"She Helped Me" by Sadie Watson (Creative Excerpt)

As I sit covered in snow behind a frozen boulder trying to catch my breath, I can see them getting closer. They're stronger, faster, and have better weapons on them than we do. Our troops are out there giving it all they’ve got. They are fighting for the lives of all of our people, but are still dropping like flies.

I see someone I can shoot. I step out from the humongous piece of rock that is keeping me covered. For less than a fraction of a second, I feel shooting pain but I can't tell where it's coming from. I think it’s my back though I can’t quite be sure. Then everything goes black. I cannot feel or see anything but I can hear screaming. Little did I know it was me.

Suddenly all of my senses return and I feel warmth. I open my eyes, look back and see woman’s hands gently easing an arrow out of my back. Then she scoops me up into her arms and I look forward only to see the entrance of a building about 20 feet away. I start to hear murmurs from a familiar voice. I look up and it's her, it's Alli. Suddenly, I hit the ground hard like I had been dropped and feel the freezing cold of sitting in the snow once again. Then I black out.

Hours later, I wake up, feel the warmth of a bed, and see lovely blue sheets covering me. I look to my left and I see a beige wall. When I look to my right I see a familiar face staring back at me from the next bed over. Little did I know she wasn't really staring. Her eyes were open but she wasn't really all there. It was now only her body left in the bed beside me. No mind, no soul. Just a body. I had lost her, Alli. My best friend and my only friend, had died from an arrow through the heart, saving my life.