“The Noise in the Woods”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

Prompt: Where can we go?

“Where can we go now?” Olive whispers, shivering next to me.

I just shake my head. This is the second safe house we’ve been kicked out of just because of a tiny scratch that they thought might be infected. They just wouldn’t listen when we tried telling them that it was just from a stick. They were convinced that Olive’s tiny injury would bring about their doom.

I wish they knew how wrong they were.

“Come on,” I sigh, wearily hoisting my pack over my shoulder. “Let’s go.”

“You didn’t answer me,” Olive whines. “You said that that house was our last hope.”

“Quiet,” I snap. “I’m trying to think.”

Olive shrinks back and guilt immediately fills me. Even before this whole thing, I was never that mean to my little sister.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur. I hold out my hand to help her up the cliff. “We’ll figure something out.”

Olive nods, but I can see the fear in her eyes. She knows what she is and what will happen to her if anyone else were to find out. I wish there was something I could say to comfort her, but we both know that there are no words that could possibly sum up how she feels right now.

A sharp crack resounds through the forest and I instinctively pull out my knife. Olive darts behind me and shakily loads her slingshot.

“Who’s there?” I demand.

A snap echoes behind us. Olive lets out a gasp and inches closer to me.

“Come out now!” I yell, my knuckles white around my dagger.

No response. The clearing is silent. Too silent.

I spin around in a panic and my heart just about stops.

Olive’s gone.

Final Comments: Cliffhanger hehe…

Overall Rating: 😏