Veronica's eyes opened to the bright lights and the subtle sounds of nature. She found herself on the floor of a shack, which stood on a muddy ground nested with thick layers of cushion. It seemed like everything used to build the shelter was rummaged from dumps and leftovers of old materials.
The walls were brown polythene, and the source of light was from the holes in the tarpaulin roof.
''Wait?! I'm alive?!" Veronica's eyes widened in shock. She tried to move, but she winced before lowering her gaze to the stained hole in her shirt. She remembered glimpsing Pete before he lunged at her, at a speed she could not evade.
"I'm a fool. A big fool" Her head swirled with thoughts, especially regrets. "I was too cautious… why didn't I use the knives… my knives??!!" She realized she'd lost her things as well, especially her diary. Only her necklace was intact, but that wasn't enough. Everything else was just as important.
Unexpectedly, her tears streamed down her face.
"So stupid… I'm so so stupid" she tried her best to muffle her sobs, and stop crying, but her sadness spilled at a rate she couldn't control.
She raised her hands to her face, wiping her ceaseless tears.
"So many opportunities I could've used to stab him… but I just couldn't bring myself to do it! What's wrong with me!!! Why am I like this?" She pulled her knees to her chest, sulking at how miserable her life had become.
"Who saved me? Also, why? There was no point…" now that she was lost in the wolf territory, there was no telling how long she'd survive or how she'd get back to the human base. The only thing certain was that her days were limited.
"If I cry too loudly… someone would hear. And I don't even know the race of the person who found me. What if it's a werewolf that actually wants to eat me alive?" Fear didn't let Veronica think of anything positive. She balled up on the floor and her mind depicted the worst that could happen to her out there.
"It's over… I've failed" Veronica then laid hopelessly on the floor, waiting to die. She was hungry, unarmed, wounded and lost. She has also lost faith in herself and the things she could do.
In the blink of an eye, a wolf trotted to the front of the shelter. Veronica sat up at alert, heart racing at the sudden company. They both observed eachother quietly.
Never would Veronica have thought that a wolf up close would be so pretty. Its fur, white and short over its body and longer at the neck, looked so shiny. The animal's stance was confident and its body muscular. Its ember eyes were locked on her, but it didn't move, neither make a noise.
Veronica unconsciously crawled towards it, her hands spread apart.
"Eat me if you want to. Don't be afraid. Don't think too much" She put on the best smile she could muster, before closing her eyes as the last of her tears streaked down. To her rue, it galloped away.
"Why???" she screamed at the top of her lungs, hands over her stomach as she fell back in anger and continued to sulk.
Maybe it was trained not to eat a human. Maybe it was a human's pet in a werewolf domain?
Veronica snickered. Now maybe she was running mad with such thoughts.
"This isn't the Veronica I used to know… this isn't the girl that was thirsty for adventure, thirsty for revenge. This Veronica is a failure… how would I find my mother in this state?"
She sat up. "No, I shouldn't give up yet. Everything happens for a reason, I suppose. I've been out in the wild before. Giving up on my life would mean Junior Mark won. I'm stronger than this" She crawled out of the shelter and the gentle light of dawn kissed her skin. She struggled to stand, using her good leg for support and luckily, she found a staff that could act as a walking aid while her leg heals.
"I have to survive out here and find a way to get back to the camp" she wiped at her face, and hobbled in search of food. She successfully scouted a safe spot full of brambles with the blackest berries after minutes of search. As she pulled the berries away, some of them disintegrated, leaving her fingers covered with the juice. She culled as many as she could and covered them up with a leaf, before using flower petals to leave a trail.
Few minutes later, she found a river and after a few steps; she was kneedeep in the clear water with her back arched to noodle as many fishes as she could get.
With the fresh fishes wrapped up in a piece of cloth, she followed her trail back to the berries. Her jaw dropped immediately after setting her eyes on the wolf from before and all the fruits were gone. It laid comfortably in the crime scene, showing no remorse whatsoever as the left over stains from the berries made it obvious that the wolf ate it after Veronica's hard work.
She sucked her lower lip in, angry, but there was nothing she could do. She didn't want to get mauled by the wolf and she had no intentions to attack it, so she continued her walk back
Air brushed through the Wolf's short fur as it followed Veronica back to the shelter. She wondered if it was following because of the fish, but she didn't want to give it any. It was supposed to last her all day. And she didn't see the need to take care of the wolf. It was best for the animal to wait for his owner. That's if the person, whoever it is, is still alive.
Deep rumbles came from the wolf's throat as Veronica set up a fire to roast the fish. Because of the uncomfortable noise it was making, she threw one of her catch at it, but it didn't move or show happiness of some sort.
"Ungrateful! Humph"
The wolf still didn't touch it. It laid on all fours to rest while she made herself lunch. Her stomach rumbled and she pat it. "When last did I have a proper meal? Seems like forever."
She was about to take a bite from the fish when the Wolf pounced on her and snatched it out of her hands, then gobbled it all at one go.
She half smiled at the wolf, "I don't think there's much I can do about your character."
After eating, Veronica laid on the ground, staring at the clouds. "Kill or be killed. It's so simple for others but not me." She was still sad about it all, but she tried not to think of it and still be hopeful, even though things weren't looking so bright.
She turned to face the wolf and just looked at it, and it returned the same level of stare before it got on its legs and trotted away.