Chapter 2 - Predators of the Icy Wilderness

14:15 – Day 1

Petra was starting to become aware of things happening around her. She could hear wind gusting loudly, blocking out most other sounds. There was a strange wood creaking sound audible as well, no doubt from a tree - or many trees - bending over in the wind.

Petra could barely feel anything. Her whole body was numb with cold. But as her mind started to wake up, life began flooding back into her limbs. And the only thing she really felt, other than the bitter cold... was pain.

Petra's mind threatened to drift back into the darkness, but her instincts fought it. She only just about managed to pry open her heavy eyelids, only for them to fall close again immediately.

Petra blinked hard a few times, seeing nothing but a mish mash of colours... browns, greens, whites and greys...

Groaning, she tried to lift her head. Immediately a sharp pain shot through her skull, causing Petra to let her head drop back onto the snow with a gasp. She shut her eyes tightly, gritting her teeth.

Finally forcing her eyes back open, Petra's vision started to clear slightly. While everything was still out of focus, she could tell that the mess of colours were actually trees. Trees that were... sideways.

Petra's heartrate kicked up, realising she was in fact lying on her side in the snow. Her instincts started screaming at her to immediately get up.

Petra tried lifting her right arm, the one that wasn't pinned beneath her own body. Stiff, but working. Next she tried budging her left arm. She could only barely feel it, stuck under her own weight.

Petra flexed her fingers slightly inside her gloves. While she could still move them, there was an ice cold sear of pain through the ones on her left hand. The very start of frostbite.

Cursing softly, Petra tried lifting her sore body off her arm. But unable to prop herself up on it, she had no success. Grinding her teeth together, the redhead forced herself over off her side, so she was lying on her stomach. Pain radiated through her left arm, but at least it hadn't frozen solid yet.

Petra pushed herself up on her right arm, only barely managing to support her upper body. The world swayed around her, her head throbbing violently in response.

Petra glanced slightly to the side her back had formerly been facing. And sure enough, she had been lying against a tree. Blood caked onto it's rough bark.

She shut her eyes tightly, letting another low curse fall. What had happened? Clearly she had hit her head against that tree... Where was she even?

Petra growled in frustration, her mind only slamming into a blank. She had old, vague memories of her friends, back in Beacontown. But it was obvious that she had lost more than just a few days.

"Survival first, history later." Petra muttered to herself, placing her sore left arm beneath her as well. Even through the haziness on her mind, the warrior's survival instincts were sharp.

Petra heaved herself up onto her knees. She groaned loudly, shutting her eyes tightly as she reached her hands up, placing them on either side of her head. Gulping down a rising feeling in her throat.

The sudden snap of a twig made Petra's head shot up. Biting down hard on her bottom lip to suppress a cry of pain, her blue eyes darted around anxiously.

Petra reached out a hand, grasping a low branch of the tree she had been lying against and using it to pull herself to her feet. Her legs shook dangerously beneath her, threatening to give way at any moment. Petra heavily leaned on the tree, blinking hard as she dizzily looked around.

She was on somewhat of a slope, the tree looking like it have been the thing to stop her falling down. Generally not a very clumsy person, Petra found it hard to believe that she could physically have been rolling down a hill. But taking the circumstances into consideration, that possibility suddenly didn't sound so bizarre.

Petra let go of the tree, taking a step away as she tried to use her balance. The forest was worryingly quiet... except for the howling of the wind, the creaking of the trees, and Petra's own raspy breathing, she couldn't hear anything else.

And then another twig snapped.

Petra gulped, her eyes anxiously darting around. How she got there, was suddenly the least of her worries.

A low growl caused the redhead's heart to skip a beat. Seeing a shadow behind one of the trees, the creature's figure tall on its legs, but skinny in shape.

Petra's gaze shot to the other side, spotting another similar shadow. This time there was the hint of a spiky tail as well. Slowly more shadows became visible to the warrior, realisation settling in that she was surrounded.

Instinctively, Petra's hand raised up to her side – feeling for her weapon. But all her fingers touched were the soft fabric of her hoodie, no sword resting at her side.

Why? She never let Miss Butter out of her sight, how did she end up in a dangerous situation completely unarmed?

Petra cursed softly under her breath, her eyes meeting those of one creature. Irises a sickly yellow, bearing into her gaze.

