Ch. 6

I trudged through the mud, blind and numb from the endless waves of rain. I reached my tree and grabbed my other bag. I didn't have much time to dawdle, so I pushed myself onward. This time, as I looked once more on the clearing I had loved as a child, I let the tears break free. Sobbing I ran far, as if my problems wouldn't follow me.

Eventually, I had to rest, my feet feeling frostbitten. The rain had lessened, gray clouds giving way to blue skies. I stumbled across a path and decided to follow it. After a few minutes I came to a huge rock. I climbed on top, and lay down.

My eyelids must have closed at one point, because by the time I awoke, the sun was blinding and it was late in the day. I rolled over and heard a small gasp. Instantly alert, I rolled further. And fell off of the rock. This time, I heard giggles. I stood hastily and dusted myself off. I turned and saw someone hiding behind a tree. The petite girl approached unaware of the fact I was glaring hostilely at her.

"Hello, I'm Alice. Nice dismount." She smiled and I glared again when she laughed.

"Well goodbye." I turned to leave when she walked in front of me and started going through my bags. "Hey! Get out of those! Who are you?"

"I already told you. I'm A-L-I-C-E." She annunciated as if I was some sort of stupid. Alice continued searching, and surprisingly, I made no effort to stop her.

"Wow, I want one too!" She practically screamed when she came to my sword. "My dad only let me use bow and arrow to train."

"That's pretty cool too." I just realized that I was making small talk with some nosy stranger when I was running from people who wanted me dead. "Umm, I have to go."

Alice stopped playing with my sword long enough to respond. "Why not just come to my house for some food. I didn't see much food in your bags. Besides, there are some people in my town that I'm sure you would love to meet." She smiled and I found myself nodding. This was the first time in a while that I had held a decent conversation with a girl of my age. I realized that I may have found a friend.

Ten minutes of pointless conversation and peaceful walking later, we reached her town. Upon first look you would say it was quiet. But as I looked around, I saw people inside of their houses either eating or sleeping. Alice said simply, "We wait for the inevitable attack and sleep in shifts." I followed dumbfounded, what kind of town just gives up.

"Well here we are! Welcome to my humble abode." We stood in front of a small house. The thatched roof and shabby shingling showed how old it must have been. Alice pushed her way in and headed right for her makeshift kitchen. She started making rice over a small fire and my stomach growled, earning another laugh from Alice.

"Alice, where are your parents?" I asked innocently enough. She stiffened and didn't even turn around to answer me.

"They died, both fighting in the rebellion. That's why I learned how to use a bow and arrow, just in case the Volturi came, I could protect myself. Isn't that why you learned how to use a sword?"

"No, my mother came from a long line of warriors and I inherited this sword from my grandmother." As I spoke, I held my sword, letting the light catch and reflect off of its shiny surface. "She died when I was younger too." Alice came to my side carrying two bowls of steaming rice. I took one and sat on one of the mangled chairs she had set up around a solid oak table.

"How did she die?" Alice looked cautiously across the table, a glimmer of sadness in her eyes.

"It was my fault. I looked just like her, she and my grandmother. Some sort of hereditary fluke, I'm guessing. My mother and I were out in a clearing that was by my home. We were laughing, playing, and stumbling. Well, it was mostly me who stumbled. Anyway, she got distracted and I fell again. This time, instead of picking me up and brushing me off, she told me, 'Hush Bella,

Mommy's busy.'" I realized that I hadn't thought about this in years.

"Me being a small child, I couldn't comprehend why my mother told me to be quiet. I started crying and ran off into the woods. My back was turned to my mother as I screamed 'I hate you.' I didn't mean it of course. That was the last thing I ever said to her." Alice had remained silent since I began my story. Now, she just looked saddened and asked the question I had been dreading.

"What happened to her?" I grimaced and pushed the now empty bowl of rice away. Taking a shaky breath I continued.

"I heard her scream. I made my way back towards her in the clearing. I crawled into a bush and watched as some strange men circled her. Suddenly she stiffened and turned to face me. The look in her eyes haunted me for weeks. It was the look of the dead, her eyes already dull and lifeless.

"She screamed, 'Run Bella! Run!' I ran, not once questioning my mother. As I ran I heard one of them say, 'Selena, nice to see you again.' I heard a scream and that was the last I heard. Her funeral was held later that week. My father died too that day, after he watched the woman he loved get buried he never seemed to smile the same way, or even look at me the same way."

Alice looked on the brim of tears and it wasn't even about her. I went to rub my eyes and found them wet. The torrential down pour of my tears was endless.

I stood up and stiffly walked out of her house, barely aware that Alice followed. I had unknowingly grabbed my bags on the way out. Alice grabbed my arm and spun me around.

"Where are we going?" She half-screamed with a confused look on her face.

"It all makes sense." I murmured to my self. My breath creating puffs of white in the darkness.

"What makes sense? Why are you leaving? I thought you were different, I thought that I found a friend!" Tears were spilling down her cheeks. Even though we had only known each other for a few hours, we had bounded; two misfits with no where to go.

"Alice." She quieted down and looked confused again. "Alice, go get your bow and arrow. We're joining the rebellion."