Cold grewsome sweat dripped from her face as she ran down the path, to never be seen again. The pain in her eyes were to strong the look at, she was a complete
stranger to this kind of pain she had brewing inside. "Pa!" a shrivled up shreak came from this tormented little girls mouth. What was the most suprising thing to her was her
eyes showed that no tears had touched her soft skin. Only the cold feal of terrior made her look frightened, for only the slightest of a moment. What did she see to be paralized by?
The shadow of a man shown in her eyes but what was he doing to stun her.

The pain only shown for a moment before it turned into pure adrenalin. Accelerating at the highest possible speed her frail skinny body can possibly go, she set off for
the woods behind her.The man was way to close to her by the time she reached the shade of the beautiful spruce tree, which began the huge forest set out before her. How could
he be doing this to his little girl? What kind of a monster was he? While he was running after her in his right hand was a hand gun, tears streaming down his face onto his shirt
which was now drenched with sweat. Looking back at the house, they were now making a bigger gap from by the second, there was a nothing but silence and the stillness of a
empty abandoned house.

At the perfect moment for death the girl turned and rolled under a pine tree before he could figure out what direction she went. Pounding foot steps made vibrations on
the moist, cold ground below her cheek. When he was gone or at least she thougt he was, it began raining bullets everywhere around her, as if he was saying since he couldn't find
his target he would shoot everywhere until he shot what might be the right one. A bird fell dead on her hand from the branch above her, trying to look away but she couldn't
because any slight movement would have given away her position. Having to restrain herself from jumping up and running when a bullet hit the ground beside her leg. All of this
was going on around her by the person she loved the most in the world yet she still managed to hold back her tears of sweet sorrow that felt so good to her right now. Refusing
to let the thought of death surrounded the inner core of her mind.

Hearing vibration in the ground once again from huge work boots pounding the wet grass down flat. It wasn't long though he was gone, back in the direction of the
desilated house she had left behind just so she could keep her life. To her though it was not really worth living if she had no where she could lay her head down to dream each
night. Now it was her time to cry, letting her salty tears soak the hard ground below her shrivled up body. To damaged from the massive hands that had gripped her arms and shook
her tell blood came rushing down her red nose. Swollen, beaten and alone she fell in to a hopefull slumber, hoping that her close dreams can bring the slightest comfort to her mind.

Dreams brought her no comfort from the pain she had to indure just moments before. She woke to the sound of something shaking the tree she was under. Trying to
restrain her body from jumping off the ground and hitting the tree inches from her pale white face. Who or what was shaking the tree? Even though she thinks they're very tiny by
the small tree. Their foot steps made only tiny vibrations on the ground below.

" Darcy?" it was a person, but who? And how did they know me? " Darcy he's gone back, there is no reason to hide anymore." The voice was fraile and it was layered with
pain which made it harder for her to crawl from under the tree, it almost made her want to stay under that tree for the rest of her probably short life. To avoid the pain of her future
but that was to selfish she could never do that no matter how much she wanted too.

"It's me, Toby," Toby, was I dead or was it his angel coming to save me. My head started to spin with the excitment that pilling up like a hay used to feed horses during the
summer. This was so riviting she couldn't move.

"Toby," her voice was really a whisper that got caught in the wind above but he seemed to hear her.

" Darcy, Darcy?" his shrivelled up voice managed " Where are you? We need to leave before he comes back." I was so relived I though I was dreaming. Rolling out from under
the tree I saw the face of my little brother but I could swear it was an angel. This was to perfect I had to smile at my little brother or the angel which made me winse at the pain
from my swollen cheeks and forehead.

" Oh.....my...God," she managed to whispered with relief, tears came tumbling down. Tears of lonley sorrow felt good against her soft velvet skin like a waterfall randomley appeared
in the middle of the Sahara. For that breif moment it filled her with endlesses happiness. It didn't last long, she looked up at his fraile body expecting to see it perfect like it was when she
saw him that morning in the barn. So it suprised me to see a huge set of bruces all over his tiny little body, not to mention a scar that was permanentally set in to his chest that you could
see through his torn shirt or what was left of a shirt.

