Page 3 of Rescued by the Captain

An escape from what, exactly, thrashes my skull as I navigate the forest. My memories are still locked within a haze. I don’t know my name, my history. I’m like a dandelion drifting to the wind’s course, except I sense something —a subtle fire inside of me— that urges me to keep going. It tells me that there is a reason I should endure this.

Thump. Thump Thump.

I freeze on the spot. My heart is pounding, but it's not the noise that I’m picking up.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

Footsteps. Someone is following me. I brace like a fortress, shoulders hunched and hands balled into fists.

Suddenly,theyreveal themselves.

“Fuck!!!” I shriek. My heart jumps up my throat as I see a silhouette pass the trunk in front of me.

It takes me a moment to realize that the “someone” is no larger than myself– in fact, they are so small that I could cup them in my two palms.

Grabbing the collar of my coat in one hand, I release the longest breath.

“Just a bunny,” I exhale, watching the furry critter run in the opposite direction.

The world starts to spin, a flashback consuming my vision. I’m in a car, and there is a big black truck in my rearview mirror.

“Crap.” Vertigo sets in. I blink in and out of consciousness, and reach for a tree to steady myself, only to gasp for air. My knees buckle like jello.

I’m falling, sinking into the earth…

And the world goes black.

Donte

The first 48 hours are the most important when looking for someone.

My boots slam the snow as I burst forward. Icy puffs of air blow out of my mouth, breaths that match the beat of my heart.

I need to move fast. You don’t have much time to solve an investigation when a victim is involved. And when I found the blood stains, I knew that something went wrong. Terribly wrong

I’ve got to make quick ground. Droplets of blood lead deep into the forest — the person has to have made it far, but judgingby their footprints, they're not in the best mental state. They shuffle to-and-fro like they’re toppling into every other tree.

My heart stops when I hear a scream.

“Fuck!”

I’ve just rounded a bend, and a woman lets out a deafening cry. My legs surge before a plan does. I start sprinting, blood pumping through my veins to the point I’m numb to the cold.

I’ll save you. You won’t die alone.

As I dash, my eyes race my surroundings for any signs of life. There’s trees, more naked trees, and then I see her.

I stop when we’re mere feet apart. She doesn’t appear to recognize me— her stumbling comes to a halt, and her body sways before she crashes to the ground. I immediately swoop down to her side.

“Oh God,” I hiss as I take her cheek in my palm. Propping up her head on my lap, I notice that the woman is hauntingly cold. Like a corpse that has risen from underground. Her lips, curved like a seagull's wings, are drained of color— I can see that she is beautiful, curvaceous with voluminous hair and thick eyelashes. But she’s been through it. There’s no question her blood pressure is dangerously low.

Clenching my jaw, I press two fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. Her skin squishes underneath the pressure of my fingertips. Listening for a rhythm, I bring my ear down to her mouth.

Her breaths tickle my skin. Thank God, she hasn’t given up just yet. I begin to widen the inches between us, when I see her eyelashes flutter.

“Black… truck…” she murmurs, her lips parting ever so slightly. She squirms as if wanting to say more, but nothing comes.

I gently shake her shoulders. It’s of no use, she’s fully knocked out. I have two choices at this point— either wait foranother miracle, hoping she’ll awaken again so we can escape the storm together, or carry her to someplace that won’t risk both of us freezing to death.

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