The Alpha's Mermaid [COMPLETE]

Chapter 2 - Sleep

Blackness surrounded me as the sun set later that day. I've been walking nonstop, not taking any more breaks, and every time I would see footprints in the ground excitement would fill up inside me and id be faced with disappointment again. I've seen so many footprints, yet for some reason, not any people. 

I hear an owl hooting in the distance and at this point, I'm tripping over roots and rocks it's so dark. I should rest, I can barely see my own feet for Neptune's sake! I slide my bag off my shoulder onto the ground and look around for a spot to sleep for the night. I've never slept in a tree before, could I?

 Aiden slept in a tree once, he told me he fell out in the middle of the night and hurt his wrist. Maybe I should sleep just on the ground, I mean I'm already covered in dirt so it wouldn't make a difference.

     I'm about to sit down when I hear a wolf howling in the distance and I freeze. It sounded within a mile away, and I don't know what wolves eat.

  What if they eat me while I sleep? No, no don't be silly.

 I decide to sleep in a tree.......just for good measure. I grab my bag and walk over to the nearest tree. I sling my bag over the branch and I wrap my arms up and hoist myself up. As I'm pulling myself up I fall right on my butt and considering my lack of arm strength I'm not surprised. I give myself a running start and try to lift my body up again, and I start to feel my grip slipping. I use my feet and push them against the trunk for support and manage to sit up on the tree branch.

      I hang my bag on one of the smaller branches near me. I yawn and stretch and realize just how tired I am. I look around from the tree and I see nothing but woods and the distant sound of crickets. I feel....strange. I feel as if someone is watching me, but maybe I'm just being paranoid. After all, I'm alone in the middle of the night, so it's normal to feel a little paranoid.....right? I dismiss the feeling and lay down on my side and close my eyes before drifting off to sleep.

~

      I give a quick scream as I feel myself hit the ground. I groan and hold my elbow because it's what broke my fall and I start to feel it throb a little. I open my eyes and see it's still dark and open and close my mouth like a fish dying of dehydration. I need water. I'm dying of thirst!.... 

I sit up and look around as I let go of my elbow and clasp my hand around my throat from the intense dryness. I couldn't even talk if I tried too. I stand up quickly and search for water and I can feel my throat getting drier by the second. I grab my bag and run off randomly into the woods, searching for water.

      I trip over a root and fall through some bushes into a small opening. I pick myself up from the ground and I look ahead to see a small lake. I quickly get up and run towards it, tripping along the way. I throw my bag on the ground and collapse onto my knees and cup water into my hands and quickly drink it. I drink more and more for a few minutes and I breathe a sigh of relief. After I've had enough, I sit down and look out onto the lake and admire the scenery. 

I look into my reflection and frown at my appearance. I try to fix my hair, but end up messing it up more. Sighing, I let my arms fall to my side in defeat. I suddenly feel my exhaustion resume and I don't think I have enough energy left to climb back up the tree. I lay on my side and stare out onto the lake as I let darkness consume me for the second time tonight.

~

       I wake up to the sound of birds chirping and open my eyes to see the canopy of trees above. I sit up and stretch my arms before standing up and dusting myself off. I look at the lake and decide to drink some more water. This is the only lake I've found so far, and I don't know when I'll get to drink again. I cup my hands and repeat what I did the night before.

 Afterward, I look into the water and make a face at my reflection. I look like a different person. I have dirt on my face and my golden locks are a mess, plus my white cover-up has dirt on it and overall basically I just look like a hot mess. I de-tangle the twigs from my hair and rinse my hair into the lake in attempts to make it decent. I sigh and look back at my reflection.

 To think, one day ago I was sitting at home with my family, never thinking something like...like this would ever happen. I shake my head as I feel my eyes start to tear up again and splash water on my face to clean the dirt off of it. Calm down Calista, just relax and everything will be fine.

I take my hands away from my face and look back at my reflection, except this time, there's a huge black wolf behind me.