It's Our Last Chance to Feel Again
four.
How had I ended up here in the woods? I looked around frantically, trying my best to spot something familiar, or at least a building. But it was hopeless. Everywhere I turned, it was green. The trees that stood so tall seemed to be blocking the sunlight, and down on the ground, the humid environment didn't help in calming me down.
I wanted to run. It would've beat standing on the spot panicking. But running with no sense of direction didn't seem to make sense to me, and so I stayed rooted on the ground. Sobbing dry tears, I crumpled to the floor and rested my head in my hands. Did anyone know I was here? Would I be stuck here forever if no one could find me? I'd heard of plenty of cases back home of girls going missing and never being found again. If that could happen in a city, would that happen to me here in the woods? Or what if someone did realise I had gone in the woods alone and was coming to find me, but I didn't last long enough? I mean, animals lived in woods right? So what if some of them who ate meat felt a little hungry and wanted a variety instead? It's happened all the time on Discovery channel. Not the killing of humans, though I'm pretty sure there are plenty of such cases, but the killing of animals that are different from their usual diet. And as much as I loved animals, being killed by one didn't seem like such a good way to go. Or what if I had been drugged, and lost all my memory, and the pervert who did this to me was going to take me away and keep me as a sex toy? The tears that had once been dry started streaming down my face. I didn't want to be a sex toy. I had way more to offer than that. At least I hoped so. And I don't want to die. Not yet, anyway. I hadn't even tried sky diving, and I still had more than half my life to live. How had I ended up here? I couldn't have forgotten.
I remembered eating breakfast with Uncle Jack, and him telling me that he needed to sort out some issues with the "gigantic people", as he had so cleverly said. I remembered going back to my room and sitting on my bed, just looking out the window at the beautiful beach. I remembered getting out of the house to walk along the beach, and I remembered the huge paw prints in the sand. I remembered wondering if the huge family had a huge family pet, and I remembered trying my best to walk in the footsteps of the paw prints.
But what had happened after that? I had sat down on the soft sand and watched as the waves crashed onto the beach, and as it slowly washed back. And then what?
So deep in my thoughts, I screamed when I heard a loud crack of a branch being snapped. Taking a deep breath, I whispered to myself, "Calm down, Katherine. It was just a branch. That snapped. Probably because..."
And realisation hit me. Slowly, I turned around and came face to face with a wolf-like creature much larger than a horse; a creature that seemed so familiar. "I've seen you," I gasped, and I could've sworn I saw the creature's eyes widen. Or it could be panic taking a hold of my brain.
And despite my earlier statement, it was at that moment that panic truly kicked in. Screaming, I scrambled back until I was against the tree and stood up with shaky legs. The creature looked around wildly, and I screamed again. Was he looking for his pack that would attack me and ravage me in 28 seconds (I read somewhere that when attacking in a pack, wolves could kill their prey in a very short amount of time. I know, weird time and place to be bringing this up. I just felt a need to explain myself)? Mimicking the wolf, or whatever it was, I tried, once again, to find a building or any sign of civilisation. When, again, I saw only trees, I gave up on thinking rationally and ran in the direction I was facing, trying my best not to fall.
It's not that I'm a very uncoordinated person. I mean, I'm definitely not the first choice for games during gym, but I was pretty alright at sports. But with legs that felt like they would buckle over anytime, I found myself concentrating hard on the rhythm of my steps. I would've looked back had I not been so worried I would fall, and so I listened hard for sounds that might mean the wolf, or thing, was catching up with me over the crunching of the leaves below me, and the pounding in my chest.
I don't know how long I had been running for and I really didn't care. All I wanted was to get away; away from that monster. Completely out of breath, I willed myself to continue and pushed myself forward, not caring that I was probably running deeper into the forest where more of those monsters might be living.
