Chapter 68: Inseparable

Nash

For some reason, moving through the woods on the return trip seemed to be taking much longer than I expected, so much so that I began to wonder if I was even on the right trail, or if I had somehow veered off in a wrong direction. In the eerie green-glow of my night glasses, all the trees looked the same.

I also had the eerie and uncomfortable feeling that I was being followed. I couldn’t put my finger on it, it was more like a six sense tingling than anything tangible, I just had that gut feeling. I stopped, held my breath, strained my ears against the sound of my own breathing, the sound of my own heartbeat, both of which seemed unnaturally loud.

There was a sound. Was it a snapping twig? Nah, it was my mind playing tricks on me. It was PTSD trying to pull me in to a flashback, a living nightmare. I was stronger than that, I thought, pushing aside the fear, trying to redirect that flood of adrenaline.

Another sound, closer this time, like an acorn dropping high in the tree, bouncing like a pinball through the branches on the way to the ground. It was a real sound, not imagined, but also not unusual. It was a forest, of course there were going to be noises. Trees would sway in the breeze, night animals would scurry about, alarmed by my clumsy movement down the trail,.

Another hundred yards down, and I heard another shuffle, this time off to my left. I turned my head toward the sound, and reached instinctually for my sidearm, but my hand grasped empty air. In my hurry to escape from the room, and my singular desire to avoid meeting Daphne, I had fled from the room without my gun.

What kind of security expert goes unarmed into the woods at night? Well, I wasn’t completely helpless. I had a utility knife strapped to my belt, and years of hand-to-hand combat and mixed martial arts training.

I just wasn’t sure how well martial arts would serve me if I met face to face with a crazed bear.

I faced the sound and crouched slightly, prepared to fight. The night seemed to be growing darker, and the range of my night vision goggles had reduced to a mere hundred yards. Beyond that, everything was growing fuzzy and indistinct.

After another moment of silence, I gave up, turned back, studied the ground of what I hoped was the correct trail. I should be able to spot my own prints in the mud, my own tell-tale signs of passing if I was really backtracking my way back to the Jeep. I squatted down to examine a muddy place in the trail.

With a sigh of relief, I spotted my own boot print. At least I was headed in the right direction. Getting lost in the woods wasn’t even a real possibility. I knew how to use a compass, and it wasn’t like the national forest was that big here.

I stood up, gazed down the trail, and froze.

There was a woman standing, her bare skin so pale it seemed to glow with a ghostly aura in the night vision. At first I doubted my eyes, thinking that I was actually hallucinating. I lifted the goggles, and looked at the spectre with my naked eyes.

My first thought was of Daphne, because the figure before me was tall and slender, but it was a passing fancy. It wasn’t Daphne standing naked in the woods. This woman had straight black hair that fell just to her shoulders, tangled and mussed like someone had been running his hands thorugh it.

“Whoa,” I said softly, holding out my hands in what I hoped was a calming gesture. “What are you doing out here, are you okay?”

The woman didn’t speak, she didn’t move, she didn’t even twitch a muscle. She just watched me. In the dim light, withotu the aid of my night vision goggles, her eyes appeared black and void. Her mouth opened slighly, but no words came out.

“Hey, I’m Na-Nate.” I said, remembering at the last moment to keep my cover story in tact. “Are you lost? Are you in some kind of trouble?” Had she been dragged out to the woods by a rapist? By a murderer?

“No,” she said softly in a voice that was low and raspy like a breeze blowing through autumn leaves. “I’m not in any trouble, but you are.” She didn’t move, it even seemed that her lips didn’t move, like a ventriloquist was putting words in her mouth.

“Listen, I don’t mean you any harm.” I said carefully. “I was just out for a night-time hike, you know? I heard about Devil’s Den and wanted to check it out.” I took a careful stop forward. “My Jeep’s parked just on the road. I couldn’t drive all the way in because of the mud.” I slid my foot forward and took another step. “I can help you,” I offered. “I can give you a ride back to town. I’ve got a coat in the Jeep for you if… If you want to cover up. If you are feeling cold.”

“I don’t feel the cold,” she stated flattly. “I don’t feel anything.”

“Are you out here alone?”

“Alone?” she threw back her head and laughed, but it was an eerie, hollow sound. Then for a moment, she seemed to waver, her expression flickered to pain and confusion, and she looked around the woods, turning her head to glance behind. “Bruce?”

