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I GLANCED DOWN AND realized that some of the glass from the window had cut the top of my hand. “It’s okay,” I said, “I just got cut when the glass shattered.”
Suddenly, rifle shots were echoing through the darkness.
I froze, and a cold chill shot down my spine.
“Some body's shooting at us!” cried Julie, her voice wavering as she stated the obvious. “We’re being robbed or something!”
I wanted to say something, but the words remained frozen in my throat. I could only shake my head in shared disbelief. I reached for my phone and quickly called 911, but the call wouldn’t go through. “Great,” I said. “No signal!”
“Same here,” Julie said, trembling with fright as she stared at her own phone.
“Jesse!” I shouted through the broken window. I glanced around for him, but he was nowhere in sight.
BOOM!
More glass shattered, like rock candy, spraying us with shards as the windshield was shot out.
“We’ve gotta get outta here!” I called. “Some crazy person is shooting at us, and I’ve kinda got the feeling they aren’t gonna stop until we’re dead.”
“No!” exclaimed Julie, paralyzed with fear. “I’m not leaving. If we step out of this truck, it’ll be like target practice for our trigger-happy stalker!”
“If we stay in this truck, we’re as good as dead.”
She met my gaze, her eyes wide with terror, clearly scared sober.
“We can hide in the woods,” I begged, gripping her hands.
“No way! Haven’t you ever seen a horror movie in your life? The hockey mask guy always chases the girls into the woods, and I don’t wanna be chopped up with a meat cleaver!”
“That’s just the movies, Julie. I’ve been in those woods already,” I said, trying to reason with her. “It’s so dark and there are so many trees, shrubs and boulders. He’ll never find us.”
“But what about Jesse?” she whispered.
Droplets of sweat rolled down my face. “I-I don’t know. I don’t see him anywhere.”
“So he just abandoned us? Your knight in shining armor left two damsels in distress? Humph. Some Prince Charming he turned out to be.”
I tentatively glanced out the window, and another chill shot down my spine as I noticed a puddle on the street, glimmering crimson in the moonlight. “Oh my gosh!” I gasped.
“What?” she asked.
Biting my lip hard, I pointed. “Blood! Jesse’s hurt.”
She cautiously glanced out, peeking through her fingers the way someone would look at a car accident, then let out a trembling breath. “Wh-where did he go?”
A cold feeling washed over me and I felt as if all the blood had instantly drained from my face. “I dunno,” I answered, my voice trembling.
BANG!
More glass shattered, as a bullet destroyed one of the side windows, garnering another scream from Julie.
I gripped Julie’s hand. “We’ve gotta get out of here! We’re sitting ducks if we stay.”
She nodded, finally realizing I was right.
I opened the glove compartment, fumbling around through all sorts of junk, everything from gum wrappers, to a tire gauge, to coupons for fast food places. “You got a flashlight?”
“No,” she answered, shaking her head. “I know I should, but I didn’t expect to be...”
As her voice trailed off, I heard an unmistakable howl echoing in the distance, and the hair on my neck rose.
“Did you hear that?” Julie frantically whispered. “Maybe my Little Red Riding Hood joke wasn’t so far off. There are wolves out there, Taylor! Wolves!”
With that cruel realization, I second-guessed my decision to run into the woods, but staying in the truck and being easy pickings for the deranged Rambo wasn’t an option either.
Swallowing hard, I slipped out of the passenger’s door and stayed low. Adrenaline spiked in my veins, I had to force myself to take slow breaths. I motioned for Julie to follow me, and we slowly crept into the woods. Eerie shadows stretched and shifted in the trees like ghouls.
Darting forward, I jumped over some fallen logs, zigzagging through the towering trees. I was going as fast as the burning muscles in my legs would allow, dry leaves and twigs crunching beneath my feet. I continued checking over my shoulder and was glad to see that Julie’s drunk escapade had worn off enough so that she could run. I glanced over my shoulder. Moonlight glinted off of her sparkly shirt letting me know she was right behind me.
I scanned the woods in front of us and something off to the side caught my eye, I spun and spied an alternate route that squeezed through the clustered trees. I quickly veered towards it in the hopes of escaping our pursuer.
A few feet behind us, within earshot, twigs snapped and ferns rustled as if someone or something was hot on our trail. I wasn’t sure if it was a human, mountain lion, or some other variety of predator. I twisted through the overgrown ferns and foliage, running faster and calling to Julie encouraging her to hurry. I suddenly remembered something from the party and turned to Julie to tell her about it. “I met this weird guy named Drake back at the party,” I said, panting from all the running. “He was lost in some role play from a game of Dungeons and Dragons. He said that he was debating killing me. Maybe he’s the one chasing us.”
“So he’s living out his fantasies?” she asked.
“Yeah, he could be. He said I could help his enemies and that they would destroy him.”
“He’s clearly lost touch with reality.”
“He went off the deep end.”
“Taylor!” I heard Jesse’s voice call.
I had no idea how he found us with all the turns and twists I’d led us through, but it was a relief to know that he was there and hadn’t deserted us after all.
I saw Jesse and watched as he sucked in a deep breath holding his chest, where blood was dripping from a gaping wound.
I gasped, taking a deep trembling breath. “Jesse, I saw blood by the truck. Are you okay?”
He struggled to breathe. “I was...he shot me.”
My pulse pounded in my ears. I had no idea what to do for a gunshot wound. Even if I had known, I was too scared to think clearly enough to play nurse.
