Elena's P.O.V.
After an eternity, the school finally ended its day. God, you have no idea how happy I became when that glorious bell rang.
Being with Annie was plain torture, it was so awful that I actually volunteered to run those ten laps around the school. Unfortunately, Ms. Smith didn't let me because 'That's not how punishment works'.
Her words. Not mine.
"So. . ." Hazel dragged the 'O', looking at me with a smile playing on her lips. "How was your bonding time with Annie?"
"Not in the mood," I mumbled gravelly while rubbing my temples.
"Aw, come on, Elly," she used the old nickname she had given me when we were children. "It was quite of an interesting show you guys put out there, don't you think so, too?"
If you call shouting, fighting and kicking the ball in each other's faces 'interesting', then yes, it was a great show - absolutely. I wanted to tell her but settled down with an eye roll instead.
"Oh, I can see how you two are becoming besties! Your sisterhood is growing stronger for every passing day." Her sarcasm and teasing tone was falling out of her mouth like a waterfall, which made the urge to push her into a bush more difficult to ignore.
"If I didn't know better, I would say that a certain Hazel Phillips is jealous," I smirked.
She scoffed, "Please, like I would be jealous of a fish with an IQ as high as a potato."
Her words had caught the attention of two old ladies that walked past us, but we ignored their strange looks as we carried on with the conversation.
"Now, now, Hazy, that's very offensive for the potatoes," the jokes we exchanged had lightened up my mood, and I embraced her smiling face, feeling lucky and thankful for having such beautiful soul by my side.
It's a good thing Hazel can't read minds, or else I would've moved to Norway if she knew about those mushy, clichè speeches that I silently held for her.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye then," I glanced at her house that was decorated with rich flowers. "Remember, Phillips, don't talk to strangers and always wear socks, okay?"
Her face scrunched up in confusion, but nevertheless, she laughed at our inside joke. "Seriously, why am I still friends with you? I mean, I'm normal and then there's you."
"You mean why you're friends with this amazing person?" I gestured my hands to myself. "Nah, I don't know, I've always questioned why I'm still hanging out with a mortal like you."
Her shiny chuckle hid her rusty annoyance. "I'll see you later, Elly. Text me when you get home, okay?"
To not end up in the famous quote trap from The Fault In Our Stars, I nodded with an exchange of goodbye instead of an 'Okay'.
With one last wave, I continued on my way home to the empty house. I would probably need to start cooking dinner if I still want some nutrition - but only for one.
To cook for three people is just a waste of food. They never show up.
My thoughts would've probably gone deeper, had it not been for the mix of frustration and annoyance going through my veins when I turned the last corner of my neighborhood.
At this point in life, I knew God was pushing all of my buttons. Because, my dear friends, the entire road was occupied by construction workers.
Damn you, Man Upstairs!
All I ever wanted to do was to go home, eat some food and watch Stranger Things, is that really too much to ask?
Apparently, it was.
My mind searched for all the options I had without having to walk any longer than I had to. I could either go through the muddy woods or wait for the constructions workers to be done, which could take a couple of days.
Well, it looks like I don't have any other choice than waiting here- I'm just kidding. When I can barely wait for a YouTube video to load, it would be more than impossible for me to even stay here for a minute.
"Ugh," I groaned and walked in the direction of the forest, finding the path, luckily, dry and clean. "Thank you, Mother Nature."
At least there is somebody on my side.
My lungs inhaled the fresh fall air that blew my hair out of my face, which had me tightening the gray straps on my backpack to my already tired shoulders.
Yay, looks like I'm going on an adventure.
Note the sarcasm.
To avert the tiredness and pain from focus, I began to whistle a tune for myself, which echoed like the wind that flew between the tall trees.
The whistling turned into a humming of a song, and the humming converted into singing.
What can I say? I've always loved to sing since I first started it five years ago.
"Stone cold, stone cold
You see me standing, but I'm dying on the floor
Stone cold, stone cold
Maybe if I don't cry, I won't feel anymore."
Music has always been my escape whenever I felt alone or when there were just too many feelings to handle. It always helped me, no matter what kind of a situation I found myself in, it has yet to fail me.
And now that I'm singing the song by Demi Lovato, it makes me forget where I am - in the forest and surrounded by trees everywhere.
