by Anna Collins
I was trying to remember the woman that I was before I came here, but it was almost like it was a distant memory. I couldn’t fathom being that same woman again. I was glad that I was rid of her once and for all. I was sure that he would give her a reason to come back, but I was also sure that I was willing to push her back down where she belonged.
Chapter 26
“I want you to look up there and tell me what you see. I’m hoping that I won’t hear the same answer that I’ve heard any other time. The stars have always been in your eyes. You’ve only known one way of living. It doesn’t have to be that way. You’ve always had the world in the palm of your hands. It doesn’t matter that you don’t have money. You could’ve easily gone your own way, but you got trapped by life,” He said as he lay there with me curled up in his arms.
“I see myself as a lone grain of sand in the wind of time. I am that ripple on the water. I am insignificant in the grand scheme of things. We all play our parts. We’ve always been the makers of our own destiny. I see the stars and the way that they wink at me with encouragement to take that next step,” I said as a shooting star had me wondering what else I was going to see.
“That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear, but it’s close enough. I’ll tell you what I see. I see a way to reach out and take what you want. I see life as my own playground. I want you to feel that same thing and I think that you’re starting to come around,” He said.
I fell asleep in his arms with the fire crackling beside me. I knew that there were dangers in the forest, but they meant nothing to me. Devlin would not let anything harm me. He had already stated that he would always be there. I’d taken him at face value.
I might’ve been pretending to be something that I wasn’t, but I believed deep down that I could be what he wanted me to be. I didn’t want to be his trophy. Could I really expect him to cast away the one person that held his heart?
I don’t know how long I was sleeping, but then I was abruptly awoken by the sound of an animal. It felt like it was right there next to me and then I turned to see that a white wolf had now entered into our camp. I grabbed for Devlin, but he wasn’t there. I crab-walked backward away from the smoldering embers of the fire. I unzipped the tent and once again found that he was nowhere to be found.
I wanted to scream. If this was another one of his tests, I was going to be very angry. I was worried that something happened to him. I needed him more than I could ever say. I saw more eyes in the forest staring at me. Those white wolves did not look like they were going to back down. I looked around for the gun, but once again I was left empty handed.
It was possible that he had heard something and went to investigate. Did he come under foul play, or was he still out there in the distance? We had begun by star gazing and by turning a page on what we felt for one another. The words that he spoke felt like they were coming from the heart, but there was no way to know. He had this way of making me think one thing and doing another.
I turned my eyes towards the heavens, but I had no earthly reason to think that there were answers to be found there. I picked up the last log in my gloved hand. I could feel the heat going through it, but I was now using it to give these wolves something to think about. I could try to hunker down in the tent, but I doubt that a piece of canvas was going to keep them from tearing me apart limb from limb.
There was no way that I was going to turn my back on them. They needed to see that I had no fear, even though deep down I was shaking like a leaf. The smoldering ember from that log was not enough to keep them at bay. They were moving closer and converging in a pack formation. There was no way that I would be able to fight back and I think that they knew that.
Making a run for it was out of the question. If I were to try something like that, they would be on me in a second. I needed to get some distance, but I had to do it cautiously and not do anything that would appear panicked or frantic.
I had no idea what I could handle, but I was not about to lie down. I didn’t want to be some snack and be found with only my bones left behind after they had gotten through with me.
I didn’t know what was ahead of me, but I did know what was behind me. I backtracked the same way we came, using the path that was barely illuminated by the moon that was covered by the shroud of clouds. I tripped several times and just when I thought that they had left me alone, I would see their eyes following me every step of the way.
My entire body was covered in a sheen of terrified sweat that penetrated and soaked through my clothes. I was petrified, but I was also strangely excited. I couldn’t exactly explain it. It was like I was feeding off of this feral part of myself that was in tune to the animal kingdom.
With the cloud covering the moon, I really couldn’t see where I was going. It felt like I was in another world that was occupied by these glowing eyes that wanted nothing more than to consume me. I tried to remain calm, but it was an effort just to stop myself from screaming.
I heard the branches snapping behind me and I knew that they were too close for comfort. I couldn’t understand what happened to Devlin. Was it possible that he had been taken in the middle of the night? Was he out there somewhere struggling for his last breath and begging for somebody to come to the rescue? I had no idea. The only thing that I did know was that my life was in mortal danger.
I had no way of calling for help and if I were to scream, then those animals would take that as a sign to converge and do what was natural to them. They would only see a trembling girl and that would show weakness in their eyes. I wanted to stand strong and show them that I had no fear, but that was impossible.
