Day's End

From Kings to Thieves

Jenna's breath caught in her throat as she tripped over a rotting log and went sprawling to the ground. She quickly picked herself back up and ran onward, the cold air setting fire to her lungs as it rushed in. She stopped and looked wildly around; the grip on her pistol shook. It was quiet and still, save a few birds that flew by and the harsh wind rustling bushes and trees. She tried to calm herself down but was only panicked further at the thought of being completely alone and unaware of the state of her friends. 
        They didn't know it would happen. Jenna knew that wolves were native to the northern parts of Michigan, but she didn't know that they were still alive. Elizabeth had gone hunting and had successfully brought back a doe and her fawn, and, of course, they weren't the only ones that were starving. She didn't catch how many there were, maybe six, seven? Lucas and Elizabeth had ushered everyone out and away from the camp before she had gotten a count; perhaps there were more that didn't join in the initial raid. Only she, Allie, and Natalie made it completely away from the camp; Lucas, Elizabeth, and Mark- she didn't want to think about it. She wasn't sure if they were dead, but, from the looks of it, the chances of escape for them was slim. 
        Howls echoed through the forest, and it sounded as if they were surrounding her. Jenna took a shaky step back. She couldn't call out for the others; the wolves might hear, and surely they would be looking for something else to devour. 'No, Jenna! You need to be brave for them- for yourself!' she scolded. Jenna frowned at her cowardice and thought of how disappointed her sister would've been at her running away. At the same time, she knew that it was good she had fled; Jenna wanted to protect the group, whatever the cost. It was the least she could do to repay them. 
          She ran and jumped and stumbled over obstacles in her way, and, when she thought she finally reached the edge of the forest, she found more. These trees were different. You could doutbful even call this a forest, but a forest it once was. The trees were black and burned; the ground was covered in snow-like ash.
          Jenna stepped forward into the color-barren wasteland. The sounds of the wolves had died out long ago, and it was silent- eerily silent. She went in further. She was alone, without Allie or Elizabeth, but still she walked, until she heard something; voices echoed between the thin trees; shouts arose from below the broken crowns, but it couldn't have been more than five people.
           And suddenly she was veering to the left and slamming herself against a treetrunk to avoid being trampled by the horse that thundered by, swinging its hind legs up to kick the air in whatever frenzy it was in. "Duke!" A light voice shouted out. "Shit. Duke!"
             The boy yelling after the horse was far too late in their pursuit. The horse had already galloped out of sight to the short freedom it had left until it would inevitably be devoured by the dead. The boy was scarred on their face and hands; she was sure that they were on their arms as well, if only they weren't covered up by the sleeves of the sweatshirt they were wearing.
               Jenna didn't even have time to breathe out a, 'Hello,' before a gun was shoved in her face and the shorter was demanding things like, "Who are you?" and "Where did you come from?" of her.
"My n-name is Jenna," she managed to squeeze in. "And I'm lost."
"Whoa, whoa, Sidney! What are you doing to that girl?" A female voice broke in. "I swear to God- Put the damn gun down before you hurt someone!"
              The boy, supposedly Sidney, put their gun back in its holster, and Jenna decided to show them that she wasn't to be toyed with. She whipped out her own pistol and held it against Sidney's temple. A woman and a man stood a couple feet away; the woman's expression of frustration remained the same, and, if anything, it had just worsened.
"I'll tell you what I told Sidney: Put the f*cking gun down," she demanded. 
"Are you the leader?" Jenna asked, a bit more quietly than intended.
"Leader? No. We don't have one. Now, do I have to ask again?"
           Jenna was one for taking risks now and then, but she wasn't stupid. She was only thirteen, and, if there was a fight, the three-against-one odds wouldn't help her age advantage. Jenna slowly moved the pistol away from Sidney's head.
"Where are you from?" The woman asked.
"Nowhere, but I am lost."
"Do you have a group? Even Sidney couldn't survive alone."
"Yes. There are six of us, but I'm not sure about three of them."
"You said you're lost? How'd you get separated?"
"Wolves attacked our camp."
"Wolves? Damn," Sidney added in.
"You seem pretty harmless, even with your weapon. Let's make a deal," Ren proposed.
"Okay.." Jenna whispered.
"We'll take you to find your group, and your group gives us something in return."
"And what's that?"
"Food. Water. Anything they have that we can use."
"Oh, I-"
          The woman leaned in, and Jenna caught a better view of her bloody, cracked glasses and similar scars to those on Sidney. She whispered, "And if you refuse, we'll just kill you and take it."