Bite For Once

I should have known better than to go into the jungle alone. We haven't been in my father's town for long, just a few days ago, and I should better stayed at home. But I was bored and lonely, and the woods around our new place seemed to call me. At first, I wasn't scared. Honestly, I'm not the type to scare easily, but that's because I'm…different. The word of my father. He doesn't like to call me a freak or anything since he's my dad, so he says I'm just different. My shoes felt like they were floating on the ground, breaking branches and crushing the leaves I walked on. The sunlight barely penetrated the tree tops. Around me, the woods were dark green and brown and I could hear the birds chirping in a sweet song. For a girl who lived the first sixteen years of her life in the city surrounded by tall buildings and asphalt that stretched for miles, the swaying trees and the fragrant smell of the pine trees of the woods were...beautiful. I was not afraid at first. I just walked and walked. I didn't worry about getting lost. I can't get lost. No matter where I go or what I do, I will never be lost. I will always find my way home. That's just one of the ways I'm different from other women. But dad didn't want me to tell people about that talent. Then again, my father was only too often to share with anyone. As far as I know, I'm the only person he trusts. Sometimes, I feel like he is hiding something even from me. I walked and walked. I found a small stream and the cold water cooled my fingers. Bits of dying sunlight fell on me as I knelt in the stream, and I breathed a breath that didn't taste like the city. But the sunlight seems to fade more and more. I bent over the stream when I heard the first murmur. And when I felt the slight touch of fear on my skin. I slowly lifted my head, and my gaze went through the water. "A horse!." I whispered in surprise when I saw what was waiting for me. I should have known better than to go into the jungle alone. Another grunt raised the fur on my arms. Because this growl...it showed the fangs—the enormous fangs—that the monster before me had. Those fangs were large and very sharp when they came out of the animal's mouth. A dog? A really big, scary dog? "Easy," I whispered as I stood up and held out my hand. I thought I learned that somewhere...that you should let the dog sniff you to show you didn't mean any harm. Seriously, a grunt, and I dropped my hand. Its eyes were looking at me—bright and yellow. Its body was covered in thick black fur and its strong legs dug into the ground. Sweat began to drip down my back. Run. The dog's teeth clicked, and it jumped, flew right into that stream and came to me. I screamed and turned around, running as fast as I could. "Help!" I shouted over my shoulder while running. I heard the splash of water as the dog landed on the edge of the stream. "Just leave and— Get lost!" I don't really like dogs, and a crazy dog ​​sure does nothing to change my opinion. The ground behind me seemed to shake as he stood in the way. I didn't look back. I never want to see those teeth again. I ran as fast as I could, but I was never going to be a track star. My side ached, and tree branches scratched my arms. Once I got away from the dog, I would never go into the woods alone again. Never! I feel his breath on my back. Maybe that sounds crazy, but I can do it. Hot, heavy. I gasped when I saw a tree ahead. An acacia tree, one with long, overhanging branches that I was sure I could reach. I pushed forward with the last of my energy—I'm not an athlete—and I jumped, desperately reaching for that foot. I missed that. That's why I can't be an athlete. I fell to the ground and in the same instant, I felt a white-hot slice of pain on my upper arm. I screamed and kicked, and, luckily, I caught the mutt on the side. He groaned and turned away. I pushed up and jumped to the tree again. This time, I caught it. I raised my legs, doing a weird half-crawl up the tree. I just felt like my skin was injured, but I didn't care. For about four seconds, I was sitting on top of that tree branch. And the dog was below me, making a deep, echoing growl that startled me. "Go away!" I shouted at him while glancing at my left arm. Jeez, he scratched me! I have four long cuts on my skin. Four long, bleeding cuts. The kind you know won't heal easily. Not really, thanks to the dog, I'll probably carry these marks for a few weeks. If only I had listened to my father. And now, I'm stuck in a damn tree while the dog circles around me, sniffing the air every few minutes. I walked around and ended up in a trap. That's pretty much the story of my life, so I shouldn't be surprised by this messy situation. "Go away!" I screamed. "Find someone else to bite!" But I realized that there really isn't a better place to be when you're stuck in an acacia tree. And then things got worse for me. Yeah, how was that possible, right? But I started hearing a strange... c***k. Alas! I really am the unluckiest person in the whole world. My gaze flew to the right, and I just saw my feet, my sweet salvation, begin to disappear. *****