Hearing a growl at her left, Petra's gaze shot in that direction again. Another pair of eyes glaring right at her, this time an icy blue colour.

Despite the freezing temperatures, sweat trailed down Petra's face. Her hands clenching into tight fists, the throbbing in her head almost forgotten.

Because she was in fact, surrounded by a pack of wolves.

Having dealt with predators before in her life, Petra knew that she wasn't supposed to run. Running would be like writing prey on her forehead with a red sharpie.

But at that moment, backing away slowly was not an option. Those wolves were visible underweight, no doubt starving. And they have already decided to have her for dinner.

Petra glanced over her should slightly. Downhill would be her better option. While it was dangerous, she'd have more speed than going uphill. Besides, the wolves were blocking every other direction but down.

It was steep, and she was injured. Petra knew her chances of survival, were incredibly slim.

The third of the wolves growled again, it's brown eyes locked on the redhead. It curled back it's lips, snarling.

And that's when Petra bolted.

Using the steepness of the hill to her advantage, Petra leaped downwards. For a second, physically falling through nothing by mid air.Her feet met the snow again, barely holding her upright as she skidded down the hill, only just about able to get her feet dug in. Showering snow up into her clothes, face and hair.

Petra just went for it, using the speed she was gaining to her advantage. She was more sliding down that hill than actually running, leaping over anything in her path.

Petra heard the growls and the grunts of the wolves on her tail, glancing slightly sideways. The black, yellow-eyed wolf was nearly on top of her. It lashed out at her, it's teeth snapping a millimetre away from Petra's thigh.

Her gaze shot back to the front, seeing that she was only a few strides away from a fallen tree stump. Using all her strength combined with the momentum, Petra leaped over the obstacle in her path.

Hearing a wailing cry of pain, as the wolf barrelled straight into the stump. Hopefully that was one down... two to go.

Petra swerved left and right to avoid the closely packed together trees. The ground had evened out a tiny bit, meaning she wasn't sliding for the most part anymore. But really, Petra was still just moving her feet and letting momentum and gravity carry her down.

Breaking through another cluster of trees, the snowy ground suddenly disappeared beneath her, the forest clearing up. Petra screamed, falling hand onto an asphalt surface, rolling across it slightly.

It felt like her skull was about to physically split open, Petra's vision completely doubling over. Still running on adrenaline, she pushed herself up onto her elbows, eyes darting around.She was lying on a snowed over road, stretching into the distance on both sides. The hill Petra had just came down was towering above the road.

The two remaining wolves leaped out through the trees, digging their paws into the ground so they didn't slide across the road. Seemingly more wary now that they were in the open, and out of their comfort zone.

Petra edged back, the two wolves slowly starting to circle her. The darker grey one of the two were the closest to her, it's ears pulled back flat and teeth showing. Dark brown eyes fixed on the person in front of it.

The white, blue eyed wolf, was standing back a bit. Seemingly scared of being out on the road, ears pricked instead of pulled back.

Now that they were in full view, Petra could see exactly why these wolves went about attacking something they'd usually want to avoid. Their ribs stuck through their shaggy fur, bones moving beneath their skin.

Petra looked around anxiously, catching a glimpse of something brown to her left. Half of tree branch, really more of a large stick. The closest she could possibly get to a weapon.

Petra reached out, her hand grasping the stick. She turned back to the ground, defensively raising it. The grey wolf didn't seemed phased in the slightest, another deep growl sounding from its throat.

It leaped forward, teeth bared. Petra raised the stick, trying to the fend the wolf off with it. It leaped on top of Petra, pushing her down onto the snowy road. Feeling its hot breath on her face.

Petra kicked up as hard as she could, her boot coming into a very swift contact with the wolf's stomach. He snarled aggressively, yelping as he leaped back from the kick. Petra raised the branch again, slamming it down on the animal in front of her.

The wolf tried grabbing the stick in it's teeth, but upon a second hit to it's face it finally backed off. The blue eyed wolf didn't need an invitation to follow it's buddy right back off the road, and into the forest.

Petra fell back onto the road, gasping slightly. She shut her eyes tightly, wanting to curl up from the pain in her head. Now accompanied by something else.

Petra raised her right arm, eyes resting on the deep teeth marks in her skin, where the sleeves of her clothing had rolled up during the fight. Some of the fabric was torn, but the many layers she wore, had protected most of her arm from the wolf's jaws.

