Chapter 3: Hate is a River

A strange boy found me in the forest and took me home. I winced when I entered his house. Behind him was his father, at the table his mother. They laid out a cot for me, ate, and went to sleep. I couldn't. I lay awake thinking. I saw my father dangling out the window on a loop. There he was, my mother behind him struggling to push him out-BANG! Again and again. Then, the image traveled downward. It went from my mind to my throat pushing through and got into my heart. A feeling started growing in there, pushing walls, trying to break the confinements of an organ the size of my fist. There it was killing me as the minutes passed by. Hate. I had never known a feeling so strong. It was powerful, suffocating, but there aren't enough words to fully describe it. All I know is that I hated everything. I hated fire, I hated sleep, I hated radiators, I hated my breaths. Hated them with all my heart as though hate was a conqueror and it knew no bounds. The hate spread through my body leaving my eyes for last. As soon as it reached my eyes it turned into despair, loss, into hot tears that would pour out and sting my cheeks. I didn't know what to do so I lay there letting all that hate flow out till there was no hate left.

Chapter 2: Catching a Girl

That evening I was hunting with my dad. We needed to catch some game for supper. I was hoping to shoot down a deer, but I didn't usually find those. Suddenly, I saw an owl. I lifted my double-barrow shotgun and and shot the owl making it topple off the branch. I took off in a sprint trying to get to it before any other animal that might have been lurking near-by. Finally, I reached the owl. The bullet had gone right between it's eyes. As I picked it up to put it in my satchel my eyes turned to a huddle on the forest floor. It was a girl. She was dirty and hyperventilating. I stayed quiet for a second then I spoke."Are you okay?," I said thinking of nothing else. Startled by my voice she shook and looked up as if she hadn't noticed I was there before. Though she spoke in a whisper her words cut through the cool breeze,"No." Despite how reasonable that answer was, it threw me off. Not really knowing what to do I slowly inched towards her. I reached out to help her up, but she flinched. When she did that she revealed something under her, better someone, a baby. "My name is Wilford," I said. I locked eyes with her. Inside there was nothing, no safety, no family, no happiness. Not anymore. I helped her up and put my coat around her. She looked lost in her mind. We walked till we reached my father. Then, we brought her inside and lay her on a bed. She kept her eyes open the entire night. I couldn't imagine what she was thinking. I just wanted to do something, see if I could help her. But frankly, I had never caught a girl before.

Chapter 1: You Snooze You Lose

My eyes closed, my body still, and my lungs listening to my brain. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in-a new smell entered my airways. I recognized it immediately. I opened my eyes and jumped out of bed almost knocking over my nightstand. I turned the door knob, pulled the door open and there it was. Blazing at the bottom of the stairs was the fire that had awoken me. Quickly I burst into my mother and father's room. They were still sound asleep and so was my sister. I screamed,"Fire," while running to the crib. Mom sat up at once looking bewildered. She stared at me then at the door way. The fire had reached the top of the stairs. She ran and closed the door, then started to try and wake up my dad. I strapped my sister onto my chest then started down the pipe on the side of our house. As I was going down my mom was still frantically trying to wake up my dad. When my feet touched the ground I stepped back a few feet looking up. My dad was hanging out the window. Mom must have dragged him. She was trying to push him out. I saw the fire creep up behind her. Then, I remembered that we had our radiator on that night. She almost had him out-BOOM! I threw myself onto the ground holding my sister tight. My heart was beating in my ears as I turned around. My house was scattered on the dirt. I stood up and looked down. A scorched head was next to my feet. It had one pearl earring. I took it off and walked off into the woods. I knew I would never be able to sleep again.