The branches that were snapping were not just behind me. They were all around me and I found myself pushing up against a tree with my arms wrapped around my knees. This was a protective gesture, but it wouldn’t be enough to sustain my survival for very long. They would tear into me and they would think nothing of using me to satisfy a hunger deep down inside.
The fear that I felt before with Devlin taking me right here in the woods was not at all like this time around. This was an all-encompassing disgusting feeling that I didn’t want any part of. I felt like my mind was slowly unraveling. My life literally flashed before my eyes.
There was no way that I could stay in one place for too long. Moving was my only option and even that was most likely going to lead to my demise. For the first time in my life, I had no regrets, except for being led astray by a man the thought he knew how his animals would react to certain stimuli in their environment.
Taking a deep breath, I did that a few more times to settle down the possibility of hyperventilating. I had to find a place to lay low and maybe my best choice was to find the tallest tree. I was known as a tomboy back in the day and I had to wonder if my climbing skills were up to snuff. Even if they weren’t, I was going to have to do it anyway and be damned the possibility of falling to my death.
I saw this huge tree and the branches were as big as my arms. Touching them made me think that they could hold my weight. I started to climb and I didn’t dare look down. I didn’t want to know how far I was going. I continued to breathe deeply and I looked up instead of down. I heard the growl and the scratching of paws against the bark of the tree.
I could only imagine that they were doing that to instill a new level of fear. That way, I would lose my balance and come down to where they could get their claws into me.
I felt the scratching of those branches against my skin. It was nothing compared to what was waiting for me down below. If I were to look, I was sure to see the wolves in one spot sniffing the air and waiting for dinner to be served.
I heard what sounded like a crack of thunder. One of my hands slipped and I was now dangling from the fingertips of my dominant hand. If this was my left hand, I don’t think that I would’ve been able to hold on for as long as I did.
I found myself looking down to see one of the wolves had been wounded. Its fur was matted with blood and the other wolves had now surround
ed it. It was kind of fascinating. I’d seen my fair share of documentaries on the national geographic channel. It was one of the only television stations that I found any use in.
They were working together and soon were moving their wounded away from the scene of the crime. I had a feeling that this was not over by a long shot. They would take their wounded someplace private and then return in force to make me suffer for what had befallen one of the pack.
I wished that I was responsible so that at least I would be able to take the punishment for the crime. I didn’t think it fair that they would lay this at my doorstep, considering that I didn’t have anything to do with it. It wasn’t like I threw a rock down on top of its head, although now that I’m thinking about it, I probably should have brought something like that with me.
I grabbed for the branch feeling that my fingertips were just out of reach. My dominant hand was slipping. It had started to rain with this heavy drizzle. I had thought that there was going to be some kind of storm, but it didn’t amount to much. This could be just the calm before the storm, but there was really no way to predict Mother Nature.
My hand was feeling numb and my fingers didn’t have any feeling whatsoever. My other hand struggled to reach with everything that I could find in myself. I had this sense of relief, as my fingertips from my other hand actually made contact, but then the rug was pulled out from underneath me.
I looked up at my only vestige for survival as it slipped through my fingers. The scream that was in my throat stayed lodged there as my mouth opened and nothing came out. My eyes were wide and my hands now grasped for anything that could prevent a very dangerous fall. The very idea that I was going to land from this kind of height made me well aware how fragile my body really was.
The other branches smacked against my face and I could actually taste copper in my mouth. I was no fool and that was due to the blood of biting my own tongue.
I remembered all those movies and one in particular named Die Hard. The criminal at the end of the movie was shoved out a window hanging on to the hero. When he lost his grip, he looked most likely like I did. His plummet from that height made him smack like a sack of wet cement. Those on the ground could not bear to look at the scene and turned away.
There was nobody to turn away. Only god himself must’ve been looking down favorably. My left arm snagged between two branches and the anguished shriek that followed was that of a young woman that had her shoulder pulled out of its socket.
“I don’t think that you should be up there anymore. It was actually good thinking to find some high ground, but they will be back.” Devlin said as he looked up with a frown on his face.
I looked down to see the smoking barrel of the gun that had most likely wounded one of the pack.
Chapter 27
“I don’t know how I’m going to reach you. You really are a remarkable young woman. I don’t think anybody else would’ve been able to climb that distance. It’s lucky that you don’t weigh as much as I do. You’re going to have to get yourself out. I’ve tried to climb and both branches broke underneath my weight,” He said as he looked around nervously for any sign of the pack returning.
