When The Forest Ends

Mistakes can be fixed.At least, that’s what she kept telling herself. It didn’t take long to realise an obvious flaw in the plan. A dense canopy overhead made for a dead giveaway. Maybe she would have realised she had split off from the group. A few rain droplets fell on her freezing body.
Her arms gripped her overcoat closer to her trembling frame. She could see her own breath float out of her body and wondered, could one of them be her last?

She seemed to be the only living creature for miles, possibly the whole forest. Only silence. A few more dreadful hours, and she’d be out.
She wandered aimlessly, reaching a ridge on top of a mountain. The valley below was hidden in a cloak of mist.
The mist seemed to hug the valley, as if warning her not to penetrate its territory.
She hugged the cloak again, shaking from the freezing temperatures.
Then, she heard it.
Cries echoed in the distant, not mournful or fearful, but, her name. Pinpointing the location, it seemed the source of these cries was the valley. She shivered, cautiously stepping down.
A glitter of hope shimmered in her eyes, her grip lessening on her oversized coat. She jumped over a pile of white sticks. She crouched on a rock that had dislodged a millenia ago. Moss hugged the boulder.
She was in the mist now, murky white floated around her, dancing in the wind.
She carefully placed a foot on the damp leaves, finding herself misplacing her foot.
She quickly fell face first down the mountain, losing her coat almost instantly.

She winced, silently cursing herself for being such an idiot. She stood, knees shaking and drenched in a metallic crimson.
She drew a unstable breath. The sound of flies buzzed around her.

She weakly swatted the black flies away, stopping when she saw a carcass of a deer. A high-pitched wail escaped her lips as she saw the deer’s twisted, mutilated body. The deer’s eyes stared back at her. It was evident that terror was its last emotion. Bloodied flesh clung to white bones as if the deer had been ripped apart by a giant claw.

Then, it clicked: those weren’t sticks on the side of the mountain. She broke into a sprint.

The sound rushing blood filled in her ears. But it was soon overcome by the sound of something dashing behind her, gaining quickly on her. She quickly ducked behind a thick trunk, breathing heavily, her knees finally giving in.
She couldn’t see it but she could hear it, and she knew what it was. It rustled around a few trees behind, if she broke now, she’d be dead.
She hugged her knees. She felt a bony finger tap her shoulder. It had found her. She was just another deer to this creature.
The claw dug into her skin, it whispered, “Can mistakes really be fixed?”

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