A Whisper Away

My feet pounded against the earth beneath me ferociously, sending me further away from the predator. I had to get away.  I heard branches snapping and leaves crunching in the wake of my pursuer, each thunderous step getting closer and closer. I shoved branches out of my way, just to have them swing right back at me. I stumbled through the thick  under-growth, each slithering root trying to snag my feet as I ran. It was difficult, but I wasn’t about to give up. Trees flew past me as I dodged them left and right. While I ran my mind wandered for a fraction of a second, wondering why I had been stupid enough to leave the trail, and then there wasn’t any flat ground beneath my feet. Instead, a dangerously steep slope covered with broken branches and large threatening rocks rolled beneath me.

            The world began to spin, a blur of broken colors. Nothing made sense. I couldn’t figure out which way was up or which way was down. As I tumbled down onto the slope, I heard the creature skid to a stop at the top of the treacherous slope, sending several branches and rocks sliding down the hillside.  A cry escaped my chest as a sharp fallen branch pierced into my side. Nothing seemed to slow me down. It felt as though I hit every single obstacle possible on my fall. Finally, I came to a thudding stop at the bottom. I felt blood trickling down my face, and my entire body ached from the painful fall. At least the creature that had been chasing me was gone, I thought.

            Tears poured down my face. Sharp raspy breaths burst from my chest. Nobody would notice that I had wandered off, and if they did notice no one would care. “Curiosity killed the cat.” My dad would always tell me. Now my curiosity would kill me, I would die here, and there was nothing I could do about it. If I had just stayed on the main trail of the forest none of this would have happened. Gosh, why had I been so stupid? Always ignoring what my parents said, what everybody said. I began to search the forest floor for my backpack but there wasn’t a single trace of it; I must have lost it on the hill. I reached up to my neck to grab my whistle, but it had disappeared too. “I’m lost, with no food, no water, no supplies, and no way out. I’m going to die in this awful place.” My thoughts began to haunt me. How would I get out of here?

                                                                      *******

Earlier that morning:

I worked on finishing getting ready for school, I glanced at my clock and was surprised to see that it read 7:00 A.M. and my school, Jordan Rivers Junior High, started in twenty minutes. I hear my dad yelling at me from the kitchen, "Shyanne! Get down here now. You're going to be late for school!" I quickly finished packing my backpack with things I would need on the field trip, and ran downstairs. I hugged my dad goodbye, and then ran out the door to catch the bus as it drove up to my stop. Right as we got to school we switched buses to go to Deschutes National Forest for our field trip. The field trip was a wildlife exploration trip, I really didn't want to go, but my dad wouldn't let me skip, he said that it would be good for me to learn something about nature. 

When we got to the forest it was 12:00 P.M., we got off the bus and our teacher, Mr. Hansen, called everyone to his attention and begin to speak, “Students, I know you are all very excited and anxious to get moving but there are some rules we need to go over first. Rule number one; always stay with the class as a group or with at least one other person. Rule number two, always stay on the path. We don’t want anyone to get lost today. Rule number three, if you are lost stay put and blow on your whistles, which I will begin to pass out in a moment. Is everyone clear on the rules?” The class mumbled back yes’s and nodded their heads. After he passed out the whistles, I decided I was tired of the lectures. So I decided to do some exploring of my own. I left the group, and walked off the path, into the forest. As I walked off I just managed to catch Mr. Hansen’s last words:

“Alright students,” He said “Your free to go, and don’t forget that you need to be back on the bus by two o’clock.”

            While I walked my tennis shoes hooked underneath old tree roots, nearly tripping me every time. Branches would slap me in the face, and bushes would scratch my legs with their vicious thorns and sharp sticks. After a few minutes of the difficult trek I decided that I should probably go back. When I turned around to go back to the group, I couldn’t figure out which direction I had come from. I began to panic. What if I was lost? What if they couldn’t hear me? Did they even notice I had left? I was trying to calm myself down when I heard a low growling noise. It sounded like it came from directly behind me. I didn’t even turn around. I just ran.

********

            That’s how I came to be in this cold, muddy, miserable place. My head still pounded with pain, and my vision was blurry. I must have hit a rock or something when I fell down the slope. Oh well, I knew I had to do something soon. I slowly and carefully stood up, then started walking in the opposite direction of the slope I had tumbled down only minutes ago.

