AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Alex returned to her side, a smug grin making the carnage worse and reminding her to breathe. Her lungs ached as they filled with air. Despite her best efforts not to lose it, tears blurred her vision.
“No worries, Jordan. He won’t get far. We’ll find him.” Alex had obliviously misinterpreted her despair.
She drew tight lips over the harsh words on the tip of her tongue as the camera hanging around her neck mocked her. Under no circumstances would she have agreed to come if she’d known Alex had invited her on a hunting trip.
“Come on, let’s go.”
Her stomach rolled, and she had to concentrate on not vomiting. “I’ll wait here.”
Alex grabbed her arm as she turned away. “I can’t leave you here alone. It could be hours, and we might not return this way.”
“I’ll go back to the pickup then.”
“You won’t find it by yourself, and I’ll never locate you if you get lost out here. You’ll have to come with me. You can hang back once we find the deer if it bothers you. Okay?” It was clear he’d already made the decision.
It was far from okay, but what choice did she have? She was too far from home to do anything about it now.
Liam appeared from the trees to their right, already on his way to the spot where she’d last seen the deer. Alex jogged to catch up, and Jordan trailed behind at a slower pace, hating herself for agreeing to come.
Alex tracked the buck, searching the uneven terrain carefully. Sporadically, he’d pause and point to the ground where a splotch of blood was visible. Every few feet, he stopped to listen and look, systematically eliminating each thicket and patch of shade that might conceal the wounded animal.
Jordan followed at a distance, duplicating his movements while looking straight ahead, haunted by the image burned into her mind—the deer, struck by the bullet, the force knocking it forward and almost to its knees. The pain the animal had to suffer lodged an ache in her chest. She gritted her teeth to control the bile rising at the back of her throat.
It was over an hour before Alex happened upon the buck, laying in the shade of a pine thicket, too weak to regain its feet. One look, and Jordan turned away. Nature was cruel and unfair, but the deer was suffering, and the right thing to do was...so wrong. She couldn’t watch. Unshed tears burned her eyes as she retreated from the wretched scene. The final shot would be too agonizing. She needed to be far enough away that she wouldn’t hear it, but there wasn’t time. Panic filled her mind with alarms of every kind. Alex called her name as she retreated, but nothing could have made her stop. She was about a hundred feet away when the shot rang out, a horrendous blast that echoed and re-echoed.
Jordan bolted, tripping over rocks and roots as she swept the tears from her eyes. The mountains absorbed the reverberations, and typical sounds of the woodlands eventually resumed, but the horror still chased her. Alex would be slitting the animal’s throat, letting its lifeblood drain away. Then he’d cut open its soft underbelly, tear out vital organs, and pile them on the ground. Would he carry it back to the pickup or hang it where it fell and rip the hide from its warm flesh? Fresh tears cascaded down her face.
When she couldn’t run any farther, she wrapped her arms around a pine tree, rested her forehead against the rough bark, and wept until she had no more tears.
The sun was directly overhead when she straightened and wiped the moisture from her face.How long have I been here? I have to pull myself together. I’m not a child anymore.The scene she’d witnessed had hit her like a cannonball. It wasn’t like her to be so emotional. The cruel killing of an animal had shocked and disgusted her, but no doubt her meltdown had been an overreaction. What would Alex think of her running off, and was it a bad omen that she didn’t care?
Jordan surveyed the ground she’d traversed. It was rough terrain. She’d been so upset she hadn’t realized how high she’d climbed. Alex would probably be on his way back to his truck with his kill by now, and she’d have to hurry to catch him. Pulling the sides of her coat together against the cool breeze, she noticed her camera was gone. Spinning in a circle, she searched the ground, but her dad’s last birthday gift was nowhere in sight. Maybe she’d find it on her return trip. With a heavy heart, she started down the slope. She set a brisk pace, establishing her direction by the tallest mountain peak to the north.
