*Gasp!*
I wake up abruptly, gasping for breath and drenched in a cold sweat. It dawns on me that I am lying beneath a bright yellow parachute ceiling. My sudden awakening startles Bong, who had been sleeping beside me. He looks at me with concern.
*Whimper*
" Don't worry Bong, you can go back to sleep now "
While stroking Bong's thick fur gently, I remember several scenes that I experienced in a dream. " You don't need to worry Bong, I just..."
'' Woooooo? " Bong asked and tilted his head.
"I have a dream, I don't know if it was a bad dream or a good one. I meet Mother" I answered his question and wondered what he was asking.
" I also meet someone… I don't know who is he, but he looks so familiar "
" Wouf wooo wouff! woooo wouwo " he replied.
" Bong, can you give me a big hug?"
I ran out of words and immediately hugged Bong tightly. Fortunately, this Siberian dog is obedient and has a large body with thick and soft fur, providing immediate warmth and comfort. He also licking my swollen eyes gently.
Despite being an adult, I couldn't resist the soothing embrace. However, the recollections persistently plague me each time something reminds me of my late mother. I did not anticipate that recalling her smiling face would be more anguish-inducing than recollecting her presence when she was alive.
If only we had woken up sooner, we could have found Mom. We should have searched longer, and the police with their bloodhounds should have found her body somewhere near the accident area.
It's not easy losing my mom. It's been years, I believed that working would help me forget my sadness. Yet, now I find myself as a workaholic woman in her late 20s. After losing my job and wealth, I became unemployed and stressed out.
Amid my turmoil and sadness, a shadow approached my tent. The figure opened the unzipped the tent without hesitation.
"Clara, are you awake?" Susan pops out.
I was taken aback by the sudden appearance of Susan's face outside the tent, almost causing me to scream. However, I was unsure how to conceal my swollen eyes from her.
"Damn bitch!" she exclaimed,
"Watch your mouth, Susan!"
"Are you crying?" she asked with full curiosity.
"None of your business!"
"Hey, can you take me to the restroom, please?" she pleaded.
"You know, it's 2 AM. What if there are dangerous animals out there?" Susan defended herself.
" So what, do you want me to be bait for wild creatures while you're take a pee?"
Susan whimpered, her tightly closed legs moved quickly while her hands covered her private parts with her skirt.
"Come on!"
"Mind your own business!" I said as I turned over and covered my face with my thermal blanket.
"Have you forgotten your promise to Liam? Don't you remember the rumors of monsters roaming this forest?"
"What if I get attacked by a monster, didn't you break your promise?"
As she mentioned monsters, I recalled the lycan I encountered earlier today. It crossed my mind that wolves typically reside in packs. There is a possibility of another group of werewolves on the loose.
" Screw you, Liam!" I grumble
Although I am not fearful of any harm coming to Susan, it would be quite inconvenient if I needed to involve the authorities if the child goes missing. Additionally, Liam has entrusted me with Susan's safety during this occasion.
"All right, let's go then."
" Why are you always swearing in front of me" Susan feels irritated
" If you don't want to be cursed at, be a useful woman in my eyes for once"
The serene ambiance of the woodland is accompanied by the sound of crickets, the hooting of owls, gusts of wind, and the rustling of wild creatures that remain hidden during daylight. These sounds imbue the atmosphere with an eerie quality.
We searched for a bush located a considerable distance from our camp. Susan instructed me to avert my gaze and prevent Bong from diverting her attention while she worked.
The sounds of splashing water against the ground disturbed the peaceful stillness of the night, which I had been relishing in solitude. I hope the work is completed soon, and I can return to sleeping comfortably in the tent.
Just as I was getting pissed off with Susan for taking so long, I heard something moving quickly from the bushes in front of us, the bushes rustling as fast as they were moving away. Bong groaned and chased after the creature while barking loudly.
"Bong!!"
I, who saw Bong running, spontaneously chased after him too, I kept pointing my flashlight forward to follow Bong's movements, which were getting farther and farther away from my eyes. I wish I could catch up with Bong faster, but the path in the forest full of roots and bushes is not easy, let alone to run.
"Clara! Help!" Susan yelled, her sound echoing from a distance
I pointed the flashlight backward in the direction of the source of the sound, without realizing that I had run far away from Susan. When I pointed forward, Bong was no longer there.
'Crap! Where should I go?!'
I didn't know where to go, but I decided to go back to the place where Susan was. I panicked particularly since Susan was nowhere to be found but I could hear her voice trying to reach for help, and Bong was also gone.
I started walking while searching around with my flashlight and calling her name and Bong, hoping that one of them would respond. In the middle of my search, I heard other sounds such as tree branches breaking and heavy objects being dragged along the ground.
I saw in the distance a man around forty who was briefly exposed to the light of the flashlight. The man was walk out in a hurry. The man seemed to be struggling because there was something he was pulling. I sensed that something was wrong with that man. I immediately went after him In the middle of the chase.
" Hopefully that man isn't far away!"
Fortunately, that man was still within my range of vision. So I decided to follow that man from afar secretly. The man went to an old hut in the middle of the forest, not a good place to live because apart from being very small, the place was very neglected. The walls were overgrown with mosses and there were spiderwebs everywhere. Honestly, the entire place smelled musty!
" Ugh! This man is such a slob!"
The man starts to turn on the light. The only one with a dim light. That room full of dirt and unused items, he walked to where a fainted and bruised Susan sat on the chair, her wrist tied up. Sometimes he stumbles over scattered rubbish.
' Oh, crap! That's Susan! '
I tried to read the situation, trying to find the man's weak point. But I couldn't find it!
That man had very bulky and strong physics. He has tan skin with brown hair. That poker face of his looked very cold as he looked at Susan.
Then he boldly tried to take off Susan's sweater and then her shirt. He opened it without untucking the part tucked into Susan's shirt, which revealed her chest covered up by her pastel-coloured bra.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Susan's panicked squeal of consciousness.