While I was walking I thought about my mom, she would know what to do. I wished she could be here with me, instead of buried in Greenwood Cemetery. If only that drunk driver hadn’t drank as much, or left the bar a little later. No, nothing could change that she had been dead for over six years now; I had to get over it. I cleared my mind of my mom and kept walking.

            After walking for a while I began to get thirsty, my tongue felt like sandpaper in my mouth, and after crying my throat felt raw. When I had not known what to look for, other than a way out, it was misery. Filled with a little bit of fresh hope, and eagerness to complete my goal, I started walking once again, this time in search of water.

            As the sun began to set in the west I heard the trickling of a stream. I began to walk faster, eager to get to the water. I ran to the edge of the stream, dipped my hand in and splashed my face. The water felt cool and refreshing as each drop hit my skin. I then dipped my mouth into the water, taking several mouthfuls at once. I drank until I felt like I would explode. With my stomach satisfied, and feeling tired, I wearily crawled over to a bush and slept.

Day 2

            When I woke up I was cold, sore, and caked in mud. I felt like I had been hit by a truck, rolled in mud, then stuck in a freezer. It took me a minute to remember where I was, and what had happened. When I did I felt like crying again. I struggled to hold back tears of pain and fear as I stood up. I walked over to the stream, and took a drink. After drinking I began to explore the edge of the stream.

            While I walked my stomach growled loudly, a reminder that I hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning. I saw a bush with red berries on it and decided to try them. They couldn’t hurt me, right? Oh well, my hunger won this time, not caution. I put one in my mouth and when I bit down the berry made a small “Pop!” and then it burst in my mouth. It tasted sour, but right now I didn’t care. After eating all the berries I could find on the bush I kept walking, looking for a way out.

            After what felt like a few hours later, I was still walking. The stream had dried up a long time ago, and my feet were beginning to hurt. Now I wandered aimlessly, hoping desperately to escape this place. The sun rose to its highest point in the sky, and began to slowly bake me in its rays. “I’m never going to find my way out of here. I’ll die here. Every hour I’m getting more and more lost.” I said to myself, no longer bothering to keep my thoughts in my head. So I decided to try what I had always been taught when I was little, to stay put if you’re lost. I sat down on the wet muddy ground and waited.

            The sun began to set and I was still waiting. Nothing had happened, other than my stomach feeling like someone had turned it inside-out and upside-down. Why was my stomach upset? Was it the water? Maybe it was because I hadn’t eaten anything since the berries this morning. Wait, the berries! That’s it! They must have had something in them that upset my stomach.

            My stomach lurched, and even the very thought of taking another step sent thoughts of surrendering into my mind. Tonight, I would stay here. I found a large tree with several bushes surrounding it, crawled underneath them, and fell asleep.

Day 3

            I slowly struggled out of my sleep. I felt like I had become an iron boot, dragged through wet concrete. It felt impossible. As I struggled to wake up, I felt something cold hitting my face. I finally managed to open my eyes, and I saw dark thunder clouds overhead with rain pouring out of them. I sat up, and quickly discovered that I was freezing. As I looked all around me I realized that a puddle of water had pooled around me.

            I opened my mouth to catch some rain, then I heard a voice “Shyanne! Shyanne where are you?”

I didn’t recognize the voice but I responded anyway, willing to take any chance to get out of this torturous place. “Hello? I’m over here!” I yelled back to the mysterious voice. Who was calling out for me? Did they send out search parties? No, they couldn’t have already discovered that I was missing, could they? It didn’t matter now, people knew that I was here, and they were coming to save me.

            In a few minutes they were close enough that I could hear their footsteps. I sank to my knees, and began to cry. Holding my head in my hands, I was filled with relief that this horrible nightmare would finally be over. I could finally go home. I stood up and started walking towards the sound of the footsteps. I called to whoever was there, “who are you?” my voice cracked as I spoke but I knew they heard and understood what I said.

 “I’m detective Alexis Jones, we’ve been looking for you for two days now! Shyanne, where are you?” Detective Jones yelled back.

 “I’m over here!” I managed to yell through my sobs. Finally I saw them, about five or ten people that I could see, and they were all looking for me.

            I saw my dad in the front of a group, followed by detective Jones' crew, and I ran over to him. My muscles which had been tense for so long began to loosen as he wrapped me in a warm, familiar, bear hug. I couldn’t hold back the tears that streamed down my face, but these were tears of happiness, and relief. He held me tightly in his arms, telling me over and over again, in his sweet calming voice, that it's okay, that everything was going to be okay, that I was safe, and that soon, I would be home.