*****
JORDAN PAUSED TO REST, a gnawing uneasiness growing in the pit of her stomach. The lengthening shadows along the creek bank reminded her she was in trouble. In the distance, to the northeast, the rugged pinnacle of Spanish Peak towered above the other mountaintops. She’d chosen the landmark because of its height, hoping it would keep her on track and guide her back to the pickup she’d walked away from that morning.
Somehow, she’d missed the well-worn hiking trail that would have returned her to the road where they’d parked. Now, there was nothing to do but head west until she intersected the road where Alex’s pickup waited. Anxiety stirred the ache in her chest as she studied the western sky where the sun had plummeted to meet the skyline. Darkness would come quickly in the mountains, and she needed to be on more familiar ground before that happened.
She drew a deep breath and tried to tamp down her mounting apprehension with only marginal success. Panic wasn’t the answer, so she’d have to suck it up and keep walking. On the horizon, Jordan chose a cleft between two mountains, and using that as her compass, she set out through the trees. Ironically, the sun appeared to race toward the same gap.
“Damn you, Alex,” she said out loud. But Alex wasn’t to blame. Her plight was no one’s fault but her own. She should never have agreed to come. Against her better judgment, she’d gone to dinner with Alex twice in the past week, and he’d become increasingly bossy and possessive. Jordan blamed herself for blurring the line between friendship and dating, even though they had zero chemistry. At least nothing like the instant attraction she’d felt for Travis, her dream hunk from the bar.Really? Is that the only interaction I have to compare?Sadly, it was, and look how that turned out.
So, she had decided. Jordan would stop seeing Alex, even as a friend, but she’d agreed to this one last outing because she’d been looking forward to hiking in the mountains, and it wouldn’t have been fair to Alex to cancel at the last minute.Right?
Okay, so maybe she’d wanted to go. Alex had enthralled her with descriptions of the beautiful Ochoco National Forest, where the sunrises and sunsets painted the sky with glory. The thick greenery and wildflower-filled meadows stretched as far as the eye could see. She hadn't been able to resist when he’d encouraged her to bring her camera and snap pictures of wildlife. The one crucial detail he’d left out was that it was also the opening day of deer hunting season.
With the waning light went any hope of focusing on the distant point that led her westward. The mountains became one dark blotch against the night sky. Silently, she cursed her lack of preparation. Dad would never have gone into the woods without a compass, and he’d drilled it into her—always be ready for anything.It was only by chance she’d donned a red checkered shirt for warmth this morning, but it remained covered by her navy-blue coat. Hopefully, hunters wouldn’t mistake her for their prey and shoot her.
She stopped to rest and inventory the contents of her coat pockets. A book of matches, a small notebook, two Band-Aids, a pocketknife, and a travel-size sewing kit. “Great. If I need to sew on a button, I’ll be in good shape.”If I run into a bear or a wolf? Not so much.
The night sky cleared, and the light of the nearly full moon allowed her to see her footing. The temperature had dropped with the sun’s disappearance, and Jordan was thankful for her warm parka and insulated hiking boots. Too bad she hadn’t slipped on some long underwear beneath her blue jeans and flannel shirt.
It was impossible to maintain a proper course. Choosing her path carefully, she lost precious time going far out of her way to avoid rock walls or drop-offs. Safety was paramount because no one would ever find her if she fell and injured herself.
The moon was a rough east/west guide at night, but the rules governing that piece of information she’d learned from her dad escaped her. Jordan crossed a few deer trails, following one that took her in the direction she thought was correct, but the well-trampled hiking path eluded her. Exhaustion and the beginnings of panic made her doubt herself. Maybe she’d somehow crossed the trail at a narrow, over-grown spot. That had to be it, and she’d find the road where they’d parked any minute. Alex would be there waiting, worried out of his mind.
At the top of the next ridge, she searched for the flat, treeless surface spiraling through the gully below. Her breath caught when she spotted lights in the distance, but after watching closely in hopes of seeing them again, she had to accept her eyes had played tricks on her.
