Page 12

Hana

S omething is wrong.

I mean, besides everything being wrong. Coming here in the first place was a terrible idea and I regret ever talking my friends into it. I’m hopeful they made it out but worried they didn’t. Unsure of what to do about either. But this something feels wronger.

When I woke up this morning, I was curled up, little spoon style, with the wolf curled around my back. Biting back a scream, I rolled away, jumping to my feet before breathing out my relief when he continued to sleep as I backed away.

It’s cooler this morning and I dig my extra jacket out of the bottom of my pack.

Trekking through the misty underbrush, I can’t stop thinking of how soft and warm I was curled up against the wolfs thick fur.

I’m tempted to turn back and cuddle up with him again, which is insane. And probably suicidal.

Something is wrong.

I can’t shake the heavy feeling eating at me, and when I pull out my compass to check my location it spins in circles, which has never happened before.

A thin layer of gray clouds rolled in overnight, obscuring the sky enough so I can’t get a good beat on where the sun is. Which means I’m walking blind.

Picking a direction I think is the right way, I start walking. My muscles are sore from sleeping on the hard ground, not to mention running and climbing. My mood is dismal, and I’m certain I’ve passed the same tree three times.

Goddamnit! I need a better vantage point. I need to get up high.

If there is one thing not lacking in this forest, it’s tall-ass trees and luckily, I’m not scared of heights.

So, when I find a tree that looks like a good candidate, up I go.

I climb as high as I can then look out over the mountainside and valley.

With the low cloud cover, my visibility isn’t great, but it’s clear enough I can tell which way is south.

I also realize the entrance we used to sneak into the park is much farther away than I expected.

My disappointment is a solid mass in my gut as I shimmy back down the tree. Going down takes twice as long as climbing up did, but eventually I make it safely to the ground and head in the correct direction.

I haven’t gone far before the itchy feeling of being watched settles between my shoulders. I’m growing used to the feeling by now and even though I can’t see him, I know wolf is close by and following me.

Except, I’m in no mood to deal with his hovering today. Despite sleeping incredibly well, I’m cranky. I’m sick of being trapped in this goddamn forest. I wanna go home. I wanna curl up in my bed and sleep through what is left of my school break.

Thoughts of home make me think of Amber and Mateo and a lump forms in my throat as I replay the wolf biting her.

The echo of her screams… I hope they were able to make it out of the forest—I squeeze my eyes shut and take a deep breath.

Stop thinking like that! There is no way Mateo didn’t get them safely out. He is unequivocally devoted to her.

Amber has probably told my parents by now, which means they’ll be worried about me, too. Mom will try to be the voice of reason and logic, but Dad will be on the phone to everyone he knows, pulling whatever strings he has to.

Except… what if they never made it out of the forest? What if Amber is hurt worse than I think, and Mateo isn’t able to get her to the hospital? We technically aren’t even missing yet. No one is going to notice we never came back until classes resume and we don’t show up. Probably not even then.

I start walking again, with more purpose. I have to get out of here!

By afternoon—at least I think it’s afternoon—the clouds have grown even thicker, casting a gray, gloomy hue over everything. The forest is eerily quiet, and almost completely bereft of sound.

But the strangest part, and what has me concerned, is I haven’t seen the wolf. I know he’s nearby, I can feel him watching me, but he hasn’t tried to get me to change directions, which means I must be heading in the direction he wants me to go.

I don’t care anymore. I’m too tired to keep climbing up and down trees to see where I am, so I’ll go in whatever direction he wants me to, so long as it leads me out of this damned preserve and back to some form of civilization.

A paved road sounds wonderful right now, I think as I step over yet another clump of bared roots .

My stomach rumbles, and I finished the last of my trail mix this morning.

Thanks to my filtered canteen, I don’t have to worry about drinkable water, but the food situation is going to make things uncomfortable if I don’t find my way out of here today or tomorrow.

I’m not about to expect my wolfy friend to bring me rabbits every night.

Although, when my stomach lets out another gurgling rumble, I’m kind of hoping he will.

Shuffling over the uneven ground, I force myself to keep going forward.

Praying the next hill might show me something other than the cold, misty forest. My mood is turning more dismal by the hour as I trudge onward and I’m so caught up in my morose thoughts I don’t notice the deep, bassy throbbing right away.

It’s not until the wash from the sleek helicopter’s blades sends the treetops swaying that I notice it.

It flies overhead, low enough I can clearly see the two figures seated inside the cockpit and I let out an excited whoop!

“I’M SAVED!!” I shout, jumping up and down, waving my right arm over my head. Amber and Mateo must have been able to send help after all.

Relief, like a soothing balm, washes over me as I turn around and follow the drone of the helicopter quickly fading away.