“I’ll go on foot.” He answered and leaned the pitchfork against a post. It would be easier to track the Chosen on ground level, and he would cover more ground alone.
“Vander,” Orden called after him, and he stopped, resting a hand on the rough grain of the barn door. He didn’t turn. “If you find him you will alert me at once.” It wasn’t a request but a command; an unwelcome reminder.
He clenched his jaw. “I know the rules.” He said to the dirt and stepped out into the yard.
Chapter 13
The sharp scent of pine filled Mia’s nose and tickled the back of her throat. She coughed, waking from a dreamless sleep. With bleary eyes, she stared at the thick canopy of leaves high above her. She blinked. The sunlight filtering through the leaves was warm on her face. Birdsong filled her ears.
Unable to process what she was seeing, Mia sat up. Her head throbbed, and there was a terrible taste in her mouth, iron and sour. Mia coughed again and took a long, unbelieving look at her surroundings. She was sitting in dry grass that brushed her shoulders; everywhere she looked there were trees and thick brush. A squirrel scolded another in the branches of a pine tree. Mia watched as the bushy-tailed creatures chased one another through the foliage. She couldn’t make sense of it. How had she ended up here, alone in the park? Because she had to be in some part of Central Park, an overgrown, unfamiliar section but still Central Park.
Mia focused on her knees, frowning in concentration as she tried to remember what had happened last night. She thought hard, but no matter how she tried Mia couldn’t recall anything after Jake had cleaned her up in Bella’s bathroom. Just thinking about that scene had her blood boiling. Wasn’t it typical? Leave it to Jake to realize he had feelings for her when it got too real for him that she might leave.
“Ugh!” Mia made a sound of disgust; it’s like every lousy romance movie ever made!
She hauled herself to her feet, set on finding Jake and giving him a piece of her mind. Mia stormed off in a random direction, crashing through the overgrown brush. She wasn’t too concerned; she’d find a path soon enough and then she’d find Jake. It was a bit surprising this boiling rage inside of her. It definitely wasn’t what she had imagined feeling in this event.
“How could he do this to me?” Mia accused the thick carpet of grass beneath her feet and promptly stepped on something sharp hidden from view. “Ow!” She sucked a breath through her teeth but didn’t stop. It was like fuel for her anger. He’s such a coward! Mia wrestled the hem of her dress from a grasping branch. He’s only doing this because he’s scared.
What did he expect? That she would stay now that he’d admitted his feelings for her? That would be ridiculous and unfair. Where was he anyway? Mia stopped, her hand closing on the thin trunk of a young tree. If he cared about her so much then why wasn’t he here with her? Had something else happened, something she couldn’t remember? Maybe Mia had put him in his place then and there. And then had gone on to get raging drunk. She must have passed out in the park on her way home from the party. Mia cringed. Yup, it was the most logical explanation. It would account for her amnesia and the god-awful taste lingering on her tongue. She could only be grateful she wasn’t hung-over. Again.
Mia’s heart sank. Her parents must be so worried about her. She pushed on, doing her best to hurry but the thick growth of grass and underbrush between the trees slowed her down. Her mom was going to kill her, no question about it. Mia wished she had her phone with her so she could at least send Sarah a text to let her know she was okay. But she’d left the phone behind in her bedroom. Mia blamed Jake. He’d promised her dad to take care of her and now look what had happened.
“I don’t think this is what he meant,” Mia said, her voice an angry hiss. She was out of breath and fairly exhausted from her short trek in the woods. “What the hell?” She asked no one in particular, stopping for a second time. It was cool beneath the shelter of the trees, but Mia was sweating from exertion. She rested her palms on her knees taking in the sad state of her stockings. They were pretty much in shreds, her pale skin visible through the countless runs and holes. Why hadn’t she found a path yet?
Mia had never strayed from the paved walkways running through Central Park and with good reason. There was no need. The paths were everywhere; you never had to cut across the manicured lawns or clumps of groomed trees. How had she been walking for the past fifteen minutes without stumbling across one? As much as she wanted to ignore the question Mia felt a stab of real fear. Now that she’d stopped Mia realized she couldn’t hear the sounds of the city. Sounds that were ever present no matter where she was in Manhattan.
