Adelina let her legs carry her. She pumped them harder and faster, as fast as they would go. The trees turned into a swirl of greens, browns, and oranges. She forced them to keep carrying her even after they started to burn and ache.

She let her body crumble into a pile of leaves.The forest was thick. It would keep her hidden if she was careful.

After resting her throbbing legs, she let her eyes drift in every direction. A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she stumbled back onto her feet. She began to creep and weave in between the trees. Her legs moved slow and she took her time with each step.

When she looked at her surroundings more clearly, she recognized the area and knew she was close. A small chirp escaped from her dry cracked lips.

She made her way up over the large hill that was planted behind her house and thick with the forest. As she did a gust of smoke began to invade her nose. She coughed and her eyes leaked as the smoke whirled up and around the hill.

"Where is that coming from?" she coughed.

Taking a few deep breaths prior, Adelina broke out into another sprint. She let her body lurche up over the hill and into the clearing. Smoke was becoming more visible and thick with every step she took. Her heart dropped when her eyes landed on where her house used to sit. 

Ashes danced in the wind as the smoke rose from the ground and into the sky.

Gone. Destroyed. Burnt.

Some of the walls still stood, but they leaned slightly.  Adelina could hear the groaning and knew it could all collapse at any moment. 

Was there anything left at all?

She reached down into the ashes as she noticed a half burnt carving of an owl her father had made her for her birthday when she was ten. She had kept it close to her heart always. Stuffing the charred owl into her pocket, Her eyes grazed around the ashes searching for anything else that remained.

"Why has this happened? Who would even do such an awful thing? What did we ever do to deserve this." She shouted into the heavens. 

She was sobbing into her knee's as a dark shadow crept up from behind.

"Adelina!!" Daniel whispered to her trying not to scare her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you, but we have to be quiet. I don't want you to scream again and draw attention to ourselves. I think your scream earlier might have already been heard."

He bent down and grasped her into his arms. 

"We need to get out of here and go someplace safe. It isn't safe for you to be out in the open. I need you to follow me. I have somewhere safe we can go, for now." He whispered into her hair as he held her.

He pulled away and kissed away a tear that rolled onto her face. Daniel grasped on to her frail body and pulled her to her feet. He grabbed her arm and they ran into the protection of the woods.

Daniel led Adelina further into the woods. They climbed up onto one of the bluffs and a small cave appeared.

Adelina recognized the cave. They had all explored this cave as children. It was the popular cave for most kids and teenagers in their area.

Daniel had been staying in this cave since the attack. As he pulled Adelina closer she began to pull herself out of his grip and away.

"Daniel, why are we stopping here? Is this the safe place you were talking about earlier?" Daniel noticed the panic in her voice.

"I'm so sorry Adeline I am so sorry." He pulled her into a hug. He began to lead her into the cave with a reassuring but gentle grip on her arm.

Adelina could barely see and began to let go of Daniel's arm. Daniel grabbed her again and then reached into his pack, pulling a flashlight out.

"Sorry, I should have turned it on sooner. I have gotten used to it."

Adelina's mouth dropped in shock. The rocks on the walls glimmered in the dark and they twisted upward in a never ending spiral. She let her finger grab at the rocks, they were smooth and damp under her fingers.

"I guess we never went this far as kids, did we?" she whispered to Daniel stuck in a haze of her thoughts.

They both moved further and deeper, as they twisted around corner after corner.

Finally, Daniel stopped. He grabbed Adelina and squeezed her tightly.

"I never thought I'd see you again." He whispered into her hair.

"You know your way out of here?"

"Don't worry. I have been hiding in here for a few weeks now. I know this cave through and through."

Daniel took off the backpack he had been carrying and tossed it down to the side.

He pulled out a blanket and slid it over Adelina's shaking frame.

"I noticed you are shivering. It can be cold down here and hard to get used to."

She wrapped the blanket around herself and it engulfed her entire body.

Daniel let his eyes drift to Adelina and gazed into her eyes. His heart tugged as he sees the deep despair in her beautiful eyes.

"I've been searching for you for weeks now. I had no idea what happened to you, but I didn't see you with the others. I am relieved to see you. I thought I'd never see you again!" Daniel grabbed Adelina and pulled her into his warm chest.

"You look like you haven't been sleeping. Have you been eating Adelina?" Daniel said but took a moment to pause before asking the real question that had been eating away at him.

"Where have you been?"

She wanted to tell him everything. She wanted to break down into tears and spill all of the emotions bottled up inside of her. They were weighing heavy in her chest. She had to be strong. She had to find out about her family first.

"Daniel, where is my family? I know I have a lot to explain to you, but first I must know where my family is."

"I have a lot I need to tell you, Adelina. I don't think right now is the time, though. You need to warm yourself up and get some food too."

Daniel started working on building a fire to keep them warm. He pulled out a few canned vegetables and grabbed some plates that sat in the corner.The warmth of the fire helped the chill that was slowly creeping into both of their bones.

Adelina watched the fire, but the memory of her house smoldering brought tears to her eyes again.

Daniel hadn't noticed the tears streaming out of her pale blue eyes.

"Sorry I don't have much right now, but I can go out and try to find something else for us to eat."

"No, please don't leave me." Adelina reached and grabbed at Daniel's leg.

"I've been all alone for who knows how long and I just can't be alone again" Adelina's body was racked by violent sobs. Daniel pulled her tight against his chest. She laid there enjoying the warmth his body provided.

"Please Daniel, I have to know. Where is my family? What happened to our house and the town?"

" I am not even sure how to tell you this. My mom explained it to me once, but I was young at the time and didn't understand. Our town was protected by some magical barrier, I don't know. I never understood. But she always said that is how the town was able to stay safe. Somehow someway 'they'," Daniel puts an emphasis on they. This sent a wave of shivers through Adelina's body and her pulse picked up speed.

"figured out a way to break our barrier that we had in place. I don't have any clue how they did it, but they must have had someone on the inside or somehow knew a loophole or a way around."

Nobody ever told her.

Why had nobody told her?

"Barrier? What are you talking about Daniel?"

"I really don't know much about these barriers. I just know that somehow they broke through it. And I don't know...I don't know how to tell you this." He looked down at the ground, but not before Adelina noticed a flash of sadness then anger pass through his eyes.

"Everyone is gone, Everyone.."

Daniel didn't want to finish. The truth would scare her even more than she already was. He just had gotten her back and was terrified to lose her again.

"I've seen terrible things. These creatures are unlike anything I have ever seen. Some look human BUT THEY AREN'T. It wasn't just your house that got torched.They burnt down most of the village."

"You said everyone was gone? They can't be Daniel... My family?" a sob escaped Adelina's throat.

"My Dad, he had a gun, Daniel!! A GUN. He had to have fought them off right? Maybe you didn't look hard enough. They could be out there looking for us." Adelina was becoming hysterical.

Daniel felt his stomach flip and a sickness rose into his throat. He didn't want to tell her the truth, but he knew she deserved to know.

As Adelina looked into Daniel's sad brown eyes, she saw the tears form in the corners. At the moment she wished she could turn her ears off, so she didn't have to listen to what came next.

"They've all been taken Adelina. I'm so sorry. I am so so sorry."

A shock spread its way into Adelina's entire body. Her nerves began to ache as everything in her body went numb. Her heart sputtered and she was sure it would stop.

Her home, her family, everything that was home to her is gone. All of her dreams and hopes came crashing.

"I should have let myself rot in the ground where I belonged."

"Who am I without this hope? You're holding on, I'm letting go. And so I drift out of control; a tragedy without your hope."