Place of No Return (on hold)

Chapter 4

Here is the next set of chapters! It takes time to write, but oh well, enjoy!

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It burns. It itches like nothing you’ve ever felt before. You get up and run around like crazy, flailing your arms. It burns! It feels like acid! You hear a bloodcurdling scream. You realize it’s coming from you, and shriek. The pain is becoming unbearable. You half run, half flail to another tree. You turn your back to the tree, and rub your back against it. It feels better, but it still burns. You rip off your sweater and gasp as the cool air swirls around you. Suddenly, the itching comes back, even worse than before. You scream again, and rip off all of the layers of your clothes, till you’re left with your underclothes. There’s no way to tell where this burning comes from, it feels like it starts at the lower end of your back, and then gets worse and worse as it goes up. Your arms sting, along with your legs, but it’S the worst at your back. Eventually the burning goes down and down, and now you’re left with an unpleasant stinging sensation. 

Sighing, you look around. There has to be some source of water nearby. You would do anything to get rid of the stinging. There was a stream by the camping spot, but that didn’t help, because you have no clue where that is. You think back to when you were hiking with the rest of your family. There was a lake. Not even a lake really, a pond. It was a few meters away from a humongous tree, that had fallen over, and there was moss, and fungus growing on it. Surely that wasn’t far from where you’re standing--or was it? Night has fallen, and pale moonlight peeks over the tops of the tall trees. An owl hoots somewhere, and even the sound of crickets chirping sounds eerie. It’s getting cold--really cold--and you wonder if it’s safe to put your clothes on again. You awkwardly twist your arm back, and try to feel your back. It starts burning as soon as anything gets in contact with it. You still felt your back though, for a brief moment, and it feels bumpy, swollen. This can’t be good. You have no choice but to stand there, absolutely still.

Chilling winds blow in, and you can’t take it anymore. Exasperated, you quickly, as fast as possible, pull on your clothes, and rip out the jacket you packed in your bag. You tug it on, wincing as your back continues to feel like it’s on fire. It wasn’t a good idea but the cold winds gave you no choice. Even with the four layers of clothing you have on, the wind goes into your bones. You shiver, and you can’t stop. You frown. Something in your mind desperately tries to resurface. It’s about the jacket you’re wearing. It’s important, in fact, it may be a vital piece of information. You sit down, against the tree you’d rubbed your back on, and think as hard as possible. What was it that dad had said? The pain is now the last thing on your mind, it helps that you’re trying to think about something else. A burst of laughter escapes from your mouth. You giggle. And then burst out laughing again. You’re lost. But you’re lost probably five minutes away from the camp site. You realize you’re taking this too harshly. This isn’t the Hunger Games. It’s not a fight for survival. Well, at least not yet. You relax a little, and out of nowhere, you remember what your dad had said:

“This is the jacket you should take with you when we go. We each have identical ones. They’re waterproof, and it has approximately six layers, so hopefully it’ll keep you warm.” Warm. Yeah right. “It’s also really special. It has a ‘built in’ sleeping bag. So at the bottom of the jacket there’s a flap, which you pull, and more material comes out. Then you tie two strings at the bottom, to complete the foot of the bag. For the top you must pull on the hood, and the head part becomes larger, and then the bag is ready.” As I recalled the steps and what he’d said, I carefully transformed the jacket. For the first time that day, you smile.

Nothing to see here, onto chapter 5.