Page 61 of Hide and Seek
The woods are silent, but that only adds to my anticipation. It’s no fun when it’s easy.
Slipping between the trees, I pause when I reach the path he usually runs on and crouch so I can survey the area for signs that he was here. It rained earlier today, so the ground is soft, and a set of fresh footprints catches my eye. The treads are deep in the front, while the heel is barely an indent. Those are the footprints of someone who was running fast, possibly even sprinting. I don’t need three guesses to know who made them.
Rather than following the path, I cut deeper through the woods to bypass a large bend in it and instead go from point to point, cutting the distance so I can catch up to him. I don’t run because I don’t want to miss something or make any more noise than is absolutely necessary, but my steps are steady and quick enough that I’m not worried about losing him.
He has to run out of steam eventually, and the path only goes so far before he’ll have to either turn around and retrace his steps or run deeper into the woods. He could switch things up and run through campus, but I can’t see him choosing that route, even with no one around. Either way, it doesn’t matter what he does; I’ll catch him regardless.
I pause when I reach the path again and look around for tracks. There aren’t any.
A smile tilts my lips as more adrenaline pours into my system, and a low buzz of electricity simmers just under the surface of my skin. Things just got a whole lot more interesting.
Being careful not to miss anything, I backtrack down the path. It doesn’t take long to find where his footprints veer off, and I follow them until they disappear in front of a large fallen tree.
A quick sweep of the area behind the tree shows nothing, even with the soft ground, so he didn’t go that way. Crouching down again, I examine the log.
It obviously fell a while ago, and the bark is covered in lichen and patches of moss. There’s a void in some of the lichen directly in front of where his footsteps end, like something heavy scraped over the surface and displaced it.
A smile tilts my lips as more adrenaline flows through me, ramping up my excitement. Clever bastard tried to cover his tracks by running on the log.
Standing back up, I step over the log and follow it until I see a muddy footprint on one of the rocks in front of me. I track his footprints and follow them. It looks like he jumped from rock to rock in order to avoid detection.
It’s a smart strategy, but the soft ground and low lighting are working against him, and I’m able to follow his footprints through the maze of rocks until I see a deep print in the dirt that looks like he dug his foot in and did a hard pivot to change direction. Just to be sure, I kneel so I can check the depth of the print and see exactly which way he went.
Unlike the last time we played hide and seek, it’s not a bright, sunny day, so the cloudy sky and dimming light are already affecting my ability to see the ground clearly. I have a small penlight in my pocket that would help, but I don’t pull it out.
I’m not about to give him any indication of where I am.
Based on the tread pattern in the print, he made a sharp turn to the right, and with how far away it is from the next visible print, I’d bet he jumped so he could try and throw me off again.
I follow his tracks for about twenty feet, then lose them again. I’m just looking around for something to show me which way he went when a soft sound catches my attention.
Breathing. It’s faint and muffled, but definitely him. And he’s close.
I sink to one knee and pretend to examine the ground in front of me as I track where the breathing is coming from. There’s a large outcropping of small boulders to my immediate left, but my instincts are telling me he’s not there. It’s too obvious.
I wasn’t sure how much of a challenge it would be to find Myles the first time we played this game, but I was pleasantly surprised. Most people at this school couldn’t find their way through the woods with written instructions and a clearly marked path, but Myles is different. He grew up next to the forest, and he obviously spent a lot of time there based on how comfortable he was as he tried to evade me and how easily he found campus again when the only hint I gave him was showing him true north.
Now that I know his strengths, I can figure out his weaknesses and use both against him.
I pretend to finish examining the print and stand, my attention on a fallen tree to my right. The log itself isn’t big enough to give him proper cover, not even if he were laying down, but the base of the snapped-off trunk is big enough for a fully grown man to crouch behind.
Instead of making a beeline for the trunk, I go in the opposite direction until I’m sure I’m out of sight, then double back, going in a wide circle so I’m behind the tree trunk as I come back up on it.
My entire body is already on edge when I see Myles crouching behind the stump. I slow my pace so my steps are silent.
He’s completely oblivious to my presence as he tentatively stands, his back to me and his head on a swivel as he looks in every direction except directly behind him.
I’m less than five feet from him when he finally glances over his shoulder. His eyes widen with shock, but he recovers quickly and takes off.
I follow at an easy jog, my entire focus on him as he tries to escape me. He’s wearing all black like me, but his light brown hair gleams in the dimming light like a halo, helping me keep him in sight.
My blood is pumping, and my entire body is charged with electricity. Dark energy moves through me, stronger than it was the last time we played. All of my senses are heightened, and I can hear my own bloodwhooshingthrough my veins under the gentle slap of my footsteps on the ground.
Myles takes another hard turn and runs toward an area that’s heavily treed and disappears into its dark depths.
I follow him, a smile on my lips. Does he know about the cabin, and is that why he chose to run this way?
A snapping twig pulls my attention to the left, and I slow my steps. There’s another snap to my left, then the sound of a rock skittering over the forest floor, moving from left to right and disappearing into the darkness.
