We have to leave our bicycles behind, so we drag them away from the wall of fog and into the bushes, covering them with our strawberry-coloured raincoats beforehand.The bright spot should be seen from a distance against the autumn forest, so there would be a chance we may ride home instead of walking. Colin mumbles something about the raincoat being very important unlike the bicycles, but I drown his pessimism out by a hard pat on the back of his head.

I head down by the left side of the road and into the woods. Unlike the steep hill on the right side, the land here is quite flat and it is possible to walk with a fast pace. The fog clears out as we stray further from the road, and when we come up to a violent river, it has fully dissipated.

I remember that yesterday I drove over a bridge on my way to town, making me believe that we will have to cross the river. Colin thinks for a bit and then suggests that we find the bridge, and then seek the town from there.

"Maybe by that time the fog on the road will clear out." He adds with a hint of doubt in his voice.

In any case, this is a plan, and so we go upstream. The river has a lot of rapids with numerous rocks sticking out of them, making it impossible to cross - it's too fast and the riverbed cannot be seen from here. The wet ground sloshes under my feet, occasionally spewing out tiny water spouts from underneath the fallen leaves.

Both of our watches still don't work, the sun is nowhere to be seen and the only thing left is to ponder how much time we already spent in this forest, hopping over diverse obstacles that the forest generously placed on our way.

I climb over another trunk of a fallen tree, but then immediately sit against it.

"Is it okay if we rest for some time?" I ask Colin. "About five to ten minutes?"

Colin reluctantly stops and opens his backpack.

"You're right. We can also have a snack meanwhile. It will also get rid of some weight."

He takes some sandwiches out of the backpack, which are covered in food wrap. He then pulls out a thermos and two plastic cups. The thermos is filled with milk coffee. I gulp down my cup's contents, while admiring Colin's foresight.

"I also have a knife, matches, dry twigs..." He boasts. "We can make a fire. Such things don't take up a lot of space, but can be very useful. Do you want an apple?"

I refuse his offer and instead take a bite out of my sandwich, which is filled with steamed chicken and mayonnaise. Seems like Colin made them from whatever was lying around in the kitchen, which turned out surprisingly tasty. I stretch my legs and relax, noticing that my right shoe's sole is starting to come apart.

I'm so tired... I can feel my various muscles aching, especially on my legs and hips. I strike up a conversation to distract myself from this unpleasant feeling.

"What city do you live in?" I ask Colin. "Where do your parents work?"

Colin stops chewing and raises his blonde eyebrow with confusion.

"Well that was out of nowhere."

"I just thought that I need to know at least something about the person who I'm sharing lunch with, not to mention in a forest by ourselves. I already know some things about your aunt, grandpa-historian and grandma, but not a single thing about your school or hobbies."

Colin's answer is suddenly harsh.

"I never liked people who ask too many questions. Do you need answers? You will forget them soon anyways. But the uneasiness remains for me."

"And how did I hurt your gentle soul?" Colin's reaction is confusing and unpleasant to me. "By asking where you live?"

"Mhm." he mumbles "At first you ask about my town, then my school, then my friends and which girls I like. Different people ask the same questions from boredom, and I have to tell everything?"

"Nobody is making you do that." I snort. "Who are you, a celebrity in depression? Just sit there and be quiet like a... a snail. You're weird. At first you seemed so nice and understanding, but right now it's impossible to talk with you. Trust me, if you continue being like this, when you grow up you will be considered a pain in the ass and nobody would want to be with you."

"I will do what I want and what is beneficial for me." Colin frowns. "Much good will it do to change under a stranger's opinion."

"You think you're the smartest person on earth? Maybe you should become a president."

"Maybe a grey eminence is better. But I don't think it will work - I don't have patience for it. My granddad tells me that I have an adverse personality."

"Wow! You can't tell. And what is so adverse about you?"

"Please don't be angry. I don't like it myself, but... Ok, so imagine this: you talk with people, try to be likable, help and humor them; you just have to do everything correctly and you can live without any problems. But one morning you wake up and realize that you feel disgusted and bored, people annoy you, and you want to hurt someone, just to change th- Why are you laughing?!"

"Colin, it's called hormones. Scary thing, but you get used to it. You think that you're so unique? Most teenagers are like that too, trust me!"

"Maybe." Colin shrugs. "But it does not make me feel any more at ease."

"Poor you."

"I hate it when people pity me. Are you going to sit here all day?"

"What a pain. Unlike you, I like to answer questions. I'm sure you also have some for me. Or are you not interested?"

"Honestly?"

"Ok, you don't have to continue, I understood. Let's go, you adverse creature."

Saying it is easier than doing it. I stretch in order to take away some pressure from my back and shoulders, even if it's not a lot. As I finish stretching, I hear a distant barking. I look at Colin and see uncertainty and fear in his eyes. He quickly puts on his backpack and we start walking, almost jogging away from the increasingly loud and echoing barking, which seems to be getting closer by the second. It's as if a hunt is going on, and we are the ones being hunted. Stand still and wait to check? No thank you, only from a safe distance!

My legs keep on sliding on the wet ground and I almost fall, but Colin grabs me by the elbow and points toward the river.

"There, a tree. We need to cross it." He breathes out.

The trunk of a medium-sized tree lies in the water, the top of it almost touching our side of the river. The other side has roots, overgrown with moss. But the middle is submerged, with rough water flowing above it.

"We can't pass." I shake my head. "We will get knocked off."

