The Survival

Chapter 11

We have been running for so long. I can feel the burning on my legs for the effort my muscles are doing. My breaths are coming out harshly and my lungs seem like they can't expand, preventing me of breathing properly.

My adrenaline was on high but now it's slipping away and the tiredness from my body is standing out more and more. I know for a fact that I will not handle much longer if I don't stop soon. I don't know how long we have been running and also don't know where we are but for the thickness of the trees, I can say that we are no longer on the verge of the forest but deep inside.

My foot gets caught on a branch on the floor and my legs fail to sustain me, before I fall to the ground a pair of strong arms makes their way under my arms. I look up and Nathan is the one holding me.

"C'mon Kate, we have to keep going," His head looks behind us to make sure if that creature is following us.

"I can't run anymore," My voice is a mere whisper, still finding difficulty to talk.

Nathan doesn't wait a second and he changes the position of his arms, one is under my legs while the other is on my back, holding me bridal style, he gets up and starts running again my head bobs up and down thanks to his fast pace. I look over his shoulder and see no one and nothing there.

"Nathan, I think we should stop."

"Are you crazy?" His eyes lock with mine for a second before looking ahead to make sure he doesn't stumble.

"On the contrary, I'm being logical, we are getting farther away from the tracks." He slows down his running and focus on me. He is clearly thinking about what I said and that I'm right, he looks at the others still ahead of us, he is going to say something when Beth collapses.

"Beth!" I scream, Nathan puts me slowly on the ground but as soon as my feet touch the dirty floor I don't wait any more time and sprint as quickly as I can with my lifeless legs to Beth. I crouch down next to her side and turn her face to me, she has been looking like she was sick since this morning, but now, she looks almost dead. The thought sends a shiver down my spine. Without me realizing my fingers go to her pulse, I can feel her beats, they are weak but still.

"What happened?" Sarah is in front of me crouched on the other side of Beth, I was so worried about her that I didn't even noticed the others had stopped and were around us.

"I don't know," Sarah nods and inspects our friend, she checks her pulse and her head "She is really pale, and cold, my guess is that she was too tired, and she fainted".

It's a plausible reason. Sarah wants to follow medicine she says she wants to help people, to save lives. She doesn't care if she is a nurse or a doctor. She says that the doctors, surgeons, nurses and others are like guardian angels, and she wants to be one.

"We should let her sleep for a bit, let her rest." She speaks again.

"Are you stupid? We need to go, we can't just stay here," Ed spits rather rudely.

"If you haven't noticed yet, there is no one following us." I spit with the same ton as him.

"No, just because you can't see anyone doesn't mean they are not there, watching you."

I can't deny what he said, it's true, a chilly true.

"We have been running for an eternity, look around you, I have no idea where we are and neither do you, I doubt someone has followed us this far."

"Kate, that is your problem you doubt, you don't know for sure."

"And you do?" By this time, I'm standing in front of him, he is acting all mighty and cocky and that is pissing me of, if I could I would have steam leaving my ears. "We are in this situation together, so stop acting like a jerk and act like the man you're supposed to be!"

"She is right Ed!" A breathless Lucy appears behind him "We need to get back on track and stop discussing this."

"We still know the way back, correct?" By the corner of my eye I see Nathan coming to stand by my side, he is addressing Ed.

"How the fuck do you think I know?" If Ed opens his mouth again to say something rude, I'm going to punch him.

"The bread. You left a trail of crumbs, remember?"

The silence installs, but we can feel the hope building on us, we have been running for so long and we don't know where we are, yet we may have our ticket to go back home. After the terrible experience that we passed through, I only want to go home or the hotel or whatever place it is.

We look expectantly at Ed, but something is off, he looks worried, confuses and slightly scared. He views every single one of us, I can see sweat dripping from his forehead and I must say it isn't hot here, otherwise it's quite cold, but maybe it was from all the running we did.

"Mate?" Dylan is the one to speak, he puts a comforted hand on his friend's shoulder. They stare at each other and have a silent conversation.

"I... uhm, I didn't leave the crumbles" He mumbles.

What? I mean what?

"Wait, but I saw you leaving the trail of bread." Sarah is still by Beth's side making sure she is fine, but she is listening to our conversation carefully.

"I was, till the creature, or man, or that thing appeared."

"Are you saying that you don't know how to get back?" He nods, his Adam's apple moving up and down.

"So how are we going to leave?" Sarah asks.

"Why did you even stop leaving the crumbs?" Lucy is the one to speak.

"I was fucking scared okay?" Ed shouts his voice echoes through the forest "I thought it was some idiots wanting to scare us, but when I saw the blood... I just." His voice breaks, not being able to finish, he lowers his head in shame.

Everyone was expecting to leave, to have a way to go back, and now we have nothing. The shock is evident in our faces, well, in their faces I can only feel anger, hate and fury.

"You son of a bitch!" I launch at him, I start slapping and punching him, saying profanities through the way. "This all your fault. Why did I listen to you and your stupid idea?"

I feel someone pushing me from Ed and that enrages me even more. This is his fault, we shouldn't have entered this haunted place and now we are stuck here. Nathan restrains my arms and tries to call me down with sweet nothings. I'm squirming on Nathan's strong hold, the fury I feel for Ed is too much.

"You were the one that decided to follow us!" He shouts at me.

"I wasn't going to let my friends come here alone."

"We were going to be with them, to make sure they would be safe." Dylan is now holding Ed, also trying to calm him down, just like Nathan is doing with me.

"So much for safety, look where that got us. We are lost thanks to you, and that thing inside your head where your ideas come from called brain."

"Stop," A feminine voice reaches my ears and I recognize it. Lucy makes her way to us "We can still leave this forest, but for that we need to work together, not turning against each other."

Ed automatically calms down, yet I'm still tense as ever and on my breaking point. I feel warm breath caress the skin on my neck before Nathan's lips reach my ear "She is right, and you know it. Calm down. We will find a way to get out of here." Slowly I nod, and he lets me go, however still very close to me, so if I have the idea of assaulting Ed again, he will grab me right away.

"Good, now that we are all calm, we should make a plan or start to think of a way to get back to the tracks, you know, like remembering the way we came from while Beth sleeps." I never thought Lucy would act like this in these type of situations, I'm surprised to say the least.

Now let's focus on the important thing.

We need to find our way out of here.