Page 28 of Hunted By Them

The air was cooler and smelled crisp. It was morning again, but there was also the faint scent of a change in the weather. Summer was coming to an end, and fall would be here very soon.

Birds sang faintly outside, but inside the cave all I could hear was the drip of water and my own ragged breathing. I’d lost track of how many times they had used me, how many times I’d fallen asleep only to wake at their touch, their voices, or my own need.

I drifted in and out of consciousness for half of the day and was delirious the other half. Sometimes I thought I heard their whispers above me, arguing in low tones. Sometimes I thought I felt three sets of hands, other times only one. It didn’t matter…nothing mattered here. It was like Neverland, where time stood still.

But this time when I woke, the voices were sharper, louder, and angrier. Cocking my head, I knew that they were outside the cave, but as hard as I tried, I couldn’t hear words. There was a definite rhythm to it. They went from talking to low growls and sharp replies, then the scrape of boots against rock. An argument.

“Fuck you,” Buck bellowed.

The sound of his voice had me sitting up straighter. My pulse spiked. For the first time in days, something like fear coiled inside me. I had nothing to go on, and yet, I knew they were arguing about me. Elk hadn’t been happy with how close Buck and I were becoming. He kept whispering, “We can’t keep her.” I wanted it to be a lie, but knew deep down this couldn’t last forever. I really didn’t want it to end today.

Couldn’t I live in this fucked up fantasy world just a little longer? A day even?

The voices cut off. Footsteps returned as they marched toward me. All three of them, and there was something so final in their stride.

Buck stood in front of me. I knew it was him, I always did. I felt him. The air shifted, and the chain creaked as I slowly kneeled before him.

“Have I done something to anger you?”

“No. Just open your mouth, Sweet Daisy,” he ordered.

I was tempted to disobey him, to fling myself at his legs and beg him to keep me forever, but I didn’t. Lips trembling, and a tear sliding down my face, I opened my mouth. Cool liquid coated my tongue, bitter and sour. I choked, but his fingers touched under my jaw, tilting my head up and forcing me to swallow.

“Good girl,” he whispered, his voice laced with a hint of an ache.

“Please…”

That was all I got out before my stomach started to burn. My head spun, and the cave tilted sideways.

“Sleep now,” he murmured. “Sleep, Sweet Daisy, and see me again the next time you close your eyes.”

Another tear slipped free. The last thing I felt was his hand cupping my cheek, and the blurred outline of a skull mask as my blindfold was removed.

No…please keep me.

Then the darkness took me.

SAGE

I woke with a jolt and gasped in confusion.

The first thing I noticed was the light pouring in through the glass in front of me. Gold, soft, and too warm, too steady. Not firelight.

My heart hammered. I blinked against the brightness, my lashes wet, and then the realization hit me…I was in my car.

The driver’s seat cradled me in the soft cushion, and yet I craved my fur blanket. My steering wheel gleamed in the sunlight. My pack sat on the passenger seat, neat and untouched, like it had never left my side. I looked down. My clothes were dry and clean. I was wearing my spare shirt, jeans, and boots. Everything was normal, as if nothing had happened.

But something had happened.

My throat closed.

“No,” I whispered to myself. “No, no, no…”

Gripping the steering wheel with one hand, I twisted in my seat and looked around. I was near frantic, trying to find some trace of them. Mud on the floor, rope burn on my wrists, a rub from the blindfold. Something. Anything to prove I hadn’t dreamed the storm, the cabin, the firelight, their hands, their voices. But…there was nothing.

The sun offered normalcy, but I growled and cursed it, smacking my hand off the top of the steering wheel.

What if it wasn’t real? What if I made it all up?