Claire groaned as she slowly awoke from her unpleasant slumber. She felt a harsh throbbing in her back from sleeping on the ground in a cold, makeshift hut. She stretched upwards a hit her head roughly on the roof of the short hut. She mumbled angrily and crawled outside. She stood up and dusted off her torn and dirty dress. The sun was still hidden by a row of blue-pink clouds. At least the sunrise is the same as it was in Europe, Claire thought. Men were hustling about, picking up the last of their supplies. The had been in this god-forsaken place for a week now. Her mum and da still hadn't arrived. She looked around and saw a young boy gutting a rabbit a few yards to her left.
"G'd day me lady!" The boy called. Claire had not the slightest idea whether to greet him, or send him to a different place to gut the unlucky rabbit.
"Hello." Claire called back, realizing how long it had been since she'd had a conversation. She edged her way across the camp towards the boy. Claire looked at the rabbit with unmoving eyes. The boy was sliding his knife ever so gently under the rabbits skin and peeling back the fur easily.
"Not the most pleasant of sights, is it?" The boy laughed. He put down his knife and thrust his hand forward. His fingers were plum and round, which made him look even younger. "The names' Lou!" He said.
"Claire," Claire grunted, shaking Lou's bloody hand. "Claire Wellington." She added.
"Well, lady Claire, pleasant tidings to you," He smirked. Claire grinned, her father used to say that to her when she was young.
"Did you catch that rabbit on your own?" Claire asked, trying to sound impressed. Lou puffed out his chest and stood up.
"Yes, and ya' should'a seen me!" Lou closed one eye and pretended to lift up a gun. "There I was, sitting in place, ready to shoot the biggest buck ever, when a rabbit popped out and scared'em away! I got angry and chased'em all over. I decided to hide in a bush to catch'em off guard. Soon I saw'em and..." Lou paused dramatically, "BANG!!" He shouted. Claire burst into laughter. Everyone turned to look at them. Lou was rolling on the ground now, laughing.
"Louise!!!" A sharp voice somehow penetrated their loud uproar of laughter. A tall, lean man hovered over them, his face blood red. He looked so angry, Claire thought steam might start coming out of his ears. Lou stopped laughing and straightened up. Claire fell silent.
"Y-yes sir?" Lou stuttered, catching his breath.
"Whats going on here?" The man shouted angrily.
"We were just -" Lou started fearfully.
"I don't care!" The man interrupted, "Git' back ta' work!" The man turned to Claire, "And you! Why don't you make yourself useful and gather some food for the rest of us!"
Claire stared angrily at him for a moment. She looked at Lou. He was bent over his rabbit, severing it's head from the body. She looked up at the angry man and smiled sarcastically. She bowed and smirked: "As you wish, your majesty." She heard Lou gasp in astonishment. The man had his jaw agape and his veins popping out of his neck. Claire whirled around and walked off into the woods. As soon as she reached the tree line, she felt a pang of loneliness again. Lou was the only one she had talked to. Now he was stuck ding chores again. Claire sighed and thought about Europe again. She recalled a time when everything was just right. Her family was perfectly content, sitting around the fire, drinking their tea. Claire was an only child. Her mum had a still borne before she had Claire. Claire and her mum were very close, and Claire's mum almost didn't let Claire go to the Americas. She shook the thought out of her head. No, no,Claire thought, The more you think abut it, the more you'll miss it!
Claire climbed a large hill to get a better view of the layout of the land. She aimlessly swiveled around thorn bushes and other prickly plants. Her dress caught on a thorny stem and she was tugged back. Claire pulled on her dress. "Come....on!" She groaned through gritted teeth. Suddenly the branch snapped and she was sent tumbling down the hill. She stopped herself half way down and lay flat on her back. Tears came to her eyes and she wept sorrowfully into her hands. This was no home, nothing could live here. "This is no place to live, this is death!" She cried. She wallowed for about another hour or so before she straightened herself up. She decided to go back to camp and sleep.
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