#c:rylan

The winter painted the warehouse white. The nearby waters turned into complete ice. All of it served as hint that Christmas was coming, though the holiday wasn’t celebrated as much anymore. There was no need for it, without electricity, without things to own, without normalcy. Winters after the downfall only seemed to bring gloom. They were too unbearable at times, it was difficult to keep warm and some even died from exposure. It was a time of uncertainty. But as long as they kept chimneys going and the fire awake, they would be fine, she knew it. This Christmas in particular, was set to be one of the most exciting for her, which was odd. She was always bound to be gloom and sad, her visions never letting her forget that death would come. But this time around she had him. She had her brother and without her brother things wouldn’t have been as hopeful or happy. With a small package in hand, she walked the halls of the warehouse. She had asked her brother to meet her at nightfall, by the kitchens. She learned, from the last time she ventured out, that the place was always quiet during night, after everyone had had their fair share of food. That night though, there were several people gathering by the common room, she guessed people who still celebrated despite it all. They played music, and laughed. It was nice, something she definitely missed herself. But, by the time she got to the kitchens, everything got a bit quieter. There were people there, to her surprise. A few scurried around, talking and drinking hot beverages. She didn’t let that get her down, there was plenty of space in the vast kitchens to have a quiet moment with her brother. She found a nook below a staircase, that usually wouldn’t even be noticeable by the myriad of boxes hiding it. Surprisingly, there was nothing in it. So she prepared it all, the blanket on the floor, the cookies she’d made by the morning and a bottle of water for them to have. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing. And so she waited, by the nook. It did look rather odd, how she stood there alone while others talked, but they already thought her a loon, so it didn’t make any difference at all. All she wanted was to have a moment of peace and happiness. It was all she wanted, all she needed.

She ran, but she was clueless as to where to go. Everything looked the same, trees and more trees. Her feet began to feel tired, she was hungry and desperate. She wanted to both give up and keep running. She wanted to cry and scream out of the desperation she felt. This almost seemed like a dream, no - not a dream, a nightmare. A nightmare she couldn’t wake up from. They had released them, but it all seemed too good to be true. She knew things weren’t that easy, there had to be a reason why. But she ran, because this reminded her of history. In medieval times, they released prisoners, making them think they were free when in fact, hungry hounds would hunt them, all to eat them alive. This was how it felt. She was out, but she didn’t feel safe. She was separated from Skylar, she wasn’t even sure if she was still alive. All those people she shared the prison with, where were they? Rowan quickened her pace, despite losing her breath as she did. She was cold, and she wasn’t even sure she would make it. For a moment, she collapsed, she thought she’d hit a tree and was too out of it to even make out the person before her. “Please don’t kill me”. She managed to mutter out.