"It means you're becoming a woman," she heard Mom say again.
Part of becoming a woman meant she was too old to sit around in this cellar and cry. She had work to do if she wanted to get off this terrible island. Even if her parents had died, Samantha still had a life on the mainland. She put a hand on the half-heart necklace. She had friends and maybe even other family. She had to find them; that was what Mom and Dad would want her to do.
First, though, Samantha needed some clean underpants. She rooted around the cellar until she found some that weren't too big. Even better, they were dark blue so they wouldn't show any bloodstains as much.
Now that she had changed her underwear, she was ready to go. She only hoped the storm had ended upstairs. Samantha took the lantern and then started up the stairs.
She eased the cellar door open enough to get the lantern through. The blue-white light showed the remains of a cottage littered with old bones and dog feces. Her stomach heaved again; she covered her mouth to keep from throwing up.
Samantha forced herself to climb up the rest of the way. From what she could tell, the storm had ended. Shafts of sunlight even poked through the roof. She would have to wait in the forest on the edge of town until dark and then sneak in for some supplies.
She managed to get out of sight of the hut before she heard a familiar growl. She turned to her right in time to see the black form of one of Pryde's beasts. Its yellow eyes glared at her while white foam dripped from its jaws. So it was true that some of his creatures had survived.
"Nice doggy," she said, though she knew these monsters were anything but nice. She took a step back while she searched the ground around her for something to use as a weapon. All she had was the lantern in her hand; it didn't feel heavy enough to do much good in a fight.
It could at least work as a distraction. Samantha hurled the lantern at the beast's face. She didn't wait to see if the lantern did any damage, turning and running the moment she'd thrown it. From the sound of something heavy crashing through the brush behind her, she doubted the lantern had done anything besides make the beast angrier.
She forced her legs to pump harder, which was difficult in her current condition. The cramping and bleeding had weakened her and it didn't help that she was wearing clothes a few sizes too big. Several times she almost tripped on the cuffs of her own pants as she ran. The beast's heavy breathing sounded closer, meaning it was gaining on her. Before long she would be caught.