“I…don’t know if I can. I’m stuck and I think that I blew my shoulder out. I guess if you can’t come down to get me, then I’m going to have to come down to you. Even if I am able to wiggle free, I’m going to find myself in the same predicament that I was before. I’m going to fall from this high. I doubt that even you’ll be able to break my fall,” I said as I dangled there precariously and waited for gravity to take over.
“You’re going to have to do something. Whatever it is, I suggest that you do it sooner than later. I don’t know what’s got into them, but maybe it has something do with the ominous black clouds in the sky,” He said as his face was covered with the drizzle that was falling from the sky.
“I don’t think that it’s going to be if I fall. It’s more a matter of when this rain is going to make my skin slippery enough to slide out like Crisco covering my skin,” I said
“It’s not a good idea for me to be here when they come back. I’m hesitant to say this, but I’m going to have to find some place to hide where I can still see you and hopefully protect you if it comes to that,” He said while holding the gun like it was a newborn baby in need of a parent’s protection.
“I had hoped that you were going to come to my rescue, but I can see that that’s not possible. I think that what I’ve learned over the last couple of days is that my mind can literally adjust to anything. It’s just a matter of accepting what I can’t change and change what I can. That was a lesson that I should’ve had a long time ago. It would’ve made things so much easier. I don’t think that I would’ve been the doormat that my brother needed me to be to bail him out of trouble,” I said as I thought about my brother and what he would think if he was standing at my funeral.
The one thing that I really didn’t know was if my family loved me unconditionally. I got the sinking suspicion that my brother was only using me as his own personal ATM. He knew that I was a soft touch, but maybe now I would be able to tell him that it was up to him to make his own mistakes and live by them.
“I can hear them coming back. I don’t want to leave you, but if I stay, I’m going to present quite the meal. You will witness what I will do to protect you. Unfortunately, I’m not equipped to go toe to toe with a pack of wolves. If I see that you’re in any trouble, then I will act,” He said as his ears were cocked.
He was most likely able to hear that the pack was getting closer with each tick of the clock.
“Go, before you stay and do something stupid,” I said without putting much conviction behind those words.
The pack came back and this time, they were showing their anger by snarling and drooling like they were possessed by the need for vengeance. I had no idea if the other wolf had died, but I doubt very seriously that Devlin would have allowed him to stay breathing. I didn’t exactly know what kind of marksmen he was, but he was a man that got bored quickly. He had seen many adventures and I had a feeling that shooting a gun was one of those things that he had already crossed off his bucket list.
My arm started to move and that slick feeling along my skin was a good indication that I was going to fall right into their laps. In this case, I think the apt term was to fall right into their hungry and salivating mouths.
As that hand was creeping along the branch and tearing at my skin, I was consciously trying to concentrate and reach for another branch with my other hand. The pain was excruciating. I’d known enough about this kind of injury that getting it back into its socket was paramount. It couldn’t remain dangling out of the socket for too long without having to have a major surgery with the possibility of complications.
I would have wanted Devlin to fire another shot, but to do so would only alert them to his current location. They would attack and not worry about the consequences, which of course would lead to Devlin being overrun and essentially turned into kibble and bits.
My mind was conjuring up all sorts of images that left me in a position that I wouldn’t wish on a seasoned hunter let alone a novice like myself. I could handle a regular revolver, but something like that rifle was a little out of my league.
They were wide eyed and I had no doubt that they weren’t going to leave until I was dealt with. I guess they were under the same adage that revenge was a dish best served cold. I was freezing and that drizzle was not something like a summer rain. The temperature had dipped. It was a good thing that I was wearing this safari outfit, or I might have succumbed to the elements.
My fingers slid through and I was once again in the air. With each new descent, I was getting closer and closer to the angry jaws of the pack of animals that really didn’t know the meaning of the word mercy. They would see me as a threat and they would deal with me like I was in a position to do them harm. The only one that was in a position to do that was Devlin and right now he was staying remarkably quiet.
I had no idea where he was or even if he was in the vicinity of watching what was happening right here and right now. I tried my best to hang on, but it was soon obvious that I was in some terrible trouble. The pain in my shoulder was something that was equal or even more painful than childbirth. I wouldn’t know anything about that, but I’d had heard my fair share of horror stories from several friends that had experienced that particular natural event.
I felt my hand grab onto something and my feet were no more than five or 6 feet away from the wolves. They were circling and waiting for the inevitable.
I’d never been to safari and if it all possible, I was going to avoid it like the plague. I had no interest in tangling with those that survived by killing the weak. Without a gun or some way to protect myself, I was pretty much left to fend for myself. It was not an envious position, but it was one that made me vividly aware of my mortality.
