wilderness | paul lahote

{03}

I sat there, alone, on the beach, millions of thoughts running through my head all at once. It had started raining. My body's shivering hurt.

I wondered about the people I had left behind earlier that day. I wasn't sure why they had helped me in the first place. Who was I to them? Just a poor helpless girl they happened to come across in the forest. I was grateful for them though. It was nice to know that there was at least someone in this damned world that seemed to care.

I was at a loss. I had nowhere to go. Sure, I could've gone back to the house. But did I dare show my face there again? After I so rudely left? Would I even be able to make my way back there through the woods. I surely hadn't been paying attention while I was running here.

I got off from the big piece of wood and gently laid down on the wet sand, my hair - a mess - scattered around my head. I let the cold rain wash over me. It was refreshing. I hoped this would help me clear my mind.

I don't know how or when exactly, but I had seemed to have fallen asleep right there on the beach. What woke me was the extreme warmth coming from an unknown source. I felt myself rocking, floating almost.

I snuggled closer to the source of the heat. I could feel my bottom lip quivering. My toes were numb from what I assumed was the cold. But just as I was getting ready to defrost, I was placed down somewhere. I kept my eyes closed.

"Where was she?" I could recognise Sam's deep voice. I guessed I was back in the house I had made my escape from.

"Found her on the beach, near the cliffs. She was knocked out on the sand." I hadn't recognised this voice before. Shuffling could be heard around where I was. Footsteps seemed to have left the room. Their voices now becoming more distant.

"Have you heard from Paul?"

"Not really. Me and Jacob were out looking for him last night, but had no luck," the new boy spoke again. "We found her thanks to him though, so he must be close by. But he isn't responding to us."

There was silence. I had wondered who this Paul guy was. And why he had been missing. How had he helped find me? Sam seemed to be worried for him.

"I'll talk to him," Sam said, "Emily will be back home soon. Until then I'll need someone to look after the girl. We can't have her running off again with everything going on." I felt embarrassment about my earlier escape. How rude of me it must've been for them.

There was silence for a while, until doors could be heard slammed and someone stepped into the room I was in.

Screaming. Screaming was all I heard. It seemed to be coming from my own mouth, yet the sound was so strange. Disembodied almost. Everything went red. "This is what you deserve." I heard him say, in the midst of all this darkness. "You're worthless. Nothing else." My cheeks hurt. Everything hurt. "Nobody will ever love you."

I opened my tear soaked eyes to 4 pairs of dark ones looking back at me. I had recognised Sam and Jacob. There was a third guy who I had not seen before, I assumed he had to be the one who had brought me back again. There was also a girl, who was closest to me, holding my hand in hers.

Her face was beautiful, yet there was something more about her that stood out. The right side of her face was scarred by three red lines, seemingly long healed, yet still rather vivid in colour. These same scars could also be seen on her arm. Oddly enough, it added to the beauty of her.

She looked me in the eyes and smiled politely. "It's okay, it was just a bad dream." She reassured, still holding my hand. I had not realized how tightly I had been squeezing hers. Embarrassed, I let go and muttered a sorry under my breath.