“Ara?? Araaa! Wake up!!” I heard Emily screaming in my ear.

“Em, what's the time?” I asked groggily, my eyes barely open.

“Ummmmmm, 9:52 pm uh no am.” She said checking her watch.

“WHATTTTTTT??!?” I shouted wide awake. “Ouch” I then gently whispered as I lay back down to the pain in my chest.

We took a rest in the nearby woods. Then it started to sprinkle, the rain, then pur.

We were soaked, and my chest hurt, but I held onto my teddy tightly. Emily sat next to me, clutching her knees and looking around with wide eyes. The rain wasn’t stopping, and we were hiding under a big tree, trying to stay quiet like little mice.

“I don’t like this,” I whispered, my voice small. “I want my mummy.”

Emily nodded, her curly hair dripping with rain. “I want my mummy too,” she said softly, her lip wobbling. “But… we’re brave, right? Like in our games?”

I sniffled and nodded, even though I didn’t feel brave at all. Everything was too loud, too scary. There were big bangs, and the house was broken, and now we didn’t know where our mummies were. It was just Emily and me, hiding under the tree like we were playing a game, but this time, it wasn’t fun at all.

Suddenly, the gunshots and voices got louder. They seemed to get closer and closer to our hiding spot.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

“We have to go back to the house,” Emily whispered, glancing toward the door. “We need to get blankets, and maybe some food. Then we can hide here until it’s safe.”

I shook my head. “No, what if the bad guys come and find us?” My hands tightened around my teddy, my heart racing.

Emily looked at me with her big brown eyes. “But what if they don’t? What if it’s just us now? We can be like superheroes! Superheroes always go back to get their stuff, right?”

I didn’t know if that was true, but Emily was smart, so maybe she was right. I nodded slowly. “Okay, but we have to be really, really quiet.”

She smiled at me, a small smile, and grabbed my hand. Together, we tiptoed back toward the house, stepping over puddles and broken things. The house looked different now—scary. The windows were all broken, and the door was open, swinging back and forth in the wind. It made a creepy creaking noise, like in the stories our mummies used to read to us at bedtime.

“I’ll go first,” Emily said, puffing out her chest. “I’m bigger.”

“Mffff,” I managed to hold in. “Hahahaha!!” I burst out. “I am taller than you Emily!!” I reminded her.

“No, we go together,” I whispered, grabbing her hand tighter. I didn’t want her to go by herself.

She nodded, and together we stepped into the house. It was so quiet inside, like the house was holding its breath. We moved carefully, not wanting to make any noise. The floor was messy, with things thrown everywhere. My teddy bear had fallen on the floor, so I picked it up and held it close.

“We need food,” Emily said, looking around. “And blankets.”