Broken

Jake caught up with her first but waited for me patiently.

When we found her, she was sitting on a log, looking around the clearing with a sense of distress.

I commanded Jake to keep his distance, as I didn’t want to argue with her anymore. I told myself that once we found her, I would ensure she was safe, without making myself known, unless I needed to.

However, now that I had found her, seeing the distress she was in, noticing that darkness was creeping in and knowing that she would never make it to the ranger’s station before dark, I immediately wondered if I should step in.

After all, she still is injured. I thought, trying to make a case that I could use to justify my actions, but regardless, my pride won’t grant me the satisfaction.

So, Jake and I remained in the shadows, hoping that she could figure out her own way.

Chapter 15: Carrie

I was seriously starting to freak out now. I had continued walking until I felt like my leg was going to fall off if I took another step and was no consumed by complete darkness.

I cursed myself, knowing that I had gotten turned around and I wasn’t even sure I was heading toward the station anymore.

While it was obviously down the mountain, the darkness made it easy to vary down the mountain in a completely different way, leading me even farther away from my destination.

Again, I rested on a nearby log I had to feel around to find. I knew that I should be getting firewood together to keep the animals away, since I had nothing to cook, but after trying my best to summon the energy, or the willpower, I concluded it was no use.

I tried to think of a way to ensure, if I kept walking, I would eventually find the ranger’s station, but the logical part of me told me that if I continued, I would certainly get lost.

Without food or water, I was running out of time. Every second counted and if I spent the energy I had left going in the wrong direction, it was almost inevitable that I would succumb to the elements.

Once again, I thought about what Johnathan had said and I wished I had never left that damn cabin.

With all these negative thoughts swirling around inside my brain, I shivered, realizing that even though it was still the tail-end of summer, the mountains grew extremely cold at night.

So, I thought about trying to start a fire, but the darkness of the surrounding woods was daunting and by this point, my ankle was pulsing, even while I was resting.

The pain was starting to intensify, sharply stabbing up my leg and I prayed I hadn’t reinjured it. I hoped to God that it was simply a matter of overworking the leg, because if I hurt if further, the pain would only intensify. This would slow me down more and I couldn’t survive that.

I heard cracks and the splintering of wood around me and I nearly jumped at every noise. Mentally, I was freaking out, trying to focus on the source of the sounds, though the darkness didn’t provide any answers.

“It’s just the noises of the wild,” I reminded myself, in hardly more than a whisper, in case I was wrong, and something was watching me. I swallowed hard, “Remember, you’re in the middle of the woods, on the side of a mountain, all by yourself, there are bound to be noises…” Again, I gulped. I had thought talking myself through the situation would make everything better but unfortunately, hearing the craziness of my situation spoken aloud made me feel exceptionally worse about my odds of survival.

I groaned, feeling defeat starting to encase me like the darkness and dropped my head into my hands.

Yet, as soon as I did this, I heard a noise in the woods that I couldn’t explain away by the wilderness. It sounded like footsteps.

Oh God… I thought, as my stomach dropped. The first thing I contemplated was what I would do if it was an animal, but the second possibility was even more horrifying. I froze and was nearly instantly brought to tears at the idea that the guide had found me. Oh God… I thought again as I bit my lip and hampered my breathing.

I listened for any other sounds, looking around for a weapon.

I couldn’t see anything and even if I did, it was idiotic to think that I would be able to fend off an attacker. Between my injured leg and malnourishment, I was as good as useless, which made me hope it was an animal that had found me.

At least if I was mauled to death, there was a possibility it would be quick. If the guide was stalking me, there’s no telling what he was planning to do with me and I had no interest in finding out.

By now, I was shaking but the cold had far less to do with my reaction than it did previously. Now, I was far more afraid than anything else, but knowing I couldn’t run, my curiosity got the best of me. I had to know who was out there as soon as possible, if only to ruin the consistent torment of the unknown.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” I called, as my voice cracked.

After speaking, I heard a rustle in the bushes and I braced myself for whatever or whoever was about to show themselves.

When the shadow of an animal leapt out of the bushes, I felt my heart drop. However, it didn’t take more than a second to hear a familiar bark, before feeling a wet tongue licking my face.

“Jake?” I asked, relieved as I hugged the dog close to me.