Till The Rain Returns (ON HOLD) (sorry guys)

Chapter 1

Author's Note: Hi guys!! This is my first story.. just wanted to try it out!  Please give me feedback on what you thought!  Hope you enjoy:D

***NEW: Hey guys... so I know I promised that I would put up a new chapter the next day... but I didn't.  Sorry bout that:/  My computer broke (borrowing a friends right now) so it'll probably be five days or so before I get a new chapter up.  Sorry to dissapoint:(  Anyways, If you haven't seen already, I have a new story I put up a few days ago, so be sure to check that out!  Enjoy!:D

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I warily looked back at the dry, crumbling dirt road.  We walked past hills of brown and sand dunes; I looked and saw nothing but brown.  Everything was withering from the sun’s scorching rays that washed out all life.  The air surrounded me like a hug that threatened to crush my bones, but in a more foreboding way. 

I closed my eyes, breathing in the oxygen deprived air; I could feel myself inhaling the dust that hung suspended in the air, leaving my throat scratchy.  There was not an ounce of moisture around us on this deserted land.  Well, to say it was deserted was an impractical understatement.  At night, starved people like us prowled about, killing livestock, taking anything of value, and were known to murder or kidnap people in their sleep.  It is for this reason that we have never stopped moving. 

I sighed and tried to remember the times when this place had been lush and teeming with life, but found that I couldn’t as it had almost been a year since I ever saw anything but brown.  It was almost a year since the drought began.

 It was weeks ago that my friends and I decided to leave the once beautiful city of Parthoane.  Living in the city was a struggle since the drought began and the river ran dry, cutting off the city's main source of water.  The living conditions grew to be poorer and poorer each day, and the inhabitants of Parthoane started to scatter once the crops died from dehydration.  And so we began our journey to find a new home. 

I looked around me at Kamina, Soterian, Matthaios, and Tobi.  We united at a young age when we were all orphaned by the mudslide that killed all of our parents and in some cases, siblings.  Ever since the devastating event occurred, we were forced together by the orphanages.  At first we despised each other and treated each other like they were no better than the dirt under the soles of our feet.  After a while, Mina, Rian, Matt, Tobi, and I grew to be best friends, and had almost a familial bond. 

Examining them, I found that they were as parched and as famished as I was.  I studied their hunched backs, their weather-beaten clothes, their grimy skin.  I looked down at myself and realized I looked the same. 

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We had been walking for two full days without rest.  At last, I couldn’t take it any longer.  I had to stop, to rest for just one moment.  Hunched over, I felt as though I was going to be sick.  I felt clammy and weak, and the feeling of being on the brink of death brought tears to my eyes.  My stomach was empty, as it was most of the time; for we would go without food or drink for days at a time.

“Alisanne” Matt weakly scolded, “We need to keep moving, or none of us will make it.  We already lost Kostes, we can’t afford to lose you as well”

I nodded, tears running down my cheeks.  Words couldn’t describe the amount of pain I was in, the way the waves of hunger crashed through my body, like a tsunami threatening to take me under.  As I tried to take a step forward, I collapsed to the ground from exhaustion, famine, and dehydration.  I drifted in and out of consciousness, hazily thinking all the while that this could very well be the end. 

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Author's Note: Sorry it's so short:/  I'll put more up tomorrow, promise!  Thanks for reading guys!!  Feedback pretty please?:)