Cold Dawn

A/N The credit for the idea for this story goes to Richard Staschy - What a wonderful warped mind!

The morning mist was heavy and cold, the sunlight was weak and offered little warmth. A young girl, tossed and turned in her makeshift bed of dirty linen and cardboard. Her small face, caked with dirt frowned whilst sleeping.

She yelled out, the sound echoing off the walls awoke her abruptly. She was on instant alert as she listened intently for the source of the noise. It took her a few moments to realise she'd wakened herself by shouting in her sleep.

Grimacing to herself, she stood up and began to stretch. Feeling the stiffness in her muscles, she mentally cursed herself for not finding a more comfortable place to sleep. She rotated her shoulders, trying to work out the aches and pains, as she proceeded to warm up her body, limb by limb.

She peered out of the broken window, looking for any signs of life, The only sound to be heard was the cawing of the ravens that seemed to be her only companion in this town. Satisfied that she was alone, she went on the hunt for any thing she could scavenge from the run down cottage she'd called home for the night.

For the girl, this had been her way of life since she could remember. Always on the move, trying to salvage what she could and always avoiding other people; not that there seemed many left. But enough bad experiences had left her with the sure knowledge that people were not to be trusted.

She gingerly stepped on the stairs, although they groaned in protest they held her weight as she slowly made her way up the stairs. The mist had begun to dissipate, allowing the sunshine to cast its watery glow through the walls, allowing enough light for her to see what lay ahead.

She made it to the top of the landing, and saw that the nearest door was open. She walked in to it, and surmised that it must have belonged to a child as she noticed the mildew cot, the teddy bears that danced along the walls before being obscured by the black patches of damp. A gust of wind made her shiver, and pull her jacket tighter around herself, as she heard a fluttering of pages. She noticed something half hidden underneath the cot, she bent down and pulled it out. It was wet from the elements and faded with age, as she opened it to be greeted by the smiling faces of a family.

She flicked through and saw the family in various stages of their life, in each picture they were smiling or laughing. The one that caught her attention was the young man, his dark hair slicked back with his glasses perched upon a small nose, had his arm wrapped around a woman; her blond hair was in a ponytail and she was looking down into the bundle she carried, a baby.

They looked so happy, so carefree that it made the girl angry. She felt the heat of that rage bubble inside of her as she threw the photo album against the wall, where it hit with a resounding whack. She stood, trying to calm her anger by deep breaths. A few minutes passed before she managed to regain control of herself. Feeling a little better, she picked the album up and took the picture of the family out; she took another glance at it before folding it neatly and placing it in her pocket.

Her stomach growled, making her realise she'd not eaten much since yesterday. She quickly scanned what was left of the remaining rooms, finding nothing of use she headed to the kitchen. When she happened on the house during the night, she had been too exhausted to to do more than make sure it was safe and to make a bed.

Now she had the chance to explore, the kitchen was a find. An old pair of wellington boots, a size too big had been used as a home for numerous spiders. But after a quick shake, and close inspection she filled the toes with newspaper to insulate her feet and help make them a better fit.

The paper irritated her cold feet, but it was a small price to pay she knew to have dry feet after the moccasins. She walked about the kitchen for a minute or two, enjoying the feel of them. Another growl followed by her stomach spasming made her throw open the cupboards. A thick coating of dust covered what was left, and none of it looked edible. She was beginning to lose hope, until she spied a couple of tins in the bottom cupboard.

It took her several attempts to open them with her knife, as the hunger was all she could think about. She opened them and quickly began to eat, not even bothering to chew. Once she'd finished, she sat on the cold floor, enjoying the sensation of a full stomach and dry feet.

'Not such bad start to the day' she thought to herself as she dozed off. She jerked awake, feeling disorientated and her body cold. She looked around, and saw that the sun was high; she realised she must have slept the morning and best part of the day away.

As she prepared to gather her stuff, and undecided as to whether or not she should stay there for another night a sound caught her attention. She froze, aware that her muscles were screaming with being so cold and now holding a crouching position, but she pushed the pain away as she listened.

The unmistakable sound of footsteps approaching had her panicking, her mind screaming at her to hide. She scanned the kitchen looking for a place to hide, only the cupboards there. She looked and realised that at the top they had an over hang for extra storage. Quickly she climbed on top, and pushed herself up against the wall, hoping that they, whoever they where; wouldn't notice. With her heart beat thundering she watched and waited.