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This excerpt is from the beginning of my book, Hide and Seek. For saftey, I have rated it PG-13. Enjoy! BTW: Good comments will be extremely appreciated: My birthday is tomorrow! (The tenth)

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Preface

     Darkness encompassed us, making it impossible to see our surroundings, and the sun had still yet to set. The gloom of the cave made my skin crawl while an eerie feeling crept into the pit of my stomach. Almost no light made its way into the cave― only small rays drifted in through the cracks. Though even if we were at the entrance there wouldn’t be a difference. The beautiful rays of sunlight had gone away years ago.

     A tear slid down my cheek as I looked at the fragile little girl, lying helpless in my arms, cowering in fear. Her honey blonde hair was filled with dirt and twigs from our journey. Her frail body rested in my arms, snuggling into me.

     She turned and gazed at me with a thoughtful expression on her face, as if she were peering into the very depths of my soul. Her eyes were unlike any I could remember― a brilliant shade of blue, like sapphires. I tried to smile at her in reassurance, but failed miserably.

     “Lex,” she whispered in her soft, melodic voice. “Are they coming for us?”

      I forced myself to look away from her, she was impossible to lie to, especially when she looked at me this way.

     “No, sweetie, they’re not,” I fibbed anyway, afraid to meet her gaze.

     “You’re lying.”

     “Emi,” I whispered in a pained voice. “I love you, and I promise that I will never let anything bad happen to you. I couldn’t live with myself if anything ever did.”

     “You didn’t answer my question.”

     “No, I didn’t,” I replied.

     Emi scowled. “Are they coming for us?” she repeated, this time with a hint of fear in her voice.

     “Yes,” I murmured in defeat.

Gone

     I would have given anything for a soft bed, for the cave floor made a painful substitute. Rocks jutting out from the ground stabbed at my skin leaving raw cuts that took weeks to heal. I sat up and rubbed the back of my head to try and relieve some of the pain. After a few minutes I gave up and leaned against the stone wall. Beside me, I could feel Emi’s warm breath as it hit my shoulder. Unlike the frigid air, the warmth felt good against my skin.

     “So what do we do now?” Emi whispered.

     “We wait.”

     “Oh.” Emi leaned her head into the crook of my neck and blew out a mouthful of air. Gazing into the darkness, she tapped on the ground keeping time with the drips of water. The light sound echoed through the cave, enhancing the eerie quality in the air. Her tapping stopped, and she leaned her head back on my shoulder with a sigh.

     I began to hum the lullaby that our father had written for Emi when she was just a baby. The soft music floated through the air and soon she fell into a deep slumber. Her erratic breathing worried me, but by now it shouldn’t have. After all, we were lying on the floor of a cave. Not exactly what one would call pristine conditions. We hardly had enough food left to last another day, and I was sure that the water was gone by now.

     But we refused to leave our safe haven until it was unavoidable. They were coming for us, looking in any hidden crevice and every unknown shelter. The outside world was no longer safe, and it hadn’t been for three years.

     The two of us were now in constant hiding, waiting for the inevitable to happen, but unwilling to give up. In reality, it was stupid. If we were going to get thrown to the sharks eventually, why didn’t we just get it over with now? Why should we sit here and suffer when we knew it was bound to happen anyways?

     Because we’re stubborn.

     Each moment that passed was excruciating. Not knowing if the next breath we took would be our last. Not knowing if they knew where we were. Not knowing anything for that matter.

     I listened to the sounds echoing throughout the cave with care. Above us, the hum of bat wings clapped agonizingly loud against the silence. Except for the noise of the creek outside our sanctuary and Emi’s quiet breathing, no other sound could be heard.

I squeezed my eyes shut and held back the tears that threatened to fall. I’m failing. My mother’s one true request of me was this, and I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t keep Emi safe.

     Shut up!

     I was not going to break down now, not when Emi needed me to be strong. I relaxed against the hard stone that surrounded us and took a deep, reassuring breath. It took awhile, but after some time sleep overcame my stubbornness and I escaped into a light doze.

~~~ 

     A light tug on my arm woke me up. It wasn’t a tug meant to alarm me, just an ‘I’m bored’ tug. My eyes fluttered open and I smiled at my little sister.

     “Lex, I’m hungry,” Emi whispered, still sounding half asleep as she called me by my nickname.

     “One second,” I murmured.

      I crawled across the rock encrusted ground, feeling for the stolen backpack. After several minutes of blind searching I uncovered a hard material in the shape of a handle. I grasped it and pulled it back to where Emi sat. Unzipping the dirty green pack, I reached in and pulled out a half-filled water bottle. Emi took it from my hands, eager for the liquid it contained, and ripped off the cap.

     “Small sips,” I reminded her, my tone laced with misery.

     “But I’m so thirsty.” Emi’s voice cracked.

     Tears fell onto my shirt as she cried, cuddling into my arms. I held her chin in my hand and wiped away the tears with my thumb. She leaned into my hold and sighed.

     “I know, sweetie, but we don’t have anymore. We have to save it,” I confessed.

     “Okay.” She sighed, her eyes downcast with disappointment.

     I rummaged around the backpack some more, but all I came out with was three granola bars. That was all the food we had left. I shivered at the thought of having to leave.

     “Em, there are three granola bars left― we have to go into town.”

     She stopped drinking at once and I could imagine her face paling in the dark. Emi gulped loud enough for me to hear and then closed her eyes. After a moment she opened them and stared at me, waiting for me to continue.

“We’ll have to leave soon, maybe in ten minutes or so, so stuff everything in the backpack.”

     She nodded and complied without a moment’s hesitation. I handed her two of the granola bars and ate my own, savoring every bite and every flavor. When I’d finished, I stood and reached out to Emi. She took my hand and I pulled her up onto my back. Within seconds I had arrived at the mouth of the cavern.

     Shreds of light now filtered into the entrance of the cave, appearing as if they were heaven sent, especially since light was so uncommon these days. When I reached the sun’s scarce rays, I turned back to look at my sanctuary.

     “Goodbye,” I murmured, having grown attached to the place. Without looking back, I turned to face the forest and raced into the unknown. 

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