Artemis (CanEm Fan-Fiction)

Chapter Nineteen

Sanem and Deren never really got along. For the lack of a better word, Deren had always been a jerk to Sanem. She had always thought that Sanem was her replacement; the ruthless woman who was after her job. In fact, Deren's insecurities were pretty much justified. Her and Sanem were of similar stature, brunette and Sanem was clever ... definitely clever enough for her job title. So, Deren had kept her guard up and fit the stereotype of the mean boss. But over many cups of Deren's secret stash of fruity wine, the girls' mean exterior faded and they realised they got along pretty well ... like friends.

"I've always thought of cutting my hair." Sanem snipped at her forehead, mimicking the front fringe style that was signature to Deren.

"No! It's too much work." A tipsy Deren swiped at Sanem's hand rather aggressively, the two tumbling lightly onto the picnic blanket they were nestled upon.

"It looks good though." Sanem commented, her eyes squinting as she tried to envision herself with the straight bangs across her face.

"Why, you trying to look pretty for someone?" Deren elbowed Sanem's stomach, her eyebrows lifting up and down suggestively.

Sanem swatted the air but in the back of her mind she was thinking about Can ... she found herself always thinking of him in all honestly. She could still feel his body tight up against her own and she groaned out loud. He'd disappeared a few hours ago, either into the confines of his tent or into the wilderness – she didn't know exactly. He was so close and yet so far.

"No! There's no someone."

The harsh yet strangely enticing scent of drink could be smelt around Sanem and Deren. But nobody seemed to mind; some had even joined them for the weird outer body experience. Everything was just funnier, happier with a few drinks down them and Sanem found her nerves and her pent-up anger fizzling away like the little bubbles in a soda. She felt so light that she felt like she could soar through the trees as if she were invincible.

"We should go exploring!" Somebody suggested the idea and within seconds, it was like a stampede of people. Everybody shouted their approval before getting up off the floor and heading in different directions.

Sanem began to stumble after them and before she knew it, the camp site was no longer visible. Her arms were flaying a little as she tried to maintain her balance, but it was hard to do when there was unstable vegetation everywhere, she stepped. She concentrated on her feet, her gaze falling down to her boots to ensure she was going, left, right, left, right but soon she was distracted. Maybe it was the effect or the alcohol or her keen eye, but her distraction had started with a flower. She had seen it in the distance and just gravitated towards it. Pink in colour and assumingly pungent, Sanem was intrigued.

It was once she'd plucked the flower from the ground when she'd realised - she was by herself.

"Ms. Deren!" Sanem hollered loudly, her hands cupping her mouth to make her delicate voice louder. After what felt like seconds but could have been minutes, there was no reply and Sanem felt panic surge through her.

Quickly, sobriety hit Sanem like a tonne of bricks. She was alone, in the middle of the woods, with no phone, no food, no water and nobody knew of her whereabouts. She cursed at her only stupidity before running. She didn't know where and towards what, but she just ran in an attempt to save herself. The motion set her balance astray and Sanem tripped over her feet before tumbling towards the ground, her head hitting the floor with a loud thump.

It only took seconds before she was out cold, the blood dripping eerily from a gash on her forehead.

The sky was darkening in colour just a tad bit, hues of orange and pink mingling with the light and dark blues symbolising day and night. And back at the campground, Can noticed a few of his employees a little too happy to be singing camp fire songs. He had gone for a walk to clear his head and returned to a group of people, that he was familiar with, singing at the top of their lungs around a poorly lit fire. His employees were generally quite eccentric so at first, the sight wasn't alarming to Can ... that was until he spotted Deren in the mix. Deren had been so anti-camping and it was shocking to see her seem so at peace with the spontaneity and simplicity of nature.

"Deren," Can approached her cautiously, his eyebrows knitted together. "Are you okay?"

"Can! I am perfect!" Deren raised her arms in enthusiasm, her eyes turning beady and bright. "Come join us!"

It had only taken Can a few moments to realise that she was tipsy.

"Have you guys been drinking?" Can wasn't sure if he should be authoritative, amused or whether to ask if he could have something to drink. His small moment with Sanem earlier had gotten his blood running and he knew he needed something to take of the edge. However, he hadn't thought to pack his trusty hip flask when he was leaving the house.

"No." Deren giggled whilst the surrounding members of staff said, 'yes'. "No, Sanem and I were just-" At the mention of Sanem, Deren's eyes widened even more ... if it was scientifically possible and she jumped up from her seat on a log abruptly. "Sanem!"

"What about Sanem?" Can asked curiously.

"Sanem!" Another member of the group exclaimed, his motions mimicking Deren's as he jumped up. "Where is Sanem?"

"What do you mean 'where is Sanem?'" Can questioned, now with worry settling deep within him. He was right when he had set that Sanem was not somebody who thrived in nature. "Has she been drinking?"

"Yes." Elif, another employee who seemed relatively sober in comparison to Deren, decided to fill Can in with the gaps that he was missing. "We were all drinking and then we went for a walk. She must have wondered off-"

"By herself?!" Can exclaimed in disbelief.

Sober Sanem in normal civilisation was a health hazard. She tended to fall and get herself stuck in weird situations but Sanem drunk in the woods, in the dark? That was a whole new ball game. Anything could have happened to her right now.

"I'm sorry-" Deren tried to grasp Can's forearm as a motion of comfort but Can shook her off as he paced.

"Everybody!" Can rarely used his commanding tone and when he did, it called everyone's attention. The staff were immediately obedient, all of them waiting on him to give them their instructions. "We need to head out and look for Sanem before it gets too dark, okay?"

"Okay, Mr. Can." As people nodded and began spreading out, a usually not so religious Can prayed ... God, please let Sanem be okay, please be okay.

"I'm coming, bebek." Can muttered to himself as he tucked his necklaces into his top before sprinting off into the endless of abyss of trees.