But unfortunately, it can't make me forget my feelings, only express and exhale them. Not being loved as a child can really scar you. Rifts like that are buried so far down it haunts you every now and then.
Maybe if I don't cry, I won't feel anymore. The song may be for an ex-lover, but it sure as hell describes my feelings perfectly fine.
I continued to sing, my voice being the only sound that echoed through the dead silence in the woods. And since my mind was in la la land, you could only imagine my reaction when a sudden thing brushed against my leg.
"Ah!" I screamed and jumped to the skies, startled as this something came out of nowhere.
However, I breathed out relieved when I realized that it wasn't an ax-murderer or a smurf with a weapon. In fact, a smile spilled over my face when I saw a white ball of fur.
While my heart was calming itself down like it had run a marathon, I knelt to the ground. "Aww, aren't you a cutie?" I said to the white rabbit in front of me, my hand brushing carefully on the long and slender ears.
Wow, I can't believe this little thing scared the crap out of me. I feel so successful.
I looked at the rabbits' ears that perked up in every direction, its red eyes looking at nothing in particular.
Chuckling, I shook my head at the little animal's innocence and continued on my way home again.
But then something odd happened. The rabbit began to follow me. And whenever I stopped, it stopped, and whenever I walked, it walked.
My brows were knitted in confusion as I looked down at the little animal.
"Rabbit, go - shoo with you!" I waved my hand. "Go to your family and eat some carrots or something."
Obviously, I didn't speak rabbit-language, so its expression was unchanged. Another sigh escaped my lips as I took the heavy backpack off my shoulders, searching for my lunch.
"Found it!" I exclaimed with my fingers curled around the sandwich, quickly picking the lettuce out.
Against my shoulder's protests, I slung the brick-bag to its place, which almost made me tip over.
Damn, they could've just had stuffed the backpack with rocks instead of books, and it wouldn't have made any difference.
"Here," I put the vegetable on the ground, and within a split second, the rabbit was all over it. "Now, stay."
To see it eat with its small paws made my heart melt.
Great, now I want a rabbit.
Without tearing my gaze away, I watched the animal eat while walking backward - not even looking at what could be behind me.
And this, my friends, was a huge mistake of mine.
Let's just say that, you should see where you're walking, especially when there's a tree root sticking up from the ground. And when you can't see what's happening when you stumble over it, there is a great possibility that you will lose your balance and fall.
However, as long as you're not Elena Marie Campbell, you don't need to worry about the faceplant, because you won't even meet the ground.
Nope.
You should think that the universe would spare me, especially after my act of kindness towards the rabbit, but nooo, it didn't.
Instead of hugging the ground with my back first, I fell from a very steep hill.
"Ahh!"
Oh, don't you love it when you can't stop rolling down the hillside to the unknown? Not only does it hurt like hell, but it's quite deadly too.
The only thing I could do was to protect my head from hitting the rocks planted everywhere. Every movement shot a new bolt of pain through my body, which made me gasp in agony. It felt like it lasted forever, when in fact, it was merely ten seconds.
I could feel my backpack being ripped off my shoulders, which gave me the greatest excuse for not doing homework. So, technically, something great came out of this.
Ah, I'm such an optimist.
Fortunately for me and my physical health, this torture reached an end.
But there was a catch; there was a distance between the steep hill and the ground. Without any control of how I would land, I fell with my left arm under me, my body weight mercilessly crushing the poor limb into pieces.
An unpleasant 'crack' sound echoed, which was shortly followed by an unbelievable pain that twisted my body.
That can't be good.
All the air was knocked out of me when I hit the ground. Additionally, it was becoming difficult to breathe due to the burning pain in my chest.
Despite my severe and hurt state, I was able to gasp for air to say this one word:
"Ow. . ."
And it was quickly followed by colorful words when I rolled onto my back, taking the pressure off my obviously broken arm.
I gasped for air, and my throat began to burn because of the coldness that made my chest ache even more.
Great, broken ribs are exactly what I needed right now.
Ache shadowed every movement, and therefore, I tried to stay as still as possible. However, it was difficult considering that all the limbs in my body screamed and trembled in pain.
Great job, Elena, now you've finally done it, I mentally scolded myself for being so clumsy.
Groaning in both pain and annoyance, I searched my mind for ways that could be of help. If I don't get out of here, I'll die like the stupid idiot who tripped and fell down a hill.
