Chapter Nineteen #2
I stand up and take slow, cautious steps forward.
I don’t allow myself to even glance backward until the only thing I hear are my own footsteps.
Once my mind and my heart have slowed and settled, I stop and listen.
I hear the birds and the bugs, the wind rustling the leftover leaves in the trees before I steal a quick glance behind me.
Once again, I’m alone. At least, as far as my human eyes can see.
As that anxiety leaves, a new one takes its place.
It’s almost dark now. I pick up my pace, knowing that I need to find somewhere to shelter overnight.
I don’t want to be stumbling through the forest at night with, not only the creatures but any of the other animals that hunt at night.
My main concern is that I don’t know what makes a good shelter.
I don’t know what to look for. What I do know is that I’m not doing a good job at finding it.
Between trying not to trip and obsessively tracking how fast the sun is going down, I’m not getting very far.
After struggling forward like this for a while, I give in and pull out my flashlight.
I’ve been trying not to use it, desperately wanting to save every bit of battery, but I have two and the ease I feel when the light turns on is instantly worth it.
I search the area around me, holding the light steady when something bright catches my eye.
I can't tell what it is from this distance, but as I creep closer, I see that it’s actually a small, yellow tent.
The campsite looks abandoned, trash is strewn everywhere, and a sleeping bag is lying halfway out of the tent.
I’m hesitant to snoop around at first, but after thinking it through, I realize this could be the first thing that saves me.
I already know I won’t find better shelter than this, so I put my feelings of unease aside and tell myself that whoever's tent this is, they would want me to use it. If I’m lucky, maybe someone might even come back for it.
The light has almost completely set at this point and I feel lucky with my find.
Right in the nick of time. Now that it’s mostly dark, something in the sky catches my eye.
A bright red light is blinking on and off.
At first, I think it must be a plane but it’s too low.
The tower? It has to be. I don’t mean to but I start jumping up and down with excitement, feeling a new jolt of adrenaline but knowing I need to calm down.
I can’t do anything about it now, I wouldn’t last two minutes wandering around in the dark.
I need to hold tight, stay sheltered and wait for morning. If I’m lucky, I’ll even get some rest.
I crawl inside and pull the sleeping bag in with me before zipping the tent closed.
The small space would normally trigger my claustrophobia but this time, it makes me feel safe.
Nobody can see me which tricks my mind into feeling like nobody can get to me.
Even if these feelings are misguided and untrue, I’m going to hold onto them to get me through the night.
I unzip the sleeping bag and a wave of musty; earthiness hits me.
Even though I hope it’s not true, I don’t think anyone has been here for a long time.
Slowly, I take my jacket and shoes off but leave all my other layers on so I’m ready to leave quickly if need be.
I know I should leave my shoes on, but my feet are too sore.
The thought of not letting them stretch out and have a break is too much to bear.
I leave my socks on though, not wanting to see how bad they look.
I can already feel that they’re swollen and covered in blisters.
I’m scared looking at them will let the pain fully set in.
I use my thumbs to rub some of the tightness out of my feet, wincing at every tender point but I don’t stop until I feel some relief.
I can’t afford to let pain hold me back.
I slide into the sleeping bag, immediately warming up as sharp tingles creep into my thawing fingers.
I curl my body into a tight ball. The smaller I get, the safer I feel.
My eyes start to close all by themselves as exhaustion settles into my body and mind.
I’m thankful I’m able to relax enough that it seems like I might fall asleep.
As I wonder if I should force myself to stay awake, I drift.
I enter the border of awake and asleep and falling into a dream when a scream rips through the still night.