Read Online Out of The Woods by Patricia Bowmer - Free Book Online
Authors: Patricia Bowmer
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air. They were of value to the greater tree – it wasn’t just the ones that had touched the earth that were worthy. All were worthy.
She peered inside. The shelter was surprisingly spacious, with room for her to stretch out full length if she curled up just slightly, and still have plenty of space around her. It was carpeted with the ordinary-leaf-shaped leaves, which were brown and old. They would make a soft bed.
Just before she entered the shelter, she looked behind her, back into the darkening forest. Standing half in and half out of the entrance, statue-like and silent, she willed whatever it was that had been following her to show itself. Nothing appeared.
She moved inside and lay down. Her exhaustion dragged her into a deep sleep, where she dreamt of all manner of food and drink. Occasionally though, she grunted and fought, as if in the midst of some nightmare from which she could not awaken.
Something startled her awake. Her eyes snapped open. It was dark. There was an acrid tang in the air. It smelled like a match had been struck, but she couldn’t see or hear anything. For a long moment, all was still. Just my imagination, playing tricks on me. Still, she sat up, intent on slowing the rapid-fire thumping of her heart.
A red spark appeared in the air. She watched wide-eyed as a tiny blue flame moved slowly through the air. It touched something, which burst into sudden flame. The heat of it – a torch – leapt out at her, seeming to scorch the very air.
There was a dark figure sitting in front of her! So close, it could have reached out to touch her. The torch blinded her. She shoved herself back hard. But, mistaking the distance between herself and the tree roots, she slammed the back of her head. Sharp pain shot through her; acid pouring into her stomach. Her breath came in quick gasps, too quick to get enough oxygen. Halley was shocked into silence, and, try as she would, she could not speak, could not scream. Frozen in place, her body began to shake uncontrollably. It could kill m e. The thought made the blood in her head pound harder, made her dizzy and lightheaded.
Silence filled the space between them. When the dark figure finally spoke, the quiet had lasted far too long to consider it normal.
“Don’t be afraid,” a man’s voice said. “I saw you crying. By the butterflies. I thought you were lost. I wanted to help you, but I lost sight of you.” He looked at her closely. “Please stop trembling like that, like I’m some sort of monster – I won’t hurt you. I want to help you.”
Why then, bring the word “hurt” into it?
Shaking her head, she willed the voice away, trying to block it from her ears. It was too silky, too smooth. She couldn’t see him properly in the darkness with the torch light in her eyes. She was acutely aware of his body invading her personal space, violating her sense of safety.
Did he say he’d seen me crying by the butterflies?
She thought about the waterfall that had reminded her of her parents, about the butterflies hovering. But that was so long ago ! Has he been tracking me all this time? A shudder moved through her again, and she pulled herself closer, making a smaller bundle of her body.
“I don’t need your help!” She thrust the words out as if they were weapons, willing power behind her voice. “I’m not lost. I know where I am and I know what I’m doing.” Unintentionally, she spoke fast and with a sense of urgency. “Please. Just go away.” Her right hand had wrapped itself tightly around the thickened trunk of a nearby tree root.
He didn’t move or speak.
Her voice had wavered. It held the truth of the night she’d spent unsheltered in the rain, of the long, devastating days she’d spent wandering lost.
He kept quiet, as if letting her think.
In the darkness, an image played before her eyes: the dried-out waterfall; the decapitated flowers. She wasn’t safe. She wasn’t safe at all.
After an overlong pause, so long that
She peered inside. The shelter was surprisingly spacious, with room for her to stretch out full length if she curled up just slightly, and still have plenty of space around her. It was carpeted with the ordinary-leaf-shaped leaves, which were brown and old. They would make a soft bed.
Just before she entered the shelter, she looked behind her, back into the darkening forest. Standing half in and half out of the entrance, statue-like and silent, she willed whatever it was that had been following her to show itself. Nothing appeared.
She moved inside and lay down. Her exhaustion dragged her into a deep sleep, where she dreamt of all manner of food and drink. Occasionally though, she grunted and fought, as if in the midst of some nightmare from which she could not awaken.
Something startled her awake. Her eyes snapped open. It was dark. There was an acrid tang in the air. It smelled like a match had been struck, but she couldn’t see or hear anything. For a long moment, all was still. Just my imagination, playing tricks on me. Still, she sat up, intent on slowing the rapid-fire thumping of her heart.
A red spark appeared in the air. She watched wide-eyed as a tiny blue flame moved slowly through the air. It touched something, which burst into sudden flame. The heat of it – a torch – leapt out at her, seeming to scorch the very air.
There was a dark figure sitting in front of her! So close, it could have reached out to touch her. The torch blinded her. She shoved herself back hard. But, mistaking the distance between herself and the tree roots, she slammed the back of her head. Sharp pain shot through her; acid pouring into her stomach. Her breath came in quick gasps, too quick to get enough oxygen. Halley was shocked into silence, and, try as she would, she could not speak, could not scream. Frozen in place, her body began to shake uncontrollably. It could kill m e. The thought made the blood in her head pound harder, made her dizzy and lightheaded.
Silence filled the space between them. When the dark figure finally spoke, the quiet had lasted far too long to consider it normal.
“Don’t be afraid,” a man’s voice said. “I saw you crying. By the butterflies. I thought you were lost. I wanted to help you, but I lost sight of you.” He looked at her closely. “Please stop trembling like that, like I’m some sort of monster – I won’t hurt you. I want to help you.”
Why then, bring the word “hurt” into it?
Shaking her head, she willed the voice away, trying to block it from her ears. It was too silky, too smooth. She couldn’t see him properly in the darkness with the torch light in her eyes. She was acutely aware of his body invading her personal space, violating her sense of safety.
Did he say he’d seen me crying by the butterflies?
She thought about the waterfall that had reminded her of her parents, about the butterflies hovering. But that was so long ago ! Has he been tracking me all this time? A shudder moved through her again, and she pulled herself closer, making a smaller bundle of her body.
“I don’t need your help!” She thrust the words out as if they were weapons, willing power behind her voice. “I’m not lost. I know where I am and I know what I’m doing.” Unintentionally, she spoke fast and with a sense of urgency. “Please. Just go away.” Her right hand had wrapped itself tightly around the thickened trunk of a nearby tree root.
He didn’t move or speak.
Her voice had wavered. It held the truth of the night she’d spent unsheltered in the rain, of the long, devastating days she’d spent wandering lost.
He kept quiet, as if letting her think.
In the darkness, an image played before her eyes: the dried-out waterfall; the decapitated flowers. She wasn’t safe. She wasn’t safe at all.
After an overlong pause, so long that
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