Author's Note:
First of all, I would like to take this time to thank my old and new readers alike for finding my story worthy enough for a follow. I'm beyond flattered and will do my best to deliver you an entertaining story!
I wasn't expecting to update this story so soon but I'm definitely getting down to revising my chapters. For instance, this chapter has a little over 1000 more words than my former Second chapter and that's without the author's note — yes, I'm measuring myself against my old ones and trying to outdo them as well. I find that to be a good motivator, hahaha. Enough about this — onto the chapter!
Chapter Two — Rain
No trumpets sound when the important decisions of our life are made.
Destiny is made silently.
-Agnes de Mille
ƸӜ̨Ʒ
I would been foolish to believe the sight of the ever-so-familiar clouds would not bring rain considering how dark and ominous they looked. Luckily for me, there was no shelter in my immediate sight. As much as trees were useful, their purpose would not be much help for my situation; while their branches created a comfortable shade from the sun, they were useless as shields when it came to rain. I was, frankly, stuck out here to be drenched. Knowing my school mates — or at least those who willingly participated in this prank — they would not come and end it just because it might rain. These people wanted to go big and probably viral. I would had probably done the same thing if I was on the other side just to see how far we could go. Now that I thought about it, I would probably need to have a breakdown of some kind for them to step in and end the joke.
Well then, I was not going to give them the satisfaction that they "had me going for a minute" with this prank. As funny as they might think themselves to be for masterminding this, they were not stupid enough as a collective to allow someone to hurt themselves.
"Hopefully not," I muttered under my breath as I tried believe my own statement.
Okay then, I was not going to stand here and wait for the rain to make its first move. So what if I was in the middle of some park? Hiking a bit would not kill me so as long as I used my common sense, right? After all, how big could this place be anyways? Besides, I'm bound to come across some form of civilization out here — whether it be bathrooms or a picnic area with a pavilion. Either one of those two could serve as a temporary shelter against the rain if I were unable to find someone.
Here's hoping though that I would find someone before the rain
ƸӜ̨Ʒ
I stepped into a clearing and slowly exhaled through my nose at the sight before me. Trees and more trees with the exception of the circular clearing that I just walked into.
Alrighty then, there's something a bit odd about this. Well, maybe a little more than just a bit.
While I had no physical way to determine the time nor did I possessed an internal clock that would tell me the time of day, I knew for a fact that I must had walked for a while and I say this with certainty. For someone who took an evening stroll around a couple of blocks in the evening as a form of exercise, I can definitely say that I had walked. A lot. I knew I had covered more than a fair distance from where I woken up and while that does not necessarily give a set time since you would need to calculate your pace, I knew for a fact that I'm a fast walker. Had to be in this situation or else I wouldn't be that far off from where I first started. That and because I was hoping the prank would had worn off if I reached an unknown destination point.
Actually, here's where I'm somewhat nervous about — the prank should had worn off by now. Those who were behind it should had appeared with their phones out ready to record the moment they "ahahaha me" before they shared the unflattering video of me trudging in the wilderness in one of the many social media platforms that we're plugged in.
I should actually been home by now.
Yet here I was, standing in the middle of some kind of national park. At least that's what it feels like because I should had come across something by now. A city park goes only so far before you came across one building or another — and I've yet to come across anything telling at this point. Just like I couldn't tell the time, I could not tell how far I've walked from where I started. I couldn't tell anything because everything looked the same! The more I walked amongst the trees, the more trees I came across. Once in a while I would hear a rustling coming from one of the many shrubs that dotted my path, only those noises were the result of some animal scurrying across my path.
The wind was picking up, getting stronger now. There was that familiar scent in the air, the kind that lets you know that rain was coming — which thankfully had yet to make its appearance. I was not too keen on the idea of getting drenched before I could find shelter. The forest, as I was slow to admit it being one, was not inviting than what I originally thought. At the beginning, before my trek, I accepted the challenge of wandering around in search of the others, I dare say I was confident as well. But now? It perturbed me.
One thing for sure was this — I must had walked for a certain amount of time or distance if the pain on my soles of my feet were any indication. Apparently, I was not accustomed to walking in such terrain without shoes. Big surprise, huh? Let me say that while grass does give the illusion the ground is soft enough, that is in fact, an illusion. Sharp rocks, exposed tree roots, twigs and sticks littered the floor and I had the unfortunate chance of unknowingly stepping on them barefooted. Yeah. Not a very pleasant feeling to say the least.
I was not big in directions. As in, I could not physically tell where was what. GPS was my source of directions but as luck would have it, I did not have my phone with me. For lacking that basic necessity, I found it smart to stay in one direction instead of diverging into another. This is what I been doing with the belief I would eventually come across something or someone by now. Even with this weather, I was sure there would still be a handful of people wandering around who'd revel in what nature had to offer.