With as much strength as he find in his body he lifted her unwillingly to her sore feet. Refusing to take her hands away from her face, she wept for their father had done to her
little beloved brother. That's when she noticed he was her responsibility from now on. That just made her cry more, hoping that tears would bring some satisfaction to this day but to her
suprise it never came to comfort, the way Darcy Lee Ray hoped it would.

"We have to leave, now!" he managed to say with athority in his voice " do you think you can make it to Tonganoxie."

Trying to restrain her tears so she could respond to her brother. Yet, when she opened her mouth nothing came out she shut her mouth frustrated with herself. Why couldn't she
talk? Was she still in shock or was this still a wonderfull dream to her confused mind?

She still made no response. She couldn't even get herself to look at him, it would feel like a dagger stabbed her in he stomach. His pain made her feel so guilty for her mistakes.
Knowing in her mind she should have stayed and saved her little brother from his torcher even if it would have caused the loss of her now empty life. Knowing what would happen when
he arrived home from the store. Not aware of his petty big sister mistake that would have caused them both death if not for the love of the angel upon them. In their minds they
didn't think of it as luck just that they were loved by some they resently lost to the plague spreading in their small town of Basehor. Wiping out almost all of the town from the
population of two hundred people to now fifty-five.

We tried to let her death go but seemed unsuccessful the one who took it the hardest was of course her father than seemed to mean nothing to her now. Even mentioning her
made him tense no matter where you were. Well that morning Darcy was talking to him about the garden and how it was going to seem unrepairable if they didn't do anything about it.
Then he suddenly snapped like a twig you step on. Staring at the floor not even wanting to look at his terrified daughter two feet in front of him.

" You need to leave Darcy I can't look at you anymore," he whispered so smoothly that it sounded more like a warning than a command " It hurts me to much to her face
and spirit in you." She just stayed in the spot trying to figure out the meaning of his words that had shredded her body. Already in so much pain even when he didn't touch yet. Waking
slowly toward her father she stoped a few pace from the rocking chair he sat in without even noticing she moved closer. Her mind was racing how could he even say that? What the
hell did I ever do to remind him so much of mom he lost his mind. My father was a good man so this made me lose control of my emotions for only a slight moment.

" Oh, come on dad you know you need me you can't cook to save your life!" she giggled but stopped when she saw there was nothing funny about this situation between
her and her dad.

" Just leave me to get old without any memorys of my pain."

" Oh, come on dad you know you love to much to do that." I replied trying to hide my horror by chuckling again. There was something definatly wrong with her father, then it
struck her. He really wanted her gone. She tried not be so obvious with her emotions as she slowly inched toward the door a couple feet behind her. Then he lunged at her knocking
her into their mother's coffee table. Slamming into it with so much force it forced a huge gash in shin. Blood gushed from the wound it made her alittle dizzy with her head being
already to clouded to move. This paralized her on the ground even though she knew her escape would rely upon it.

Towering over now her father picked her up by the shoulders. Lifting her like a feather against the wall behind her. Refusing to look at her tormented father who had now
just lost his freaken mind. She her face turned to the side looking at the floor a few feet below her dangling legs.

" Your not going to be in this pain any longer Darcy," he had said that as if he were talking to himself more then her which frightened her more. What was happeing to her
father. He had never layed a hand on Darcy or Toby? So why was he doing it now? Why was he scaring her so bad? Was this really her dad or some imposter who just wanted to hurt her?
This made her to dizzy she couldn't really remember anything after that.

"Come on, lets go we can make it there by night fall if we hurry." Darcy finally noticed what was left of his shirt was soaked in tears. Her faced burried in his shirt like it was
a hankerchief for her to blow her nose in. She sniffled and turned away from her brother, wiping away the last of them with her dirty finger.

" Okay," her voice was as smooth as her expresion " lets get out of here." To her it felt like this was a beginning of a whole new life that would soon blosom into something
beautiful. Now the beautiful rose that was their life, was now growing to its full potential. Now that the deadly winter was gone forever it could finally grow and be as wonderful as before.
This was now a beginning to their now replenished life. Knowing she would never miss winter ever again, which she knew with every fiber of her being. She was now finally happy and she would never go back to the past that was now to far behind her.