Despite my deep concentration, my legs buckled and landing on the dirt below me, I gasped heavily for breath. My chest heaved, and I honestly felt like I was suffocating. My lungs burnt in complaint, the air seemingly too thick and insufficient. I figured I probably looked like a sweaty moron clutching my aching chest, with huge eyes as I gasped hungrily for air.
What would it matter anyway? I probably just lost all chances of coming out of this whole deal alive. And just like that, a heated argument erupted inside of me. One side of me was telling me to be positive, while the other was screaming 'I'm doomed' at me over and over and over. And over.
I know, I know. I should look at the glass as half full, blah blah blah. Trying my best to be positive with not enough oxygen reaching my brains, I listed out possibilities of me being saved.
1. The person who knows I went into the forest is looking for me.
Well, that's ruled out. No way was he (or she) going to find me now. All he (or she) was going to see was a huge monster. Oh, great. Now I'm a murderer too.
2. Some nice stranger who's hiking would find me.
Hm, maybe that might happen. People here are adventurous, right? Maybe Uncle Jack would call the police. No matter how tiny La Push might be, they had to have polices. Or some sort of guard, at least.
Contented with possibility number 2, I focused on getting my breath back. And when I did, the other half of me wouldn't leave me in peace and pointed out a very good, well, point.
I couldn't last very long out here in the woods unless I could find a source of water and food. No way was I killing an animal. Firstly because I had no idea how to. Secondly, I wouldn't dare. Thirdly, the animal would probably kill me first.
Speaking of which, if a hungry carnivorous animal reached me before I died of dehydration or the guard/policeman/hiker found me, it wouldn't matter if La Push had a very well-trained police force because I would be dead.
Great. Stupid negativity. Well, one good thing about this was I could no longer be a sex toy.
I heard the crunching of leaves, and whipped my head around only to find nothing but trees. Great. Now I'm delusional too. Barely a day in La Push and I'm already facing death and mental illnesses. Why would my own mother torture me this way? A strong wind blew, and I was grateful for it. With my sweaty hair matted onto my neck and the humid environment, the wind was a refreshing break.
And then I heard it. A voice. Was it too late to take back my comment on no longer being a sex toy?
"Jasper!"
I wanted to run. It would've beat standing on the spot panicking. But running with no sense of direction didn't seem to make sense to me, and so I stayed rooted on the ground. Sobbing dry tears, I crumpled to the floor and rested my head in my hands. Did anyone know I was here? Would I be stuck here forever if no one could find me? I'd heard of plenty of cases back home of girls going missing and never being found again. If that could happen in a city, would that happen to me here in the woods? Or what if someone did realise I had gone in the woods alone and was coming to find me, but I didn't last long enough? I mean, animals lived in woods right? So what if some of them who ate meat felt a little hungry and wanted a variety instead? It's happened all the time on Discovery channel. Not the killing of humans, though I'm pretty sure there are plenty of such cases, but the killing of animals that are different from their usual diet. And as much as I loved animals, being killed by one didn't seem like such a good way to go. Or what if I had been drugged, and lost all my memory, and the pervert who did this to me was going to take me away and keep me as a sex toy? The tears that had once been dry started streaming down my face. I didn't want to be a sex toy. I had way more to offer than that. At least I hoped so. And I don't want to die. Not yet, anyway. I hadn't even tried sky diving, and I still had more than half my life to live. How had I ended up here? I couldn't have forgotten.
I remembered eating breakfast with Uncle Jack, and him telling me that he needed to sort out some issues with the "gigantic people", as he had so cleverly said. I remembered going back to my room and sitting on my bed, just looking out the window at the beautiful beach. I remembered getting out of the house to walk along the beach, and I remembered the huge paw prints in the sand. I remembered wondering if the huge family had a huge family pet, and I remembered trying my best to walk in the footsteps of the paw prints.
But what had happened after that? I had sat down on the soft sand and watched as the waves crashed onto the beach, and as it slowly washed back. And then what?