Now, at this moment , I wasn't too confident in myself for following my 'one direction, one path' rule. I had not come across anything or anyone. The only change from the scenery was this open clearing that could possibly served as a picnic area or at least to set camp. One thing was certain though and that was that I was running out of daylight either caused by the clouds overlapping one another or the day really coming close to ending. Neither choice brought me comfort.
There was no point in standing here and weeping about it.
Well, at least not yet.
ƸӜ̨Ʒ
I had slowed my pace considerably, no longer needing to push myself as when I originally started. Had to really, there was no choice now that night has fallen and with no light source, I had to really be careful where I stepped. While the path I had chosen to walk on was pretty even and had not encountered any hills or drops along the way, I still needed to be cautious. That and because there was no moonlight to shed some natural light, it was almost blinding just to walk ahead. With the frequent gust of wind that would shake the trees branches and the rare calls of what I'm assuming was some night bird, walking in the night practically blind was scary as hell. I had to slow down my pace and even so, I kept my arms outstretched just to feel the tree's trunks as an assurance that I wouldn't walk into one.
How long has it been now? Five hours, six?! Better yet, where the hell... "Am I?!" I yelled out into the darkness, into the chilly night air, into this world I had awoken up to. I couldn't hold in the feelings that were slowly dwelling in the bottom of my stomach anymore.
I was utterly alone; hunger prodded my stomach and I was exhausted. I could not recall a moment in my life where I ever felt this way. My feet were incredibly sore from all the walking, add to the fact all the stones and sharp twigs I stepped on. Then there was the cold, the awful cold that my flesh was too keen to absorb! The amount of walking I had accomplished did nothing to keep the cold at bay and now that I had completely stopped, this chill was slowly enveloping me as I stood still.
I needed to rest.
God, how I needed it...
I caught my breath when a loud crack resonated from above; automatically, I turned to look up into the dark sky with my mouth agape. Not a second gone by before I felt the first raindrop land upon my face. Frantic, I dashed to the nearest tree and pressed myself against its trunk. Not good, not good, not good. The branches would only protect me from the rain for so long, I could not trust it to keep my dry. I had to find shelter and fast. Without a second thought, I gingerly stepped away from the tree in search for something better than what nature could provide.
What first started off as slow rain soon turned into pouring sheets. The soft, chilly wind soon turned into strong gusts — neither of those two helped me at all.
My hair was no longer damp but stuck to my face as rivulets of water dripped down the side of it. The little that I wore was soaked through; the cold dampness of the cloth snuggled against my trembling body. Nothing on me was dry and the cold, sharp wind pierced my naked arms and legs as I stumbled amongst the trees. Each step I had taken either led me to a stumble or my feet would sunk into the muddy earth. The coldness now clung to me as the droplets of the rain did to my body — there was no way I could keep myself warm out here.
Catching a cold was the least of my worries now.
Shit.
I continued to walk for god knows how long, careful enough so as not to slip or trip; granted, at this point it wouldn't really matter if I fell. I was already soaked through, what else could happen?
It was as I huddled my trembling self to a tree that I saw the one thing I practically gave up hope of ever finding out here. The outline of a familiar frame stood out from the surrounding trees; the dark mass contrasted from the rest, which was how I first noticed it.
"Thank you, thank you..." I mumbled to some nameless, unseen force.
Against my better judgment, I quickly crossed to the nearest tree only for my feet to slip against an exposed tree root. I quickly stretched out my arms ahead, ready to catch myself when I crashed against the tree's wet trunk.
"Okay, okay, all's good," I muttered under my breath as I tried to slow down my breathing. After a few seconds and after I — for some unknown reason — patted the tree trunk, I turned to look past it and laid my eyes at the first shelter I saw today. The shelter in question was nothing more than a tent, a very simple looking tent. Had this been a comical situation, I would had guessed the frame was being held up by a standing stick set in the center. It honestly looked that simple but it was definitely the one thing I been looking for this whole day.
Now that I was much closer, I could not see any signs of life. It was still dark so I could not see any distinguishable item that would led me to believe someone was here. For some reason, I found this a bit odd but I suppose lacking any experiences with camping and basing it all on the movies I had seen, this was not really a proper way to access whether someone was here or not. For all I knew, it could had been abandoned by it's owner, but it was also raining and the person could had decided to leave it and find real shelter?
As I leaned against the trunk of the tree, my hands pressed flatly against it, I watched attentively for a sign of movements from within. It was a stupid thing to do I soon realized as there was no light from within to cast a shadow. This only left me with one thing to do.
I cleared my throat and called out loudly as best as I could, "hello?!"
1 Mississippi... 2 Mississippi... 3 Mississippi...
No reply.
I called out again.
Nada.
I liked to think that I gave whoever was inside a fair warning. I was purposely noisy, especially so since I had to compete with the sound of rain. Hopefully it was enough to rouse whoever was inside. If they were a heavy sleeper, then they would be in for a rude surprise once they see me standing in front of their tent like Jason from Friday the 13th minus the axe. Heh. One thing was for sure, I was not going to stand out here in the rain while the person inside slept soundly and dry. Desperate times calls for desperate measures. Without a second thought, I pushed myself off from the trunk and quickly, albeit carefully, made my way towards the tent.
