I have to find my way out
Brid
After hours of wandering aimlessly, I sat on a large rock, trying to catch my breath. Then, I looked at my feet and noted blood on them. My human skin was not made for this, and I have been walking for hours. Unfortunately, Leaf still did not give me any sign of her. If I had transformed myself by now, I would be about to reach my pack's territory. And without mentioning that my human nose is far behind. I couldn't identify the smells of anything, that's why I'm so lost. I don't know which direction will take me home now.
After several minutes of sitting on that rock, my mind and body relaxed, and that's when a sound caught my attention.
“Water, it is water.” I got up and walked to where the sound of the vital liquid was running. A few meters ahead, I found what I was looking for. A beautiful waterfall with fresh and pure water.
“YEA, finally, some good luck.”
I went to the bank of the river and bent down, taking with my hands some good sips. Fresh and sweet water. My throat was sore and dry, and it began to cool immediately. Once I finished drinking, I sat down on the sand and dipped my feet in the river. The mud and blood were already getting hard, and I washed them the best I could, even removing some thorns and splinters that were buried. I couldn't do more at the moment. My only hope was that my body would heal fast as soon as possible because I had to continue on my way.
It was already getting dark, and I still hadn't left the forest. Frantically, I looked for somewhere to spend the night, needing to rest anyway. I wasn't strong enough to continue by now. I was hungry too, with my situation getting more complicated every minute, In particular, after walking so much. I felt extremely exhausted.
While I was there, I thought about food, making my stomach growl. I don't know how long it has been since I ate, but definitely, it has already been almost a whole day since I remember eating anything. So, I decided to look around me for fruit trees or berry bushes. Yet, I found nothing. Now, what was I going to do? Leaf was not here and I, as a human, would not be able to hunt my food.
I started crying, unable to contain my despair. If someone in the pack saw their lost Luna, crying like a little pup, it would be a disappointment for them. However, here, I was alone, and my only consolation was thinking of my pack, and my mate, Kael.
Being alone without him was mentally weakening me. I hugged both of my legs and began to lull myself from one side to the other.
“Kael, come and get me.” I managed to whisper that before sleep and exhaustion took over.
∞∞∞
The morning rays woke me up, making my eyes sting when I opened them. Looking around me, I noted that I fell asleep on the ground, exposed. I sat up slowly and sighed. My body was aching and uncomfortable. I started scratching my legs and arms, thinking that the last night I was the dinner of some insects. I looked down, and sure enough, I had bites everywhere.
I got up and went to the river. The water wasn't that cold, so I dived in until half of my body was submerged. There, I washed my body, hoping the itching would stop, or go down a bit. While I was distracted by this task, in the distance, I heard some voices. I stopped everything, stilling myself on the spot. Slowly, I submerged myself until only my eyes were left on the surface. A short time later, two hunters emerged from the bushes.
My heart jumped several times, thinking that they saw me, but I was wrong. Even though they were hunters, it was clear that they were not the lethal type. They were so noisy that their single breath scared off any animal in their path. Slowly, I moved in the direction of some rocks that were in the middle of the river, and once there, I watched them for a while. They sat on the river shore, resting.
After a while, one of them took a package out of his pocket and opened it. It was a piece of bread. Oh! No, how I wanted to take a bite. And at that very moment, an idea formed in my mind.
∞∞∞
A few hours had passed in a blur, and the hunters kept talking and laughing as if nothing bad in the world was happening. My skin was about to fall from being submerged in the water for so long, and the only good thing about my situation was that the water had already warmed up due to the sun being at the top.
But finally, the opportunity that I was looking for appears in front of me.
“Simon, I'm going to get in the water. My neck is sweaty from walking so much. I can't believe we have spent so many hours trying to hunt something, and not a single animal has fallen into our trap.” The hunter began to remove his clothing and pile it together on top of a nearby rock.
“Ah! Yes, you're right, Tom, this sucks. The good news is that we hunt for sport; otherwise, we'd be starving.” The two men started laughing. The one called Tom was the first to get in the water, and the other one began to undress to follow him, with the clothes conveniently accessible.
The two began to play with the water as if they were a couple of teenagers. Life was smiling at them. “But not for long,” I said in a low voice. When I was sure they were distracted, I made my move. I completely submerged myself and swam to where their clothes were. I got out of the water in silence. Seeing out of the corner of my eye that they hadn't seen me yet, I hid behind the stone, where the clothes were. And little by little, I grabbed the pile of garments. I was about to leave but remembered that my feet were bare. In complete silence, I reached out my arm and took the pair of boots that were within my reach. Silently, I turned around, and when I was ready to run… “Oi, a thief.”
Without thinking of anything, I started running as fast as I could. Taking a look back from time to time, I saw the hunters trying to get out of the river, nudes.
“Ha, ha, ha.” That was hilarious, but I focus on running, like the wind, with their clothes in my hands. Until the river was miles away from me, finally, I stopped to catch my breath. After a few seconds, I looked at the spoils in my hands, saying, “At least I already have clothes.”
I put it on right away. It was a bit big for me, but this was better than nothing. The shoes were no different. They were huge too. Now that I was ready, I raised my gaze to the horizon and continued on my way.
