Chapter 10
Kimberly's POV:
"No! Don't go."
My feet pause. Who's that? I keep on hearing the voices around but that voice was of my mother. This voice isn't of my mother. Whose voice is this?
I turn around and look back to see if someone is there but I see no one. I must have been mistaken. I have been hearing the voice all along. That is why, I am hearing it.
I walk ahead ignoring that voice until I hear it again for the second time. My feet …pauses again.
I look around to find something as my weapon if someone attacks me. I walk a few steps and see a twig as sharp as a knife. I quickly clean off the snow on it and grab it tightly with my hands.
"Any…Anybody here?" I call out. My voice is low and tender. I don't want those four to know about me. I don't see anyone. My mind must be ringing.
"You'll regret going that way." Again the same voice.
"Who's that? Show yourself!" I point the twig towards the sound. But there is no reply from them. I start continuing my journey but then, I stop.
What if that voice is right? What if I am going the wrong way and I will regret it later? It makes me think otherwise. I take my steps back from there and think of going in another direction.
I am unaware of the fact why I am hearing the voices while others can't hear. Last time, it was of mother and this time, I don't know whose voice am I hearing. Should I trust this voice?
I am perplexed but I can't waste my time being here. I have to get out of this place as fast as possible.
Last time, the voice of my mother had helped me. Who knows this might be helpful too.
So, I take my steps back and start treading my steps in another direction. It's cold so much cold and the snowfall is so much heavy. I don't know when I should walk in this heavy snowfall. I wish I had an umbrella. But I don't think it would have been of much help too.
After walking almost half a kilometre, I stand in front of the forest.
No! Not again. Entering inside the forest scares me to hell due to my former incident. I spy the place but the place is all surrounded by forest. There are no traces of any creature walking in there. No roads, no ways, Nothing!
So, I should make my way here. What forest is this? How dense is it? I am scared and I don't have much confidence to enter this forest.
But I can't go back. There is death waiting for me and the only option that I have right now is to walk through this forest. Yes, I should gather the courage to walk through it. I have to move forward.
I take the steps towards the forest. As I get nearer and nearer to the forest, a strange and weird vibe surrounds me. Like, it makes me shiver in my bones.
I doubt my decision. Am I walking in the right direction? At times like this, how much I wish to shift as fast as possible. So that my wolf would help me by guiding me in the places like this and I wouldn't be alone at all.
I walk through the scary tall trees standing high. The foliage of the trees is so dense that only a few fluffs of cotton can get inside those voids between the trees.
It's better than walking in the heavy snowfall outside the forest. I see no one walking through this forest. The leaves fallen on the ground aren't trodden and they are yellow as ever and no way is formed. The grasses are taller than usual. I pick up one long stick from the ground and use it to part the tall grasses and make my way. The place is silent as the space. There is no sound of a moving creature or any human.
I breathe out the warm vapor which contaminates the air in front of me. My heart paces faster and I feel like I am going to freak out and faint off the spot even when someone just touches me at this moment.
It's fine, Kim. It's fine. It's better than living there with the fear of death. But I am confused, this is as scary as death as well. I feel tired after walking for a long time. I feel hungry and thirsty and also tired.
I see a huge root of a tree perfectly laid on the ground. I make a sit for myself and start jerking the snow off my body. I look around for the twigs and firewood to make a fire. I collect them and place them in front of that huge root of the tree.
I don't have water with me. I see the ice nearby. I pick the huge leaf of the shrubs collect the ice in a leaf and return with it.
I start making a fire as I come back. I know how to do this. We had done several campings with my mother and father before and also with my friends. So, I know how this is to be done.
The fire takes time but in a few minutes, I see the good flames of fire. Tears fall in my eyes as I see the fire. It reminds me of my pack and my home back. This isn't a trauma but it makes me feel sad.
I wipe away the tears from my eyes and place my hands in front of the fire. I know that weeping and mourning over it again and again isn't going to help me at all. It feels warm. I rub my hands as I want to feel much warmer. I place the ice near the fire, so it can melt and become the right temperature to drink it.
I take off the sheet of duvet out of my body and take out the packets of cookies from there. I place the duvet to get warm by the fire and lay out the cookies in front of me. There are together six packets of it. Maybe, I should eat a packet a day. I know it's hard but it's not impossible. In six days, I might reach somewhere and may find something to eat. Till then, I have to survive in this little food I have.
I tear the packet and start taking a bite of it. I almost cry after taking the first bite. Is it because I was so hungry or is it because the cookies are really tasty and I love them so much? The flavor feels so much rich inside my mouth like I am going to tear out, like this is the most delicious food, I have ever tried in my whole life.
"Wow! That feels so much good," I speak to myself. I finish the whole packet of cookies without any delay. To be honest, that food doesn't fulfill my hunger and heart completely but I have to control… I have to take control over my food, my emotions, my everything.
The ice in the leaf has already melted. I pick it up from the fireside and drink it. This ice water is the tastiest drink I have ever drunk I guess. The sheet has become a little warmer. I make the side of the sheet one more time put the necessities inside the backpack and start walking again. I put out the fire before I started. I have to be somewhere safe before it becomes dark.
So, I start again and continue to walk without even knowing where to stop. I have been walking for a long time but I don't seem to get out of this forest. It is starting to get dark and I guess, I need to stop and make a place to stay for myself rather than moving forward in the dark.
I start to make a bed using the leaves and the sheet of duvet I have. I place my arms as my pillow and lay on the ground to take a nap. I know it's scary. My heart is thumping loud and I know the fire beside me is never going to help me a lot but I trust in time.
I trust that something invisible and powerful dragged me up here and it will too in the future.
I try to close my eyes and try to sleep until I hear the rough footsteps and the dull sounds of …howling.
Wait! What's howling here?
I quickly get up from the place and spy the place. The place is already dark and I cannot see anything around but soon, I start seeing the diamonds like shiny marbles floating in the air, and not only one, they are many.
Wait! They aren't marbles…
They are… Hounding Wolves and they are many…
My heart starts to pound loudly. How did I not know that there could be hounding wolves over here? I see them meters away. I don't think running is going to help. They are fast runners.
My breathing gets hyped as I see them. But suddenly something painful barges into my bones. I feel like someone is hitting every cell of my bones and it's paining like they cracked into many pieces.
What's going on? I feel a sudden change in my body. It feels uneasy like something wants to come out of me.
Am… I … shifting? But it hasn't been the time. This might be painful and I have hounding wolves trying to hunt me. What if they grab me before I even shift?
"Ahh…," I lay down on the floor because of that immeasurable pain. Mother, Father, Help me… Please… Stone are you still there… I know you can protect me… Please help me…
I pray inside but suddenly, I see a huge werewolf barging between the hounding wolves and me.
Who is that?