The thick, humid air stuck to their faces as they slowly drifted down the stream. Their world around them was ethereal, bathed in a soft glow of sunlight shining down from the thick canopy above.
The vibrant flowers hung over the edge of the ground, hanging over the calm, steady river, while the trees towered over the water, creating tall, skinny shadows. But there was something odd about the atmosphere, some tension that couldn’t stop bothering Rayne.
While time passed, the two girls, Rayne and Delilah, sat on their basically wrecked boat and talked and talked while surveying their beautiful surroundings. The distant sound of running water started to whisper under their breaths as their boat swirled down the stream.
“Delilah, do you hear that? ” Rayne asked, her voice a bit shaky,
Delilah sat still, her eyes scanning the river. “I hear it but stay calm; we’re okay.”
But her words didn’t change the weird sense that Rayne was feeling.
Suddenly, the boat creaked as it slid forward, and the current began to quicken, harshly dragging the boat with a force too strong to ignore. The air grew cold and neither of them said a word, their eyes looking like they were about to pop out of their heads, faced straight ahead. Before you know it, their boat was being dragged down the current, water splashing everywhere, soaking both Delilah and Rayne. Then, out of nowhere, they heard a loud BANG!
“Um, Delilah? What just happened! Rayne said, worryingly, as she realised that the boat had hit something sharp underneath the surface of the water”.
They looked down at their feet to see water rising rapidly, filling up the boat. “It’s a leak! Quick! Get out! Rayne and Delilah stumbled out of the boat, swimming as quickly as they could to the side of the river, their lungs gasping for air”. Their clothes stuck onto their skin as they stood up. They were completely drenched in water.
“Now what? ” asked Ranye,
Delilah reached into her little, brown bag and took out a soggy, wet paper. “The map is soaked but the writing and the graphics are still quite visible. Here, take it.” She handed Rayne the dripping paper.
A bit later they started to walk around and follow the map. “This map isn’t leading us anywhere; it just keeps telling us to walk in a straight line,” said Rayne.
“Just keep following it. It’s not like you know where to go.”
“Okay, whatever you say.” Rayne rolled her eyes and shifted her eyes to the map.
They continued walking down the rocky path till it got dark. The moon shone brightly above in the empty night sky, and while they shivered, they shivered so loudly that all you could hear was the sound of their teeth chattering.
“Delilah, it’s way too cold to keep walking,” said Rayne.
“You’re right, we should probably get some sleep so that we won’t be so tired tomorrow; otherwise, we won’t have much energy to keep walking.”
After about ten to fifteen minutes, they stopped underneath the trees and rested on the ground. They had no idea what time it was and they felt like they were about to freeze so Delilah went out to work for some wood to start a fire. While Rayne waited, she got some leaves and laid out two piles on the floor, one for her to lay on and one for Delilah.
“Goodnight Rayne,” Delilah said after laying down on the pile of leaves.
“Night night.”
The sun sparkled in Rayne’s face as soon as she awoke. The soft breeze pushing lightly against her face and the wind fluttering in her dark brown hair,
“Hey, Delilah, wake up.” Rayne shook Delilah, rolling her onto her back.
Delilah scrambled up looking confused.
“What?”
“It’s the morning; we best get going.” Rayne grabbed Delilah’s hand, lifting her up from the ground.
Delilah whipped her face as Rayne dragged her up and they started walking in the direction of the map. While walking they looked around the jungle not seeing anything but trees, plants then trees again, then more plants.
“We’re not getting anywhere; we’ve been walking for hours yet it feels like we are walking in circles,” Rayne said, shoving the map into Delilah’s hands.
“No, keep on following the map; I’m sure we’re getting somewhere.”
Rayne rolled her eyes at Delilah and they continued walking. After what felt like hours, they noticed the sky getting darker.
“We’re not getting anywhere Delilah. Let’s just camp out here for the night.”
“No! Let’s keep on walking! ” Delilah raised her voice at Rayne,
“Delilah, don’t be silly; you’re acting more immature than the youngest one here. We need to rest; it’s getting dark. We will continue walking tomorrow.”
The once peaceful jungle was soon filled with the yells of the two girls. Rayne said that they should get a good night’s rest and Delilah kept saying to keep on walking. Although Delilah wanted to keep walking, she told Rayne that she didn’t even care at that point whether they kept walking or slept there. Rayne felt suspicious of Delilah’s odd behavior; she knows that Delilah knows she’s old enough to know when they should keep walking or stop, especially in the situation and place that they have been put in.
About an hour later it was clear that Delilah was still fuming at Rayne and didn’t want to talk to her or even make any eye contact with her. Even though the only thing they could both think about was the argument, they still needed to find a place to sleep. Rayne and Delilah both walked over to this rocky area that seemed to look like a cave and decided to sleep there for the night. Delilah walked out to collect some sticks to create a fire, not even saying a word to Rayne. When Delilah walked out, Rayne had noticed that a thin, crumpled-up piece of paper had fallen out of her pocket. Rayne bent over and grabbed the piece of paper; confused, she unfolded it. Her eyes widened in shock, her jaw dropping down to the floor. Rayne could not believe what she was holding. There in her hands was a map, but not just any map; it was a map to the exact jungle that they had been lost in.
That night Rayne waited for Delilah to be completely asleep before escaping with the real map in her hands, leaving Delilah alone without anything to help her find her way back home. Filled with rage and anger about the discovery of Delilah’s fake friendship with her, she made it through the wilderness. After fighting through the difficult challenges, she finally reached home, leaving behind a friend that she once trusted and a betrayal that would haunt her forever.
About the author
Callie is 12 years old and she is currently in year seven. She likes many different K-pop groups and enjoys singing and dancing. Callie also likes swimming and going to the beach. She also plays the piano.