Fawn slept, unperturbed.
Her troubling dreams washed like a waterfall in her head, one after the other, pieces filtering past. Voices kept whispering in her head, the woman's voice most of all.
Fawn.
Not again. Who are you and why do you keep bothering me?
Only snippets, then the woman would disappear.
Fawn found herself standing in front of a large stream, loud splashes coming from it. With a moment of horror, she realized someone was drowning. Frantically she made her way down to the riverbank, almost slipping several times on the loose mud. Then, setting her belongings down next to the miniscule lapping waves, she plunged herself in.
The cold temperature was a shock to her, the icy liquid biting at her vulnerable skin. After scanning the water to see where the boy was, she took a deep breath and dived in, swimming quickly towards him. He seemed to be slipping into unconsciousness, she realized when she got close enough to grab him.
Fawn held a firm grip on him as she thrust herself back to land. As she neared the edge, she shoved him out first, then followed, numbness struggling to make itself apparent in her body. She fought it, then checked to see if the boy was alive. He looked about seventeen, weaker and skinnier than her. She saw his olive eyes fix on her directly, then slip back behind his eyelids.
Fawn woke with a start. Leaves swayed gently above her, in the cool breeze that rocked her small shelter. It calmed her slightly, but as she pushed the covers off her and stood up, she could still feel her heart thudding in her chest.
Maybe it had just been a nightmare. But she had a nagging suspicion, one that formed out of nowhere, that it meant something. That boy in the water, who had just died before her eyes meant something. It couldn't all be a coincidence, the voice speaking in her head, the leaf she had found, and the long forgotten memories of her parents' death.
Fawn stretched wide, feeling the soreness that froze her joints alleviate. Deciding that maybe a small walk will calm her, she pushed open the fronds and stepped out into the suddenly freezing weather.
Fawn woke with a start. Leaves swayed gently above her, in the cool breeze that rocked her small shelter. It calmed her slightly, but as she pushed the covers off her and stood up, she could still feel her heart thudding in her chest.
Maybe it had just been a nightmare. But she had a nagging suspicion, one that formed out of nowhere, that it meant something. That boy in the water, who had just died before her eyes meant something. It couldn't all be a coincidence, the voice speaking in her head, the leaf she had found, and the long forgotten memories of her parents' death.
Fawn stretched wide, feeling the soreness that froze her joints alleviate. Deciding that maybe a small walk will calm her, she pushed open the fronds and stepped out into the suddenly freezing weather.
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