Before I stepped forward, I made one last call.
"Anyone inside?" I called out as I stepped around the tent. As before, there was no reply. I walked closer to the entrance and repeated the same words. Again, no reply.
"Okay, I'm coming in an—" I stopped when I caught sight of the entrance flapping with the gust of wind that came rushing from behind me. Huh.
"Interesting," I muttered to myself.
Common sense dictated that if a person were to occupy a tent, they would surely secured the entrance so as to keep the elements outside. Seeing as it was not secured, this only meant one of two things: the occupant had left in search of something and they would soon arrive due to the rain or the tent itself had been completely abandoned. Even with the lack of sufficient lighting, I could tell the tent wasn't in a bad shape to be left alone which could probably, maybe, meant the owner got held up somewhere and they would return once the rain stopped. Were this a different situation, I would had reconsidered what stood before me. As life would have it, I was soaked from the rain, freezing cold and incredibly tired. Not hesitating for another second, I dashed inside.
There was barely enough room to stand, but I managed to firmly closed the entrance as it should had been and keep the rain outside. Granted, the entrance's footing was already soaked, so I settled myself into the farthest corner from it. There was not much distance from where I sat, but it was decent enough to notice if someone was undoing the opening's straps. With my knees pulled up to my chest, I slowly rocked my body side to side as I tried to create some kinetic energy to keep me warm. I listened on to the splat, splat of the raindrops hitting on the vinyl sheet that now shielded me. I let out a soft sigh, glad that I was no longer stuck out in the cold rain.
It had been a while back when I knew my situation had taken a turn for the worst when I came to the realization that no one pulled a prank on me. Where this a prank, I knew that in good conscious, the would had appeared and ended it after those first fifteen-twenty minutes of walking in the rain.
Yes, ended this awful prank.
Yet...
This was something new.
I questioned and pondered the bizarre possible reasons why I was here. The thought of being kidnapped had crossed my mind only to be shot down when I realized a valuable point — why would my so called kidnappers leave me alone in the middle of the forest? It didn't make sense. My family was not particular rich or politically important to even warrant such a crime. I threw out the kidnapping theory out the window. Then there was the fact that modernization had almost reached the farthest corners of the world, so it's naturally safe to assume that I should had come across some sort of civilization by now, be it people or structure. Even a national park would had one of those ranger towers! As much as I pondered on the other possibilities, I could not come up with a definite one. It was useless thinking it over.
My situation was far from good.
"Shit," I muttered as a cold shiver ran up my spine and I furiously rubbed my exposed arms for the ninth time. As pleased as I was for finding this tent, it was not doing me much favor when it came to keeping the cold away. Not only did I blame it on the weather, but the wet clothes I still wore. Clearly, it would had been wise to take them off and set them to dry, but I really wasn't in a location where warm and dry clothes were readily available for me.
I then remembered as I made my way to the corner of my newfound shelter, that I felt a bundle of some type of cloth in my path. I hadn't bothered checking it then and just set it aside like the rest of the other objects that seemed to be strewn across the floor. I wasn't sure for how long the tent had been abandoned, but I knew it would be best not to touch anything. Not because I didn't want to disturbed the objects but because I didn't know if they were clean or safe to the touch. Once again, this was a different situation. Without a second thought, I got on my knees and felt my way for the bundle I felt earlier.
I don't know how long it has been, I'm terrible with telling time out of thin air, but it must had been some time since the rain had stopped. In its place had come the flashes of lightning and the ever familiar rolling thunders.
Thankfully I was no longer cold as before thanks to the warm cloak that I wore. Granted, I would had preferred warm dry clothes over a cloak that was three sizes too big on me. With its high collar that I zipped all the way up, it loosely shielded over half of my face from chilly air. Even though the cloth wasn't pressed up against my nose, I could smell a lingering bland scent on it; it reminded me of those soap or cleaning products the hospital would use on their bedding. Industrial. I soon pulled my arms and legs close to my body; the large cloak sufficient enough to drape over my whole body.
Now all I had to do was wait for morning.
Author's Note:
How was the ending? Nothing out of the ordinary, huuuuhuuuuu?! ;)
Other than bringing forth new revisions/updates, I'm also bringing forth the questions at the end of my notes. I previously been doing this as a way to interact with my readers and get a discussion going and hope to do the same here. I'll answer the question(s) myself in the next chapter.
[ To my older readers ] Without giving any spoilers, What do you hope to see with my new revisions if you've gotten far into my story? More character growth, friendships, etc...
[ Question ]
If you could take ONE thing with you to a fictional world — let's assume you just appeared there - what would it be and why?
Thank you for reading, see you soon!
