Page 4 of In Love With the Leshy

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going? I have the car keys, remember?”

“Max is right,” Igor complains. “We can’t stand here and wait for that monster to attack us.”

Did someone say monster? I thought it was a bear, and now they’re saying it’s a monster? Like Bigfoot or something? Is it time to panic? How did my life go so wrong from trying to do a good deed?

“I bet you believe in Santa, too?” Nikolai ridicules. “Why are you so afraid? You have a gun, don’t you? Shoot the damn thing.”

That’s right. Guns. They have guns. That’s why I ran in the first place. After side swiping me and running my car into a ditch, a bullet flew through my window. The most likely outcome of this shit show is being raped. Shot. Or eaten by Bigfoot? The icing on the cake will be if they manage to drag me through all three scenarios.

“Shh. It’s okay Erin,” a voice whispers in my ear. My heart hammers like mad. No. It’s impossible. Bumps cover my skin as the world stills for a moment. Even after three long years of not hearing it, I recognize the voice. My father.

I know it can’t be, but still, I hope to hear him again. I question my sanity while a sense of peace warms me like a blanket. I wait, praying for him to say something else, even if it means I’ve lost my mind or worse, that I’m about to die, and he’s here to help me cross over to the other side.

Is the end that close? Is that why I hear him? Or have I lost my grip on reality?

“You’re safe. I won’t let them hurt you.”

Trying to keep still, I fill my lungs with air, as if that will fill me with courage. At least there’s one thing to look forward to. When I die, I won’t be alone any longer.

Chapter 3

“Help Nikolai!” Igor yells. His voice doesn’t come from above me. He’s further than I expected.

“What the fuck?” Fear colors Nikolai’s voice and tears his attention away from me.

“What do I do?” Igor whimpers, sounding like he’s about to cry.

“Tikho. Don’t move.”

“Move? Where can I go?”

My curiosity gets the best of me. I crack my eyes open a hair to see what the hell is going on. To my relief, Nikolai has moved a few feet away, back toward the narrow path we took getting to this spot. I don’t see Igor or Max anywhere.

“Nik!” Max calls. “These trees, they’re haunted or under some sort of spell. They won’t let me go!”

“Stop being stupid!” The leader of the threesome yells. “We have to help Igor.”

“Seriously. Every time I move, the damn tree stops me! It’s like it’s alive.”

“Of course it’s alive. It’s a tree, asshole.”

“No! I mean like it can move. The roots wrap around my feet and ankles. If I get one free, a branch slips into the sleeve of my shirt. It won’t let me go!”

Nikolai mutters something indistinguishable.

“Help!” Igor whisper whines.

I take a chance and open my eyes all the way. None of the men are near me. They aren’t far enough for me to get up and start running yet. But I can turn on my belly and use my arms and legs to pull myself forward until I find someplace better to hide.

The wind whips up and whirls around us. It sounds like a storm is about to rage through the area.

“There are two now! Three!” Igor screams. He cries out again and again, then howls in pain.

He can’t be talking about three bears. I mean, they’d be loud, growling and snarling at him, wouldn’t they? And if it were bears, Nikolai wouldn’t just stand there looking on, would he? I need to know what might be coming my way. I move as fast as I can to get a few trees over. Wait? Weren’t the trees so big and thick I struggled to move running through here? How did they separate for me to create distance between us?

I hug a rough trunk for strength and use it to pull myself up. I blink my eyes, unable to believe what I see. Igor is hanging by his ankle, suspended from a thick branch about fifteen feet off the ground by a twisted vine. That would be enough for me to scream like a little girl, but to make things worse (or better, depending on whose side you’re on), snakes are slithering from the branch onto him. One is making its way toward him as another wraps around his legs. A third slithers down his torso and around his neck.

My lips curl into a smile. The snakes’ sudden movements cause Igor to shriek. His body jerks as the snakes bite him and continue curling around him, heading down toward his face. I shouldn’t get so much satisfaction from seeing him suffer, but it feels great to look on as he gets every bit of what he deserves.

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