Page 40 of Echo
Keep going, Madison.
The forest was more alive than I’d ever heard it before. Nails scraped on the wood as squirrels scrambled to hide. The crickets chirped in bursts and birds squawked as if they were in a panic. Normally, it was silent when he was near, but it was screaming now, as if DEFCON level five had been activated. As if nature herself was rejecting his presence.
I came around a tree and found a mountain lion and a cub feasting on the fresh carcass of a deer. The blood spatter around them glistened on the blades of green grass like some messed up painting that hadn’t dried yet.
Mama lion responded in a blink of an eye, leaping at my feet with a threatening yowl. I backed away to avoid her, and the world fell out from under me with a pop of my ankle that sent a shot of agony up my leg. A short freefall in the air ended with my shoulder hitting the ground with a painful thump.
Before I could recover, my momentum rolled me down the hill I’d stumbled on. Twigs stabbed into me as brush whipped my skin. Roars and growls echoed off the trees. I landed with my back against a fallen trunk. Blood flooded my mouth when I bit down on my tongue from my harsh landing, coating my mouth with the taste of metal.
At the top of the hill, the monster grabbed the mountain lion by the throat with one hand, like wrestling a grown predator wasjust another Saturday for him. A small nuisance in his day of murder.
I climbed to my feet and took his distraction as a chance to put some distance between us. The pain radiating up my ankle and up the back of my legs made it easier to ignore the scraps and scratches as the branches tried to grab me as I passed.
In the tumble and fall, I’d lost track of things, but I was pretty sure I was going in the same direction. Doubt took root the deeper into the woods I went. It felt like I’d been running for hours, and I didn’t think I was any closer to anything that could help me.
Did I get turned around?
The wind shifted, and a horrible stench hit my nose. It smelled like…cow manure.
Aaron Falin’s Cattle Ranch.
I’d never been so happy to smell shit in my life. If I could find his ranch, I could find the road. I pushed my legs harder, going as fast as I could.
The trees started narrowing and made it hard to navigate. I could only hope that if it was harder for me, it would be harder for him and would offer me more cover. But it was clear we were in a section that man hadn’t landscaped, closer to the house the trees were thinned out.
I learned from my previous mistake and kept a closer eye on my surroundings to make sure I didn’t interrupt anyone else’s lunch and end up with another thing on my ass.
There wasn’t anymore sage to stand on, so I’d lost that layer of protection. I’d known that would happen sooner rather than later, but it still worried me.
“Madison,” my own voice whispered behind me, and nearly stopped me in my tracks.
I shook off the unnerving pit growing in my stomach, that was exactly what he wanted. To slow me down. I refused to let him find a shock factor to throw me off.
Instead, I pushed my legs as hard as I could. He’d fallen behind and I wouldn’t let him close that distance again.Keep going, Madison.
Between the trees, there was a rotting wooden post and rail fence in the distance that I was willing to bet was the property line. There was a cleared field with brown as far as the eye could see.
I weaved through the trees, hopefully creating confusion. There it was, and I knew there was a prize on the other side. I went right and slammed into a tree I’d somehow missed.
The impact knocked the wind out of me and I flew backwards. Arms wrapped around me, pulling me back in and holding me close to what I’d thought was a tree. When I’d ran full force into the thing, it was easy to mistake him for a tree, but it was him.
He caught me.
He picked me up like I weighed nothing, pinning me against the giant tree that had hidden him. The thin tank-top I wore offered zero protection from the rough bark digging into my back. His hand went around my throat, squeezing the sides. The blood rush was instant and made me dizzy.
See, bitch. I told you running would get you killed.
Yet his amused chuckle sent butterflies fluttering through my stomach and a shiver down my spine. I needed fucking therapy.
Behind him, I could see how close I’d been to breaking through the treeline. All the hope that I’d had crashed around me. This was the end.
I closed my eyes, surrendering to whatever he intended to do with me. I’d done everything within my power, it was all up to him now.
“I caught you,” he announced as if I hadn’t already figured that out. His hand was big enough that his thumb was able to caress the shape of my lips without releasing my grip. “Good girl, doing exactly what I wanted you to.”
My eyes popped back open in shock at his words, only to find that the edges of my vision were blurring.
“You’re so beautiful and smart. You fight so hard.” He groaned as if he couldn’t get enough of it. His other hand rolled over my hip. “Run. I’ll gladly keep hunting you.”
