The Moments Before She Shattered

Cold feet hesitantly stepped over the soft soil. It had been almost an hour since the mother of the young girl had pushed her towards the trees, encouraging her to hide. After running from the sounds of screams and shouts, the child of four found shelter in bracken where she waited. Fear filtered through her veins but the innocent and naive trust that any child has for their mother gave her hope that her mother would indeed come for her. Just like Mama said. But no one came for her. After what she assumed was several hours, which was more like 30 minutes, the young girl crawled from her sanctuary and began the trek back to the road, following her footsteps in the spongy ground. Little did she know, hardly could she comprehend, the nightmare that waited for her.