Girls Alone

Chapter 1: Water

We hated it. The pain that seeped through every cell in our bodies promising that it would turn us insane. Never going. Always staying. Mum. Dad. Gone. Never coming back...

Chapter 1: Water

The forest lay there silent as ever. The light was fading, creating new shadows and dark patches around me. Eyes glimmered from tree hollows. The wind wailed between distorted trunks, carrying the sickly stink of wood rot. The trees stood utterly still, statues in a living museum where no leaf dared to fall. I could hear the creaking of the sinister branches under foot and the slight rustling of the dead leaves above our heads. I felt daisy shiver beside me and wished i had some sort of blanket to give her. She hayed being cold and had always worn many fleeces wherever she went. But there was one she never took off - Pinkie. Bright, soft and warm; at least she had that.

I listened harder to hear some kind of stream or river, but all I could hear was the rustle of animals rooting in underbrush, scrabbling of lizards on tree bark and the chattering of Daisy teeth as she clung to me. I forgot that I was the one who had been a scout and she had just been a brownie. All you did at brownies was paint things and play games. Scouts was about survival. How to survive in the wild. "That's all I need," i thought to myself, "you know what to do." And I did. But my brain was still in shock and I coundn't concentrate on anything but the little shivering creature beside me. That was one thing I could concentrate on - helping her.

I knew that if there were animals around there must be some source of water nearby. Then as the wind changed direction I could hear something. The gentle ripple of the water as something touched it surface. It came from the west.

"Come on Daisy," I said in what i hoped to be a cheery voice but it came out as a trembling whisper.

"Where are we going, Megan?" she whispered tentatively.

"To get something to drink," I told her in what seemed to be a much stronger voice. "I told you that we would find a river soon. Are you still thirsty?"

"Of course. Where. Wheres our drink?"

"This way," i smiled as i began to lead her into the gloom.

In less than a minute we could see the moonlight glimmering on the surface of a shallow stream. It was beautiful. The faint splash of the water beating up against the bank.

(This is a picture of what the stream should look like)

Close to us there was a bright clearing, free of the old, gnarled trees around us; it looked warm and at the same time too open, too easy to be seen. But there was no one around and Daisy was freezing so i picked her up and carried her over to the sunlit clearing. I sat her down next to the stream and swung my rucksack off my shoulder. There wasn't much in there only:

·         2 plastic cups and an empty water bottle

·         My favourite hoodie

·         My lunch box (ham sandwich, crunchie bar and a banana)

·         My penknife

·         A pair of gloves

I      I had most of this because on the way to scouts i was 'supposed ' to be going on hike. But that never happened. ( stopped that thought cold and began rummaging through the bag. I felt the cold plastic of the cups right at the bottom of the bag and managed to tug them out of the bag and laid them on the ground next to me. Immediately, Daisy grabbed one and rushed to the water. I swivelled around. but she wasn't just drinking it straight out of the cup; she had her shoes and socks off and was pouring the dirty water through her sock into the other cup. Huh; I guess you do learn a thing or two at brownies.

"Make sure you strain it more than once," I reminded her. She smiled back at me and began to drain it again. I once again rummaged in the sack to find my water bottle but instead my fingers touched upon something soft. I pulled it out only to realise my mistake. It was my wallet and right on the front was a smiling picture of Me, Daisy, Mum and Dad. When we were in Greece on our family holiday last summer. I couldn't help the tears welling up in my eyes and the choking of the sob in my throat. I had to be strong, For Daisy. But what were we supposed to do? I had no clue...