The city burned. Everything she had or was; gone. But then, she thought, that hadn’t been much anyway. Tucking the package under her arm, she turned her back to the flames and made her way north, towards the crossroads.
Once there, she would have to decide; west to the coast or east to the capital. The choice was hers to make, the first in a long time, the first that she could remember, and the giddy anticipation was only just tempered by the knowledge that she would have to make it there unseen. The path she had to take, however, was the only one between the city and the crossroads and It usually it boasted a steady traffic of tourists, traders, political representatives and the military. Today was not a usual day though, and the road was graciously quiet. Most people had already fled, taken the southern route or been killed. Others hurried towards the crumbling city to try to help, salvage or steal whatever was left. She knew had to stay out of sight. Her clothes would mark her out to any traveller, and she could not be caught now.
After an hour of nervous but uneventful travel, she came to the crossroads. To her right lay scrubland. To her left and straight ahead, a steep cliff that descended into dense forest. Looking out, the sun was slowly climbing, gently spilling light onto the canopy. A cacophony of rousing creatures responded. Even from this vantage point at the top of the cliff you couldn’t see down past the first branches of trees. It was perfect.
Without warning, voices drifted up from the left where. There was a stairway on this side, steps that had been carved into the cliff face generations ago. There was also nowhere to hide on that part of the path. Glancing back to her right she quickly discarded the exposed scrubland as an option. She would be easy pickings. The voices grew louder, climbing steadily toward her. She looked around; no way down, no way across the open land to her right. Someone grunted. Whoever it was, they were getting close.
She took out the package, gripped it to her chest and dipped her head. Turning on her heel, she headed back the way she had come. She had to think. There was nowhere to go. All paths were exposed. She could not be caught. Just as it seemed the voices would appear over the lip of the ledge, she stopped, spun around, and ran, fast and hard, straight ahead and into the arms of the forest.