POP. CRACK. SNAP.

Amberley looked up from her sitting position on the cold, hard ground and cast her big, blue eyes towards the small campfire in front of her. The wet sticks that she had just placed on top of the sparking hot embers sizzled amongst a flurry of sharp, orange sparks.

As an icy gust of air blew over her, she shivered and drew her knees closer to her chest. However cold it was during the day was nothing like the icy freeze she was feeling now. Even though her thick overcoat was pulled up to her ears and her scarf was wrapped tightly around her head and ears, her whole body felt numb and heavy from the piercing cold of the night.

With a sigh, she chucked another handful of dry leaves onto the fire and settled back against a large, round log behind her. She passed the back of her hand across her swollen, red nose before focusing on the book she held in her lap.

Eunice's book.

Slowly, she traced her fingers across the numerous pages, intent on memorising its contents; the maps, the drawings, the instructions. She needed them all in her head if she was to survive out in this desolate wilderness.

So far, she hadn't done so bad.

The first several days of her journey were a ghoulish nightmare though. Amberley didn't have a single clue what to do or what to avoid in this foreign place and she'd learnt that the hard way.

During the very first day, she had run into a hornets' nest, had to jump into a creek to escape them, had to walk in sopping wet clothing for hours, had to suffer from a running nose and a sore throat, had to figure out how to make a fire when she had nothing dry to burn, had to find out where to sleep without being attacked by wolves or eaten by ants...

That's when Eunice's book came in handy. She went into explicit detail about the safest way to spend a night out in the forest, the quickest way to start a fire, the easiest way to travel without leaving any tracks behind.

So, every night, Amberley sat down near the fire, ate her food, drank her water and then determinedly set about reading, studying and memorising the precious book.

If she was ever to lose it, she needed to know what to do and where to go.

Amberley picked up a tin cup from beside her feet and sloshed around the hot liquid that was inside. She had discovered several plants with benefiting bodily effects, thanks to the book, and had been consuming them in the form of tea. She hoped it would help with her severe cold and scratchy, sore throat.

Just as she had finished downing the last of the tea, a long, lone wail rose up over the wings of the air. Amberley straightened up with a start, her eyes wide and her senses alert. Chills of terror rippled down her spine and goosebumps broke out all over her skin. She nervously ground her teeth together as she hastily collected her things and stamped out the fire.

Slinging the pack over one shoulder, Amberley set her sights on a large oak situated nearby. She mustered the last of her strength to haul herself up onto a high limb, strong enough to take her weight. Then, she secured her body tightly to the branch with her coil of rope.

Heaving a deep, shaky breath, Amberley laid her pack down on her legs and rested her head back against the tree-trunk.

She could deal with the cold, with the hornets, with the prickly plants, the ants ... but she couldn't deal with the wolves.

That was just too much.

As Amberley's eyes flittered shut, her mind drifted off and, before she knew it, she found herself standing in front of her old house, looking out towards the mountains.

A beautiful, breathtaking view, complete with swirls of golden leaves and hues of red and brown, was spread out before her. Amberley couldn't help but smile as she gazed fondly upon the familiarity of the scene.

Wasn't it beautiful?

Just then, the appalling sound of a low growl arrested her. Startled, she spun around to see a most horrific sight.

Eunice, her face and limbs mangled and bleeding, her teeth black and rotten and her eyes huge and bloodshot, was crouched behind her. Baring her lips in a snarl, Eunice twisted her head about in a most disturbing manner and hissed, with a deathly deep tone, "I was always here for you, Amberley. I always looked after you. I always made sure you were safe. How could you do this to me? How could you leave me to die? What am I worth to you that you would stand idly by and watch me get taken away? Why didn't you do something? Why didn't you stop them?"

Before a sobbing Amberley could get any words out, Eunice leant back on her haunches and hurled herself at her while uttering a guttural scream.

"Huuuhh!" Amberley jolted awake with a horrified gasp. As her breaths came out in short, fast pants, she quickly felt herself - her arms, her legs, her stomach ... yes, she was still there, she was still alive.

It had been a dream.

Amberley let out a big sigh and buried her face in her hands.

Surely she couldn't be blamed for what happened to Eunice? She had done everything the woman had told her too. She had kept silent. She had hidden. She had stayed away until the danger was past.