Petra forced herself up into a sitting position, looking around. An icy wind was blowing over her, sweeping fine snowflakes across her chilled form. The road didn't look like it was frequently used, which made Petra's hopes sink back down again.

The world titled slightly, dizziness fogging the warrior's mind. There heavy feeling in her eyelids.

"No." Petra said through gritted teeth, forcing her injured body up onto her knees. She was not about to let herself become free food for a wolf.

Several harsh curses fell beneath her breath as Petra heaved herself onto her tired legs. Ignoring her distorted vision, Petra started surveying her surroundings. Hoping for anything, any buildings, any signs of human life.

Petra staggered over to the side of the road. There was another drop off, definitely one too tall and too steep for Petra to go down. A fozen lake resting beneath her.

Petra gasped slightly, her eyes catching a large-ish wooden structure across the lake. A cabin or something!

Petra looked around, trying to find a way to get down. But there wasn't an available route for her to take, not one that wouldn't result in a broken bone or two.

Petra frowned to herself, trying to think through the pulsing in her head. If somebody lived there, or used to live there, maybe the road ended up snaking down onto the lower level? The owners of the house had to get there some way or another?

Petra turned away from the drop off, slowly beginning to walk down the road. She wasn't sure how far she'd have to walk, or how long it was going to take. But she needed a shelter, and that was the closest she's seen to one.

Left, right, left, right. The redhead repeated to herself in her head, feeling the familiar heaviness in her eyelids. She wasn't sure how she was even still thinking straight, it feeling like she was on the brink of unconsciousness.

Petra gritted her teeth. The more the adrenaline wore off, the more pain she felt. Other than her head, her entire body was stiff and sore – understandably. Not to mention to sharp burning in her arm from the open wound, still gushing with fresh blood.She blinked heavily, stumbling slightly as she walked. Her instincts were becoming vague, she could feel it. Was she going to make it to the house she saw? Chances were slim...

Petra stumbled again, only just about keeping her balance. The pain in her head wasn't dimming, the dizziness wasn't ceasing, and now she was starting to become increasingly nauseous.

She shivered, a strong gust of wind tugging at her short red hair. Her hopes were becoming fainter and fainter... Petra had a sickening feeling that she wasn't going to make it another day. And death wasn't something the warrior easily made peace with.

All of a sudden Petra stopped in her tracks, lifting her head. It was very, very distant... but she could have sworn she just heard somebody scream.

Petra looked around, her expression almost slightly bewildered. Had she hit her head that hard, was she starting to hallucinate?

Petra shook her head slightly, gritting her teeth in pain. But as she did, something else caught her eye.

Petra's face lit up, spotting a very small building a distance up the road. Complete with two abandoned gas pumps beside it. The growing fog made it nearly invisible, but it was there.

"Thank the lord." Petra breathed, quickening her pace ever so slightly.

She still wanted to find a way to that cabin. If she was going to be trapped out there for long, she needed something better insulated than an abandoned gas station. But it was a great start.

Petra felt about ready to drop down, by the time she reached the abandoned station's building. Shivering violently, she reached over to try and tug open the door. When it didn't open, she tried to pushing it. Still it didn't budge.

"The hell with this." Petra muttered, stepping back. She raised her boot, aggressively kicking the doors open.

Petra didn't hesitate to shut them tightly behind her again, blocking out the cold wind that was picking up more and more. She sunk down against the wall, grateful to get the pressure off of her legs.

Petra gritted her teeth, clenching her gloved hands into tight fists. Immediately there was the familiar icy, searing pain in her left hand. Right, frostbite...

Raising her hand and carefully pulling the glove off it, Petra flinched. Her fingertips were a greyish shade of blue. Thankfully, she could still feel the familiar sensation of pins and needles in her fingers. They weren't lost yet.

Petra wrapped the fingers on her right hand around her left hand, taking a deep breath. She shut her eyes tightly, forcing her stiff fingers to bend.Gulping back pained cry, Petra took a few deep breaths. While she knew what to do in this case, she's never actually had frostbite. If only a bucket of warm water was more accessible at that moment.

She let out another pained groan as she rubbed her fingers with the other hand. Swift firm movements, and painful at that. But alas it worked, more and more life beginning to flood back into Petra's cold hand.

Many more minutes passed, before Petra was finally satisfied that it was safe to stop rubbing her hand. Her fingers were throbbing lightly, but at least they were warmed up.

