Page 14 of Snowbound Hearts
“I heard you, Mason. Just be careful.”
I decide not to mention the large paw prints I saw out by the garage. I’m panicking enough for the both of us. “I will.”
Sydney, you better just be stubborn and not stubborn and dead.
Or I’ll kill you all over again.
Chapter 9
Sydney
Iam never, ever leaving the State of Florida ever again. Why on earth anyone would want to live where it’s so damn cold is beyond me. Is it beautiful? Of course it is, but so is the beach and sand.
When Mason showed up on that stupid toy of his and told me it was too dangerous to be outside by myself, I was ready to throttle him. Who the hell does he think he is? How dare he tell me I can’t take care of myself! I’ve been doing that since he decided to leave and not tell me about it ten years ago.
Nowhe cares.
He can kiss my ass.
As I make my way through the woods looking for Mason so I can explain to him that he fucked up royally by letting me go, I keep telling myself to only walk in a straight line away from the lodge that way I can just turn around and walk straight back. Easy peasy.
Go straight. Don’t turn. I can’t get lost.
I’m lost.
After what feels like hours, I turn back determined that I’ll give Mason a piece of my mind after the wedding tomorrow. I’m walking straight, but it’s so dark out now that I can’t see if that’s really the way I’m going. Am I going straight? Did I turn? How far did I walk? How long have I been gone?
I pull out my phone, but of course there’s no signal in the middle of the woods. “Why would there be, Sydney?” I say sarcastically to no one but myself.
Instead of trying to make a call or send a text message, I turn on the flashlight and try to navigate my way back towards the lodge. Remembering a movie I once saw about tracking a serial killer through the snow, I look for my own footprints, but I don’t see any. None.
Well, that’s not good. I thought I was just walking straight. No turns.
“Shit, Sydney. Maybe you shouldn’t be outside by yourself. No panicking, girl, you’ve got this. You’re fine. Take a deep breath and start walking straight. You’ll find the lodge.” I take a deep breath and watch my breath flow into the cold air through the light of my flashlight. Straightening my shoulders, I start walking one foot in front of the other. “You’ve got this.”
I walk like this for a few more minutes, but I still can’t find my footprints. It’s not snowing, so they shouldn’t be covered up, so that definitely means I’m walking in the wrong direction. Do I turn around or keep going?
I shine my flashlight up in front of me, but it’s so dark that my light fades away farther than a foot in front of me. Now, I’m beginning to panic.
That’s when I hear, off in the distance, a motor. That must be Mason on his ATV. Right? I start waving my arms and my flashlight in the direction of the sound hoping he’ll hear or see me.
“Mason. Over here!” I call out. “Mason! I’m over here!” I yell again and that’s when I hear something distinctly different than a motor. More like a growl.
Instinctively, I stop moving and slowly turn holding my flashlight out as far as I can to see what’s making that sound. ‘Please don’t be a bear. Please don’t be a bear.’ I chant in my head.
It’s definitely not a bear. But it’s big and now I’m trying to recall every single nature show I’ve ever watched in my entire life to see if I can figure out how the hell I don’t end up as dinner for a mountain lion, but nothing is coming to mind. He’s big; like almost eight feet long and his dark eyes are directly aimed at me.
In the distance, I can hear the engine of the ATV, and I think I can hear Mason calling my name, but I don’t dare move. Do I stare directly in its eyes, or do I look away? Do I wave my hands in the air and try to look big and scary? I know not to run because then I’ll be prey to him.Yeah, like you’re not already prey, Sydney.
I take a small step backwards to test to see if I can move away from him and he just stands staring at me, barely blinking. “Nice, kitty. You’re a good kitty.” Okay, this is good, so I take another step back, this time a bit bigger but freeze when he takes a step towards me and growls again. “No, no, kitty… you need to stay.”
Fuck. Now what? “Get. Go home. Go away.” I say softly but he just ignores me. “Go. Get.” I say more forcibly as I take another step back. This time he just stands there with his head hunched forward, so I try it again. “Go! Get!” I wave my hands out a little, too.
The mountain lion suddenly leaps in the air and lands within five feet of me. It startles me and I scream but don’t move. If he wants to, he can just stretch out his front leg and swat me with his paw. Then I’m dead.
I realize that I’m about to die and no one will ever know what happened to me. Some hiker next spring will find my phone and that’ll be it. Maybe my bones will be spread across the valley; maybe this thing will eat them, too. I can feel my tears start to freeze on my cheeks as the realization hits me that I’m about to die.
“Sydney. I want you to very slowly take two steps straight back towards my voice. Do not turn your back on him.” The relief of hearing Mason’s smooth, comforting voice behind me makes my blood pulse in my ears. If this thing doesn’t get me, he’s going to get Mason.