Seriously, I don't want that written all over my gravestone, I want at least some dignity when I die.
With all the energy that was left, I tried to sit up but was quickly met with heavy waves of pain washing over. It felt like I was swimming in the ocean of death that could knock me out at any time.
My left arm was the main source of this agony, and I swear, I almost considered an amputation for a split second if it meant that my arm would stop killing me.
"Dammit! That hurts like motherf-" I bit my lower lip to prevent myself from cursing out like a sailor. If I continue like this, I would probably earn myself a seat next to the Devil when I end up in hell.
And I would rather not see Annie's face for the rest of my afterlife.
A storm of panic began to thrive, but I quickly breathed it out of my chapped and bloody lips. "Calm, down, Elena, don't get panic. Just think of something. . ."
Okay, since most people in the 21st century don't go in the woods - willingly, at least, - what am I supposed to do?
Hold on.
A faint light from the broken bulb interrupted my thoughts, creating a mild idea.
This is the 21st century, I realized, It's basically the technology time.
That's when it hit me, "My phone!"
Any movement that included my arm moving even a millimeter was torturous, and therefore I had no other choice than to feel for my phone in my pocket by rubbing my butt on the ground.
Yes, it is a very awkward position I put myself in, and yes, it does look stupid. But hey, at least I'm not drinking my own pee for survival.
After multiple failed attempts, I clenched my teeth and took a bite into the sour, painful apple.
I used my other bruised arm to search for it, and let me tell you this, it almost hurt as much as breathing in the awful smell of Annie's morning breath.
Almost.
My face twisted into agony when another wave of pain hit me like the shore, something that made me grit my teeth so hard that I was sure my dentist would have a heart attack.
Ugh, remind me to never fall down a hill again.
There was no sign of my stupid phone, it wasn't in any of my pockets. The one time I actually need it, I don't have it. Typical.
Who knew that being without your phone could kill you? Literally.
Great, I'm going to die like the girl who 'fed a rabbit and fell down a hill with her stupidity still intact'. There's no doubt that Hazel would face-palm through my entire funeral.
"Wait," I mumbled, slowly remembering where I put my phone. "Oh, helvete."
Where the heck is my backpack?
Great, I guess this is the perfect time to plan my funeral - which I have decided is going to be a Viking burial.
And that's when the realization hit me mercilessly: I was badly hurt, trapped in the middle of the forest, no one expects me at home, and I have nothing to use to call for help with.
This is a serious situation.
Oh, crap.
"Somebody!" My voice was raw and thin. "Help!"
Yeah, like Superman would come and save the day.
Sighing, I let my head drop, irritated over the waste of energy.
This is hopeless.
"This day can't get any worse, can it?" If I had a dollar for every stupid thing that came out of my stupid mouth, I would've been richer than Bill Gates.
Little by little, drops of rain met my face and my naked skin. Tired and defeated, I groaned, "You're kidding me?"
Why did you switch sides, Mother Nature? I thought we had something special here.
I knew I was on my own now; time was no longer in my favor anymore. If I want to live to see tomorrow I have to do something to get out of this mess - and that now.
Who knows how long I've been here?
The moment I felt the coldness hug my skin and chasing the warmth away, it was clear to me that night was settling in and bringing darkness and raining clouds with it.
And since my house was empty with no souls waiting for me, there was no chance for anyone to know if I was home or not.
Inhaling the cold air, I winced when I slowly began to sit up, my ash-brown hair sticking to my forehead like glue. "Goddammit."
Well, this is going to take a while.
After the time of dinosaurs had passed, my back was finally leaning against the nearest tree. But by that time, a heat radiated from my forehead, which was soon followed by a throbbing headache.
"I can't die," I closed eyes. "I have too many important things to do than staying dead, heck, I still haven't seen season four of Orange Is The New Black!"
I'm losing my mind, I can feel it as I'm watching my sanity slip between my fingers.
I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, the words rang through my head in an annoyed matter, but at least I could hear something else than the heavy rain in my ears.
"And I still don't know who Gossip Girl is," by now, my words were the perfect example of gibberish.
Obviously, no one was going to visit the forest in this rainy weather anytime soon, nor would music help me escape this mess either.
Maybe it's time for me to leave Earth? If this is the Universe's attempt to punish me, it's pretty cowardly.
