Embrace Your Inner Ginger

Wandering through the deserted countryside, Holly had a lot of time to think about where her two friends could possibly be; a lot of time to worry how her other half was. She kept the panic, which was gnawing at the edges of her mind, at bay by singing to herself all the songs she could remember. When she ran out of words, she began on guitar solos, bass riffs, in fact anything to keep her from fear’s powerful grip. Without really noticing, she started singing a new song, making up the lyrics as she went along.

‘You calm me down when I’m stressed
You cheer me up when I’m sad
Some people say that I’m obsessed
But I’m just in love oh so bad
Lost inside when you’re not there
You being near makes me feel whole
So cute when you’re unaware
It’s like you’re a part of my soul

Your touch turns me on
Your kiss feels so good
Just hug me tight
And then I’m alright

I’m trying to make a point
But I’m so epically failing
I hope I don’t disappoint
Because we are still prevailing
You could do so much better
Any girl, even a guy
So I write this blood stained letter
I just don’t want to say goodbye

Your touch turns me on
Your kiss feels so good
Just hug me tight
And then I’m alright

When you laugh, it’s so divine
Just like breathing in your scent
Feeling your skin against mine
Please stop this painful torment’

“I’ll have to try and remember that,” She thought, “It really sums up how I feel about him.” She continued on, filling her mind with thoughts of finding the two guys and trying to ignore the nagging voices telling her that she should have stayed at the campsite; that she was just making everything worse; that the others would be even more worried now the number of missing people had risen to three.

“Where can they be?” She wondered, “Although to be honest, there are miles and miles of countryside they could be in. Oh shit, what if they’re not even together?!” Her torch beam shone on a mound of snow under a nearby tree and she ran over to investigate. For a second, chocolate coloured curly hair made her think it was Matt, but she soon realised it was the decaying remains of a brown sheep. If she’d have looked more closely, she would have seen it had been dead for quite a while, but as it was, she assumed it had migrated north because of the snow, wind and rain.

“The sheep died and it has a thick woolly coat! Matt and Dave must be in hell!” Unbeknownst by Holly, the terror was slowly taking over her brain. She was gradually descending into realms of despair, which obviously wouldn’t help anyone. As she started to become oblivious of her surroundings, the fear of potentially loosing Matthew forever was causing her to breakdown, the emotional turmoil getting the better of her.

A small cottage loomed out of the mist, and she stumbled towards it, a vague idea of asking for help forming. Drawing closer, she noticed a few details that had previously escaped her. The fact there was no door. Or that the roof had fallen in. Or even the vegetation that had grown up around it. The young woman collapsed to the ground just inside the doorway in despair.

“I’m never going to find them! I’ll never be able to see Matt again, or hug him, or tell him how much I love him!” She cried, the silent tears streaming down her face. She crawled to the most sheltered corner of the room and curled up into a ball. Her features were contorted in pain as the downwards spiral of thoughts ran through her mind, however to the casual observer who couldn’t see her expression she looked almost peaceful, serene.

A few hours later, a sorrowful tune echoed through the derelict cottage, waking Holly from her dazed state. The source of the song, a tiny sparrow, landed on the window ledge and looked at her curiously, as if to say ‘what is this strange creature intruding in on my house?’ The music, although sad, motivated her to get up and continue on her search. It wouldn’t help anyone if she just sat there crying her eyes out. If she wanted to see Matt again, she’d have to do something about it. If she stayed where she was, the others could well find the two guys while she died of hypothermia or something. With renewed vigour, she strode away from the ruins, heading in the direction of the afternoon sun.
An hour or so later, her confidence was sapping again. What could she do to help?

“I’m never going to find anyone! This is pointless. I’m not going to achieve anything like this,” she cried to herself in exasperation. Her pace slowed, her stride faltering. The ball of fire in the sky was beginning its descent behind the horizon by this time, and her acknowledgement of this reminded her that she needed to find somewhere to shelter otherwise she wouldn’t last the night.

“I could try and search for that cottage again,” she murmured, “Or I could carry on and hope I find a farm or a village.” Just as she was trying to make up her mind, an extremely familiar voice yelled, “Holly!” She spun around, her heart leaping, only to see her beloved go crashing to the floor. She held her breath waiting for him to stand back up again, but he remained motionless.