I felt the cold first… and then the pain, my eyes refused to open as I tried remembering what had happened. The rocks--our boat sinking--Mercy…

Dana…

Shit...what happened. I need to open my eyes, I need to see what heaven looks like...or am I alive? I tried lifting my lids to have a look around hut instead was greeted with a striking ray of light cutting through me like a knife. A groan left my lips as I tried again but turned my head to avoid the light, easier this time I saw a rocky beach front. That explains the awful pain in my back and sides, I must've washed up on a shore… I didn't even know we were near an island. I tightened my stomach muscles to prepare myself to sit up, it was painful and awkward especially with uneven rocks under me but I did it. Opening my eyes fully showed a deep blue ocean disappearing into the horizon and a very rocky beach. I couldn't quite turn my head but out of the corner of my eye I saw green trees and bushes.

Where am I? Where is everyone else?

A rock clattered behind me and I struggled to whirl around, I felt as though I was being watched… but I couldn't see a soul. "Hello?" The dryness of my voice pained me and caused it to crack in such a sad pathetic way that I wished I had never spoken. I tried licking my lips but no saliva offered sweet release. I needed water… I tried standing but fell again. My head was bleeding and my side was also; the rocks cut my knees causing me to cry out in pain. I sobbed silently before loudly. I tried crawling but nothing worked and I only wore myself out. Falling to the ground again I closed my eyes and wished for death.

A sweet cool feeling pressed itself against my lips and my heart skipped a beat, I feel dead. A lack of life inside my desire to move cause my body to go numb and I forgot how to move. The fireworks behind my eyelids turned into flickering licks of a fire as my head began to melt into soft nothingness. I welcomed this, the cold--sad--hurt feeling that was my body started a new course of disappointment. I wanted to hug Dana one last time. A quiet sob bubbled up my throat when I felt another cool touch to my lips. My eyes flashed open and I tried to scream; a dark figure hovered above me and I felt a warmth spread out from between my legs. The flickering firelight shone on his face and I saw a young man with golden blonde hair, he looked terrifyingly...savage. I have no other words for him… his eyes looked wild and his skin was so caked with mud I couldn't see what the actual color was. "No." I whimpered and began searching for an exit. I must've startled him as much as he did me because he bolted out the entrance to whatever cave or cavern we were currently in. I tried figuring out where I was but I gave up after a few moments and focused more on the bucket near my right.

Water!

"Fuck…" I let out a long pained groan after practically sticking my entire face inside the bucket and swallowing faster than I could close my mouth. I finally took a good look at my surroundings, small fire to my left and animal hides strung up on the walls. It was a cave with a low hanging ceiling and trinket tools on a small wooden table in the corner. "What…" I trailed off because there was no point.

Who was that?

I noticed my shirt was lifted and a green paste was on my cuts and gashes, I didn't even know I had cuts and gashes, and a wrap of sewn together cloth was bound tightly around my waist and thigh.

Did that man help me?

I stood slowly, being as short as I am I had no need to crouch, and made my way toward the mouth of the cave. The sky was a dim blue and the sun was hidden behind the clouds offering a nice cover for the forest floor. That's what I was looking at right now, a deep wooded area with thick leaves. "Ugh." I love nature, i have ever since I was a kid but this view offered me no pleasure and caused a swelling emotion deep inside me. I didn't know where I was or how I had gotten there but I refused to be lost. I refused to die now.

Well I'm lost...and I'm going to die.

I stumbled into a small creek and slipped on the slippery bed floor and fell to my hip. "Oh fuck me." I grabbed my waist and tried standing up again but my muscles were tired and I'm pretty sure I have been wandering in circles around this motherfucking creek. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing… I reached out to the berry bush by the waterbend and plucked off a few--I'm so very hungry…

Should I? If I die at least it'll be from a full...poisoned berry…

I cursed myself after tossing the berries away. The sun moved out from behind the clouds causing the hot weather to swelter even more if that is at all possible. I was thinking of my next game plan when a metal crunch sounded through the trees followed by an agonized howl.

What the fuck is that?

I stared in the direction I knew the sound was coming from and debated checking it out. It sounds like an animal...an animal in horrible...terrible pain…

Damn.