“Okay stop.” She said, cutting off her rapidly spiraling thoughts. Mia straightened up and scanned the sky, trying to see past the thick foliage to the buildings she was sure had to be there. But there was nothing, not even a glint of glass in the sun. Panic was mounting within her. Mia forced herself to walk before it could consume and drive her crazy.
Giant pines and oaks stood, tall and imposing, interspersed with the thin trunks of younger trees. They grew so close together it made it difficult to see further than ten feet in any direction. Thigh high grass and bushes heavy with buds made walking a battle, the thin branches of saplings snared her clothes and hair, trying their best to hold her like a fly in a spider’s web. Birds called to one another high in the foliage. It was such a normal, almost carefree sound; that was what did it.
Some part of her came unhinged, and Mia lost control. She crashed madly through the bush, screaming at the top of her lungs in the hope that someone; anyone might find her.
A small russet colored bird fluttered down from the branches of a pine tree and settled itself on the rotting log protruding from the grass a few feet away. Mia’s eyes fixed on the little bird as it ruffled its feathers and began preening itself; it paid no mind to the girl kneeling in the grass with tears making tracks down her cheeks.
Mia gasped, filling her lungs with air that tasted of growing things. She wiped her eyes with the back of one dirty, scratched hand and took another shaky breath. The hand came away smudged black with her eye makeup. Mia rubbed it absently on the fabric of her dress. Her hair fell in tangled waves over her shoulders, pulled free of the elastic during her panicked rampage through the forest. The light was fading now, and a cool breeze blew through the trees. The rustling of leaves was eerie. It would be dark soon, and Mia was still alone.
She was bone weary and terrified. Mia didn’t know where she was or how she’d gotten there but knew with certainty that this was not Manhattan. Disturbing thoughts had plagued her on her search for a way out of the woods, each thought more terrifying than the last. Was this some kind of prank? Was Jake getting back at her for whatever she must have said to him last night? Had she been kidnapped? Had she let her guard down and wound up drugged as a result? She didn’t know and still could not remember a thing. Mia wanted her mom desperately, wanted to be held and told that everything was fine. That she was safe. But her mother was in New York, and Mia was here. Wherever here was.
She shivered with cold, the sweat on her body now chilled by the wind that swept over her. The bird took off, and Mia jolted. It took her a moment to recover from the surprise and for her heartbeat to go back to normal. Fresh tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks.
“Where am I?” Mia cried in a thin voice, looking skyward. “How did I get here?” Her throat was raw from screaming. A wave of pure hopelessness washed over her and Mia succumbed to it, letting it drag her down to the forest floor. She lay on her side with her knees tucked up under her chin and cried.
Chapter 14
Her stomach growled, a drawn-out rumble of protest that finally made her move. Mia sat up, wincing at the stiffness in her joints and muscles. She’d been lying on her side, watching the dark morning grow lighter, color seeping back into the world. With the light came the rustlings of small animals scurrying through the underbrush and a cacophony of birdcalls. It would have b
een beautiful if she hadn’t been too scared to enjoy it.
As childish as it was Mia had allowed herself to hope that this was all a bad dream, that she would wake and find herself in her bed, warm and safe beneath the covers. She was bitterly disappointed to find it was in fact reality. Mia swallowed to ease the pain in her throat, which only served to exacerbate the dry rasp. Thirsty as well as hungry, Mia couldn’t stay here any longer. She needed water. Mia had seen enough TV shows and read enough books to know finding food could wait, but without water, dehydration wasn’t far off. She got to her feet, cursing loudly at the pain in her soles. She was in bad shape, bruised and scraped, but her feet had suffered the most. Taking a deep, fortifying breath, Mia began her hobbling search.
Where to start?
