The rain wouldn't stop.
It fell hard and fast, soaking the forest until the ground turned slippery and thick beneath the girl's shoes. The wind pushed at her from every side, making it hard to walk straight. Her legs hurt, and she had to keep her arms out to stop herself from falling.
She was tired.
Her dress was wet and heavy, and the thin fabric stuck to her skin. A long tear ran along her sleeve where it had caught on a branch earlier. She hadn't even noticed when it happened. Everything felt cold now.
The forest was too quiet.
Then a sound broke through the rain.
A long howl echoed far away.
The girl froze.
She didn't know much about wolves, but she knew that sound wasn't good. Her heart started beating faster, and she looked around, even though she couldn't see much through the trees and rain.
She didn't want to be here.
Her hand went to the necklace around her neck without her thinking about it. She held it tight in her fist, like she always did when she was scared. It didn't make the storm go away, but it made her feel a little less alone.
Thunder rolled loudly above her, making her flinch.
She tried to keep walking, but her foot slipped in the mud. She stumbled forward and hit her arm against a tree. It hurt, and she bit her lip to stop herself from crying. When she pulled her arm back, she saw a thin line of red before the rain washed it away.
She sniffed and kept going.
Another howl sounded, closer this time.
Her chest felt tight. She couldn't breathe right. The rain stung her eyes, and everything started to look strange and blurry. Her head hurt, like it was being squeezed.
"I want to go home," she whispered, though she wasn't sure where home was anymore.
She didn't see the root.
Her foot caught, and she fell hard onto the ground. Mud splashed up around her, and the air rushed out of her lungs. She lay there, coughing and shaking, staring up at the dark sky.
The rain kept falling.
She felt very small.
Am I going to disappear here? she wondered, the thought quiet and scared.
For a moment, everything felt warm.
The noise faded, and she thought she could see bright light above her. She remembered lying on grass once, watching clouds move slowly across the sky. She remembered someone holding her hand. The memory felt soft, like a dream she didn't want to wake from.
Then a bright flash filled the sky.
The sound that followed was so loud it made her scream.
•••••BOOM•••••
The ground shook.
A terrible cracking noise came from nearby, and she turned her head just in time to see a huge tree falling toward her. She tried to move, but her body wouldn't listen. Her arms wrapped around her necklace as tightly as they could.
"No—" she cried.
The tree hit the ground with a terrible sound.
CRASH!!!!!!
*
*
*
When the noise stopped, the storm kept going.
The tree lay across the forest floor, pinning the girl beneath it. One arm was bent the wrong way. Her leg was trapped and twisted under the heavy weight. Rain ran over her face and down into the mud beneath her.
She didn't move.
Her fingers were still wrapped tightly around the necklace at her chest.
Slowly, the storm began to quiet. The rain softened. The wind moved on.
When morning finally came, pale light slipped through the trees. The forest looked calm again, like nothing bad had happened at all.
The girl lay still.