It's been a long time since I updated my story. I finally got time, though, so I'm going to do it. If anyone still acyually reads this, please leave a comment. If even one person still wants to read this, I'll continue to post it for that one person. But if no one's reading this, I'm not going to bother. Assuming I do finish the story, I have a new way of doing this. Instead of posting long lists of character descriptions, I'll just describe new characters once they come up in the story. So without further ado...here's another part of the story!

I couldn't hear Mothy anymore. Once outside in the pouring rain and darkness, I saw red-suited figures splashing in and out of sight. Dots of light--their flashlights--told me that there were more in the distance. Quickly, I edged along the side of the building, out of the square of light provided by the door. As I did I heard a rough male voice from somewhere to my right. "Maybe we should just call it quits." "This soon, no. She can't hide forever." a smoother voice, very close to me, made me jump. I was nervous, staring out into the dark, but smiling, too. Mothy got away! I felt like jumping up and cheering. Instead, I pressed my back against the cement of the store and began to take small sideways steps along the wall. The first voice yelled, "What if she just left? We could be searching here for nothing. She's probably long gone." A faraway female voice chimed in. "She can't have left. We've got the older one." I inched along, hope and fear blending inside me, filling me with too much energy, making me want to run and yell. "She's survived this long! She's no idiot. You really think if she got away, even if she knew we had the older one, she'd stick around?" I'd heard enough. Mothy wouldn't stick around, she'd go back to our lean-to in the woods. That was what she and I had agreed on. It was time to go. I got down on all fours in the cold water, trying to avoid the sweeping flashlight beams, and moved as fast as I could across the pavement. The cold water lapped up against my shivering body, but I couldn't have been any more soaked. I didn't let myself think about what I was doing. just keep moving, just keep moving, until I felt wet grass sweeping under my palms, and then I was up, running, splashing, kicking up water. Despite the gloom and chill and rain, happiness flowed through me as I ran through the town. We'd managed to eat! Mothy had escaped! Though, I couldn't help but think, we wouldn't have even been split up if I could have just killed--no. I couldn't. I'm not a killer. I didn't think I could ever actually end a life. And not with that sword. It's part of the story behind the sword, you see--it's never been used to kill. It's been passed down, parent to oldest child, for years in my family. During the takeover, I got it. Family legend says that if the sword does take a life, the one who carried it must break it and bury it in the place where, by their hand, someone died. I'm determined not to be the one to break it. Not just because of my aversion to killing. I mean, how would I break it? And where would I get a new one? Maybe if I robbed a museum...the sword was my best weapon, the one that felt right in my hands. Back in the woods, I found our lean-to, a simple thing, the sticks stuffed with leaves to keep out weather. I crawled inside and began to wring out handfuls of my shirt. The lean-to was empty--well, I hadn't expected Mothy to be here so soon. She could have waited somewhere in sight of the supermarket, trying to see if I'd gotten away. Shivering, I began to wring out my long, dark hair. As I waited, I grew anxious. Where was she? Had they found her? I stayed up through the night, watching as the rain lessened it's attack on the town. The sky lightened a little, gradually. By the time weak sunlight was visible through the misty drizzle, my eyes burned from lack of sleep, and I'd realized that she was not coming back.

If you want to find out what happens, leave comments! Remember, if no one tells me they are reading this, then it's my last post for this story...and Mothy will NEVER come back! You guys won't let that happen to her, right? If anyone's actually reading this...