Feather

Chapter 10

Sorry for the wait! I appreciate your patience!

                While Shraya was sleeping in her small new home, she had failed to remember one thing: outside, over the drying fire hung strips of rabbit meat, something a hungry bear nearby didn't fail to catch sent. Feather's rope was taught as she strained against it. In front of her roared a grizzly, hungry and with thin nerves.

                Shraya was jerked awake by the sudden extreme sound. Jumping up and out of her make-shift bed, she grabbed her machete and stepped out, face to face with the grizzly. In a second, Shraya slashed Feather's rope and ducked a swing from the grizzly's paw. Feather, terrified and full of adrenaline tore off into the dark.

                The bear's attention was turned to Feathers commotion, and turned his head towards her for a second.

                "Feather!" Shraya screamed after her. Without her, she had no chance.

                The grizzly turned suddenly, his focused back on Shraya. With a tremendous roar, he swiped a giant paw and hit Shraya in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her, and also throwing her to the ground. Her shirt had three tears in it from the bears claws. Gasping for air, Shraya scrambled for her machete that she dropped. Gripping it tightly, she rolled to the side as the grizzly came down, two-paws-heavy where she was laying. Jumping up she slashed at the bear, but missed and only cut into its shoulder.

                Enraged, the grizzly turned swiftly and crashed into her, tossing her to the ground. 'I'm dead,' she thought to herself. 'All because I acted too irrationally, and now I'm going to die.' The grizzly was so close to her, she could smell its earthy sent and feel its breath on her face.

                She closed her eyes, waiting, when there was a rustling sound, like broom bristles sliding against each other. There was an angry and pain-filled, scream-like roar from the grizzly as he backed up suddenly, pawing at his head that was ducked down to the dirt. Thrashing around, Shraya was terrified and confused. Finally, when the bear raised its head again, she saw the familiar quills stuck in the bears nose, thin trickles of blood running down the soft tissue on its face. Shraya whipped her head back to the ground next to her as she heard the rattling quills nearby. The porcupine sat there, by her side, quivering with its tail raised, more painful, needle-like spines directed at the bear. It backed away, and eventually turned and loped back into the forest, it's muted cries fading away.

                Shraya watch her spiky friend in awe, her chest rising and falling rapidly. It soon settled down a bit, and began shuffling behind where Shraya sat. His borrow was only feet away, and it didn't like the disturbance the bear was causing.

                Relief washed over her, and she leaned back against the dirt. But it didn't last very long.

                "Feather!" Shraya suddenly cried out. She was still out there, and with an enraged bear, in the dark. Getting up quickly, she winced as the cuts in her stomach stretched.

                How was she going to find her?

                The cuts in her stomach were bleeding at a very unhealthy rate. Shraya knew she had to do something about them before she could go walking around in the forest, in the dark, with many dangerous animals waiting for an easy meal.

                Taking deep breaths, and trying her best not to panic, Shraya made her way back to her make-shift camp and dug through her bag until she found a spare shirt. Taking out her knife, she cut strips of cloth and limped over to the lake. The moonlight was bright enough for her to see her reflection in the water, a shadowy outline. Dipping the pieces in the water, Shraya lifted her shirt and dabbed at the cuts. She winced and washed the strip and dabbed again, until the cuts were relatively clean. She then took the longer strips and tied the around her torso, wadding the other pieces to stop the flow of blood.

                Gritting her teeth, she marched back to her campsite and searched the ground for tracks. It was too dark, and she couldn't see a thing. Afraid that she would ruin the only chance of finding them, she decided to wait for morning when the sun would show her where to look.

                Going back to her camp, she laid down on her back, her stomach throbbing from the cuts and the hit.

                Realization hit her hard and fast. Feather was the reason she came out here. Would she also be the reason she'd never make it home?

                Shraya fell asleep quickly, not being able to fight against the exhaustion. When she woke up, the sun was barely visible through the trees. She sat up and the lack of blood in her head made black spots appear. The pain in her abdomen also made it hard to focus. Lifting the takers of her shirt, she unwrapped the cloth. The cuts looked worse in the bright light, the flesh getting red around them.

                Shraya didn't know much about doctoring, but she knew enough to see they were becoming infected. She found her measly packed first aid kit and was thrilled to find a small bottle of iodine. Leaning back, she took several deep, calming breaths, then unscrewed the lid and filled up the small eye dropper. Clenching her teeth, she squeezed the golden liquid in to her cuts and nearly screamed at the burning sensation. it was as painful if not more than when she received the gashes. Shaking in pain, she made her way to the lake and filled up her tin cup with the water. Dropping a few droplets of iodine into the water, she swished in around, the dipped the dirty strips in it, trying to sanitize them best she could. When she was satisfied, she bandaged herself back up, using some of the cotton wads in her emergency kit to pad it a little.

                She leaned back onto her bed of boughs and closed her eyes for a few seconds, waiting for the pain to ebb a bit before beginning her search. When it was bearable, she stood up and packed a few necessary items, unpacking a few things that would only drag her down. When she was finished, she stood, the pack quite heavy but she knew what she needed.

                She started when he bear first made an appearance, when it had attacked Feather. She followed the skid marks and slashes in the dirt from its claws as well as from Feathers hooves. She could see where she had fallen to the ground, and only feet away was the borrow that belonged the lifesaving porcupine.

                She backtracked to where Feathers hooves cut the dirt, and followed them through the sandy soil to the tree line. With closer inspection, she saw droplets of a dark liquid on the ground, nearby; blood. Swallowing the ever growing lump in her throat, Shraya followed the tracks. When the dirt became too hard for visible tracks, she watched closely for trampled plants, as Feather was in a haste and clumsy during her escape. With every passing step, Shraya became more and more worried. What if I never find her? What if I get lost and never make it back home? Panic began to claw at her, and she started to hyperventilate. She suddenly stopped herself from thinking those things. Panic will only slow me down, she thought to herself. Determined and ready for anything, she tackled the task up ahead with a renewed vigour. I'll find you Feather. If it's the last thing I Do.