Island of Secrets: Chapter 8

Instructions

Okay, first off: sorry. It's been like four months since the last chapter. I lost motivation for a while, but now it's back from hiatus... Anyway, here's the latest chapter. ^^ Island of Secrets: Chapter 8 Carla carefully stepped through the brush in the woods, following Alder. As she walked, she was strangely at peace. Even though she was stranded on an island, and apparently she could talk to wolves, and she was now following one to where it lived. She was completely out of options. Alder seemed nice enough, and had offered her food. And Carla's food supply was all gone. She was hungrier than she'd ever been. "So, uh," said Carla, clearing her throat. "Where exactly do you live, Alder?" The wolf replied, (All of the wolves here live in the same area near a stream in the middle of the forest. There will be room for you in my den. I have pups, by the way. Cinnamon and Iris. I live with them and my friend Buttercup.) "Okay," Carla said. If she was being honest, this was really cool. She was TALKING TO A WOLF. Obviously, it was something she'd never experienced. "Wait, so do you have, like, a mate?" Carla asked curiously. When Alder didn't respond immediately, Carla realized she must have made a mistake. "Sorry, I-" she started to say, but Alder spoke up. (I... I had a mate. His name was Mint Leaf.) she said. Carla, noticing the past tense, decided to drop the subject. "Okay. Are we almost there?" she asked, trying to find a different topic. (Yeah, it'll be a few minutes), Alder replied. They continued to walk silently until they arrived at the stream where the wolves lived. (We're here), announced Alder. Carla gazed at her surroundings. It seemed like a hidden corner of the forest. In the middle of thick clumps of trees and brush there was a clearing. There were several things that had to be wolf dens. Some were holes dug from the ground, and some were naturally formed caves. A stream ran through the middle of the area. Several wolves were sitting around. "Wow," Carla breathed. One wolf suddenly stood when Carla and Alder stepped into the clearing. It growled. Carla stumbled backwards and fell. She winced as pain shot through her left arm, which she landed on. Well, maybe it had been a trap, after all. Alder and the other wolves talked to each other, using dog-like noises. Carla slowly stood up. Her arm hurt pretty bad. She hoped it wasn’t broken. She stood awkwardly, waiting for Alder or another wolf to speak to her. She had decided that it wasn’t an trap. Alder said, (Come with me.) She padded over to one of the caves. Carla followed her in. As they walked there, Alder told her, (Some of the wolves aren’t that happy you’re here. But I promise none of them will hurt you. And I don’t think anyone else can communicate with you like me.) Carla just nodded, clutching her arm. She walked into Alder’s den. They were greeted by yips as two wolf pups ran up to them. They were actually really cute. Then another wolf came up to them. It was Alder’s friend, Buttercup. Alder spoke to them in the wolf language, and Carla stood, watching them. Now that she wasn’t terrified of them, the wolves looked beautiful. The pups reminded her of when she had a pet dog. After Alder explained the situation a second time, Buttercup looked at Carla and dipped her head. She did the same, not knowing if she was supposed to. The pups, Iris and Cinnamon, greeted her in the same way. Alder said, (Anyway, you’re hungry, right?) “Uh… yeah,” Carla replied. The pain in her arm was fading. She didn’t think it was broken, but it could be sprained. Alder led her to the back of the den. The space wasn’t too big, but Carla could stand practically upright. She could see a couple piles of grass that had to be the wolves’ beds. Alder showed her a small pile of plants and berries in the back of the den. She explained, (We mostly eat animals, but we do eat other things too. You can help yourself to this. We can go out and collect more later.) Carla smiled. Finally, things seemed to be going all right for her, for the most part. But things could still change any time. And she was still stuck on this island. But things were looking up.