Prologue
I have to escape. Nessa thought as she pushed her sailboat into the water. Nothing was holding her back from leaving now. She’d already been in this place for too long. Nessa was alone, she wouldn’t have been if her family wasn’t dead.
In theory, they should have left two years ago, when the war started, but they didn’t. Nessa and her family stayed and watched their country break apart. And it drove her insane.
Nessa quickly threw herself into the sailboat before it drifted into the vast ocean. There were no stars in the sky, just the glowing, full moon. It would have been pretty, but Nessa never saw beautiful things anymore. She lay in the boat, breathing hard. For the first time in forever, she was free. She may have been on a boat with no food and not much water, but it was better than being back home. Where everything was deserted.
Time seemed to speed up and Nessa wasn’t sure how long it had been since she sailed from shore. She finally sat up and immediately laid back down. She was still too tired from running and sneaking and fleeing her homeland. She couldn’t believe she even made it out alive. But she had, so she was fortunate. Even if she had no idea where she was, she was so fortunate. She was pleased at the thought that finally, she was safe and free, and she was filled with hope that would get her through the night. Nessa closed her eyes.