I struggled to my feet once more and limped in the direction with the crying animal; I made it up over the slope and stopped dead in my tracks. My eyes locked on the creature stuck in the bear trap only it wasn't a bear...it stood probably 8 feet tall with the body of a man but with the hands, feet and head of a wolf… my breath caught in my throat drawing the eye of the terrifying creature. If I had anything in my bladder or stomach they'd both be emptying right now. My heart pounded so hard against my chest I was afraid it'd break it; I couldn't breathe--my arm clenched around my waist as I tried taking a step backward off the slope. The ground gave away and I fell back down into the creek hard on my back and slamming my head on the tree roots peeking through the ground near the water. A whimper came back from where the animal was trapped, the water flowed over my body as I listened to the poor cries of the--creature…

What the fucking hell was that? It was real? Right?

I couldn't decide whether I was seeing this or not… I have taken a couple blows to the head and have been severely dehydrated for I don't know how long. I crawled back up the slope to see over and sure enough, it was still there.

So I'm not crazy… well maybe I am.

I sat on my butt and slowly began sliding down the hill to a few meters from the clearing and the thing. It watched me intently as now it was down on one knee trying to claw at the trap attempting to free itself. It's ankle already bloody and oozing with a small whimper the creature looked at me with either anger or fear. "Shhh…" I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing… "it's okay--I'll help you…" I couldn't just leave this weird creature to die. Plus whoever left this trap must've known what it was trying to catch because this was the largest bear trap I've ever seen; it was quite shiny too…almost a fancy kind of metal instead of normal galvanized steel. I got a little closer before the animal lunged at me, I screamed and tried retreating but it caught my leg and pulled me underneath its large body. "NO! No! You cannot eat me!!" I screamed again and kicked it in its wounded ankle. It erupted in a series of pained whines and cries giving me enough time to wiggle away and gave onto a nearby tree trunk for comfort. "Why would you do that!? I was trying to help!" I began to sob. "I was only trying to help… I don't know where the hell I am or how the hell I got here, where my little sister is--if she's even still alive--and I somehow found myself willing to save a scary creature that should only exist in a book or young children's PSYCHOTIC imaginations!" I grasped the tree and cried some more. "Fuck you!" I took a chance and glanced over at the creature, it was now lying on the ground with its head perched on a nearby rock just staring at me. "Yeah. Jerk… oh god. Are you even real?" I whispered more to myself than the idiotic animal staring at me. Like my cats back home, they don't know what I'm saying, as long as they're feed and warm with a place to sleep--

Did it just nod?

I stared some more, feeling my eyes bulge out of my head.

No. I'm just going crazy.

I took one more deep breath before rising to my feet and turning to leave but something stopped me… and before I realized what was happening I turned back around and began a slow creep back to the wounded animal. I ignored the low growl coming from the creatures muzzle and walked around it's body to where its leg was caught. I've never released a bear trap before but I remember seeing it done on the discovery channel or maybe a YouTube video once. I pressed down on the side flaps and attempted putting my whole weight into it, it just wasn't enough… "I can't." I groaned sitting back onto my knees, my thigh groaning in the process. "I don't think I can do it…" I looked over at the animal to see it staring at me again. "I'm trying--okay?" I tried standing up and jumping on the flaps, that almost worked but still I couldn't issue the right amount of force it needed to disengage the lock. "It doesn't help when your ankle is the size of a small tree truck either…" I groaned against my hand. A snort came from the animal and I flipped it off.

What the fuck.

"I can't do both sides!" I growled after trying again and failing. The animal suddenly moved which scared the shit out of me until I realized it was squeezing the other flap. I stared at the creatures hand for a few moments before realizing I was indeed--crazy. Sure enough, the trap released and the animal pulled its leg out before towering over me. "Uhhh...remember you can't eat me…" I closed my eyes as it lowered to my height, praying to God over and over again that it wouldn't bite my face off. A hot breath blew across my face seconds before a soft, wet tongue touched my cheek and dragged up to my hairline.

Ew.

I opened my eyes to see it limping away, just before it disappeared through the trees it nodded its muzzle to the right side of the clearing. Well...might as well listen to the magical wolf creature...