Should she have done something else? Should she have done something to save her? Even so, what chance would she have had against the hordes of robotic soldiers? If Eunice couldn't even defend herself, how could she have expected Amberley too?

Still, as Amberley untied herself from the tree, she couldn't help but wonder - what if? What if she could've done something? Anything? What if she could've alerted Eunice about the danger sooner? What if they had been able to run away and wait until the soldiers were gone?

With a frown, Amberley gave her head a little shake and her cheek a little slap.

No. No, don't think like that. If you do, you'll think of Eunice; you'll think about how she's probably lying dead somewhere. It's going to make you cry. You can't cry. You can't afford to cry. Not now. It's not what she would've wanted. You have to pucker up and keep going. You have to be brave, strong, fearless. You have to get out of here ... alive.

Wiping at her watery eyes, Amberley climbed down from the tree and pulled in her coil of rope. Streaks of sunshine were lighting up the horizon and the cheery trills of wild birds were welcoming the morning.

It was time to move on.

Amberley secured her belongings and made sure the campfire, from the night before, was completely out. Then, she sat down on the log nearby and bit into the last of the juicy peaches she had packed.

As she threw the pip away, Amberley became aware of scuffling noises that were coming from right behind her! Cautiously, she turned her head to seek out the source of the racket. At the same time, she slowly withdrew the knife from her belt and curled her fingers tightly around its hilt.

Then, she paused.

The peculiar noises had stopped.

Confused, Amberley cocked her head to one side, wondering if something was actually there or if she was just imagining things. However, when she stood up, the noises started again.

Nope. She definitely wasn't imagining that!

Raising her knife high in the air, Amberley stepped forward, trying to look as threatening as possible. Suddenly, her eyes widened and a small shriek escaped her lips.

She had found the culprit.

A puppy.

Amberley lowered the knife and knelt down to see the tiny animal better. It was scrounging around in the leaves and giving out pitiful yips and whimpers. Its thick, dark-coloured coat of fur and big, pointy ears suggested that it was from a wild breed of dogs, possibly wolves.

As soon as Amberley realised this, she shook her head and started to back away. However, when she saw the tiny bones showing through the dog's malnourished frame and the bleeding sores scattered across it's body, her heart went out to it.

It was alone, it was dying, it needed her help. She couldn't just leave the poor thing behind.

Amberley coaxed the starving puppy to her with a few strips of dried meat she had in her pack. Once the animal had eaten its full, she carefully picked it up and brushed it off. She picked out all the dead leaves and knots in its fur and cleaned its sores. Then, she gave it some water to quench its thirst and wrapped its tiny body in a warm blanket she retrieved from her bedroll.

"There, there, little one," she cooed as she placed the sleepy bundle in her pack. "You're safe now. Don't worry. I'll take care of you."

With the puppy sound asleep in her pack and a renewed vigour in her steps, Amberley pushed on, following the directions on Eunice's map.

She stopped when she arrived at the rushing waters of a large riverbed that threaded its way through the wooded region towards the east. According to her coordinates, she was to follow the river and it would take her to her desired destination: Woodridge.

By the time Amberley discovered the location of the village, the sun was shining high in the sky. She had just finished checking if the puppy was alright when she became aware of a distant roaring noise.

Wait. Was that what she thought it was?

Hastily, she tugged her pack on and started off. Pushing her way through clumps of thick reeds, wading through patches of marsh, and scampering over smooth stones, Amberley rushed to the source of the noise.

And there it was.

Near-nigh exhausted, Amberley pulled herself up onto a large cluster of rocks overlooking a huge drop over which the river flowed. Cascades of water crashed across the cliff below, bouncing off moss-covered rocks and crumbly dirt ledges and circling into a spiral of sparkly droplets and rainbows.

An secluded pool, its colour one of a deep aqua and its border one of large, grey rocks, was the recipient of the waterfall. Deer came to lap at the crystal-clear waters and birds came to dance around the twinkling flow.

Beyond the quiet sanctuary was a flood of trees, bushes and scrub that opened up into miles of plains. Amongst the deep yellow of the grass and the scattered brown of the leaves, resided the silhouette of a town astir with people and animals.

There it was.

Woodridge.

She had made it.

Heaving a deep, nervous breath, Amberley pulled her scarf over the lower half of her face, adjusted the heavy pack on her shoulders and started down the hill.