Lost But Found

"If you don't get lost, there's a chance you may never be found" -Author Unknown

Chapter 1: Cold and damp places

The first thing Bella saw when she opened her eyes were the trees. Tall, looming, dark figures, filtering the moonlight, casting shadows through the dark, lonely forest. They seemed to be looking down on her, wondering why she was laying on wet leaves, shivering in the middle of their vast expanse of forest. Bella wondered the same thing; how exactly had she allowed herself to end up in this situation? Alone, lost, and separated from the rest of her camping crew. She wondered just how exactly she had gone from looking for a waterfall, to lying on the cold, forest floor, praying to be found.

Well, she didn't wonder how it happened, because she knew. Angela had gone on and on about the beautiful waterfalls that made their home in these Washington trees, inspiring Bella to go find one on her own. She hadn't even wanted to go on this camping trip in the first place, the idea of huddling in a tent while it rained all weekend was not on her to do list. When she thought of camping, she imagined sitting around a campfire, roasting marshmallows and signing songs. Out here, where the rain ceased to quit for long periods of time, it was nearly impossible to build a fire. But, two mornings ago, she still boarded the bus that would take her from her small home in Forks, Washington, to the middle of nowhere, in order to "enjoy" a weekend stuck in a tent.

When Bella had decided to go find one of these waterfall's, which Angela had spoke so highly of, a few of her friends had insisted they go along. Bella shook her head, wanting a peaceful walk to herself. She had started on a trail, but soon to took to following a creek, hoping it would lead to something. All it lead to, however, was a very lost Bella, in a very unfamiliar place. She tried not to panic. She even tried to remain calm when she realized she had left her cell phone behind. She walked in what seemed like circles for hours, before coming to the conclusion that she was screwed. When the sun started to set, she finally let herself freak out.

After another hour of sitting under a few branches, avoiding the rain in the now dark forest, Bella finally resigned to laying on the leaves, something she knew was probably stupid. She had remembered one of those survival shows, the host had mentioned something about body heat escaping through the ground. She was tired and cold, though, sleep seeming to be the only solution to her current issue. She wrapped herself tightly in her windbreaker then shut her eyes.

Now, she was awake, and even more aware of how screwed she was. All she had was her windbreaker, which was currently wet, the soaking sleeves sticking to her skin, creating a deep chill which sunk into her bones. Her teeth chattered, and she wondered how terrible it would be to die from hypothermia. Or even get hypothermia. She had read once that a person suffering from hypothermia should never sleep, considering they might not wake up. But she felt tired and afraid, and wanted nothing more then to curl up in a ball and close her eyes. Her body ached from the chill, and a breeze traveled through the trees bringing her shivering to a new level.

"This is it," she whispered, her breath carried away by the wind.

She wondered if her camping crew back at the site had sent out a search party yet. It had to be past midnight, and they must have been worried out of their minds. Once hypothermia set in, they wouldn't have much time to find her. She calculated that maybe she had a few hours before the chill in her body took over. Only a few more hours for her friends to find her, warm her up, and bring her back to civilization. Her eyes grew heavy, and she fought with all she had to remain awake, but they were so heavy, and she felt so weak. Her stomach growled and she realized how hungry she was, only adding to her list of complications. The issues she dealt with at home now seemed miniscule. She figured that maybe she could rest her eyes for a minute; maybe she wasn't hypothermic quite yet. Her eyes firmly shut, closing with no promises of opening and she had a thought that maybe sleeping wasn't such a good idea before the blackness took over.

Something cold and firm cradled her shivering body. She felt herself floating, gliding through the forest, seemingly weightless. She wondered where she was going, and why she wasn't on the ground anymore, but decided she wasn't in the mood to find out. She felt whatever cold object wrapped around her back shift slightly, her position changing. She didn't let her eyes open quite yet, for a feeling of dread took over. Dread over what she might find when she flicked her eyes open.

When her eyes did open, she found herself, dazed, lying in an unfamiliar bed, in what seemed to be a cabin. Her body was sore, and her muscles strained as she lifted herself up to examine her surroundings. Where was she? Was the floating sensation she felt someone rescuing her? Did her friends finally find her, curled up, soaked to the bone under the branches she had made her temporary shelter?

"I'm glad to see you're awake," a voice came from the doorway, where an unfamiliar man suddenly stood. She jumped in surprise, her muscles tensing suddenly, causing her to grimace.

This man, his voice like velvet, didn't appear to be like any man she had seen before. He looked like an angel, his features perfect and pale, his hair loosely tousled across his head. She wanted to run her fingers through it just to see if it was as soft as it looked. His most striking feature, however, was his eyes, which burned into her from across the room. They were an unsettling shade of gold though, something that warned her to keep away. She backed up a bit, the hairs standing up on the back of her neck.

He sensed her tense up, and lowered the intensity of his gaze.

"Wh-who are you?" she asked, with a raspy, dry whisper. She didn't recognize her own voice. She felt cold again, and pulled the wool blanket tighter around herself. His eyes flickered to the motion.

"Edward," he spoke simply. "I found you and brought you here. I won't hurt you." He seemed to speak more to himself on the last part, as if he doubted himself. Something was off about this man.

"Where is here?" she asked, fighting through the fear.

"My home. It's small, but I think you'll find it comfortable," he shrugged a bit. "We are still in the forest where I found you half-frozen, although it's about seven miles from where you were."

"Seven miles?" that was quite the distance for him to travel. "How did you find me?"

"I was out hunting when I caught your scent and followed it," his creepy, cat like eyes flicked back up to hers. "You're lucky I did, your body temperature was dangerously low,"

Hunting seemed like a perfectly logical explanation to Bella. Well, it would have been had he not mentioned he had followed her scent, like an animal. Like a predator.

"Did you just say you followed my scent?" Bella's brow furrowed in confusion, hoping she had heard him wrong.

"Yeah. Your scent was a little masked by the rain, but I found you pretty easily," His mouth turned up at one corner at this, catching her off guard. She wasn't sure why he found this funny.

"People can't sniff each other out like animals, that's impossible," Bella said, her voice laced with disbelief. She was sure he was messing with her.

"Well, it is quite possible for me, Isabella. I'm not human."

Reviews make me write faster! Chapter two will be here soonish...

~UsedToLoveHim