Tell My Heart To Beat

Reunited

It was a mistake.

It was a really bad decision on her part to go back to the monster's nest, but she needed to. She needed whatever she could find in the pile of clothes and items left from the missing hikers. She had no real choice, or she was going to freeze in her little burrow. She had run out of matches three days ago but had somehow kept her little fire going. Now, it was a pile of smoldering ashes barely keeping the interior of her small home warm.

Evan had been desperate to stay warm the night before. Luckily, she had been able to stay huddled up with a fresh bed of feathers and thatch, but that was only just enough. Her coat had kept her a little cozy, but the cold was creeping in as the nights got colder. She had no choice but to venture out in the daylight.

There was a fresh layer of snow on top of the already packed layer underneath. This was going to be a problem as she still had nothing covering her feet. Yet another reason for her to go retrieve what she could. A pair of socks or even better, a pair of boots would be the perfect find.

Throwing her yellow backpack over her shoulder, Evan started out on her journey to the monster's lair. With the snow making it difficult, she expected the trip to take a little longer than the last time she went. It was not a problem as she had made marks on the trees to help keep her on the trail. She made sure to stay on track as she silently traversed the forest, trying not to draw any attention to herself.

The trail weaved between thickets and at some point through wide clearings in the forest until it came to the stream. Then, she followed the small, still flowing, creek to the big oak before going towards the lair that was up the slope. She made sure to fill up her water bottle before she made her way up there.

The pile of clothing was covered in snow, but it remained relatively untouched since last time. Evan had to slowly make her way to it without making a sound. Thankfully, the snow muffled any loud noises in the forest behind her. She carefully began to brush the snow away from the pile before she began to pick through it. There was not much that she had not sifted through before, but she did manage to find a fanny pack with a lighter and a pack of cigarettes in it. There was also a bottle of hand sanitizer, but that was it. The lighter was really the prize in this situation.

She had managed to dig through a bit more before she came across a pair of dry socks. Any boots that she found were way too big and were definitely a tripping hazard. There was no way she could travel in a pair of adult sized boots in this forest. Other than that, she found a few shirts that could make for a fresh change of clothing if she needed.

Evan was happy with her finds, especially with the lighter. With those items safely stored in her backpack, she quietly left the scene. She tiptoed down the slope as carefully as she could, making sure not to slip on the ice covered rocks. She could barely feel her feet, as they had gone numb a while ago, but showed no sign of frostbite like the book had described. The only thing she did notice was that her feet were pale.

Making her way up was the easy part. To get down, she had to place her feet in certain spots to keep from slipping. One wrong move could have her falling, and she did not want to be caught by the white monster. It was out there, prowling around and hunting. It let her go last time and terrified her to where she did not leave her burrow for days. The next time, she might not be so lucky.

She held on to the roots of a tree as she attempted to plant her foot down on a rock below her. She held her breath as she gradually lowered herself down to stand, but her foot slipped on the ice covering the smooth rock. With her weight pulling her down, the small root she held on to snapped, sending her tumbling down the steep slope with a scream.

As soon as she hit the snow-covered ground, she groaned at the pain from the impact. Picking herself up onto her hands and knees, Evan realized that she had cut her right palm on something. No big deal, it would heal up soon enough, but that was the least of her problems.