Word Count → 332 :: She is in New Dawn territory somewhere. Or just outside it if you prefer. No place specific.
The harsh winter wind howled around her and Holly shrank back further against the tree she was nestled under. The bark scrapped against her back as she pushed herself against it but she hardly felt it. Her body was numb from the cold and from the shock. She shivered and closed her eyes, only to open them back up quickly. She fought the sleep that had eluded her for almost two months. Every time she closed her eyes the nightmares came. Images of blood and the sound of laughter would jolt her into the waking world.
It was morning now and the sun was just peeking its head over the horizon. The faint morning light brought her only relief, taking away the shadows that tricked her eyes and the noises that sounded like they came from right next to her. Every thing felt a little bit safer in the light. She stood and stretched out the stiffness in her legs, spending a good time relieving the stress that had built up in her over the night. She sat back down among the roots of the tree, not sure what to do with her day. She had tried finding food but had no luck catching even the smallest of prey. She had survived thus far on what plants she could find beneath the layer of snow and carrion left behind by more experienced hunters. Her ribs were showing through her pelt but she did not feel hungry. All she felt was loneliness.
If she had been in her right mind she would have stayed as quiet as possible, her whimpering would only attract the wrong kind of attention. She couldn't help it, the fear and loneliness in her heart came out through her in a pitiful cry. She wanted her mother to come running through the snow to where she was beneath the tree and make her feel safe and warm again. She wanted it all to have just been a bad dream.
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