Good News?
Charmaine was so tired and hungry. She put Riley away and wished she had a fishing pole with which to catch fish. First she would have to find water where the fish were. She would even be happy for a 6 inch fish right now. She was so hungry she could eat it raw. Her stomach growled horribly. She was really regretting running away, but going back was not an option. She sighed. Riley was right she had to go on. Morning was not far away. She could see the pink of a predawn touching the sky rim.
Even though she was hungry, she was more tired. She hung her head about ready to go to sleep. She couldn't sleep, she had to keep going. She put one leg in front of the other. She felt like she had been walking forever. She had left early in the morning of the previous day, and now the sun was about to come up on a new day. She had stopped to rest from time to time, and not being sure where to go, she hadn't gotten as far as she would have liked. She felt like crying. She could keep on going, but where would she go? She didn't know where her home was from here in Simmerica and even if she did it was a long way away. You had to go by a plane. She had no money for that. She was trapped and worst of all she had nothing. She had been trapped at Abdullah's true, but she had a warm bed and food. Why had she allowed her fear to overcome her good common sense? Riley would no doubt call her impulsiveness the death of him. He was right. She was really in trouble.
Her head fell further forward. This wouldn't do. She had to stay awake and keep moving. Her legs felt like lead, and were getting heavier. Her eyes closed for about a minute and her breathing slowed. She couldn't fight anymore. She was only 8 and she was tired. She had never been tired like this ever before.
All of a sudden her head snapped back and her eyes flew open. She had to sleep. No she had to keep going. She took some more steps.
She was afraid to go to sleep because this was a strange desert, and anything could be lurking here. She had to stay awake! She had to. She started to sing and take one step at a time. She had to keep going was her mantra. I will stay awake, I will stay awake.
Her eyelids were as heavy as steel and she could hardly keep them open. She stretched in the hopes it would wake her up. She couldn't go to sleep! She had to keep fighting. Yet she knew it was a losing battle, but she was going to keep trying as long as she could. Feeling a little more awake but not much; she walked for a bit more.
Finally she stopped, she could go no further. She stood there looking off into an unknown future. What the future held she didn't know, but the past was behind her and to that she could no longer go back. She would go forward bravely into her future and take what life gave her. At least she was away from Abdullah, and for that she could and would always be grateful.
With that she fell to the ground and knew no more till the sun was high in the sky. Nothing could have awaken her as she was sleeping the sleep of the truly exhausted. Even if she had been awake, she wouldn't have seen the strange figure lurking in the shadows watching over her as they didn't want to be discovered for the moment, and knew how to use the desert to conceal them.