Taken By A Beast

Chapter [1]

Riley Roth

Shortcuts are only a good idea if they cut the traveling time by half. Not if it means getting lost in the middle of Hillbilly Hick-Ville with nowhere to turn around. I was lost. Having driven for miles and miles in the wrong direction, admitting to myself that I was royally screwed. I should have taken my Mom’s advice and let the chauffeur drive me, but after the fight we had about me acting like a spoiled, entitled bitch, and me yelling in her face that I hated her guts and wished that she’d drop dead, I thought it would be best to leave before we said something we might later regret. Not about her cussing me out, or me wishing her dead, but before either of us brought up the sensitive subject of Dad. So, I left things sour between us. All the hurtful things I wanted to say kept bobbing to the surface, and now I was cursing myself for not coming up with an epic one-liner. It would have given her something to think about. How dare she call me spoiled when she and Dad indulged me? She helped to create the monster in me, and I intend to make her rue the day she ever crossed me. The condescending bitch.

With my music cranked up high, I cruised along the dark woodland road with my favorite song blasting through the speakers. I focused hard on the meandering way ahead, refusing to look from left to right at the surrounding forest. Dark looming trees wanted to keep me hostage, but I wanted out. I hated the woods, and the sooner I found a way out of here, the better. I will take that stupid intern job and prove to Mom I’m not lazy. She’ll choke on her words when I have Mr. Wade eating out of the palm of my hand. I smiled to myself smugly. 

A huge dark mass darted out from the trees and blocked the road. 

“Oh shit!” I screamed, swerving around it with only a second to spare.

I slammed my foot hard on the brake, forcing an emergency stop. What the fuck was that? In the red glow of my backlight, I saw the furry blob move and realized it was a bear. 

I almost hit a bear!

That would have made a dent the size of a crater in my bumper. I could have been killed. Docile beast. Didn’t it hear my engine noise? I was miles from Viper City. The radio signal was shit, which was why I played a CD. And if my radio struggled to get a signal, that probably meant my phone would too. Stupid fucking unlit hillbilly hick road. The dark dense woodland was closing in on me, threatening to swallow me whole. I remember reading a road sign five miles back the other way, but the name ‘Whitevale’ didn’t ring any bells. And without any internet signal, I couldn’t use Google maps. This was just fucking perfect. Now I was trapped here, in a forest crawling with bears. Teddy Ruxpin, and his huge hairy meatballs, turned to look at me, sniffing the air. My backlight bathed his fur in red and it reflected in his eyes, making him look like an angry demon. He blew out a sharp blast of white condensation through his nostrils, and then he shook his head like he smelled something nasty, probably getting a lungful of burned rubber. Then he dropped onto all fours and loped closer to the car. 

Shit! What do you even do when you’re confronted with a bear?

In a quick attempt to armor myself inside my shiny red Bugatti Chiron, which undoubtedly attracted it like a red rag to a bull, I closed the window, killed the engine, and remained still. In the Jurassic Park movies, the T-Rex couldn't see people if they stayed still. So, I didn't move a muscle. My heart pounded inside my chest like a jackhammer as the bear peered through the window, tapping its claw against the glass. I side-eyed it, trying to figure out if it was knocking to get my attention, or whether it had seen its reflection and thought it was another bear. I was pretty sure it scratched its chin as it thought about that. I hoped the bear would continue on its merry way, but it seemed more interested in me than going home. I let out a terrified sob as it pushed the car and made it wobble. It peered right at me as if it expected me to acknowledge it, then gave the car another forceful shove. What did it want? All I had was a packet of breath mints and a bottle of water. I didn't have any food.