Page 104 of Out of the Cold

She stood there, paralyzed with indecision until she became aware of Hilde pulling at her leash, her nose to the ground.

She sent up a prayer that her dog wasn’t sniffing a squirrel and let her lead the way. Surely if Gabriel was out here, Hilde would find him.

“Gabriel,” she called, her voice thin and high, disappearing on an echo.

Hilde trotted steadily, a darker shadow low to the ground. Occasionally she stopped and nosed around in the snow, or turned and looked back at Lucy, her eyes gleaming before she set off again.

What if Hilde wasn’t leading her to Gabriel? What if they were on some wild goose chase?

Her gaze fixed on the dog, she tripped over a root and landed hard on her hands and knees. Then Hilde was at her side, her nose cold on Lucy’s neck.

“I’m fine, girl,” she whispered, but it took effort not to give in to her tears.

This wasn’t her. She didn’t rescue people. And what if no one needed rescuing? What if Gabriel had gone for a long walk and already circled back to his cabin? She was probably putting herself through this for no reason, misreading the whole situation and endangering both herself and Hilde.

She got to her feet, took a deep breath, and headed deeper into the darkness.

She was praying out loud now, one word over and over. “Please, please, please,” she whispered.

Her headlamp caught something off to the right. She swung back again, wondering if she’d imagined it.

But no. The golden eyes of a mountain lion gleamed back at her from behind a rotted log. Its head was up and its ears forward, as if curious.

She froze like prey in the animal’s sights, her entire body breaking out in a cold sweat. Dread crawled up her legs, chilling her blood.

“Don’t run away, don’t turn your back,” she whispered to herself. “Make yourself as big as possible. Raise your arms.” She said it all again, only louder, raising her arms as she did so. It didn’t look like it was going to attack, but it didn’t back away either.

Hilde came to her side, hackles raised, her low growl more of a vibration than a sound.

The big cat’s ears went back.

“Stay, Hilde,” she said, her command low as she reeled the leash in tight.

Hilde quivered at her side but kept silent.

Slowly, Lucy lowered her hand and dug for one of the heavy rocks she always kept in her pocket. She was barely breathing as she silently prayed for the animal to turn around.

But it didn’t turn. Instead, its hindquarters began to wriggle. Hilde growled, and the cat’s eyes shifted to her.

Lucy threw the rock hard and watched in terror as it glanced off the big cat’s side.

It was like breaking a spell. The cat rose up out of its crouch, turned, and loped silently away, disappearing into the pines.

Lucy stared into the forest for several minutes, afraid to turn her back. What if it was still out there, waiting to see what she did? She’d read that sometimes they came back for a second try.

But she couldn’t stay there forever. After another long look, she led Hilde down the trail, walking slowly. If it was watching, running might trigger its instinct to chase.

Her entire body shook, and she looked back over her shoulder time and again. She was terrified to go forward and equally scared to go back. And Gabriel might be out there, hurt and vulnerable to the cold and predators. Either one could kill him.

Then Hilde was straining at the end of the leash and barking madly.

A moment later, she heard a man’s voice.

“What the—Hilde?”

***

One minute he was staringup at the branches, contemplating whether he’d make it back by morning, and the next a sloppy wet tongue was licking his face.

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