So deep in my thoughts, I screamed when I heard a loud crack of a branch being snapped. Taking a deep breath, I whispered to myself, "Calm down, Katherine. It was just a branch. That snapped. Probably because..."
And realisation hit me. Slowly, I turned around and came face to face with a wolf-like creature much larger than a horse; a creature that seemed so familiar. "I've seen you," I gasped, and I could've sworn I saw the creature's eyes widen. Or it could be panic taking a hold of my brain.
And despite my earlier statement, it was at that moment that panic truly kicked in. Screaming, I scrambled back until I was against the tree and stood up with shaky legs. The creature looked around wildly, and I screamed again. Was he looking for his pack that would attack me and ravage me in 28 seconds (I read somewhere that when attacking in a pack, wolves could kill their prey in a very short amount of time. I know, weird time and place to be bringing this up. I just felt a need to explain myself)? Mimicking the wolf, or whatever it was, I tried, once again, to find a building or any sign of civilisation. When, again, I saw only trees, I gave up on thinking rationally and ran in the direction I was facing, trying my best not to fall.
It's not that I'm a very uncoordinated person. I mean, I'm definitely not the first choice for games during gym, but I was pretty alright at sports. But with legs that felt like they would buckle over anytime, I found myself concentrating hard on the rhythm of my steps. I would've looked back had I not been so worried I would fall, and so I listened hard for sounds that might mean the wolf, or thing, was catching up with me over the crunching of the leaves below me, and the pounding in my chest.
I don't know how long I had been running for and I really didn't care. All I wanted was to get away; away from that monster. Completely out of breath, I willed myself to continue and pushed myself forward, not caring that I was probably running deeper into the forest where more of those monsters might be living.
Despite my deep concentration, my legs buckled and landing on the dirt below me, I gasped heavily for breath. My chest heaved, and I honestly felt like I was suffocating. My lungs burnt in complaint, the air seemingly too thick and insufficient. I figured I probably looked like a sweaty moron clutching my aching chest, with huge eyes as I gasped hungrily for air.
What would it matter anyway? I probably just lost all chances of coming out of this whole deal alive. And just like that, a heated argument erupted inside of me. One side of me was telling me to be positive, while the other was screaming 'I'm doomed' at me over and over and over. And over.
I know, I know. I should look at the glass as half full, blah blah blah. Trying my best to be positive with not enough oxygen reaching my brains, I listed out possibilities of me being saved.
1. The person who knows I went into the forest is looking for me.
Well, that's ruled out. No way was he (or she) going to find me now. All he (or she) was going to see was a huge monster. Oh, great. Now I'm a murderer too.
2. Some nice stranger who's hiking would find me.
Hm, maybe that might happen. People here are adventurous, right? Maybe Uncle Jack would call the police. No matter how tiny La Push might be, they had to have polices. Or some sort of guard, at least.
Contented with possibility number 2, I focused on getting my breath back. And when I did, the other half of me wouldn't leave me in peace and pointed out a very good, well, point.
I couldn't last very long out here in the woods unless I could find a source of water and food. No way was I killing an animal. Firstly because I had no idea how to. Secondly, I wouldn't dare. Thirdly, the animal would probably kill me first.
Speaking of which, if a hungry carnivorous animal reached me before I died of dehydration or the guard/policeman/hiker found me, it wouldn't matter if La Push had a very well-trained police force because I would be dead.
Great. Stupid negativity. Well, one good thing about this was I could no longer be a sex toy.
I heard the crunching of leaves, and whipped my head around only to find nothing but trees. Great. Now I'm delusional too. Barely a day in La Push and I'm already facing death and mental illnesses. Why would my own mother torture me this way? A strong wind blew, and I was grateful for it. With my sweaty hair matted onto my neck and the humid environment, the wind was a refreshing break.
And then I heard it. A voice. Was it too late to take back my comment on no longer being a sex toy?
"Jasper!"