If Only She'd Loved Him

Chapter 85

Saturday 7:31 pm

Megan stared down at the rushing water.  It flowed up and over the creek bed, renewed by the rain that had poured into it.  Feet sloshing on the muddy ground, she turned and followed the path of the creek downhill.  She kept her flashlight low and towards the earth, just a few feet in front of her.  The water drowned out the noises of the forest. Wouldn't animals be near a stream? she thought to herself.  Determined to be safe, she picked up the first hefty stick she found and carried it in her numb fingers like a cudgel.  It was then the voice stopped her.

"Megan," it called.

She held stock still.   Standing next to the rushing water, she couldn't tell where the sound was coming from.  She couldn't even tell if it came from her own head.

"Megan," it called again.  This time she recognized it.

She tried to scream.  She ratcheted her lungs up to their highest volume and tried to yell, to howl, to scream again and again, but the hoarse sound that came out was washed away by the water rolling past her.  Left with no choice, she ran.  Switching her flashlight off with her thumb, she left herself in darkness, but kept running.  The voice laughed behind her.

A single shot flew out of the trees and spun the leaves in front of her.  She cried out again, jumping back, but her voice couldn't help.  She ran as fast as her feet would let her.  She hurled herself across the stream, hoping she could lose him on the other side.  Her foot hit solid rock in the center of the water.  She used it like a spring board, bounding to the creek bank.  The next shot struck.  Water roiled around the small bit of metal, hiding it from view.  Megan scrambled up the bank on her knees, trying to stay low, trying to zig, trying to zag, and kept running downstream.

Erik hit the creek at the same time Megan was running down its other side.  He leaped across, but wasn't as lucky as she.  The rock he aimed for was covered in wet green moss.  Losing purchase, his feet slid out from under him.  His knee cracked as it hit the creek bed below.  Soaking wet, his jeans clung to him, dragging him into the water.  Straining, he pulled himself up and limped across the stream.  He'd dropped his flashlight when he fell.  Now he saw it bobbing up and down in the current.  Erik cursed.  As the flashlight floated nearer, he just managed to snag the front of it.  The flashlight dripped as he lifted it.  He tried to shake the water away, but the case was split, the batteries exposed; it was useless.  Flinging the case back into the stream, he ran after Megan.

Panting, she forced herself to stop.  She'd heard a splash.  Maybe Erik had cracked his head open?  No such luck.  She heard the slosh of his feet as he ran after her.  But his gun was silent, and his light was gone.  She gripped the stick she held and fought to catch her breath, trying to think clearly.  He had a gun.  He had just tried to shoot her.  Maybe he was faking it about the flashlight?  He'd used that trick on her before.  There was no point in trying to ambush him.  The advantage was his.  Clutching her side, she tried to keep moving.  But her throat couldn't take in the air it needed.  Her head swam in a thousand circles.  She found a tree and held still.

Erik paused.  Since she'd stopped running, he couldn't hear Megan.  Without movement, he couldn't pinpoint her.  His feet felt like ice blocks were strapped to him.  His pants whipped him with frost.  Teeth chattering, he tried to locate some hint of where she was.  He fought to isolate the sound of the water from the rest of the woods.  Then the wind kicked up, brushing his jeans against his legs, reminding him of just how cold he was.  He had a decision to make. Should he give up?  Go back to the cabin and wait for the police?  Or should he make a run for it?  Neither option appealed.  He was a hunter; he knew how to flush game. 

"Megan," Erik called out gently. "I know you're there.  We're both freezing.  Come out and we'll talk."

She didn't move.

"Sweetheart, it's over.  You won.  I'm going back to my cabin now.  I promise not to hurt you ever again if you want to follow me.  We can both be warm," he added temptingly.   "I'll let you go.  I never meant for things to go so far, you have to believe me."

She did believe him, but only his last words.   She didn't budge.  Erik turned away from the direction of the lake and back towards the cabin. 

"I'm leaving now."  He took a few steps and then paused, wanting his final words to sink into her hard.  "You know you're headed deeper into the woods.  You'll be dead if you keep going the way you plan."

Megan heard the wet swish of his pants rubbing together as he walked away.  Waiting a few minutes to be sure, she stepped out from behind her tree and started moving downstream.  Only the crack of a branch saved her life.  Flinging herself to the side, she hit the ground, but not fast enough.  The bullet streamed into her shoulder.  Pain seared through her, burning the flesh it found.  In shock, she clutched at her arm, blood sliding through her fingers.  She threw a glance of horror back at Erik as she ran.  The smoke from the pistol hissed in the wet forest.  Erik laughed.  Legs bare, he pursued his game.  Hooked over a branch, his soaked jeans danced in the wind.