Friend Me Not!

Trust?

Elizabeth POV

I woke up at almost the same time as Hope. Amanda was gone, she had taken her back pack some where into the woods. I sat up on the rock and tried to tame some of my wild hair. I pulled out leaves,thorns, burrs, and knots. Hope trusted me to do her hair. I sat on a big gray rock, she sat on the ground. As I braided her hair I started wondering when Amanda would come back. Ehh. Sooner or later she would, but what if she had gotten lost? I was thirsty. I looked through my bag. The water bottles were all empty. Maybe she went to get more. Hope sat on her blanket and nibbled on a granola bar. Her brown hair was golden in the early morning rays of sun. She was a small girl, pretty small, but strong. Both of our clothes were torn and dirty. "Should we go see if we can find Amanda?" Hope asked.
"No, I think we should stay here. If she comes back and we aren't here, we'll all get lost. It's bad enough that we're out here on our own." I replied.
"Oh," she sighed.
I picked up the deer skin and examined it. It looked good enough to wear, maybe.

The sun was past highes point in the day. Amanda STILL hadn't come back. "I'm getting worried. What if she's lost?" Hope fretted.
A loud scream rang from the forest of the mountain side. Hope and I looked at eachother.....it was Amanda. We packed our stuff up quickly, including our food, blankets, deer skin, spears, and coats. We charged through the woods where the scream came from. I halted and held my arm out to stop Hope, who ran behind me. "We're on the right path," I said as I pointed to her foot prints.
Hope nodded and looked back at me.
We continued sprinting through the woods. Within a few minutes we came to a small sapling clearing. Amanda stood with her back to a birch tree sapling, holding her spear towards a girl. She had medium length blonde hair. Blue eyes and nerd glasses. The strange girl had freckles across her pale face. She was wearing jeans and a red t-shirt with a black jacket. The girl was a little shorter than me, maybe half a head. She also had a trench coat tied around her waist. She was a comical sight, but she may be able to help us. Hope and I jumped to stand beside Amanda. "Who are you?" Hope asked strongly.
"I'm Katlyn. I've been in these woods for a few years now. I can help you."
I looked over to Amanda we gave a look that said,'can we trust her?'
"Why didn't you return to your home?" I asked.
"Well, simply because all my family had moved away because I was missing for years and wanted to move on. I've made some friends."
"You mean other people!" Hope gasped.
"Naw, naw! I mean creatures!" Katlyn laughed.
I rolled my eyes and sighed. She was just a pshyco who desided to live in this forest! I cannot believe this. Katlyn muttered, "what are you names?"
"Well I'm Amanda, this is Hope, and Elizabeth," Amanda said gesturing to us each.
"Sweet, I'll take you to my camp. You'll love it!"

She led us to a dirt clearing with a red tent, a camp fire, a small place to cook stuff, pots and pans, backpacks, and lots of other stuff. Amanda,Hope, and I widened our eyes in awe. Maybe Katlyn wasn't such a lunatic after all. "Here Annie! Here girl!" Katlyn called looking around camp.
A small blackish-brown wolf came bounding out from the tent. Hope, Amanda, and I screamed and dodged out of the way. The she-wolf knocked Katlyn over and licked her all over. This girl has managed to tame a wolf! This is crazy!
Katlyn laughed and pushed Annie off of her. Annie came sniffing at our feet. Her little black nose twitching. "Hey Buck!" Katlyn called again.
A giant, muscular white tailed deer stepped out from the trees. His large antlers had some flowers and vines hanging from them. They looked like cherry tree flowers. "H-how have you survived out here?" I asked, baffled.
"I got Annie to hunt for me and Buck to ride and lead me to water. Speaking of which, y'all should go get cleaned up. There's a pond over there surrounded by cherry trees, willows, and flowers. Just outside of camp. I have a footpath, but Buck could lead ya there!" Katlyn informed us.
"No thanks," Hope murmured.
Amanda led us to the pond that had many different colored flowers. The pond was crystal clear! I dropped my bag and ripped off my coat and jumped in. The water felt good on my gross, dirty skin. "Can we trust her?" I asked as I rinsed my hair.
"I think we should," Amanda said, "she can possiably be our only chance of survival. I say we stay with her."
"I agree," Hope stated, scrubbing dirt fdom her arm.
"Ok," I sighed, " That's pretty cool how she befriended a wolf and a deer."
"Hey, I had a thought. How about a nick name for you?" Amanda exlaimed.
"Sure."
"How about Liz?"
"Hm! I like it. My other friends don't really have a nick name for me."
"It is easier to say if something happens," Hope agreed, now working on her hair.
I got out of the crystal clear water and looked at the flowers. There were so many different butterflies! Annie came trotting on the footpath. She sat down beside me and watched the butterflies with beautiful blue eyes. I like that wolf. She's a lovley wonder. I stood up, so did she. I walked back to the pond, she followed. I didn't mind. I noticed the mystical deer was dipping his head down to take a drink. I found this hollow magical. I grabbed a lush plant and walked up to Buck. He lifted his head majestically. His almond brown eyes were a reflection of my own. At peace. I held the plant out for him. He took it and crunched it between his herbavore teeth. I looked in my back pack and took out a small peice of deer meet and gave it to Annie. She gobbled it up and then licked my hand in thanks. I patted her head and Buck's shoulder. I looked over to Amanda and Hope, they sat in the crooks of a low branching tree. The sun dappled their clothes through the leaves. This moment is perfect.

I looked around and saw a willow tree. It reminded me of how when my mom, dad, and I would take a trip to a pond just like this one. We would have a picknick. I smiled saddly at the memory and went to sit down amonst the roots. Annie came and layed down beside me. She put her head in my lap and fell asleep. Maybe this Katlyn won't be so bad. I don't know, this place feels like home to me. A gentle breeze destirbed my thoughts. The branches of the willow danced and flew. I consider Hope and Amanda my friends, I trust them. I wonder if Katlyn has ran into any other people or friended more animals. I still don't know if we should trust Katlyn. I don't know if this stranger can lead us home.Creepy creeper, maybe so. We may be here for as long as her.

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This chapter is dedicated to 13KatlynPaige13

Thanks for the reads! Thank you all so much for 62 votes! Please keep reading, voting, and sharing! Keep asking yourself, will the trio, or maybe the quartet, make it out? There is so many more wonders to come in this story!