Innocence

Note: This is a really old short/small story I wrote for an English assignment, it is completely fictional and was written a fair while ago. I haven't rewritten it or edited since it was written. I don't deny that things like this most definately do take place, but this is a fictional story.

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Innocence

Quietly she crept, weaving with care. Making no noise, she stopped and lent against the cold concrete surface of the wall. Pressing her back hard against the smooth surface, she listened. She awaited the sounds of their chaos. Tentatively she peered around the corner, searching for safety in her black blanket of darkness. The darkness engulfed her as she slowly crept forward searching for safety, for her next hiding place. Moving faster she weaved her way toward the dark desolate forest. Searching.
Panic overcame her, when the first gunshots emerged from the silence. They were here. She began to shake, and the putrid scent of fear filled the air around her. In silence she stumbled forward, searching for a new hiding place. Frantically she pulled herself behind a small bush. Her sharp breaths piercing the silence around her. Cautiously she glimpsed through the branches, and peered in the direction that was once her home. Amber glowed in the night sky, and the strong pungent smell of smoke and burnt flesh hit her. It repulsed her, and silently into the night she vomited. She knew she needed to move, to continue on, staying in one place would inevitably end in death. There was no need for her to lie to herself, she knew what would happen if she was caught. No one ever escaped their terror.
Moving quickly through the forest she listened, but the sounds of terror still lingered around her, reminding her of them. Her destination was days away from where she was. It would be a hard journey without food or proper rest, but she needed to get there. She had to get there. Safety waited for her there, the gift of life waited there. They would be unable to reach her, once there she would become untouchable. She kept going until she was unable to continue, until her frail body refused to push on, to be pushed by her any further. Rest was what she needed, and silently she curled her body into a small ball, pushing herself into the smallest gap between harsh, rough rocks. In minutes she was asleep and restlessly dreaming, re-living the screams that haunted her. Her mind creating images that went with the screams, her family in front of her eyes, suffering, dying.
She awoke with a start, she had heard a noise, it sounded very close. She pushed her back harder against the rocks, feeling their coarse edges digging into her soft flesh, she did not move. You could not hear her pain, nor could you see it. She sat there silently with her eyes tightly shut, and she could feel the warm liquid softly trickle down her smooth back. Moments passed, nothing happened, so she took a chance and quickly began moving again. Weaving her way throughout the forest, hiding in the shadows.
Her father was a diplomat. Her country’s new government didn’t like diplomats, they refused to acknowledge their status. He was party of an unwanted and ever shrinking minority, which the new government had slowly begun exterminating. Removing each person from society, leaving no trace of his or her existence. Each day a new family was gone, missing. No one questioned their authority, to question would be to sign your own death certificate. They would hunt her down, they would kill her just as they had her family. She was unaware of the sun slowly rising, she didn’t notice the light creeping into the forest or the shadows retreating back into the depths of the forest.
He noticed the light creeping into the forest, and like he was trained, he swiftly removed the night vision goggles from his head and watched her as she fumbled on. She wouldn’t last much longer, he knew. He had followed her tracks, and was now waiting for the opportunity to strike her down. For what seemed like hours he stalked her through the forest, she was unaware of his existence.
Now the sun was glaring down on her as she approached the raging river. The water moved swiftly and roughly. She looked into the river and heard his soft footsteps crush the earth behind her. She closed her eyes and looked up to heaven, and she offered a small prayer to her God, before slowly turning to face her awaiting fate. She looked into his eyes searching for a glimmer of hope, but his face offered her nothing. His eyes were harsh circles that had been filled with years of innocent death. The spilt blood lined them with sorrow and hatred. He emulated the image of evil.
He looked at her fragile frame, she was just a child, but he had a duty to his new leader, his country. She had fought well, he knew, but he would win, he always won. People like her always lost in the end.
She knew her fate as he slowly raised his gun, still she stared innocently at his unforgiving face. He waited for a moment and again searched her eyes. He felt nothing, no regret or pity, and heartlessly he fired the gun.
The bullet penetrated her skin, it was hot and hard. The impact pushed her backwards and pain seared through her body, but no sound left her mouth. Slowly she fell, as if God had put her small fragile body in slow motion. He watched her fall, and before she had even hit the ground he had vanished. Her head hit the ground hard, the ringing in her ears slowly dying away, until she was unable to hear anything. She closed her eyes and allowed time to pass, until finally the last breath left her body, and her small frame looked peaceful. When she opened her eyes in a distant place she saw the most beautiful sight before her, and she smiled. The small innocent smile of a child.