Soul Stitched (book one)

Chapter 7: Crystal

Snow blew in my face, but I could still see everything clearly. The wind whipped my hair. My stomach growled. I had been going through the wilderness for three and a half days. I hadn't brought any food because I had only planned on being gone for a day or two. I just needed more time. I couldn't go back yet. Not unless there was an emergency. I needed time to think and get my emotions together.

I wasn't the kind of girl that runs away and never comes back because she wasn't aloud to have a cupcake. I just couldn't bear to be around my parents in my state. I was overly stressed and felt as if the sky was resting on my shoulders. When my mom had first told me were moving to Florida, I felt like I had been thrown off a bull, fallen off a cliff, drowned in the ocean, and eaten by a monster all at once.

Yea. Deep.

But the main feeling was as if my soul was being ripped from my body. Like if I lived in Florida, my life would be gone. My life would have no meaning, my soul would erupt in flames. My spirit would disintegrate. That's why I had left. I couldn't simply push those feeling aside and move on in life. I had to leave. I had to be alone and in the snow. Where I belonged. I needed time away from the life that was about to change. Time to say goodbye to the life that I needed. I would go back home, just...not yet. Maybe a couple more days. My stomach grumbled again and I remembered the apple I had grabbed right before I left. I reached in my pocket.

Darn it!

I had put it on the counter during my shock! Why? My stomach grumbled once more. I took a moment to think, then smiled. Snow.

        "Whoa!" I yelled. The huskies slowed to a stop. I got off of the sled and crouched on the ground. My stomach grumbled again, this time much louder. Over three days without food, I was starving. I looked back and saw the dogs panting hard. How could I have been so selfish? All this time I had been making them run just so I could have time to think. They were probably one hundred times as hungry as I was. All I had been doing was standing on a sled.

I went up to Flame who was in front. I bent down, picked up a handful of snow, and held it up to his mouth. At first he just sniffed it, but than he hesitantly licked it. He stared at me with his big brown eyes. I nodded and it was almost as if he understood: it wasn't the greatest thing to eat, but it was his only option. He ate the first handful, then another, and another. I did the same with all of the other dogs until I came to Strike. I held up a handful, but he didn't eat it. Instead he sniffed it, growled and backed up.

        "Come on, Strike." I said. I held up the snow again, this time hopeful. He barked and growled. "Strike? What's gotten into you?" I asked. He barked wildly. I unharnessed him and pet his head. Suddenly he jerked from my hands and ran off.

        "Strike!" I screamed. I heard barking in the distance, it seemed like he was...frightened. I heard a loud roar come from the trees that Strike had just ran through.

        "Oh no." I whispered. All of a sudden, a large, huge creature emerged and was charging towards me at top speed.

        "Bear!" I screamed. A giant polar bear. They were pretty common in Alaska but they often steered clear of our house which was why I didn't normally see any. I now realized it had been near, and Strike had smelled its scent on the snow. He was trying to warn me! Well, that explains a lot.

        "Strike!" The bear was chasing him through the woods and had almost caught him. It devastated me, but I knew I couldn't wait for him.

        "Mush!" I cried out with a lump in my throat. The sled jerked forward almost throwing me off, but I held on tight. The bear was closing in on us—fast. I looked back and began to panic. Strike was nowhere in sight. The bear on the other hand was perfectly visible, tromping behind us viciously. That's when everything went wrong. Flame tripped because he was running too fast. That caused the dogs to get tangled in the harnesses. That caused the sled to stop moving. Which caused the bear to catch us. I got off the sled and ran. But I was like a slug compared to the polar bear. I dodged to the right, but it lunged and made a big slice down my leg. I cried out in pain and collapsed. The bear stood and watched me with angry eyes. It was about to lunge at me again, but then it roared and fell on its side. When it did, I saw a big bleeding wound on it's back. Strike jumped on the bear and bit one of it's legs. Though I was in pain, I couldn't help but smile. Once the bear realized what was happening, it lashed out it's claws at Strike, and the dog when tumbling down the snowy hill.

        "Strike!" I screamed. The bear turned to me and was obviously angrier. He charged and I screamed. I shut my eyes tight and was suddenly aware of the snow around me. I was lying on the ground and couldn't move. I grabbed a handful of snow and threw it towards the bear. When I looked up it was gone. I gasped and looked around. Where was it? Maybe it left, it was injured. But I didn't see a trail of blood anywhere. I groaned. My leg was throbbing and so was my head. I couldn't think clearly, this was probably all part of my screwed up imagination. I saw the dogs running towards me, but it looked like the Earth was turned upside down and spinning at the same time. Things became a blur, and suddenly everything went black.

When I woke up, I was on my sled and could feel the ground moving underneath me. The dogs must've pulled me on. I sat up groggily, and pain shot up my leg. I cried out, but there was no one that could help me. I decided that this was an emergency and that I should go home. As the sled moved I scooped up some snow and placed it on my leg. I then ate some snow and my leg began to tingle. My hunger vanished as if I had eaten a whole meal. I looked down at my leg and nearly screamed. The scratch was gone! All that was there was a scar where the scratch had been. Suddenly I remembered Strike.

        "Whoa!" I screamed. The dogs slowed and I jumped off the sled. I started sprinting to where I last saw him.

        "Strike!" I screamed. I heard a quiet moan. It didn't come from me. I slid down the icy hill to find Strike lying limply on the ground. His side was covered in blood and his eyes were closed. "Strike!" I screamed again. I ripped a part of my jacket off and placed it on him. He yelped but I picked him up and carried him to the sled. I laid him down and grabbed the reins of the harnesses.

        "Mush!" I yelled. "Come on, Strike. Let's go home."