He spun around, and I could tell I’d startled him like earlier.
He opened his mouth, but then he saw the pitchfork I was holding.
Shit.
“It’s okay,” I said, taking a step toward him. I kept my voice gentle. “Let me put this down.” I leaned the pitchfork against the barn. But when I turned around, it was too late. He was already running away.
“Come back,” I shouted. “I just want to talk.”
He kept going, following the same route as last time across the pasture. I glanced up at the sky. Blue and cloudless with a hint of orange. It was getting late, but there was still a good half hour of daylight left.
If I’d been wearing my boots, I wouldn’t have even considered it. But as luck would have it, I had on a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers.
I reached back to quickly tighten my ponytail.
Then I took a deep breath and followed after him.
The kid was fast. I had to give him that. He made great time. Only, he didn’t know it, but I was fast too. I ran track throughout high school and still ran most weekday mornings.
He had a good head start, but I was gaining on him.
After scrambling over the fence, he glanced back and seemed surprised that I was following.
“Wait up,” I called out. “You’re not in trouble.”
All he seemed to hear was the word “trouble,” because he turned and jumped to the ground. I watched him run toward the trees and knew from there he’d go straight into the woods.
Dammit. It would be harder to follow him into those woods.
I made my way to the fence and should have stopped. Instead I climbed it just like he did. When I glanced back at the pasture, Phyllis and Alicia were watching me with a combination of curiosity and concern. “Don’t worry,” I said before jumping to the ground. “I got this.”
When I turned back toward the kid, he was zipping through the copse of deciduous trees like they weren’t even there. It was obvious I’d lose him if I slowed down, so I pushed myself. I hadn’t run this hard in a while, and it felt good.
I just made it past the trees when his blue shirt disappeared into the thick row of evergreens at the forest’s edge. We were only about thirty feet from each other. As I ran closer, I hesitated. Was I really going to follow him into the woods?
He headed farther in and would be gone from sight within seconds.
I plunged after him.
I shouldn’t have. My property line had already ended.
The vegetation was thick, and I was forced to slow down. I could make out flashes of blue to my left and continued to follow the kid steadily.
It was darker in the woods. The scent of earthy green things filled my nose. Soft pine needles covered the ground, and my sneakers dug into them with every step.
I should turn back.
The deeper we went, the stronger my inner voice told me to turn around and head home.
Life was different here. Peaceful yet foreboding. Untouched by man. I stepped over a fallen log, and something scurried away.
As the trees became thicker, it grew difficult to see. I hoped I didn’t lose sight of the kid. I tried to judge which direction he was headed and was pretty sure we were moving south.
I racked my brain for who lived down there but couldn’t think of anyone. The boy had to come from somewhere.
My pace slowed. It was getting darker. I thought I still saw movement ahead of me, but I wasn’t sure.
By now my inner voice was berating me like a drill sergeant. It told me how stupid I was to follow that kid. It said I was lost in the woods and that I should have paid more attention to those documentaries where they showed people surviving on tree bark and rainwater.
I glanced around with a sinking feeling.
Shit.
It was fully dark out now. I had no idea where the kid was, and I had no idea where I was either.
How did I get myself into this mess? Did I take an idiot pill this morning? I thought those were vitamins.
I stopped moving and tried to get my bearings. The woods were mostly quiet, and the temperature had cooled considerably. I felt exposed in my T-shirt and shorts.
“Ow!” I slapped my arm at the sting of a mosquito. Another one bit my leg, and I slapped that too. Apparently they were calling all their buddies over for Leah’s Happy Hour.
I rubbed my thigh as I pictured mosquitoes lined up on bar stools drinking my blood from tiny martini glasses. “She eats a lot of chocolate, doesn’t she?” they said to each other with approval.
A growing hysteria was rising in me.
Stay calm. If that kid can find his way out of here, then so can you. You have to hold it together.
I took a deep breath to quell my panic and began moving forward again, slower than before but in the general direction of where I last saw him.
Images of search parties drifted through my mind. People discussing my odd disappearance with my face splashed across the local paper. Unfortunately, it was my driver’s license photo—the camera had surprised me that day, and I wore a startled expression.
Surely my mom would give them a better picture of me than that? Maybe she was too upset to think clearly.
What a nightmare. I’d always told myself I’d learn survival skills. Why hadn’t I ever done it?
I kept walking in silence and darkness, hoping I was still following that kid. For all I knew, I was going in circles.
But then I noticed something up ahead—a flicker of orange light. I headed toward it, and it wasn’t long before I heard what sounded like voices in the distance. I kept going, eager to get out of the woods. Finally, I stood on the edge of a large grass clearing.
Thank God.
There was a house up ahead. A fire blazed with people gathered around it. The scent of woodsmoke drifted over as I stepped onto the grass and began walking toward the group. I figured I’d ask them to point me toward the main road.
It was dark out, so no one seemed to notice my approach. As I drew closer, I saw a couple of trucks in the driveway along with what must have been a half-dozen motorcycles.
I froze.
My gaze flew back to the fire. Sure enough, the guys all had beards and leather jackets. There were a few women sitting around too.
A bubble of hysteria formed in my chest. I couldn’t believe it. I’d accidentally stumbled into the bikers’ lair.
Slowly, I walked backward. At least no one had noticed me. Once I was close enough to the woods, I ran back inside.
Okay, fine. No big deal. I tried to catch my breath. I’ll just circle around to the front. I can still find the main road.
It was gloomy in the woods, and I could hear myself panting as I moved steadily, keeping the tree line to my left. Things were going great, swimmingly even—
A twig snapped behind me.
I jerked my head around.
Even though my eyes had adjusted to the dark, it was difficult to see. Slivers of moonlight shone into the wood’s canopy, illuminating branches.
It was probably just the kid out there, right? That made sense. I took a deep breath to call out, but my inner voice told me to stop.
I shut my mouth.
Yes, I listened to that inner voice for a change. It seemed to know what it was talking about.
I continued walking, stepping over fallen logs and twisted tree roots. It was like traversing an obstacle course. The forest seemed ominous and unwelcoming as I tried to keep track of where I was in proximity to the house.