Julie took off her sweater, pressed it to Jesse’s chest and applied pressure. “Stay calm, she said, “and whatever you do, don’t pass out.”
“We need to keep moving,” I told them. “We gotta get back on the road and find help.”
“He’ll have no idea where were coming out,” Julie added as we walked briskly, helping Jesse along.
“I’ll be fine,” he said. “I just need a little while to recuperate.”
“Uh-uh, buddy. Don’t go trying to be Mr. Macho right now. This isn’t like shaking off a twisted ankle,” Julie warned. “You were shot, for goodness sake! You need surgery, medical help, and a lot of prayers.”
I pushed some branches aside, stepping into the dense vegetation, a strange noise caught my attention and I then straightened to listen. Barking, whining, and haunting howls echoed in the night air. It seemed like we had lost the maniac shooter, but now we were wandering around a lonely forest, through a dark labyrinth of trees, and by judging the sounds possibly being stalked by a pack of wolves.
“We gotta keep moving,” said Jesse.
Suddenly, a deeper more menacing howl, rang through the forest, making my hands shake. It reminded me of a bloodhound my neighbor had once owned. These sounds were different though, what sounded like a pack of wolves screeching in the night was beyond freaky, it was downright ominous.
We kept going, climbing over slippery logs and jagged rocks, pushing our way through thick underbrush and tall grass. My foot caught on a broken log and a cluster of rocks, but before I toppled over, I somehow managed to regain my equilibrium. I didn’t fall but I twisted my ankle, it throbbed, now slowing me down.
More howls.
“It sounds like they’re getting close, too close,” Julie said. “We’ll never outrun them.”
“Forget the wolves,” I said. “They just add ambiance to our spooky night hike.”
She shook her head. “How are you so calm?” she asked as we stumbled along through the thick terrain. “Jesse’s dying, we’re lost in the woods, a trigger-happy madman might be following us, and now some wolves wanna make a midnight snack out of us. All things considered, maybe the hockey mask guy with the meat cleaver would be better.”
“I’m not dying,” Jesse said, leaning into me, using us as human crutches.
“Sorry,” said Julie. “I don’t mean to be so negative. I guess I’m still a little drunk, wondering if this is all a dream and hoping I’m really passed out back at that party.”
I stumbled on another log, somehow managing to regain my balance again. I was dressed for a party, not exactly wearing hiking boots. I was desperately trying to stay calm and wanted to reassure Jesse and Julie. “Don’t be scared,” I said. “Wolves are predators, but they don’t attack humans. After my run-in with the mountain lion, my dad gave me a long lecture on all the wildlife around here.”
Jesse looked at me. “You still have a lot to learn about these woods.”
“But wolves naturally fear humans,” I said confidently.
“These wolves don’t,” said Jesse.
“Wolves have been known to leave a kill when they saw a human coming in their direction,” I argued. “Besides, I’m more scared about the guy who shot at us.” Looking at Jesse, I saw fresh blood soaking into Julie’s sweater. “We really need to get you to the hospital.”
“Wolves are...predators,” Jesse gasped out between breaths.
I glanced at him skeptically. “They may be predators, but they almost never attack people. My dad said that in the past century, there have only been two incidents in North America. He wouldn’t lie to me, not when he wants me to be safe out here.” I glanced back over my shoulder and gasped seeing large canine silhouettes not far behind. “Wait...they are following us! They’re not acting right. Do you think they have rabies or something?”
“Or something,” said Jesse, suddenly stopping and pointing to the right. “There’s a cabin up there. Maybe someone’s home who can help us.”
I glanced ahead but couldn’t see anything. I wasn’t sure but I thought he might be hallucinating from blood loss, like a thirsty man seeing an oasis mirage in the desert. As the howls grew louder coming closer and closer. I hoped my imagination was just playing tricks on me. Nope. Wolves don’t hunt humans, I kept telling myself, but I wasn’t sure if I could believe it, in spite of my dad and Animal Planet.
“There it is!” gasped Julie. “How’d you see it from that far away?” she asked Jesse.
He just moaned and didn’t answer.
It was still hard to see, but I could make out a structure in the moonlight, a cabin looming in the distance. The barking and howling growing louder still, I knew the wolves had captured our scent. I hoped the cabin would offer us safety and a land line. That hope was the only thing that kept me sane and calm.
“Hurry!” said Jesse urgently.
My gaze was now fixed on the target destination and with new determination I put my body into gear. I knew we needed to run, but Jesse was leaning on us for support.
Only thirty-feet to go. Ugh! Why does it feel like a freaking football field?
There was no time to look back, but I had to take a tiny peek over my shoulder to see how close the wolves actually were.
With their curiosity piqued, the snarling, growling, hungry animals were gaining on us.
Twenty-five more feet. Just fifteen more...now ten...five...three. Almost there! Just another foot!
We climbed up the stairs and pounded on the door.
“Help!” I screamed.
Why wouldn’t someone just open the door?!
I pounded even harder.
No answer.
“The pack’s coming!” Julie shouted. “Just break a window or something!”
When I glanced over my shoulder, I gulped as more growls and snarls filled the air. I jiggled the doorknob, but it was locked.
“C’mon!” Julie shrieked, terrified.
My heart thundered. “It’s locked!”
“Let me try!” said Jesse.
He threw his shoulder into the door, busting the lock pretty easily. I breathed a sigh of relief, but just as I went to rush inside, powerful arms gripped me from behind.