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I just put one foot in front of the other

When the sun rises I am in the middle of nowhere I walk and listen to theisn’t like it hen I was little It’s wary now I know I’ht I hear so time, a buzz I follow the noise to a hive It’s small and only half built but it makes me hopeful If the bees aren’t dead like I feared they would be, maybe there is hope I haven’t seen a bee since before

I look at the small hive Hu to be on top, we could stand a chance I watch the busy bees for a moment and turn back to the trail It isn’t a real trail It’s just a direction I walked once before

The sun sets,me tired I’ve walked nearly twenty-four hours I clih up branches I close my eyes for a minute

Flashes fillthe road Cars and trucks fill the freeway People sit in theet out He has waited for this day his whole life

"Eet away fro it

"Dad ranny’s" My voice is small, compared to the noise from the masses

"No Run faster Erassy hill My little legs hurt He’s made me workout and run since I can remember, but it’s late and I’ht I will regret always His erratic behavior forces the thought

His hand squeezesnoise My father’s face fades

I wake and look around but I see nothing My eyes are blocked by so I lift my head to realize I’m face down in a bushy branch The s I struggle for a moment and pull myself up but the branch below me snaps loudly and falls It hits every other branch on its way down I cringe, as each noisy strike fills the air The rustling of the bushes overtakes the night

I pant loudly, waiting

My heartbeat is throbbing throughouthas heardmy body to cal out of a tree I never sleep in trees, I always choose underground, but tonight I have no choice I have no plan It’s one of my rules to always have a plan I feel naked without it

I stay in the tree, resting ht

I climb down before the sun comes up I never move much in the day It’s one of my rules but I have no choice I’ine the fever that has flushed his cheeks or the pain the leg is causing His eyes unnerveI am close My stomach is a bundle of knots and nerves

I walk as close as I can with rip them close to me as I have my last few seconds with them I’ve only been here once and it scared the shit out of me

I tremble and I put them in a hole under a tree I stuff the bow to the very back of the hole andwithout the a branch withIt looks like a bear or another large creature has roamed the woods

My father’s craziness will live inside of me forever

The first few steps fros ache, but the anxiety of being on an open road iscement boots

My breath increases My peripheral vision beco down the concrete I see an old brown stain and forceIt feels weird to walk on a road It’s been so long I can’t remember the last time

Just when my stomach can’t hurt worse, I hear them

They’re a ways down the road but they holler at s break into a run for the gates of the town, before I dare to glance at thes

I run in a way I haven’t in a long tih me down, just a s sun popping out I wearing just a long sleeve t-shirt, cargo pants and my thick-soled boots I took fro It could be that I’s dig The ground is passing by uards They won’t protect me unless I reach the town They’ll watch the men tear my clothes from my body and rapein on me They’re fast too They run more than I do

"Don’t run baby We’ll ate and drop to h the blood pounding inside uards suddenly there They stand in front of the gate with huge guns

The fiveheavy I see the smirk of one of the men as his eyes meet mine

He points at ive you an escort horin scaresImy arm suddenly An older woman helps ives hier My dad called it the bird "Not like them anyway"