"I'm first, you go after me." Colin says without hesitation as he climbs on top of the trunk, puts his hands horizontally, and quickly crosses until he reaches the submerged part. He stand there for a second, and then suddenly jumps forward. I shout when his leg slips, but thankfully he grabs onto one of the roots and pulls himself onto the other side. I get even more terrified afterwards as I climb on the trunk myself. The tree is very slippery... Colin is small and light, but I am a fat cow, the current will drag me away!

I hear the barking very close now, and as I turn in its direction, I can see three shadows - dogs! Giant dogs! I go over the fallen tree, taking small sideways steps like a crab, but still lose my balance and fall, hugging the trunk for dear life. I look back - Jesus! One of the dogs is in a pouncing pose, I can see its sharp face and black eyes as clearly as if it is right in front of me. I climb onto my knees, staring in terror at the bubbling water below me.

With immense effort, I get up on my feet and prepare to jump, when a strong force into my back hurls me forward, and for a second I hear clicking of teeth right by my ear accompanied by a faint stench. The coat's hood rips and a heavy body drags me under the water. Petrified with fear, I miraculously free myself from the coat's sleeves and surface, only to get dragged by the current, filling my nose with icy water as I flail my whole body in hopeless attempt to survive. My chest bumps into something hard and spiky. I grab onto it with both hands and pull myself up. Another pull, and I am once again on the surface, gulping for air. I see the riverside close to me, and Colin's panicking face. With both hands he holds the pine branch that I am grabbing with a mortal grip, pulling it away from the river. I can already feel the ground beneath my feet, but I don't have the energy to stand on it. Colin drags me onto shallow water, and then onto the shore where I lie down in the wet mud, coughing up river water. He brushes my hair and whispers assurances, such as how I'm amazing and that everything will be ok. Somehow I don't believe a single word of it.

There is a monotone hum in my ears, but even through it I can hear the dogs growling and barking. I turn over with difficulty and lie on my back, at the same time seeing two dogs running on the other side. I drag myself further from the river and onto the mud, leaving deep tracks along the way. Colin is helping while telling me to calm down. Under the trees and at a safe distance from the river, I grab my knees and hold my head against them.

"You're going to get cold." Colin's voice comes to me as if through a layer of cotton. "You need to at least change your top. Can you hear me?" He shakes me by my shoulders.

"What d-do you want?" My teeth are suddenly chattering from the cold.

"Take your shirt off, it's wet. Here:" He gives me his hoodie.

"What about-t you?" I can't resist the chatter. "Will you remain in just a single t shirt-t?"

"Two t-shirts." Colin grins. "I have a spare one in my backpack. Too bad I didn't take spare pants as well."

"And a bottle of vodka!" I mumble. "T-turn around!"

Colin turns his back to me, while I take off my wet shirt, and then try to undo my bra with icy fingers. I then feel bliss as dry cloth covers my skin, still warm from when Colin wore it. There are fresh dirt streaks all over the orange collar. Okay, my hair has stuck together into a muddy lump, I can even sculpt a mohawk out of it. I thoroughly wipe my mane with the wet shirt, then pluck dirt and debris out with my fingers. Useless.

"You can turn around-d now." I give Colin the wet shirt and bra. "Can you put those in the bag?"

"One second." He rummages in the backpack, taking out a plastic bag and putting the clothes in it. He then takes out some wet wipes from a side pocket. "They're antiseptic, and your hands are bleeding. Wait, give me some as well."

We wipe the dirt off of ourselves. I try to squeeze the water out of my jeans, wincing from pain. I have a number of deep gashes on my shoulders and hands. Colin has bloody scratches on his wrist. He examines them, then switches his gaze onto my hands and complains:

"Look at how hard you scratched me! Ugh, why do women have to grow such long nails! It's inconvenient and unhygienic!"

"Sorry." I respond. "Didn't do it on purpose. It's like we're blood relatives now."

Colin mumbles something about "Better being an orphan with such relatives." and collects the dirty wipes into another plastic bag. I am too tired to comment on his actions, so I wait in silence, pondering when we're going to get out of this place.

We finally start moving. As we pass the trunk that saved us, I realize how lucky I was that the current didn't drag me into the middle of the river, otherwise there would have only been two outcomes - either me drowning or getting crashed into the rocks(which I prefer over getting eaten alive.) It's a pity that my coat got torn, it was a gift from Ian. I also had a lot of things in it, including my phone, wallet, and earphones. Afterwards another thought pops into my head, which I Immediately share with Colin.

"Those dogs look a lot like the ones that were chasing me yesterday. They were almost at the town! This means we are also very close! Only earlier they looked a lot smaller to me, must have been because of the bicycle. Anyway, this means that the bridge should be nearby."

"It would be nice." Colin sighs."I've had enough adventures for today. When we return, I will take a hot shower for sure."

"And a hot stone massage." I continue. "And go to bed for a whole day."

"And before that eat fried chicken with mashed potatoes and onions." Colin amusingly swallows.

My imagination creates a fantastic image: Snow-white bathtub, filled to the brim with cloud-like foam... the hot air condensing on marble walls, falling down in crystal-clear drops. In front of the bathtub lies a wooden tray with plates of chicken and potatoes, and a glass filled with saturated tea, with a moon-shaped piece of lemon floating in it. Apparently not much is needed to achieve happiness, but for starters at least to get rid of these rough, wet jeans that are freezing my legs and butt off.

A subtle branch stuck in the gap above my shoe's sole interrupts my dreamlike state and I start swearing profusely, pulling it out of the ripped converse.