Next, she turned her attention to her injured arm. Her skin was gaping open, the wound still lightly bleeding. A horrible feeling of dread came to rest on Petra's shoulders, as she realised she was at a high risk for infection.

"Well you aren't going to find any medication out here." Petra muttered to herself, taking a long, shaky breath. "Suck it up for now..."

She pushed the topic out of her head, putting her focus back onto what she could do at that very moment. Bleeding, she needed to stop the bleeding. Petra bit her lip, subconsciously glancing around her for something she could use as a bandage. Anything, a shirt, a scarf, a...

Petra's hand slowly reached up to her head, pulling off her blue bandanna. Immediately strings of her red hair dropped over her face, dangling in her eyes. Petra shook her head slightly, letting out a short puff of breath as she blew the strands out of her face.

She carefully examined the bandanna. It's blue pigment had faded over the years, the stripes slightly bleeding into each other. It now had a small tear Petra didn't know off, accompanied by dark stains that could only be her own blood. But it was the right length.

Petra rolled the many layers of sleeves up until her elbow, tightly wrapping her bandanna around the deep wound. She hissed in pain as the fabric and the raw flesh met. Dark red immediately spread over most of the bandanna, staining the blue cloth probably forever.

"There." She muttered, knotting it so it stayed in place.

Petra rolled her sleeve back down, flexing the stiff arm slightly. She reached up, wiping a few flecks of sweat off her face, that had started to form throughout the painful process.

Groaning softly, Petra began rubbing her forehead with two fingers. Despite how overly exhausted she was, she wasn't risking sleep for more than one reason. Not only was it cold inside the gas station, dangerously cold at that, but she also didn't trust whatever head injury she could have possibly sustained. There was a high chance of slipping into unconsciousness while she slept.

Maybe I should get my ass off this floor, and search the place. Petra thought to herself, placing her hands on the slick tiles as she tried to push herself up. It'd be good to know if the place had anything edible, even if eating was the last thing she felt like doing. Water too, before dehydration could be added to her list of problems. Petra after all had no idea how long she had been out for, not to mention when before that she had last eaten or drank anything.

The place was pretty empty and cleared out – it's clearly been abandoned for quite a long time. Much to her advantage, Petra found three cans of food on one of the empty shelves. She pulled up her nose. Beans, sardines and... canned pork. Well it was good thing Jesse wasn't there.

Petra's expression fell slightly, for the first time thinking about her friends. She had no idea where they were, if they were back home safely, or if they were in danger as well.

Petra placed the food back down, pulling a hand through her loose red hair and biting her lip. She just hoped they were okay.

Something glinting in the dark caught Petra's attention. She walked away from the shelf with the few measly cans of food, heading towards the object that had shone when the light fell on it just right.

"Not Miss Butter, but it's the next best thing." Petra muttered, picking up the knife. A sturdy, sharp blade, with a hand carved wooden handle. The initials C.S. were scratched out onto the wood. A proper hunting knife.

Petra ran her fingers down the blade, the very hint of a smile tugging at her lips. She felt so much more assured with a weapon in her hands.

She was very unaware of the two green eyes, watching her from the shadows.

___

Ah, sweet glorious cliffhangers! And so early in the story a well!

To make this one especially mean as well... who knows when the next chapter focused on Petra will come? *evil laughter*

Anyhow, so we got to see how things started off for Petra today! Would you call her situation better or worse than Jesse's?

I have something I'd also like to address, that I probably should have talked about in the A/N before the book starts. But I didn't, because I have a great memory.

And that is the time at the start of the chapter, in today's case "14:15 - Day 1"I'm going to say it now, it's probably pretty important that you pay attention to these! Some chapters will be taking place before others, and so it's really handy to know what the time is. Like today, Petra's chapter took place a little bit before Jesse's chapter. 

I just found this a really cool feature to add into this type of book. Now you know where in the world Petra was when Jesse began waking up in the previous chapter - Yes, that was Jesse's scream Petra heard!

So yeaaah, I decided I just should probably shed some light on that!

Also, holy heck, usually the first chapters in my books start off short. But here we already have a 3000+ word one, on chapter 2! Man, I still reminded how I carried away I got back when I wrote this :'D

Anyway, I really hope you guys enjoyed today's chapter! Be sure to leave me your thoughts and theories!

I'll see you all in five days with chapter 3!