"Stupid everything," my voice was trembling through my chattering teeth.
Just as I was about to sing Human by Christina Perri to wake myself up, I suddenly heard some kind of vibration. I quickly closed my mouth and listened carefully, trying to ignore the overdosing sound of the rain.
Buzz. . . Buzz. . . Buzz. . .
Is that my. . . phone? I couldn't be certain if it was some hearing-hallucination or if it was actually happening.
Buzz, buzz, buzz. . . Buzz, buzz, buzz. . . Buzz, buzz, buzz, bu-buzz.
Yup, that sounded, more or less, like Jingle Bells on vibration. This could only mean one thing:
That's my phone!
A bullet of happiness shot through me, and in reflex, I turned my head to the source of the sound, wincing at the harsh movement.
Then, my eyes finally landed on the gray backpack laying on the wet grass a couple of feet away.
For you, it might be an arm's length away, but for me, I swear; I saw kangaroos jumping around the Australian land.
Before I could even register what was happening, I was already crawling towards the bag in snail speed. Despite my aching everything, I still let out a sigh of relief.
I have never been this happy to see my bag before.
Wait, does that mean that I still have to do my homework?
After a lot of cursing and crawling, I could finally reach - painfully, if I might add - for the backpack.
The thought of getting out of this forest - the home of the possible wolfs, bears, spiders and serial killers - summoned relief.
My shaky blue hand was wrapped around the cold phone, and I pulled it out of the muddy bag, hoping and praying to Steve Jobs it wasn't ruined, despite the broken and wet screen.
The device's bright light mirrored the color of my hopes of getting out of here alive.
It works!
As quickly as I could, I traced my trembling fingers over the wet screen, already having troubles to enter the code, but after several attempts, I succeeded.
There was only one person on my mind right now, and since I broke the promise of texting her, I could at least give her a call.
I held my breath in anticipation, and it was only when someone answered that I could finally breathe.
"Hello?" I have never been this happy to hear Hazel's fruity voice before. "Elena, is that you?"
"No, it's Santa Claus, what do you think?" My voice was dry and wheezy after having no water for hours, but that didn't mean my sarcasm had dried out.
"Are you okay? You sound like a dying walrus."
"Jeez, thanks." I coughed. "I'm actually in need of your help right now."
"What did you do this time, oh stupid one?"
"Well, I'm just chilling in the woods with a broken arm and a possible broken body," I answered calmly, leaning against the nearest tree for support. "You know, the usual."
"You're what!?" I winced at the volume of her voice, pulling the phone away from my now deaf ear. "Why the hell are you in the woods in the first place? How did- you know what, explain that later, I'm calling for an ambulance."
"Oh, what a coincidence, I was actually going to call them too!" My laugh came out strangled, and I could only imagine Hazel's rolling eyes. "By the way, tell them that I don't know where I am. You see, I kinda fell down a hill after feeding a rabbit."
It was quiet on the other line, making me wonder if she had hung up.
"What?" I shrugged my shoulders, realizing that she couldn't see me. "If you don't want your other arm broken, you better have some goddamn explanation ready when I see you."
Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my best friend; Hazel, the caring and loving one.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Have you called for help or not? I'm kinda cold, hungry - actually, I think my stomach is trying to eat me, - and I'm in massive pain. You're not really helping me, you know?"
"Oh, I'm sorry I can't fly to your stupid ass, but my wings are currently in repair!"
I groaned because of the massive pain my headache and broken limbs were beating me up with. "I'm really tired, Hazy, I think I'll just close my eyes for a minute-" My sentence was interrupted by a yawn. "-Or two. . ."
"Hey!" Hazel's annoying voice shouted, preventing me from shutting the heavy eyelids. "Don't you dare hang up on me! The help is on the way, just stay awake for a couple of minutes, okay?"
I could actually hear the desperation in her voice, which I tried to use as a motivation, but that only lasted for a couple of seconds before my eyelids began to drop once again.
"I'm just gonna take-" I yawned in the middle of my slurry words, closing my eyes and feeling the tiredness and coldness hugging me with open arms. "-A nap."
"Elena!" She shouted with so much determination that it woke me up again. "You're not going to take a 'nap' now, you're going to keep those eyes open, okay?" It took too much energy to reply, so I stayed silent, enjoying the peaceful melody of the pouring rain.