She thought back to her favorite movies. How did the protagonists survive in this kind of situation? What did they do first? How did they find water? I need to look for a low spot, Mia stopped in her tracks and surveyed her surroundings, straining her eyes to see beyond the congested trees. She rested her hands on her hips and frowned intensely. “Just pick a direction and go with it,” her voice rasped in the quiet. “You can’t get any more lost than you already are.” With that frame of mind, she set off again.
Having a tangible goal made it easier to keep calm, and soon Mia settled into a kind of flow. At some point she started to hum under her breath, a tuneless melody at first then something more recognizable as she foraged deeper into the forest. Mia started to notice things about the woods; like the subtle difference in lighting as the sun rose higher somewhere above the thick thatch of the forest ceiling. Mia never knew leaves could be so green and not only green but silver when stirred by the breeze.
Birds flitted to and fro keeping up a constant chatter. Mia listened in on conversations she couldn’t understand between birds close by and those answering further away. There were countless of these back and forths happening. And then there was this one, increasingly annoying bird that seemed to be following her.
The constant ‘peta-peta-peta’ stayed with her every step she took, sounding from somewhere in the tall grass. Mia searched for it, stopping now and then to scan the bush for some sign of the delinquent bird but never did see it- not that Mia would know if she had. The forest was thriving; there could be no doubt. There was life everywhere, even among the remains of dead trees, saplings reached toward the sky and mushrooms grew one on top of the other. Mia never saw them, but she heard the rustlings of the smaller forest animals moving through the untamed shrubs and tall grasses that dominated the forest floor. Now if only she could stop jumping in fright every time a twig snapped.
At one point she tripped over a piece of deadfall earning a ragged gash in her left shin, scraped palms and a bruised ego. The frustrated scream that tore out of her throat was painful and so loud a flock of small birds took flight at the sound. Mia lowered herself onto the fallen branch and sat, rocking back and forth as she hugged her injured leg against her chest. When the burning pain had numbed a bit, she got to her feet and walked on, limp and all.
It was another hour or so before Mia found what she was looking for; a gentle decline in the forest floor, barely noticeable but there. With any luck, there would be water somewhere nearby. As she followed the decline, Mia noticed that the trees had started to thin out. The sun penetrated the canopy to shine down on her through the thinning leaves. The grass that had hindered her for so long grew sparser, giving way to bare rock.
Mia stopped on the edge of a drop. A solid wall of trees stood before her, the same at her back. She stood in the sun its rays heating the top of her head and looked over the edge. It wasn’t as steep as she’d initially believed. Her eyes picked out a way down the side of the escarpment. It wouldn’t be easy, but she could manage it. She had to, for at the bottom, a few feet from the base, sparkling water tumbled and splashed in a thin stream.
“Yes!” Mia crowed, thrusting a fist into the air. She did it! She found water all on her own. Her hands settled on her hips, and she smiled for the first time since waking up in the woods. The wind picked up, whipping her hair back from her face. Mia closed her eyes, enjoying the cool breeze on her heated skin. Her skirt flapped crazily, snapping around her thighs and she laughed. Mia opened her eyes and took a step closer to the rock’s edge, curling her toes over the rough granite.
She swept her gaze over the glen, following the stream to the right, until it was eaten up by trees, and then to the left. She could see tracks on the muddy banks; this was a popular watering place for the animals living here. Mia couldn’t deny herself any longer; she needed water like she needed air. The nearness of it only served to intensify her desperation to quench her thirst. Mia lowered herself so she sat on the edge of the escarpment, her toes brushing the mossy ledge beneath her. Without thinking about it too much- if she did she would never move- Mia started her descent.
The water was cold and tasted fresher than any filtered stuff she had ever had. Mia crouched in the damp earth at the water’s edge and gulped the crisp liquid by the handful. The mud squished between her toes; cool and soothing against the cuts and scrapes in the tender soles of her feet. Tiny minnows swam in the stream flashing silver in the sunlight. Mia drank on ignoring the gnats and mosquitos that flew in her face. The water felt so good as it flowed over the rawness in her throat and settled in her belly, numbing the ache of hunger for the time being. She sat back on her haunches; her thirst finally quenched and said a prayer of thanks.
