The Whisperers

2-The Woods

2

I woke with a start, jolted from my dream; Ringo, our cat, basked in the morning sun at the foot of my bed. I must have fallen asleep when I was reading but the book didn't really tell me anything more than I already knew, just a bunch of songs using words I didn't understand so I tossed it back into the box and wandered into the bathroom. My toothbrush already had toothpaste on the bristles and there was a flannel waiting for me to wash my face. Amelia, our maid, it was always the same. She waited on me hand and foot and to be honest I didn't like it, not one bit and nor did she. She was always saying she wanted to leave but that the Core wouldn't accept her so she stayed and my dad welcomed her to stay as long as she did what she was asked. I got sick of not doing anything for myself, so I rushed brushing my teeth and ran back into my room to make my bed; well it's the thought that counts.

Saturday was my favourite day of the week, that day I would go hiking in the Cherrywood so I dressed in my walking gear and ambled down the stairs to the door where I stepped into my mud covered boots, fasten the laces and exited the house all within the space of three minutes. Rushing round to the back of the house, I could see Granddad in the garden watering the plants, his pride and joy I waved but he didn't see me so I just pressed on.

From the thorn bush I collected my zabatana that was a sort of blowgun, some darts, and my camera before entering the woods. Leaves and twigs crunched beneath each of my heavy footfalls, as I headed deeper into the forest, my camera clicking as I photographed nature's offerings.

Maybe I was supposed to be a photographer, "Capture" as in capture a shot but then that doesn't tie in the "Reveal" part. Twigs snapping to my left reminded me I was not alone in these woods so I carefully hung the camera over my shoulder and slid a number of darts into the body of my zabatana. It was by no means a large hunting weapon, quite the opposite, but I had developed it with electronic sensors so I could track the radiation given off by animals and once locked on, my dart would make it home. Lifting it to my lips, I took a deep inhale through my nose and pointed it in the direction of the noise. A doe stood staring at me momentarily, shook her head, turned and raced off deeper into the woods, with me chasing not far behind. Immediately, I began to sprint after her feeling the wind pushing my hair right out behind me and hearing it whizzing past my ears. I adjust the sights on the zabatana with ease whilst still running after the doe and think what I would do if I was her, if I could run and run. Casting my gaze slightly ahead of her I could see a deep valley, see her swerve off to the side and there was my plan. My boots slipped a little on the autumn mud but I regained balance and carry on sprinting. Risking a glance back up to the doe, I lifted my head and then only one miss placed foot was all it took and soon I was rolling down the hill, leaving the ground for five seconds at a time before coming hurtling back down with gravity. My mind was racing, would I live? I thought to myself, the camera would be unfixable by then and the zabatana that I had spent so long perfecting was just lying somewhere in the leaves, never to be found again then darkness consumed me and my thoughts were nothing but a distant memory.

My head rested on leaves, blood oozed from my crown at a point where I could feel a strange stabbing pain. My ears were clogged with blood and my legs felt bruised and battered. Slowly I lifted my hand to feel my head but before even reaching half way I succumbed to a wave of dizziness and once again it was lights off for me as I drifted into a state of peaceful unconsciousness.

This time I woke, I again reached my hand up to tenderly touch the point in my head where it felt as though a hot knife had been thrust into it. A deep cut still leaked blood but not as much as before and the skin had been shaved off like a burn from an iron. Not having the strength to stand, I gathered my breath then rolled over onto my front. Pain seared through me, stealing my already laboured breaths. I waited, breathing heavily before trying to move again then slowly, I dragged myself to a crawling position. Night had fallen, I must have been out for a good while so I searched the ground around me for my emergency torch that I always had in my jacket pocket which was now ripped to shreds and looked as though I had had a run in with a bear. The icy temperature of the metal met my fingers and I knew I had found it. My cold fingers had next to no strength left and I struggle to push the button on the end which then, to my relief, illuminated the space around me.