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“Damn it, Lucky!” Viv muttered under her breath, pulling up the flashlight app on her phone. “If you’re chasing a cat, I’m going to kill you.” The narrow beam cut through the darkness as she ventured into the woods. Her heart pounded. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. The rustling of leaves beneath her feet sounded unnaturally loud in the quiet night, and the chill in the air seeped deeper into her bones. She hadn’t planned on hiking through the woods when she wore the sleeveless black dress. There was a reason she didn’t often dress up. She simply wasn’t as comfortable or nimble in a dress as she was with her usual trousers, T-shirt, and jacket.
Moving cautiously in the bejeweled flats, a noise stopped her in her tracks. It was a faint rustling she couldn’t pinpoint, but it sounded much larger than a dog of Lucky’s size. It would be unusual to have a deer or a bear so close to town, although that kind of thing was happening more and more in areas that were expanding. That didn’t apply to Aspen Cove. Stiffening, she aimed her flashlight toward the sound, her grip on the phone tightening as adrenaline coursed through her, knowing something wasn’t right. That’s when she saw her—Sarah, standing just a few feet away with a handgun pointed directly at her chest.
Viv’s heart raced liked a sprinter, her entire body going rigid as her mind contemplated the fight or flight equation that faced her now. She couldn’t outrun a bullet, and neither could Lucky. Staying put was her only choice for now. The light from her phone illuminated Sarah’s eerie-looking figure in the woods and then her face, revealing a cold, calculating expression that sent a shiver down Viv’s spine. She struggled to find her voice, knowing she needed to act quickly if she hoped to escape this situation.
“Sarah,” she finally managed. “What are you doing here?”
Sarah’s lips curled into a smile, and her eyes gleamed maliciously. “Oh, Viv,” she said, her voice dripping with false sweetness. “I think you know exactly why I’m here.”
Viv tried to steady her breathing, her mind speeding through scenarios as she considered her options. If she could stall Sarah long enough, maybe she could find a way to escape or alert Red.
She tried to focus on the weapon but couldn’t get a good look at it in the dark. All she saw was a raised hand. “Why don’t you put the weapon down, and we can talk about this like adults?” she suggested, trying to sound confident despite the terror that gripped her. She had encountered plenty of danger, but this was her first time confronted with a deranged lunatic pointing a gun at her at close range.
Sarah let out a cold, humorless laugh. “There’s no talking our way out of this. Talk? About what? About how you stole Red from me?”
Meanwhile, Lucky bounded forward, and Sarah turned the weapon on him. Viv knew she couldn’t just stand there, waiting for the inevitable. So, with a burst of adrenaline, she made her move.
In one swift motion, Viv swung her arm and shifted forward, aiming the beam of her phone’s flashlight directly into Sarah’s eyes. Caught off guard, Sarah shielded her face.
Seizing the opportunity, Viv lunged forward, attempting to disarm her attacker.
The two women grappled in the darkness, their desperate struggle accompanied by heavy breathing and the rustling of leaves underfoot. Just as Viv thought she was getting the upper hand, Sarah picked up a rock and hit her on the side of the head.
Viv struggled to regain her bearings; her head spun, and her vision blurred. She knew she couldn’t take on Sarah physically, so she had to outsmart her somehow.
As Sarah advanced menacingly toward her, Viv’s eyes fell on her phone beside Lucky. With a sudden burst of energy, she lurched for the dog, grabbing her phone in the process. She pulled them both to her chest, hoping Sarah wouldn’t notice that she now had her phone.
A sharp pain lanced through her head, and she reached up to touch the egg that had formed where Sarah had hit her.
“Just let us go,” she said.
“So you can go back inside and play house with my Red? I don’t think so. Get to your feet,” she demanded.
With her heart pounding, Viv complied, her legs feeling like jelly beneath her. Sarah ordered her through the trees, and when they emerged, she gestured to a nearby car, her weapon never wavering from Viv’s direction. “Get in,” she ordered.
As Viv climbed into the passenger seat, Sarah took the driver’s position and started the car, peeling away from their location. Sarah drove out of town, took a right at the highway, and they were plunged deeper into the dark woods, the headlights casting ghostlike shadows on the trees as they sped past. The forest, which had always felt like Viv’s protector, suddenly felt as scary as Sarah. Viv turned to her instincts and her training, trying to come up with a plan while her head spun, and the ghostly shadows in the trees darted in and out of view. She kept her phone close to her chest. It was her lifeline, and she’d use it at the first opportunity.
After what felt like an eternity but was probably no more than an hour, Sarah pulled the car to a stop in a clearing, far from any sign of civilization. “End of the road for you; get out.”
Viv, feeling more vulnerable than ever, did as she was told. It was the only choice under the circumstances. She stepped out of the car and into the chilly night air. Lucky burrowed against her. She wasn’t sure if he was seeking warmth or safety. At this point, she couldn’t provide either. How did she, a bodyguard, get into a situation like this? She thought Sarah was a nut and a nuisance but not a killer. Were her instincts really that far off? Her only conclusion was that she was terrible at her job. She had gotten distracted thinking about Red and let her guard down. There must have been something she missed. If she got out of this, she was quitting and working as a local barista. At least there, she wouldn’t be faced with life-or-death matters. Then she thought about how close to committing murder she could come when faced with a lack of caffeine.
As she stood there, waiting for whatever Sarah had planned for her, Viv summoned the courage to ask, “Are you going to kill me?”
Sarah threw her head back and laughed, her voice now light and airy, a stark contrast to their threatening situation and her psycho intonation in the woods. “Oh, Viv, don’t be so dramatic. I’m a lover, not a fighter. I don’t know what spell you put on him, but I need to break it. I’m just doing what I know Red wants me to, so that he can be with me. He’s going to stop playing hard to get.” Sarah’s voice returned to its icy tone. “It will take you a long time to find your way out of here. Kill you? What for? Of course, it would be a shame if the bears get you.” She then stared at the weapon in her hand and giggled. “It’s not even loaded.”
As soon as she heard that, Viv rushed forward, but Sarah jumped into the car and sped away, leaving her in the dark.
Once alone, Viv hid at the edge of the tree line and tried to dial Red, but she had no connectivity, so she used the flashlight to illuminate her way down the semblance of a dirt road. She was really in the woods. It took her nearly an hour to get to a place where she had a single bar, and as soon as she did, she knew she was already too late to let Red know that Sarah was on her way. Given Sarah’s actions and erratic behavior, she knew Red was in danger. He would never play along with Sarah’s delusion. There was a saying, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” And since Red had rejected Sarah once, there was no telling what she’d do when he did it again.
Viv immediately dialed the sheriff.
“Sheriff Cooper,” he answered.
“It’s Red. He’s in trouble.”
“Viv, is that you?”
She quickly explained her situation, and how she was now stuck in the forest.
