All night, Lily kept thinking she heard weird sounds throughout the night. Multiple times, people yelled at one another in heated arguments, or created loud thumps. When Lily finally did fall asleep, it was filled with nightmares about the newly returned memories.

There was a battlefield. Men lay on the ground, screaming in agony as bombs blew up in the background. She turned around to see a young boy, his eyes full of pain.

"Water." He croaked, barely a whisper ase he tried in vain to grab Lily's water canteen. Lily handed to him just as he fell to the ground, dead. His eyes lifeless and dull.

"No." Lily said. "No!" And the dream changed.

She was on a sled. Everything was blurring around her as trees covered in white flashed by, and Lily squealed in delight. Everything was so beautiful. She reached her hand off the sled to feel the strange powder.

"Snow" Lily thought, squeezing the moist, soft, powder. She inhaled, savoring the cool, crisp air.

Suddenly, the sled hit a rock and careened out of control. Lily struggled to stay on the sled, but it was futile. She flew through the air, and landed with a loud crack! Gasping, Lily looked down and screamed. Her leg stuck out at an impossible angle.

"It's not bad. It's not bad. Everything is going to be okay. It's okay. It's not bad." Lily repeated, a silent mantra in her head. She was able to believe it for a few moments until the first waves of pain hit. Pain so intense, Lily couldn't think through it. She screamed, her scream echoing through the forest, a desperate cry for help. None came. Lily sat their for hours, screaming and screaming and screaming. Until everything went black.

Lily opened her eyes and gasped. It was a dream. She looked down and flexed her leg a bit to get the blood moving in it again. It felt sore, but nothing like the pain she had felt earlier. She lay back down onto her pillows, about to drift off when a scream pierced the morning air. Lily jumped out of bed, ran to the window, and gasped.

The view below was shocking; chaos was everywhere. People were fleeing, running all to and fro with heavy bags full of clothes and personal objects. Newchildren (would they be called babies now?) were crying. Younger children were acting like animals, running around and screaming, as older siblings tried in vain to contain them. Mothers and Fathers were trying to keep their family and belongings together to get to the annex. The Giver was nowhere to be seen.

After yesterday's fiasco, he was always trailing one family, checking to make sure they were alright before going to the next. It seemed odd not to see him, when he should be helping everyone.

"Lily, honey? Father and I are ready to go. While you were sleeping, an announcement was made for those of us who want to leave to go to the annex again. We're leaving today, so when you're ready, grab your stuff and meet us downstairs." Mother asked, entering Lily's room.

Lily and her parents had packed after returning from the annex. They had kept it light and the bare minimum since they would be traveling through a thick forest by foot. Lil's backpack consisted of another set of clothes, jacket, food, water, and her comfort object, an elephant.

"You okay? How are you holding up?" Mother asked, concern in her eyes. Lily looked up and studied her mother closely. Bags were below her eyes, and she looked tired.

"Not so good, honestly. I had nightmares and couldn't sleep very well. You know, with all the new memories and all."

"Me too. Father is having a rough time too. He's having a really hard time with all the grief. From killing the- the-" Mother didn't finish, a look of pure sadness coming across her face. Lily bit back tears. It pained her to see Mother like this.

"The Newchildren, I know. For some reason I remember." Lily said for her, quietly.

There was an awkward silence for a moment before Mother stood up, drying her tears with the back of her hand.

"I'm sorry, Lilly-Billy. I should be comforting you right now. Not the opposite." She said with a small smile.

"It's okay."

"Alright, now go get ready. I'll meet you downstairs." Mother said and left.

Lily went to the bathroom and stood in the mirror, studying her reflection.

"I can do this. I can do this. I can do this." she repeated, over and over and over again. Sighing, she grabbed her backpack and went downstairs, ready for a new start.

A/N:

Hi Guys! 😁  So I'm going to continue on with this story, but I need a  title for it.  I suck at titles, so can you please help?  I was thinking something like "A New Beginning", but that sounds really generic.   It's going to be focused on Lily, but in third perspective.   Any ideas?  

Sorry for the short chapters, but I do it on google docs first, and it usually takes up about two pages.

Heads up, PI DAY IS NEXT TUESDAY!!!  Here is my challenge to you:  memorize the first 8 digits of pi (not counting the decimal): 3.1415926  

Thank you!  And have a fun weekend!                           Pi-Master😄