"They're locating your position now but you've got to stay awake, Elena." Her voice was calmer this time, yet, orotund. "Try shouting or something, maybe they will hear you? But don't you dare sleep, you've done it once over the phone, and I won't allow you to snore in my ear again."
A smile spread over my Grudge-like face, closely followed by a lighthearted chuckle. "Hey, don't blame me for sleeping. You're just a slow speaker."
"Excuse you, Ms. I-don't-have-time-to-calm-down, but I did not fall asleep when you talked like a goddamn lightning."
"Actually, I don't speak that fast. According to a study, I speak. . . at a. . . normal pace. . ." My voice faded out with every spoken word until I could no longer say anything.
"Elly?" The sound of my friend echoed through the phone, which I could no longer hold up.
My entire arm dropped to the wet grass, and in the process, made my phone fly out of my hands along with Hazel's faint cries.
The energy in my body was vanquished, and for every second, I felt weaker and weaker.
Everything seemed to grow darker and colder, and I opened my arms for sleep to hug me tightly and take the pain away. But before the blanket of darkness was thrown over me, a sudden light ripped it into pieces.
Was it the police officers' flashlight? Or maybe it's the paramedics? I thought due to the distant sounds of sirens echoing through the forest.
With the little energy I had, I managed to pry my eyelids open to either confirm or discard my hypothesis.
The light was a mix of white and yellow; almost like the sun. My first thought was that it must've been a flashlight, but it wasn't.
The burning light was coming from a massive hole in a big tree.
What?
A look of confusion crossed my face, and I wasn't sure if it was real or just a trick my mind played with me.
Since when did trees shine? Heck, it's even brighter than my future.
No, I must be hallucinating it, right? Or did I finally lose my sanity? Does that mean that Hazel can finally cross out 'breaking someone out of the mental hospital' on her bucket list?
If the light alone wasn't weird enough, a small bird suddenly flew out of the source and over my head, having difficulties to fly through the thick rain.
One thing is for certain; that bird woke me up more effectively than ice cold water splashed in my face.
All I could do was to stare at the feathered creature flying out of my sight, my jaw hanging wide open as rain touched my dry tongue.
I tore my gaze from the black-colored bird and focused on the weird light instead. What the actual hell?
My mind searched for an explanation that wouldn't break my brain, but nothing surfaced.
Is this some prank? Was it magic? Am I insane?
Don't know, don't know and probably, I thoughtfully answered my own questions.
Not knowing where to start thinking, I decided that if I wanted to figure out what that light was, I had to act instead of adding questions to the Bible of Query.
With an ice-cold hand with the color of the snow, I reached out for the weird light. Slowly but secure, my trembling palm got closer and closer to the hole in the tree.
And the closer I got, the warmer it became, which confused me even more than I already was.
Wait, is this some 'I see the light' moments when you're about to die? Oh Claus, am I dying? No, wait, let me reformulate that: am I dead?
Before I could even touch the wood, several voices - I didn't recognize - shouted through the thick rain that fell from the gray skies, making my head turn to the directions of the multiple sources.
"Hello!" The unknown people shouted in chorus, using my name once in a while. I quickly realized they were the help that Hazel had called for, which made me relieved that I wasn't going to die like an idiot.
Yet.
A weak smile formed itself on my tired face, but it faded away when I turned back to the burning light in the tree.
It was gone. Disappeared like it had never been there in the first place, vanquished like my sanity.
How is this even possible?
I was so close to touch the light and perhaps answer some of my questions. Was it a mind trick? Was that bird a hallucination or a reality?
I touched the wet wood in a hope to summon the light, but the great hole in the tree seemed to be abandoned.
Dammit.
Suddenly, a bright light was shining through the forest and bathing my body in fresh colors. However, to my disappointment, it came from the top of the hill.
"I found her!" A woman's voice shouted over the rain, blinding me with her strong flashlight.
Looking up with shielded eyes, I waved, glad to know I would make it out alive.
"Hold on! We're getting you out of there," another voice yelled as people were already climbing down the wet hillside.
Although I was saved, I still couldn't stop the feeling of disappointed scratching me.
I'm not sure what just happened, but one thing is crystal clear: I will figure it out. No matter the costs.
And that's the last thing I remember before the tiredness knocked me out cold.