The light was changing; it cast her surroundings in a yellow-orange glow. Where had the day gone? Her search for water had so consumed her that Mia hadn’t noticed the time passing. Her second day away from home. Her heart clenched as a new pit of anxiety opened up in her stomach. Her poor parents. They must be out of their minds with worry. Jake too. At some point, Mia had decided he wasn’t responsible for whatever had happened to her. She was still mad at him for making demands on her, but put that aside for now. Mia would give anything for him to come walking out of the trees, even if it was to make fun of her for getting lost. At least then she wouldn’t be alone anymore.
“Stop it, Mia,” she scolded herself even as her throat constricted with fresh tears. “Crying won’t help you now.” Mia turned her attention to her reflection in the water. Her face looked drawn and thin, and there were deep purple bruises under her eyes from lack of sleep. Her hair was wild and tangled with bits of forest sticking out of it. Every inch of her skin felt sticky and damp, caked with debris. She’d never been so dirty in her life. Mia looked around thoughtfully. It was still warm, but it wouldn’t be for much longer. Mia wasn’t keen on the idea of being wet when the sun went down, the cooling air would make her sick; the last thing she needed right now.
Mia stole a sidelong glance one way then the other, then she ducked her head to the side and sniffed. She made a sound of disgust and got to her feet; she reeked. That decided it for her. Mia stepped onto a flat rock and pulled her dress over her head. Self-conscious, she hugged the black fabric to her chest and searched the tree line for any sign of someone watching. Then Mia realized how silly it all was; there was no one there. She was alone, and at the moment it was more freeing than frightening.
Mia bundled the dress into a tight ball and chucked it the short distance to the opposite bank. She peeled the remains of her ruined stockings from her legs and tossed them to the other side of the stream. Mia stood in her underwear and shivered as the cool breeze kissed her skin. She wrapped her arms around herself and after a moment’s hesitation, stepped into the sparkling water. Each foraging step she took into the stream drew a gasp of protest from her lips. The cold bit her skin like a million shards of ice. The stream wasn’t very deep, only reaching about mid-thigh. With one more gasping breath Mia let her legs float out from under her and submerged herself in the water.
Chapter 15
Mia stood in the shade of the trees on the other side of the stream and seriously considered leaving her ruined tights behind. The
re was almost nothing left to them, and they wouldn’t do much to keep her warm. Maybe they could offer some protection against scratching branches and the mosquitos that harassed her.
“What the heck,” she said and pulled them on, taking care not to put her feet through any of the runs in the nylon. The light was almost gone, and she needed to get moving if she was going to cover any ground while the sun was still up. Mia had decided to keep walking past nightfall, reasoning that her empty stomach and anxiety would prevent her from sleep anyway. With any luck walking would keep her warm too. The onset of darkness frightened her. Mia couldn’t believe she’d be spending another night alone in the woods.
Maybe the dark would help her. It would be easier to spot lights, who knew, she might even find a cabin or something. It was a long shot, but it was the only hope she had. Before she could undermine that hope with more thinking, Mia put one foot in front of the other and slipped between the trees.
These woods were nothing like Central Park with the constant glow of Manhattan’s lights. Here the dark was complete. Mia pressed on, ignoring the pit of anxiety gnawing at her as the color leached out of the world. For a short time the dim bluish grey light of dusk lit her way, but it faded too.
With the loss of her sight, Mia was forced to rely on her other senses. The ground beneath her feet was soft and cushiony with a thick layer of leaves. Obstacles littered the forest floor. Mia tripped over and over again, snagging her toes on roots she couldn’t see, stumbling over fallen branches and rotting logs. The smell of pine was less distinct here, replaced by the damp, musty scent of decaying leaves. Her ears were on high alert, listening hard for the slightest hint of danger. The chirping of frogs was loud in the dark; the peta-peta bird lent its voice to the dark, punctuating the music of the forest.
Chosen (The Last Guardians Book 1) Page 8
