The Survival

Chapter 38

 I peak from the entrance of the cave to the outside world and see the damage that the cold weather made. If the forest was covered in white with the snow, now it's swimming in snow, we knew that a storm was coming but we never thought that it would be this strong.

I put a foot over the top of the snow and push it down only for my boot to be swallowed by the thick layer of white.

Thank God that the cave is long enough, otherwise we would have died at the entrance of this rocky place, not to say that we wouldn't definitely be here if we haven't found this shelter, we would have died from hypothermia if we slept on the cold ground as we have been doing.

You can hear the birds chirping happily and the rays of sun shining from the leaves of the tall trees. It's quiet a beautiful view, it looks almost peaceful, but nothing is like what it seems, and this forest is definitely not a paradise and what is lurking inside isn't a sweet surprise.

I move my feet and leave the safety of the cave. I'm received with the wind that blows my hair everywhere making me look like Medusa.

I look over to a pine and see how huge it is, there are buildings in New York smaller than that. The trees are all thin in texture but are really tall, the only branches that you see are on the top of the pines where the leaves are, so we can't really see what is behind it, probably the sky but we have difficulty in seeing it. Even though the branches are so high, and there are still a few leaves adorning the trees it's still not enough to prevent the snowflakes to reach the ground. The proof of it being underneath me.

I look over the pines and once again think about the possibility of climbing to try to see the exit... and once again I'm reminded that these specifically trees weren't made to climb, and we have no way to do it.

Which sucks.

How is it possible that the trip ended up like this? It was supposed to be a wonderful time, one of those travels that you do, and it seems like a dream where you have crazy moments and see gorgeous things, one of these trips that make you almost see what freedom feels like.

I knew that I shouldn't have come. My instinct was telling me not to go, deep inside I knew that there was a reason not to come here and it wasn't just me being stubborn and being a pain in the ass for my brother. I'm going to kill James when I see him again, it's his fault, he obligated me to get up and now I'm here.

"Kat – Are you hugging a tree?" I open my eyes and turn to the direction the voice comes from only to see Beth with a weird expression on her face. I look down at my body and I'm indeed hugging the huge pine that could be as high as the Empire State Building.

"Hmm, what do you want?" I unwrap my arms from around the tree and clean my sweater that is now covered with pieces of bark.

"I-I... hmm Sarah needs you." Beth says a bit shaken up.

"Are you okay?" I ask concerned.

"The real question is... Are you okay?" She says and accentuates the 'you'. Her eyes shift from me to the tree and I understand what is going on over her mind.

"I don't know anymore, I feel like my head is going to explode this situation is killing me."

"This isn't easy for anyone, I can't believe that we're stuck in here."

"But we're going to leave... right?" It was supposed to be a statement, but it ends up being a question. The new information that Ed and Dylan might not be on our side and are hiding something is messing with me.

"I've had more faith before, to be honest."

"I'm going mad." I rest my back and the nape of my head against the truck of the tree.