Ƥαтн σƒ Lιgнт

Prologue

Autumn placed her hand on her sister's, taking it in her grasp. The two girls were sobbing, tears freely flowed from their eyes.

Just a while ago, their father- the only family they had other than each other- had been alive and well. He had been walking across the road, minding his own business. Then, it happened. The car came at full speed, the driver clearly not paying attention to what was happening before him. It happened so quickly that it seemed like a blur. The car had hit him. Blood. Blood had poured from his wounds- the hit had been direct. The police and ambulance had arrived quickly, but not quickly enough. He had died in the hospital- his last words being directed at his daughters.

"A path of light is the path to take."

Then he had died. Right there, his breath stopped, his chest stopped its slow rise and fall, and his skin became cold. 

The two girls were now out on the streets, not knowing what to do. They had ran from the hospital after their father's quick death, running into the woods where they hoped no one would find them. 

They knew the woods were a dangerous place- they had been informed by their mother to never go in. However, Autumn and her sister Amber, had no choice. They didn't want to go to the place where orphans were taken. All they wanted were their parents. But alas, they didn't have the option to ever see or hear them again.

Chapter 1

Winter was now beginning. The air felt crisper and colder every day, forcing the girls to huddle together for shelter every night. Thankfully, it had't begun to snow yet, but both Autumn and Amber knew that the time for it wasn't far. 

Autumn had woken up much earlier than her sister, being able to catch a small glimpse of the night sky before the sun had come up. It warmed for a bit, but the warmth quickly died down as a chilly breeze began to blow. She shivered before pulling her thin coat around herself tightly. She had grabbed it before going out with her father the day the 'incident' had happened. Amber didn't have one, so in the cold of winter, they only had one coat.

They had been living off of apples they had gotten from an apple tree near where they slept. However, the knowledge that the apples would stop growing within the frost of winter worried Autumn. 

She glanced towards the area where she and Amber slept- a shaded area beneath an oak tree. They had placed leaves upon the grass as to make their bedding softer, but the girl knew that they would have to move soon. Once the snowfall began, there was a risk of either her or Amber freezing in the cold. After all, all they had was but a thin coat. 

They hadn't lived in the woods for long. Only two weeks and five days. Autumn knew the exact number. She had begun her count ever since their first night. She hadn't believed that they had survived that long, knowing that there were wolves and bears in the woods- or, at least that's what she had been told.

Amber began moving, her eyes opening slowly. Autumn rushed over to greet her and to say "good morning", for that was what she was used to having said to her by their father. 

"How have you been, Amber?" Autumn asked, giving her little sister a hug. Amber was only seven- a very young age for a girl to run out into the woods.

"I've been fine. Why do you ask?"

"No reason in particular. What did you dream about?"

The question caused for Amber to rub her forehead- deep in thought.

"Mom, dad. The usual, really."

"Then why did you have such a hard time thinking?"

"Well, in my dream there was also a blinding ray of light. I don't know where it came from nor what it meant."

Autumn nodded, pretending like she understood. Really, she did not understand it all, but being a sixteen year old girl, she decided that she had to pretend like she did- for the sake of her sister. "Autumn, I'm thirsty," Amber said, shaking her sister's hand impatiently.

"We'll take a drink from the river." Autumn didn't know if the river water was safe at all, but it was better than dying of thirst. She took a firm grip on Amber's hand, leading her towards the source of water. They weaved through trees- some of their leaves already beginning to die. 

Once they got to the river's edge, the two girls knelt down, cupping their hands in order to hold some of the river water. They both drank thirstily, both of them gulping it down fast and rushing to get more. What happens if this water freezes? Autumn wondered. We'd be left for the dead, that's what.


Chapter 2

The girls were now returning from their morning drink. Some water still continued to trickle down Autumn's mouth, but she quickly wiped that off.

We'll need a fire if we're to survive, she thought hopelessly. But, she didn't know how to create fire or even make something close to it. She had seen the pawprints of large animals- animals whom she didn't want to come across. The fire would help ward them off, or so she hoped. 

"Autumn, when will we finally get a bed to sleep on?" Amber asked.