Evelyn Ashborne's Arc

Chapter 1 of 1

Evelyn Ashborne crouched in the ash between two fallen trees, listening to the hoofbeats that had been following her since dawn. The wagon behind her held what the occupation had tried to burn — names, maps, records of everyone they'd taken. If she could reach the northern crossing, she could start gathering the scattered into something that could fight back. The hoofbeats stopped. Evelyn crawled forward, peering through the charred branches. A figure in dark armor stood beside a horse, scanning the treeline. The wagon's wheel had left tracks through the ash, clear as a declaration. She pulled back, weighing her options. The horse was fresh. Hers was not. She spotted the ruin half a mile ahead — stone walls jutting from the ground like broken teeth. It had a door, maybe a place to hide the wagon. The pursuer turned away, dismounting to study the tracks more closely. Evelyn took the chance. She snapped the reins and drove the wagon forward, trying to keep the wheels on solid ground where they wouldn't leave marks. The stone structure swallowed the wagon through its dark doorway just as the hoofbeats started again behind her. Inside, the air smelled of old smoke and damp stone. She unhitched the horse and led it deeper into the ruin, one hand on the records that proved her people had existed before the occupation tried to erase them. The hoofbeats passed outside, slowed, then faded north. She'd bought time, but not safety. Now she had to decide whether to wait or run.