Lost

Chapter 10: Painful Wound

Double update :D Post your reactions as you read ^^

The beam of the flashlight illuminated a low hanging branch. Salma ducked under it, her steps quick and movements jittery. She had been working on the mound for so long that she lost track of time. Walking through the forest in the dark, Salma felt extremely scared and jumpy. Although she was convinced it was her imagination, she kept thinking she heard voices and that was freaking her out more.

As she silently scurried through the trees, a shimmery, lime green bug flew in front of the beam of light and landed on her arm. For a fraction of a second, her attention diverted to the bug and that was all that she needed to trip. Salma managed to prevent her fall by quickly grabbing the branch nearby. Muttering angrily, she cleaned the cake of mud off of her shoes by rubbing it on the grass. She was about to leave when something in the mud caught her attention. Despite her urgency to get back to the safety of the shelter, Salma picked up, out of curiosity, what looked like a half smoken cigarette.

A cold sinking feeling snaked around her gut as a strange kind of anxiety took over her.

She jumped to her feet and flashed the light around the dark forest when she heard the bushes near her rustle.

"H-hello?" Salma called out, "Is someone there?"

As expected, she heard nothing but the chirp of the crickets and hooting of an owl in the distance. For a split second, Salma was too scared to even look over her shoulder. She suddenly got this uncanny feeling of being watched. Taking in a deep breath, Salma snapped around to take a look behind her. As relieved as she was to see  no one about to pounce on her, she could not help but feel spooked.

Salma turned her attention back to the tobacco stick. A shiver ran down her spine realizing this could mean someone else was in the forest. As if on reflex, she started walking towards the shelter, her eyes automatically searching out for the landmarks to let her know she was moving in the right direction.

Salma had just reached her rock when the stillness of the night was pierced by a terrible scream. Her heart jumped out of her ribcage as she turned towards the source of the tormented voice. Terrified, she turned the flash off and slowly edged towards the shelter in the dark. A shadow in the veranda moved, half sunken into the wooden floor itself. It seemed to be writhing in pain. Her eyes widened when her ears rang with Zayn's anguished voice. 

"Help!" he cried out loud. "If you are out there, please help!"

"Oh my God!" Salma gasped, breaking into a run. 

Salma was scared sick as her mind ran over the possibilities of animal attack or murderers, and it made her stomach churn in fear. She ran up the stairs with her eyes wide open and her ears alert. Salma was doing her best to see or hear the danger before the danger could sense her. There was a movement behind her in the veranda. Then she heard a crack.

"Damn it! Argh!" she heard Zayn's tortured voice, making her whip around.

Salma turned on the light. The beam flashed all about the place because her hands were shaking so much.

"My God!" Salma whispered rushing forward to help Zayn out.

He was lying on the floor with his fists on his closed eyes and his jaws clenched together. His face was contorted into a painful expression, mirroring his agony.

Salma shifted the beam to his lower body, and bit her lip when she realized what had happened. His right foot had slipped into a hole in the floor, and a heavy rock was painfully sitting on his injured shin. Salma could tell Zayn had tried to remove the weight, judging from the scrap marks on the broken plank, but he had clearly failed to do so.