“Shit.” My heart hammers in my chest, and I don’t know if I can keep running. But with no way to contact Hans, I have to.
“No one makes a fool out of me,” Chad calls from somewhere behind me.
So that’s what this is all about. I refused to get physical with Chad because he’s had too much to drink, and the charming college student I met at The Lodge turned into a lascivious drunk who was getting too handsy. I told him no, probably not a word he’s used to hearing, and now he wants to teach me a lesson.
I’ve been running along the path so I don’t trip over anything, but if I want to get away, my best chance is to lose him in the forest.
I pocket my phone and plunge into the woods. The car lights are faint behind me, which means the lake is to my left. I veer right between two tall pines and zig zag through the forest, darting between thick trees until the sounds of the voices are far behind me and I can’t see the car lights.
My heart is beating so hard my chest hurts. But I don’t stop running.
Further and further I plunge into the woods and into complete darkness, not knowing where I am going but needing to get as far away from the men as possible.
The undergrowth catches on my jeans and roots trip me up. I stumble more than once, hitting the ground when a large root catches on my foot. But I don’t stop. I pick myself up and keep going.
It’s only when my chest threatens to explode and I double over panting that I stop.
Breathing hard with my hands on my knees, I listen to the sounds of the forest. It’s hard to hear above my ragged breathing, but I make out the call of an owl and the gentle rustle of leaves as the breeze sweeps through the forest.
I’ve lost them.
Relief floods me, and I lean against the trunk of a study sycamore. A creature scurries in the undergrowth, and a new fear seizes me. There’re black bears in the Wild Heart Mountains, as well as bobcats and coyotes.
“Never venture into the forest on your own,”Hans always warned me.“Not without your phone and bear spray.”
At least I have my phone. If I can get to a place with signal, I’ll be able to try Hans again or navigate my way home. But when I reach into my back pocket, it’s empty.
I search the ground around me, crouching on my knees to pat the undergrowth. But it’s no use. My phone must have slipped out of my pocket when I stumbled.
I’m alone and lost in the middle of the woods in the middle of the night with no idea where I am and no way to get home.
2
GRETA
My arms fold over my belly as it rumbles yet again. I haven’t eaten since the bag of Doritos that Chad handed around at the lake. He talked about cooking sausages over the campfire, but no food materialized. Only more beer.
The canopy of trees clears briefly, and I look upwards. The moon has moved in the sky, which means I must have been out here for at least a few hours.
I sink to the ground, resting my back against a thick trunk. Wind whips through the trees, and my body shivers. Not a small shiver but one that shakes my bones and rattles my teeth.
I should find shelter, pull some branches together and huddle under them until dawn. But it’s too damn cold. Late fall is not a good time to be wandering the woods at night in nothing but a sweater and jeans.
I wish I’d paid more attention to the night sky. Hans is the outdoorsy one. I bet he’d be able to navigate back to the lodge by looking at the position of the constellations. But to me, they’re just twinkling lights. There’s not many of them out tonight, and as I sigh up at them, hoping for a guiding light, a cloud moves over the sky, covering the few remaining stars and making it almost pitch black.
As if on cue, a large raindrop splashes my cheek.
“Shit.”
I dip my head and pull my knees up to my chest. My arms wrap around myself, trying to make as small as possible a target for the rain.
Once it starts, the rain comes hard and fast. I’m drenched within moments, my hair sticking to my cheeks and my sweater soaked right through. I hug myself closer but the rain is cold, and in a few minutes I’m shaking as the cold penetrates my bones.
I have to keep moving, or I’ll freeze to death. And I will not die in these woods because some entitled asshole didn’t get laid like he thought he was going to.
But it’s hard to find the energy to move. My bones are weary, and I want nothing more than to curl up and stay at the base of the tree.
So Hans can find your body in the morning.
