Chapter 3. The Next Morning

The sound of a tent's zip snapped Carla out of her half-asleep state. She sat up, quickly and groaned as her head spun from the sudden movement. She glanced cautiously at the entrance of the tent as if expecting something to tear through the fabric and attack her. 

The blue-eyed girl stepped out of the tent on high alert then walked around to the side she had slept and observed the ground, looking for footprints (or paw prints). 

Right where the creature had been, last night, She could see a faint outline of feet that was double the size of a human male's foot.

She knelt beside it and traced the indent with her fingers, her mind racing through the possibilities of what it could be. Maybe a hybrid animal? Or a large bear? No, that was not a bear, she was sure of it. It was a wolf, a wolf that walked on two legs and was bigger than any bear ever to exist. Worst of all, it was not alone, if that howl meant anything.

She walked towards the direction it took off and stopped at the thick cluster of trees, she could see that most of the branches were snapped or bent out of shape as if something had pummelled through them.

It was all real. Everything that happened last night was real, she was sure of it. 

"What are you doing, Miss Sherley Holmes?" Came the taunt from behind her.

She turned around, startled and came face to face with Mark, who was eyeing her with a peculiar look in his eyes.

"Nothing," she responded, wondering why he was suddenly interested in her after ignoring her the previous day.

"It doesn't look like nothing to me. I saw you sniffing the ground or whatever it is you were doing and now here you are, glaring at those trees like they did something to you. What are you looking for?" He asked with his head cocked to the side and a probing gaze.

 "I told you, nothing," she said again, suddenly becoming uncomfortable around him. She was irritated by him before, but right now something in her screamed at her to get as far away from him as possible.

Carla stumbled back as he advanced on her until she felt her back meet the bark of a tree. He brought his face so close to her own, they were practically breathing the same air and whispered in a low and rumbling voice, so unlike his normal voice, "For your sake, it better be nothing."

Carla knew a threat when she heard one but that was not what frightened her about the confrontation. What sent shivers down her spine, was that his light green eyes for just a second, turned a flaming gold.

She was on high alert throughout the day and avoided being around Mark for longer than necessary, ignoring the concerned glances Lukas and Aria sent her way. 

Carolyne spent the day resting in their tent, whatever she took had a nasty effect on her as she was constantly vomiting and shuddering nonstop, worrying Carla and reminding her of what she should be doing instead of chasing mystical beasts. 

Her mind emptied itself of all thoughts concerning the beast and Mark's strange behaviour as she poured all her attention on Carolyne who looked like the dead and it was beginning to worry her.

Carolyne assured her again and again that she had taken d***s that have had a worse effect on her, but she couldn't help but worry. She spent the remainder of the day hovering over the redhead and caring for her until Carolyne kicked her out of the tent and told her to go have fun.

Lukas, observing her bad mood, proposed they watched a movie on his laptop, it was a romantic comedy that was distracting enough for her previously growing headache to subside. The three of them poked fun at the plot and when the movie was over, passed the time telling embarrassing stories.

When it was time for Carla to return to her tent, her mind was suddenly overcome with the thought of what could happen tonight. Lack of sleep enhanced her paranoia and anxiety today, so she could not afford to stay awake again.

She placed a sheathed dagger that she had packed, beneath her pillow for easy access and settled into a fitful sleep.

The next morning, she woke up to the sound of Carolyn retching into her vomit bucket. She could hear the buzz of activities outside, which meant she had slept deep enough to not be alerted by the beast or the creature had not come at all.

She crawled out of the tent and took a deep breath, the stench of vomit was thick inside, and while she may love her friend she could not handle it any longer.

Her attention was drawn to the fishing equipment being gathered and she walked towards the closest person, a blonde-haired girl named Stephanie, and asked what was going on.

"You smell like sh*t," she commented with a pinched look on her face.

"Carolyne smells worst. What's going on," she repeated, ignoring the disgusted sneer on Stephanie's lips.

"You should go clean up, we're heading over to the lake for some fishing." She explained as she handed over a bottle of hand sanitiser.

"Here. Use this, I can't imagine how disgusted you must feel around all those germs." She finished with a tight smile.

"Thank you," Carla replied as she collected the bottle, she was touched the fellow blonde noticed her discomfort enough to care. 

"If you need help with anything, call me. Okay?" Stephanie said with a smile.

 "Likewise, thanks again," she said as she waved Stephanie goodbye.

 She freshened up and went back to the tent to check on Carolyne, who was not coming along for the fishing trip, seeing as she was still too sick. 

"Will she be okay?" Lukas asked when she came out of the tent.

"Hopefully, though she seems to be getting worse," replied the blonde with a frown on her face.

"It's best to just let her rest. If she gets any worse the four of us will leave and find the nearest hospital, okay?" Aria suggested hoping to calm her friend's worries.

"Yeah, sure. I don't think I should leave her alone, though."

"Go! I'll be fine. I promise," came the response from inside.

 "Are you sure? I would love to stay," she responded trying to reason with her.

 "Go!" Carolyne screamed and let out a groan of discomfort.

Carla frowned as she followed the other two towards Ari's car, a black, five-seater Hummer with a really cool flame design sketched on its sides. They drove behind the others who were squeezed into five of the cars and made their way towards the lake.