05-24-2015, 06:49 PM
Laurie ran toward where she saw Folami fall. He crawled from red-flowing water and ordered her to run. She was stuck though. She could help him. But he wasn't going to live long enough to make it worth the effort. A tree sprayed of its bark above her head, and she ducked and ran. The children had scattered, so she sprinted off in search of anyone.
Without the path to follow, Lawrence ran through branches scraping at her face and snagging her clothes as she went. Swinging her head left and right, she searched for short mops of hair bopping through the brush. There! To her left, two children ran. "To me!" She yelled, but the echo of gunfire was too loud. She diverted her path, long legs hoping to intercept them. She hopped over a fallen log, but landed in soft mush on the other side. She slipped and fell to one hip just as the two children, a boy and a girl, came upon her. They screamed when they saw her, like she was one of the monsters gunning down children. "It's okay!" She started to scramble to her feet. Distantly, her ankle ached, but who cared. Just as she grabbed the girl by the hand, and felt those little fingers tighten in her grip, their chests exploded with blood as bullets passed through their bodies. Laurie yanked the girl down like it was going to save her, but it was too late. Blank eyes stared up. She let go and kept moving, trying to stay low while yet running as fast as possible, and searching for more survivors.
As she ran around bushes and ducked under limbs, she threw back the giant wings of fern trees and searched. Gunfire soon slowed to a few occasional pops, echoed only by distant screams. She stopped to listen, heart pounding that any minute bullets would spray through the leaves. She willed her breaths to stillness and listened to the painful sounds of the jungle. When she heard whimpering, she picked her way through the chaos and found a boy of about seven, huddled in a crook of the roots of a giant tree. She crawled down into the crevices and wrapped him up in her arms, sushing him quiet. Her heart was pounding, but her eyes pierced the thick underbrush for sight of the militia.
Taunts echoed through the jungle. Orders barked between men in a language unknown to her. The boy in her arms froze and looked around, and Laurie wrapped her hand around his head, pulling her back to her chest. "We'll stay here until they're gone. They'll be gone soon."
Her whispers were breaths, and she didn't know if he understood her or not, but she held him tight and closed her eyes, not moving a muscle until darkness became their cover.
Without the path to follow, Lawrence ran through branches scraping at her face and snagging her clothes as she went. Swinging her head left and right, she searched for short mops of hair bopping through the brush. There! To her left, two children ran. "To me!" She yelled, but the echo of gunfire was too loud. She diverted her path, long legs hoping to intercept them. She hopped over a fallen log, but landed in soft mush on the other side. She slipped and fell to one hip just as the two children, a boy and a girl, came upon her. They screamed when they saw her, like she was one of the monsters gunning down children. "It's okay!" She started to scramble to her feet. Distantly, her ankle ached, but who cared. Just as she grabbed the girl by the hand, and felt those little fingers tighten in her grip, their chests exploded with blood as bullets passed through their bodies. Laurie yanked the girl down like it was going to save her, but it was too late. Blank eyes stared up. She let go and kept moving, trying to stay low while yet running as fast as possible, and searching for more survivors.
As she ran around bushes and ducked under limbs, she threw back the giant wings of fern trees and searched. Gunfire soon slowed to a few occasional pops, echoed only by distant screams. She stopped to listen, heart pounding that any minute bullets would spray through the leaves. She willed her breaths to stillness and listened to the painful sounds of the jungle. When she heard whimpering, she picked her way through the chaos and found a boy of about seven, huddled in a crook of the roots of a giant tree. She crawled down into the crevices and wrapped him up in her arms, sushing him quiet. Her heart was pounding, but her eyes pierced the thick underbrush for sight of the militia.
Taunts echoed through the jungle. Orders barked between men in a language unknown to her. The boy in her arms froze and looked around, and Laurie wrapped her hand around his head, pulling her back to her chest. "We'll stay here until they're gone. They'll be gone soon."
Her whispers were breaths, and she didn't know if he understood her or not, but she held him tight and closed her eyes, not moving a muscle until darkness became their cover.