"Bella shivered as she felt the wet earth seeping into her clothing. She had never given much thought to how she would die, but laying here with her heart shattered into a million pieces she knew she wasn't ready. She prayed for more time. She thought of Charlie, the father who was quiet and reserved but she never doubted his love. She knew that if she died here, it would break him. She thought of her mother, flighty and immature. She knew that when she came along her mother wasn't ready to be a mom, she had grown up too quickly because her mom needed her to. If Bella dies, her carefree mother would be as shattered as her heart currently felt. She thought of Jacob, her personal sun, who even on days when she felt alone and scared could frighten away the darkness with his laughter and his smile. If she died here, his smile would never shine as bright.
With the last of the strength in her bones Bella decided to fight. Arms shaking and knees weak, she lifted herself from the forest floor. She leaned heavily on a tree as she tried to get her bearings. The forest was dark and the canopy of the trees hid the stars from view.
"Don't panic. If you ever find yourself lost in the woods, remember you need to stay calm. If you get lost at night, find shelter and stay put, wandering won't help you."
Her father's voice whispered in the back of her thought back to the camping trips they used to take when she was a child. She had always loved spending time with her father, he would show her how to set up a small shelter, how to start a fire, and how to survive. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "You can do this Bells."
Bella rubbed her hands together as she took in her surroundings. She walked a few minutes and came across a large fallen tree, it had fallen at an angle and was braced a few feet off the ground wedged between two other trees. She began to gather small logs and sticks, things that weren't too heavy but sturdy. She laid them across the fallen log until she had formed a nice shelter. She gathered some fresh pine needles and spread them along the ground of the shelter to help insulate the ground.
"If you can, make a fire. Nothing big, but make sure you can stay warm. If you can try to burn wet branches, it will make more smoke."
Bella's body shook as she arranged the twigs and branches in a pile next to her shelter. She was running out of strength and her adrenaline was wearing off. She mentally thanked her father for the ever practical Christmas gift, a fire starter key-chain. She took a deep breath and waited for the pile to ignite. Once, twice, three times she struck the flint. Finally a spark erupted and she breathed a sigh of relief as the flame caught. She slowly laid herself onto the pine needles and stared into the fire, eyes drooping as the last of her energy was sapped away. Her last thought was of the warmth radiating from the fire, she had missed this feeling. She had spent so long feeling cold and she worried she would die without ever feeling warm again.
