Flash Fiction + Hiatus

Hi, it's been a crazy week. Fair feels so close and I have a lot to do. Anyway I wanted to share a flash fiction I wrote for a contest.

I didn't win. Though, I still think you will like it. It's kinda futuristic.

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  The woods around me were dark, and I was cold. My tattered green jacket barely kept the cold air from seeping in. I kept squeezing my hands, trying to get some warmth back into them.  

    The moon was high, watching me through the trees, judging me most likely, what side could the moon be on? Surly it was neutral. I was not as lucky. 

   I moved through the trees. There was no way to know how far behind the trackers were. I had lost them at the gorge, but I was sure they wouldn’t be giving up soon. 

    They say I’m a traitor. Maybe I am. Maybe I don’t care. Maybe there is something more to life than taking orders; than watching the ones who hold all the power to make the rules. If I ever get out of here alive, maybe, just maybe I’ll try to stop them. Something I should have done a long time ago.

    The wound in my arm throbbed. Tree branches pulled at my face. My thoughts spun in the same web that they had been on since I lost the trackers.  How would I survive?
I was a traitor. They were going to catch me. They always catch traitors, and I was going to die. If I didn’t bandage my arm, I may not last long, but I couldn’t stop, they would catch me, I had to keep going. 

     The ground under me tilted, and for some reason I was falling. 

     My face greeted the ground even though my hand tried to stop me. Nothing was working properly. Was I falling apart? Is this what happens to traitors? Did I care? I tried, right? What else could I do? 

    I pushed up with my good hand. I felt dizzy. Did the trees always spin? I looked at my bloody arm. 

    “Your stupid, Flyn.” Hearing my own voice was strange. 

      I needed some water. I needed to take care of myself. I closed my eyes; the act brought tears. I forgot how swollen and cut they were. I had forgot the pain. It was coming back now, full of pins and daggers. In my bloody arm. In my right hand. In my face and cut lip. In my worn feet. The kick I was given in my knee. Thanks Colonel.  

   I opened my eyes, slowly. Letting the pain sink in. I was tired, too tired. 

  Some one, maybe the moon wasn’t smiling on me; they had no sympathy. Because what I heard next sent a shiver up my spine. 

   The low, quivering howl of a hunting dog. The trackers were good, too good. I might have let out a quiet moan, but no one would hear me cry, and I had to move on. If I could only find a place to hide, somewhere they wouldn’t find me.

    But they would. They were good. The dogs were the best. They would smell me out, and if I was lucky they would shoot me. Otherwise I would be taken back and made an example of, for other soldiers, who had traitorous thoughts. 

   A cold sweat came over me. I squeezed my hands, it hurt. Everything hurt. But when has that stopped me before? 

   There was no time. They were coming. I took a deep breath and rose to my knees, I ignored the pain and my cries and moved. The world made a turn and my hands clutched the leaves in front of me.

   I crawled. Hand over hand away from the bark of dogs. The forest floor rose in front of me and I keep going. I came to the top, my breath ragged. The dogs were no farther behind, maybe closer yet. I sighed. “Move--” I commanded myself. I wasn’t giving up yet. The hill went down now. 

   Balance failed me and I went rolling, like a tumbleweed. When I finally came to a stop, I didn’t move. Damp earth was in my nose and howls in my ears. I reached out to pull myself up and felt water. I jerked up in surprise. I couldn’t see much in the darkness, but a darker spot, told of water. I scooped up the water, sipping eagerly. It cooled my burning lips.  

  The moon was lower in the sky now and I knew that morning was on its way. My eyes darted in all directions looking for an escape. Wait, there. What is that? It was a flickering light. A campfire? Who would be camping out here?

*****

It was very fun to write this. I have a second part. I might share at some point. 

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Ok I'll get on to the second thing, I will be going on a hiatus for a few weeks. I will be back to post the next part of my Heinz mystery serial.  On the 25th. 

I will see you than!

What did you think of the flash fiction?

Got any big summer plans? 

Tell me below!