The sticks and rocks that had built up over the soil burned her exposed legs as she sat. The dark grey sweatpants were torn in several places and there were a few loose leaves and brambles that had become stuck as she was running. She began working at them, gritting her teeth as each one was pulled away from her skin.

After she got the majority out of her now swollen legs, she decided that it was a good time to go ahead and change into the clothes Cass had packed for her. She rooted through the old backpack until she found the long-sleeved burgundy sweater and bluejeans that her mom had bought her last year for Christmas. To her gratitude, Cassidy had also packed her favorite pair of brown, knee-high boots, which though the heels would make it harder to move, they would certainly help protect her legs from the forest's claws.

Once she got dressed she did her best to pull her hair into a bun. It would be freezing once night came, but until then, it was hot enough to have her hair up.

A hawk called from somewhere in the distance, making Thalia cover her ears in pain. The noise would have normally been fine, however right now it was so loud, so deafening, that she had to take a moment to recover from the sharp noise. She sighed and searched through her bag again. Good, Cass had remembered the headphones.

It had taken three months of both of their earnings that weren't used for food to buy the noise-canceling headphones. It rarely got this bad, however when it did it was really difficult to explain the random earaches and inabilities to think. The headphones were able to block out enough noise to keep Thalia comfortable.

She slipped them over her head and took a moment to allow her ears to stop ringing. She shoved the loose adapter into her pocket. It was a habit, as it looked ridiculous walking around with unplugged headphones. Or, at least, it felt like it did.

She finally gathered the energy to pull herself back to her feet. Everything still sounded loud but muffled, as if it were coming from underwater. It really helped return her to her senses. The sun was slightly visible through the trees. It seemed to be about noon, maybe a little later. Had it already been that long?

She continued trekking through the woods. Not at a run, but a fast walk. She figured it would be best to save her stamina at this point in case she needed to run again later. Plus, she had a very limited amount of water until she reached the city.

Everything was quiet, aside from the occasional bird or squirrel. Thalia's eyes were darting to and fro, looking for anything that could be considered abnormal. Something was still wrong. Her senses would take a while to calm down, but she still felt a lingering sense of unease that told her to be careful.

She was nearing the stream now. She would have to cross it -somehow- to reach the church. It wouldn't be far from there. She could already hear the steady flow of the water rushing across the rocks.

Finally, the trees gave way to a steep bank. Nestled in it was a stream, maybe about as wide as a compact car, surrounded by short shrubs and bushes. It seemed to go on forever in both directions until it either turned or was obscured by the treeline. The water was too muddy to see the bottom, but from previous experience, Thalia knew that it was about two feet deep into a pile of smooth rocks.

She moved to stand on the edge, gazing into the water and considering a way across. She could wade through, but getting her pants that wet could prove dangerous by night. It would also be much more difficult maneuvering in jeans that weighed ten pounds.

She analyzed the distance across the stream. She should be able to jump it if she was careful. If she missed, well, she wouldn't. It was going to be either live or die tonight, there wouldn't be much room for an in-between. And she wasn't about to risk being naked in front of whoever was looking for her tonight if she got wet.

Just in case, she tossed the bag over to the other side. The last thing she needed was her phone getting wet.

She took a few steps back in preparation for a running start. She would have to time the jump perfectly to make it. She had tried this once when she was little and ended up coming home sopping wet with a skinned knee. Hopefully she wouldn't make the same mistake now that she was more experienced.

She began running, feet meeting the ground much faster than they did earlier. It was much easier to run without carrying everything that Cassidy had packed. She kicked off, feeling herself flying into the air. She made it.

Almost.

She cried out in surprise as something tugged back on her foot and sent her flying head first into the water. She held her arms over her face to prepare for what she knew would be a painful impact. She hit the water with a splash, her feet still dangling in the air above her.

The pain would come once the adrenaline wore off. Right now she just had to struggle to keep her head raised as her feet thrashed somewhere behind her. Something still had a firm grip against her foot, making it impossible for her to stand up and regain her balance. The water was freezing.

Finally, her foot came free from her boot and both legs fell into the water. She quickly stood up and looked behind her. The pain followed as soon as her arms made contact with the air. They were both scrapped, one of them bent at an angle that she quickly understood shouldn't be possible. At least she didn't feel the pain in that one, the aching, burning sensation she felt in the other arm.

She did her best to grit her teeth and ignore it. She turned around, suddenly remembering the thing that caused this to happen. Something had grabbed her leg.

Her shoe dangled from a thick root along the bank. A root. A single freak of nature had caused this to happen. All of this could have been avoided had she only paid more attention.

It was too late to question it now. She had made one noise too loud for her comfort. Whether she was going to freeze to death or not was irrelevant - they weren't going to take her alive. She waded to the bank and untangled the boot. The only article of clothing she now had that wasn't soaking wet.

Thalia carefully waded back to the other side, gritting her teeth and holding her arms above the water. She was cold, muddy, and covered in scrapes. Whatever chances she had of living through the night seemed diminished.

The climb out of the water and back onto the bank was a painful struggle. Thalia discovered that the bent arm no longer had much of a purpose, as it couldn't do so much as grip onto the bank. She had to walk to a caved part of the shore in order to climb back out. She picked up her bag and turned to continue the walk.

The old building could be seen looming at the top of the hill in front of her. It was a faded stone building with a broad entrance sticking out to form the chapel. The walls were intricately carved with pillars, arches, and symbols. Tall stained windows lined two sides, finding and reflecting the little sunlight that was left as it found its way through the treetops. There was a high tower in the back with a domed roof and a large, rusted golden bell at the top. The entire structure had been taken over by nature, with vines, flowers, and even a couple trees growing through the worn stone.

Almost there. She slowly climbed the hill, her right arm held tightly to her chest. Thank god she was left handed. Besides that arm, everything ached. She couldn't wait until she was safely inside.

Finally, she stood on the crumbled stone path leading up to the building. She was standing on bones, she was sure. From a century ago, maybe two judging by the age of the building. She didn't care at this point, they would become her acquaintances should she stay out there too long. The temperature was starting to rapidly drop.

She reached her arm out to push open one of the rotted redwood doors. It was as heavy as she remembered it being. This was going to hurt.

She leaned into the door, cringing and trying to hold in the pained noise that rose from her throat. She wanted to cry, she wanted so much to cry. Everything hurt, physically and mentally, so she was more than ready for the night to take her.