Stranded// H.S (Dark)

Chapter Two ~ The Panther

I awoke to the waterfall. I laid there for a few moments before opening my eyes. The sun invaded them and caused them to water. I was at peace until I started to sweat. I sat up and unwrapped my shirt and felt my cut. I could tell there was a scab over it and it had stopped bleeding. I knew I should keep it dry but I had to wash off. Sand was sticking to me everywhere, and I was sweaty. I would only stay in for a few minutes, just long enough to get as clean as possible. Once my bra was off I unbuttoned and unzipped my shorts and pulled them off along with my underwear. I slowly stepped in the cool water letting it cool my body off. Goosebumps rose all over me, sending chills down my back. Once I was in the water completely I went under wetting my hair. It was so refreshing. I stayed under for a while letting the feeling sink in, then I resurfaced taking in a huge breath of air. I swam for a few moments. I had finished washing my hair and was in the process of washing my body when I heard it. Somewhere in the bushes and trees there was a movement that caused the hairs on the back of my neck to stand up. I could tell that it was moving slowly towards me. I was scared it was Harry or one of the boys, I really didn't want them seeing me naked. I mean I wasn't bad looking. I had breast length golden dark brown hair, hazel eyes, I was skinny but not too skinny, and I was like 5'4, but I still didn't want them to see me naked. That would make things more awkward than they already were. I finished really quickly and went over to the shore to get out. Once I was out I grabbed my hot pink bra and underwear and pulled them on. I slid on my cut off blue jean shorts and grabbed the cloth I had used for my wound. I wrapped it back up quickly but I heard it again. I took a step closer to the bushes and called out.

"Is someone there?"

I knew that it wasn't a boy when I heard the low growl. I froze. I didn't know what to do, but when I saw its bright yellow eyes I took off running. I ran as fast as I could not knowing where I was going. I heard it behind me so I glanced back to see that it was a black panther and that it was catching up with me. I was going to die. This was it. I didn't want to die so I did the only thing I knew how, I screamed.

"HELP ME! PLEASE ANYONE! HELP!"

I kept running as fast as I could and kept screaming hoping one of the guys would hear me.

"PLEASE! ITS GOING TO KILL ME!"

After a few moments I thought I heard someone but I wasn't sure. I was terrified and I couldn't focus on anything but getting away. I ran through some thick bushes and lost the panther for a moment. I began pushing myself as fast as I could. I turned back for a moment to see if the panther was behind me again but I ran into something. I fell to the ground screaming in the process. I was sure I was going to die then, but realized it was one of the guys from the plane. One of Harry's friends.

"There you are." He said.

"Its coming, a black panther." I said between breaths. All emotion drained from his face.

"Come on." he pulled me forward.

He was pulling me so fast. I kept tripping but tried to keep up the best I could. Bushes slapped me in the face as we made our way through them. It was humid in this thick jungle and I was already sweating again. But at that moment I didn't care, I didn't want to die. He was so fast and I was falling behind. He took my hand and continued to pull me forward. We were out of breath and had nowhere to go. He stopped for a brief moment before he pulled me toward a tree.

"Up there. We'll be safe."

He started climbing and so did I. When he got to the top I was in the middle of the tree. It was really hard and I slipped many times. I could hear the panther getting closer and closer. I pushed myself up as fast as I could. I was almost to the top when I slipped and almost fell but caught myself on a branch. He moved over to me and took my hand.

"Please don't drop me." I begged. The panther was below us but it was confused as it didn't know where we were. It walked away looking for us but I knew it would be back.

"You're slipping. Hurry grab the tree branch." He said

I was just about to grab the branch when I slipped from his hands.

"NO!" he screamed

The fall was only about 10 feet but it seemed to take forever. Once I slipped from his hands I screamed and then I hit the ground. The wind was knocked out of me and I tried to get up but my body was in shock from the impact. I hit my head on the ground and everything was blurry. It was like everything was in slow motion. I could hear the panther coming. I could hear its paws on the ground and I knew it was getting closer. I could see the guy practically trying to jump out of the tree to save me. I then saw something big and black coming at me and knew that this was the end for me. Just as the panther got to me I held up my arms to protect my head, but that was no match for a panther. Its claws slashed at me everywhere. There was no stopping it. The pain was terrible and blood drenched me. I didn't know if I could last much longer. I was fighting with everything in me. I had to cling on to the last bit of life I had. I pushed, punched and kicked as best I could but it was hardly doing anything. The panther was tired of this game and stepped down on my shoulder digging its claws into me to stop my movements. I screamed in pure agony. The pain was unbearable. The panther stood over me with pride in winning what he wanted. My vision was fading and I could hardly see. The panther was about to bite my neck when someone screamed.

"Hey, over here!"

The panther didn't move, but it did look up. Right then hot liquid sprayed all over me and I screamed. At first I thought it was my blood but then I realized it wasn't when I felt the panther's weight lift off of me. My vision was really blurry so I couldn't make out much. But I saw something coming at me and I was scared it was the panther again. I raised my arms in a weak attempt to protect myself and screamed once more. Instead of feeling claws dig into my skin again, I felt the warmth of someone's hands. Did this mean I was safe? I didn't know. I couldn't see or hear that well but I felt someone press down on my shoulder. I felt myself being picked up but I was lost, confused and scared.

"Please.... I ....don't..want..to die." I muffled out. Then everything went black.