A Lonely Prince with Fangs (completed)

Death Knocks at My Door

"Mom? Dad?" I called out into the dark. It's really dark ... . I can't see a thing in front of me! I looked up and made out the tall pines around me against the dark blue sky. No moon or stars to guide me. I heard rustling in the trees and I trembled in fear. I called out for my parents again and again but no answer. What's going on? Is this not a dream? No, a nightmare?

What time is it? Good thing I still have my pack with me. I took the heavy burden off my shoulders and set it down on the crunchy forest floor. I scrambled through it to find my phone and a flashlight. I turned the light source on immediately and looked at my surroundings. There aren't any wild beasts in Romania right? I'm in a grove of trees, and not a living thing in sight, including my parents. I checked my phone and found that it's two in the morning. Great. 

I stood and winced at the pain coursing through my body. I shined the flashlight on my arms and legs. They're covered in scratches and bruises. I go to take a step and cry out at the pain in my knee. It's swollen and puffy. I don't think it's broken, but something is wrong with it. I put my pack back over my shoulders and regretted doing so. My shoulders ached and my back felt like I slept on wood. 

I looked around the forest floor for a stick or a branch I could use to walk with. Once I found a sturdy stick, I began making my way through the darkness with a flashlight as my guide. 

My parents have taught me about survival. I know I can't survive out here trying to look for them if I want to keep myself alive, I better start looking for a building, something signaling life. I will do that. Then, in the morning I'll just send out a search party or something. Yeah, that's what I'll do. But I should at least try to look for them as I make my way. 

Let's see, Dracula's castle was north of that cliff. If I travel east, then I should find the small Transylvania village. And actually, if my parents were ahead of me while hiking, then they will most likely be in this direction. I need to at least try. 

I shined my flashlight all over the place but nothing satisfying was popping up. Just more rustling in trees. I called out my parents' names occasionally in hope they’d signal back. 

My heart dropped to my stomach and I felt that butterfly feeling one gets when going down on a roller coaster. There is no ground for my next step. More cliff. I rolled down the steep slope. More pain adding to my other wounds. Unlike the first time falling, I felt every bump and scratch. 

Everything went black again. 

I woke up coughing up water as rain poured on my frozen face. I shivered and shuddered as I tried to regain my thoughts and emotions. 

This has to be a nightmare. Soon I'll wake up and all this pain will go away. I go to move but I choke at the shock that goes through my legs. I can't move. I'm going to die here. Tangled and mangled by Mother Nature. I won't survive throughout the night. I've lost my phone and flashlight. 

I've read deaths like this before, in books. And have also seen movies like this. But the protagonist always finds the will and strength to survive. Those are just stories, who knows if the writer really had to go through traumatic experiences such as this one. If I survive, I'm definitely writing a book. Explaining every detail of this frightful moment. 

What am I doing! I'm dying and I'm thinking about writing a book?! Isn't my life supposed to flash through my brain? I guess that's only for people who know they're plummeting to their death. 

It's not as dark as it was earlier. Maybe it's already morning. Maybe there'll be hikers passing any second. 

Looking into the glimmering sky it felt like an hour had gone by with me just lying there drenched. I blinked one last time, then allowed the rain to hurt my sight. But then, a blurry pale face appeared above me. I had no emotion. Maybe it's just my own imagination of "the light", or maybe even a hiker, I thought. 

I felt my body be carefully and swiftly picked up and curled into strong arms. My body felt pain from every nerve, but I somehow forgot how to show it.