In seconds she stood in what appeared to be a hallway. Before her was a door, and beyond it, she knew she’d find the man she sought. Going forward, she simply walked through it, intent on reaching the still form on the bed—
A loud shriek snapped Daria painfully back into her body. The sound echoed through the mountains, causing her pulse to stutter in her chest. “What the hell?”
As the sound died away, she tried to figure out what in God’s name it had been. The creature’s angry baritone cry reminded her of something prehistoric out of an old Godzilla movie. As the call died, chills pimpled her skin. Whatever it was, it could be miles away, or a few short yards.
That idea was enough to get her moving. She felt too much like a sitting duck there, and she couldn’t try the projection again for a while anyway. She broke camp quickly, packing her tent and supplies and making sure the fire was completely out. Then she headed down the trail, on the way to her next site.
Thoughts of the blond were never far from her mind as she hiked. She much preferred to think of him than of the terrible dream or of the disturbing bellow from some strange animal. Could a grizzly bear make a sound like that if it was in dire pain? She didn’t think so. But out here, what could be large enough to make that noise and be heard for miles?
Don’t think of it. Think of him.
She put the mystery animal far from her thoughts and lost herself in enjoying the day. She tackled a couple of steep switchbacks and was sweating by noon, when she finally stopped to rest. Dragging off her pack, she rolled her shoulders with relief and bent to reach inside for her water.
A familiar smell hit her nose and she straightened slowly. Blood and rotting flesh. Standing stock still, she turned only her head, scanning the area for signs of the remains that must be nearby. Up ahead, she spotted some broken branches off to the side of the trail. Beyond that, perhaps thirty yards into the foliage, there was something lying on the ground. Studying the lump, she thought she saw denim material, maybe a boot.
“Aw, shit.”
She quickly grabbed her handheld radio from the backpack. If it was a body, she’d have to call the ranger’s station and report it, then wait for them to arrive. She needed to check in with them anyway, let them know she was all right. Leaving her pack behind, she ventured off the trail and picked her way to the lump on the ground. As she got closer, her fears were realized.
“God in heaven,” she whispered.
Once, the body had been a human, but whether it was a man or woman, she couldn’t say. The corpse had been torn literally to pieces. She spotted part of a leg, an arm. The torso was mostly gone, eaten. Huge teeth had ripped massive chunks of flesh from its victim, the marks so big she couldn’t fathom what creature had made them. There was no head to be seen.
Stumbling a few steps away, Daria fell to her knees and vomited. Her stomach turned inside out, though thankfully there wasn’t much to purge as she’d skipped breakfast. As the heaves subsided, one thought screamed into her brain.
What if the killer is still here?
Swiping at her mouth, she pushed up and bolted for her backpack, radio in hand. When she reached it, she dove for the water hooked to the side and rinsed her mouth several times. Then she took a long drink. She had to call this in, but did she dare wait around for the thing to come back for seconds?
Raising the radio to her face, she was about to depress the button when a low growl made every hair stand on end. Turning slightly to the right, she blinked, not sure what she was seeing. As it stalked forward, head lowered, she sucked in a breath.
The creature was a snow-white wolf. It wasn’t very large—female if she had to guess. The she-wolf made another threatening rumble and continued to advance. All sorts of useless knowledge came to mind, such as the fact that there had never been a documented case of a wolf attacking a person.
Tell that to this one.
Daria depressed the button on her radio, intending to speak to the rangers, but she was too late. At that moment, the wolf launched itself forward. With a cry, Daria spun around and ran for all she was worth. And knew she’d done exactly the wrong thing. Her dad would rake her over the coals for making such a rookie move.
Legs pumping, she veered off the trail, searching frantically for a good tree to shimmy up. But there were none with branches low enough. Snarling, catching up, the wolf snapped at her boots. She pushed on, faster.
As she topped a rise, the terrain suddenly fell away and she skidded to a stop, right at the edge of a deep ravine. “Fuck!”
She whirled to find the she-wolf right there, panting, baring her teeth. Teeth that were nowhere near big enough to have caused the destruction of the dead hiker, but that hardly mattered now. Looking around, she scanned the ground for a rock, anything. She didn’t want to throw her radio and risk damaging it, but it might make a good club.
She and the wolf locked gazes, in a standoff. Daria was struck by the intelligence in the wolf’s eyes, the lack of madness. What the hell was going on? Then a crash sounded from the forest. And another. The sound of heavy steps. More hikers? Maybe help was there.
The moment of distraction cost her. The wolf gathered itself, leaped, and knocked her backward. Daria staggered, trying to regain her balance.
And stepped into thin air. She fell, screaming; then her back connected with the rocky ground, knocking the breath from her lungs. She tumbled, ass over elbows, rocks gouging and scraping her skin, tearing her clothes. The slide went on forever, it seemed.
Until she came to an extremely abrupt stop that made her bite her tongue. Warm blood flooded her mouth. She tried to move but couldn’t. She was lying mostly on her back, her body wedged in a crevice formed by some boulders. Her left arm stuck out at a weird angle, bloody bone protruding through the skin. Trying to move, to get some sort of leverage, only caused waves of agony to pound her battered body.
Her radio? She moved her neck, attempted to see if she could spot it. There was nothing but rock all around, her broken body firmly trapped. The radio was gone . . . and nobody knew Daria’s exact location. In the Shoshone, it could take days for her to be found. Months.
Or her bones might still rest here decades from now.
She thought of her father, and of his devastation when he learned his only child was dead. Lost to the very forest they had both loved so much. It would kill him.
Though it was too soon to attempt another projection without draining the last of her strength, she had no choice. Ignoring the horrendous pain of her injuries, she closed her eyes. It took much longer than usual but she found her center.
Eventually, she felt the familiar tingle, the buzzing sensation that meant she was leaving her earthly form and traveling over time and distance. Determined, she once again followed the thread to the one she knew in her gut who would understand her message. There was no time to lose.