Friend Me Not!

The Encounter

Elizabeth POV

"Did you just punch me?" I cried, holding my nose.

"Yeah, you were being a BIG bully!" Hope said holding her hand. She had punched me really hard! I couldn't believe it! 

"We should probably get moving," Amanda butted in, stepping in between us. "There is no time to argue. We're lost remember?!" Hope sighed and looked at me with a sneer. 

"I guess you're right. No point in fighting" She grabbed her flowered backpack and started walking towards the forest. She looked back at us, "Come on! Let's go." she said urging us.

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The sun was set as we traveled through the ever darkening forest. It was beginning to creep out even me! I sting of my face won't go away! I can't believe that Hope would do such a thing, I don't take her for that kind of girl. The forest seemed to be closing in on me. I slipped my hand into my bag and pulled out my pocket knife with the blade out...just in case. I saw something moving among the trees. It stepped closer and closer, I screamed and it ran right for us! I started stabbing the air I was so scared! It ran past us when we realized it was a deer.....being chased by a mountain lion. We all screeched, Amanda and Hope ran for a tree and climbed it. I don't know a lot about nature, and I never learned to climb! The mountain lion stopped and looks at me straight in the eyes! Oh no!

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It stalked towards me as I backed against the tree Hope and Amanda were clinging to. Amanda held out for me to grab, but it was too far! The mountain loin's ear splitting yowl rang through the night.My eyes were wide and my heart was practically beating a mile a second!  I held up my arms to look as big as possible, I yelled at it and slashed my knife towards the big cat. It was startled by my sudden appearance, it growled a little. He mountain lion turned tail and ran, my shoulders slouched with relief and sighed, " That was a close one! I thought we were goners for sure!"  Amanda climbed down from the tree, Hope still held on as if the ground was cursed or something. "We should leave this part of the forest. It'll come back if we stay," I said, "besides we need to find a safe place to sleep"

Hope spoke in a small voice as she climbed down the tree, " That was scary!" Amanda spoke next,

"That was really stupid of you to fend off that lion! Why didn't you just climb up like the rest of us?!" 

"Why would I?" I asked nervously, "You should be thanking me, I saved you guys." I said looking away quickly. We decided we should move West, the mountain lion ran East. I started gathering sticks along the way for a fire later, and a good sized one for me to carve if I need to impale something. 

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We settled down in a thicket with fireflies in the bushes. There lights twinkling on and off. Hope gathered rocks and made a little circle were I had dug up the ground.  I made a pile of sticks in the center, grabbed a flint, my pocket knife and hit them together, instantly making a spark. The small fire started to build. The heat radiated to us. I looked up to see Amanda and Hope eating granola bars and trying to stay quiet. I wasn't hungry so I grabbed my jacket and put it on the ground to act as a pillow. I laid my head down and slowly I drifted off to sleep, listening to the soothing fire crackle.

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