A Forest of Hope

A Hated Challenge

"We have one year to build our own countries!" Santiago exclaimed, black hair spilling over matching eyes as he said it.

I glanced at Sarah, Vanora, Caspian, Haelyn, and Chion as he said this. There were seven of us here, which would make seven new countries if I knew how Santiago would do this, which I probably did.

"You seem weirdly excited about this," Haeyln began as she leaned her head on a tree.

I didn't know what to feel about it. I'm sure he was going to start the challenge today but all I had was a hair tie and the clothes on my back. I had stupidly forgotten my phone even though I knew whatever Santiago was doing would end horribly.

Santiago was the resident prankster, but sometimes his "challenges" would end horribly.

"None of us are allowed to work together, plus we could go down in history! Of course I'm excited! Also it starts now," He finished.

All of us took of running at once. I went North through the millions of trees. I kept running until I found a clearing. It wasn't big, but it was nice enough to start building a house.

I tied my white hair into a braid, eager to get started. I couldn't believe how Santiago had spread his excitement to me. Then I realized that it would be just me for a month.

It couldn't be that bad! I had always been sure I could survive solitary confinement!

I took to foraging for anything that I could eat. I ducked through trees and underneath bushes for miles, yet still couldn't find anything! I guess I could look tomorrow but I didn't want to starve.

If I wanted to eat today, I'd have to deal with flowers. I grabbed a few roses and lavenders off the ground before biting into them. They tasted like grass but they were flowers. What could you expect.

That's when it dawned upon me that I needed a fire and a place to sleep. I didn't have ether of those things. He had brought us here in the dead of winter, January first, in an area known for its brutal snowfall.

I started running for sticks to light a fire. I should have worried about that first. Looking at the sky, I could tell I was set to rain. I grabbed a few more sticks, some leaves, and a few rocks and started making stuff.

First I made a tiny canopy for the fire. It would protect it from some of the rain. Then I placed a pile of sticks, grabbed a rock and an extra stick, and rubbed them together. The fire's warmth and glow was immediate, lighting up the dark clearing in a matter of seconds. I curled up next to it, shaking.

I was sure to get hypothermia. I mean, it was winter, most likely to snow soon, and I had no shelter. The trees couldn't even protect me from this.

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The snow fell over my cold body as I curled farther in on myself. My long hair was now out of the braid, blending in with the snow as I used it as a makeshift scarf. My whole body throbbed.

I was as small as I could be at that point, conscience slipping away as quickly as the snow fell, when a glow faded in from around my body. I felt myself wrapped in something warm and soft and felt the snow quit falling. That's when I completely blacked out.