozed off against the tree, my head spinning with wonderful words of storybook adventures. The only problem with storybooks is that they always have a happy ending. I doubt that happens in real life. Nothing here is happy. Thuds reverberated through the woods, in tune. In sync. I sat up, frightened. It couldn’t be the Enyana’s or Shibuya’s, school wasn’t out yet. The reality hit me with blinding truth. It couldn’t be children. I peeked over the bush so I could see what was happening. An army marched through the path. There were more soldiers than people in my village, that had to be planned. They had swords, sheathed at the moment, but that wouldn’t last for very long. I studied the army. They were setting a slow pace, but they would arrive at our camp in less than an hour. I had to warn Lyna and Mum. I packed my bag, standing up slowly. The army continued to march along, not noticing me, the girl in the bushes. Running on the path was hard enough, but running through a heavily wooded area with brambles is harder, especially when you’re wearing a dress. I stumbled and fell on a rock, hitting my knee hard. I laid there for a second, then mustered the energy to get up and move along. Every breath hurt, tearing my lungs apart like claws. I widened my stride, legs aching. My breaths came out short and fast, as if I was being suffocated. My sides were sore from running. The clearing came into my view. If I could just make it a few more steps... As soon as this thought passed through my mind, I tripped over brambles. One stabbed through my thin shoe and pierced my foot. I almost screamed. I would’ve screamed. If the army hadn’t caught up with me. My mind raced. Had they noticed me? Or had they sped up out of pure hope that they could catch the camp by surprise? I sat there, cradling my foot, listening to their boots hitting the packed dirt ground. Maybe the Enyana’s were better fighters, but they outnumbered us. For years, the Enyana’s strove to be a peaceful tribe, we didn’t have designated fighters like they did. And either way, theirs was an army. Ours was a village. This drove my mind farther. Were they attacking the other villages? Why? I shook these out of my head. There were more important things. Like warning my family. How could I do that? I got up and ran towards my house, not caring if the soldiers saw me. They did. And a soldier yelled. To be fair, it made less work for me. Jane, Eriku, and Lyna stood in the middle, next to the tree, where they always were. Talking. As soon as the soldier made any noise, they all jolted their heads upwards. “Eriku! Lyna!” I screamed, seeing Jane, but not acknowledging her, “Run!” Lyna’s eyes caught mine. They were wide, as if she was more worried about me than herself. She probably was. I looked behind me, seeing a soldier who was way too close for my liking. I ran. If I had been in my right mind, I would’ve run towards the river, or into the woods. But they would’ve found me if I went there. Instead, I headed towards the Shibuya town. My legs felt like they were going to fall off. Everything was so insane right now. Something was happening, whether we Enyana’s liked it or not, and it wasn’t going to be good. An army was marching towards my village, and maybe the other villages too! I was still running. My legs were numb. I was close to the end of the path, to the Shibuya town. My brain was running faster than my legs, spinning with random topics and related ones alike. The town was like the forest, packed with houses side by side, tiny alleyways between them. I dove into one of these, sneezing at the dust as it flew up and coated me. It had been light outside; it was the middle of the day. Under the two roof edges, there was only a sliver of light. The rest of the alley was cast in darkness. There was nothing other than a rotten banana peel that sat underneath the window to my right. Exhaustion hit me like a knife, splitting my head with unbearable pain, forcing me into sleep. Had it not been that long ago that I’d woken up and headed down the path? Who cared, I was tired now, and that’s what mattered. I drifted off into a nightmarish sleep, haunted by the faces of my family and friends.
