Snippet #2257781

At the sound of the man's voice, Valeria bolted upright. She looked around and considered running again, but when she studied the stranger, she realized she didn't recognize him. Maybe he wasn't from the town. Aside from that, now that the adrenaline had worn off, she wasn't sure if she could run. She could see a little blood seeping through the bottoms of her shoes. They were mere cloth-- no match for a forest floor of jagged rocks and sticks.

Valeria winced as she rearranged herself. "I'm here because--" She paused. "I'm here because I can't go home." She shuddered as the torrent began. Each drop stung like a frozen needle. She looked at the man again, and the tears in her eyes mixed with rain. "I don't know where to go. Even here is better than there." For the moment, her exhilaration turned to fear.