Short Stories

8. Hunted

The rest of the group rushed out of the cabin with their belongings in their hands. Most of them just wanted to get into the cars and not many of them seemed keen on searching for Eden, but Cora didn’t want to judge them too quickly. There was a chance they just wanted to put their things away.

Chandra and Everly got in to Sam’s car, but the guys picked up their flashlights and got ready to come along. Cora felt relieved that it wasn’t just her going out in to the woods. She lit her flashlight and aimed it to the woods.  “Eden?!”

An eerie silence was all the answer she got. The guys stood close behind her and started to look for tracks on the ground. Cora’s flashlight was like a beam of daylight, but the others helped too.

“EDEN!”

Cora jumped when Alden almost screamed in to her ear. She knitted her eyebrows, but didn’t say anything.

In a tight group, they started walking. Cora thought she could see tracks on the ground. They weren’t easy to spot, but if something had carried Eden and Eden had kicked towards the ground a bit, it was probably those tracks Cora could see. The few scrapes and kicks in the leafs were just enough for her to follow.

“Do you see any tracks?” Sam asked.

“Yeah… Not much, but enough to see that something has walked her recently.”

Alden and Gavin walked close behind them with the light of their flashlights flickering over the woods. Cora let them keep an eye on the surroundings and stayed focused on the tracks. The light from the car disappeared behind the cabin and the darkness snuck up on them like a hungry predator.

Cora tried to shine her light in front of them now and then, but she saw nothing but shadows and pale trees. The forest seemed eerily quiet, as if the darkness itself held its breath.

Cora realized they were heading towards the old stone house. She just about followed their old tracks from when Eden had put the rock back. The realization made her nauseous and a cold feeling squeezed her stomach.

There was a ruffle of leafs in the darkness. Cora almost stopped to look around when she realized it was raindrops. Few, large drops fell with loud splashes on leafs around them, making it sound like steps or movements.

They kept walking and came close to the slope down to the stream. Cora wished they would run in to Eden and that she would have managed to free herself. She didn’t want to go back to the old house. To walk in the woods in the dark was bad enough considering what they were up against.

A part of her wanted to turn back and leave, but she knew her conscience wouldn’t be able to handle it. She had to do what she could to get Eden back.

Running footsteps made Cora stop dead in her tracks. Her flashlight flickered in the woods and lit up a pale face in the dark.

It took a tense moment before Cora recognized Eden. With black clothes, only Eden’s face was visual. She had scratches on her face and a cut above one eyebrow. Shaking and terrified she ran until she threw herself in to Sam’s arms. Sam caught her and hugged her intensely.

Cora didn’t waste time on words, but pushed them in the direction of the cabin. She kept her attention focused on the woods behind them while she followed the others.

At first, they just ran, but soon they started to get tired. Eden seemed exhausted and hung with one arm around Sam’s shoulders, pressing a hand to her side.

Cora walked up next to her when they slowed down to walk. “How did you get away?” It felt like the most important question. If Eden had injured her captor it could be an advantage, but if not, they were most likely being hunted.