Chapter 21

Sam squinted, blinded by a painful throbbing on the right sight of her head. Quickly, she closed her eyes again, but not before a moan escaped her lips. How long had she been out?

A loud, scuffling sound stirred nearby, yet seemed strangely distant at the same time. A faint recollection of being chased through the forest filtered into her foggy thoughts.

Play dead.

The belated advice repeated itself over and over in her head.

Blake had suggested she stay still with a black bear and fight a grizzly. Or was it the opposite?

Blake.

She sighed, allowing the worries to relinquish as a wave of serenity washed over her.

I must be dead, Sam thought calmly, no longer in charge of her limbs. It was as if she was floating on clouds and the air smelled distinctly like Blake. If only he was here to hold her in his strong arms. Stupid, how very stupid it had been to leave his safe haven.

What if it wasn’t a black bear?

Suddenly, Sam came to her senses, abruptly opening her eyes. She took in her surroundings and was shocked to find she was no longer in the woods. Instead, she was in a sparse room. And in a bed.

She sat up quickly, causing a bolt of pain to stab through her head. Confused, she scanned the space for some sign of recognition. Where was she? Noting the walls were made of large logs, Sam swiftly realized she was in a cabin.

The room spun, and she closed her eyes, but the effort was in vain. The space refused to quit spinning, and she needed fresh air. Queasy, she slipped out from beneath a heavy quilt and slowly raised herself out of the large, marshmallow of a bed, careful not to make any more sudden moves. Her ankle screamed from the effort, but she braced her weight against the cool wooden wall and made it a few steps before having to rest.

But the pain was simply unbearable. Holding a hand to her temple in an effort to ease the agony, Sam limped her way to two glass paneled doors flooding the room with natural light. Halfway to the opening, she paused and held back a wave of nausea before continuing forward to complete her mission.

A picturesque view displayed before her, highlighting the miles of wilderness, and she gulped in several deep breaths before scanning her options. A calmness washed over her. There was a surreal feel about the place. As if she’d been here before.

The throbbing in her head intensified with the effort to stay standing, and Sam turned back into the bedroom. The walls closed in, swirling around her.

For the second time in her life, she was consumed by the sickening sensation of falling as blackness swallowed the light.