“Bruce?” I repeated. “Is that your friend? Is he out here with you?” I glanced around again. "Is he hurt?"

“Bruce!” The woman hissed, and I thought I saw something like madness playing across her features. “Bruce wasn’t my friend, you idiot, he was my mate!”

“Your...mate,” understanding dawned. “You are a shifter?” Pieces began to click together in my mind, and I could have kicked myself for being so stupid. She wasn’t some poor college freshman who was wandering around naked in the woods because she’d been the victim of some kind of gender-based violence.

She wore no clothes because she was a shifter. For a moment I was again distracted by the thought of Daphne, of the shirt I’d found on the trail. But that was impossible. I shook away the thought and turned my attention back to the woman, whose fingers were twitching, like she wanted to grasp something.

“They took him,” she whispered, the sound harsh and ragged. “They used my own knives! It wasn’t his fault, it was mine, mine!”

“I’m very sorry,” I said, considering my options. “But I can help you now, if you let me.”

“I don’t need your help!” The woman screamed, and the sound shattered the stillness of the night, reverberating off the rocks, echoing eerily. “This is my territory! I’ve marked it! Its mine! I’ve smelled you on the trails,” her nose wrinkled. “I can smell…” Her eyes narrowed, and she began to sink into a crouching position.

“I smell the wolf!” She snarled, and then before my eyes, she curled into herself, tucking in her arms, bending at the hips, rounding her back. The surrounding air seemed to grow thick and murky, and the smell of ozone was thick in my nostrils. When the woman straightened, she was a woman no more, instead, she was a bear.

Her thick black fur made her almost invisible in the night, the shining coat barely reflecting the slightest moonlight. Her dark eyes glittered, and her claws, massive and sharp like knife blades flexed at the end of her huge paws. With a roar she dropped down on all fours, her mouth opening wide to show sharp white fangs in pink gums.

I unsheathed my knife, and considered my options. Bears may look fat and clumsy, but I knew they were faster than they looked, twice as fast as a human. And they were excellent climbers, so there was no escaping into the branches of the nearby trees. The guidebook I had purchased had recommended staying still, standing your ground, even attempting to fight back if charged by a predatory bear.

The problem was, this was no ordinary bear.

With another guttural roar, the bear lunged toward me, covering the distance between us with terrifying speed. I crouched, blade in hand, and waited for the impact, my eyes on those deadly claws, but when she was only five yards off, something shot out of the woods, a streak of snarling black and silver that plowed into the side of the bear, tearing into it with snapping jaws.

I stood for a moment, too shocked to move, as the bear skidded to a stop, and turned its attention toward a new foe. It shook off the canine beast and sent it flying aside, but in nano-seconds the dog was back on its feet. It was a wolf, big and black with streaks of silvery white in its fur, it’s muzzle already dripping with blood it had drawn from the bear. It looked at me, and I saw the keen intelligence in the depths of startlingly blue eyes before it circled the bear, putting its body between me and the crazy bear.

Run. I could swear I heard the word in my head.

The bear roared with indignation, and charged the wolf, and I was finally shaken from my stupor. I sprinted blindly through the woods, splashed my way across the frigid stream, scrambled up the muddy bank and ran for my vehicle.

I could still hear the sounds of an animal battle behind me. I hesitated, squeezing the knife in my hand. I felt compelled to go back and help the wolf that had just saved my life. I started to turn back, and then changed my mind again. Shifters had their own way, and although I was investigating on behalf of a friend who was also a powerful alpha, I had no idea who the wolf was, or where it came from.

Josiah would have told me if he had sent backup.

Finally, I broke out of the woods, back onto the road, but I had another long jog to reach the place where I had parked the jeep to avoid getting stuck in the mud. I felt uneasy moving along the road, exposed on both sides, but I had dropped my night vision goggles somewhere along the way when I was fleeing the scene. Following the road was the safest and fastest route back to the Jeep.

I jumped in the vehicle that I hadn't bothered to lock and dug out the SIG Sauer M18 that was stashed under the seat. I stood for a moment behind the open door, peering blindly out into the woods with the handgun pressed against my chest, trying to slow my breathing and my racing heart.

Should I go back, now that I was armed? I needed direction from Josiah Salvador. I patted my back pocket and found my phone still securely tucked inside, but of course, there were zero bars of service. I wavered back and forth, watching the woods, straining my ears, but I could no longer hear the sounds of a struggle. There was no more growling, no more snarling, no noise at all.

Whatever had gone down, it was over. And I had no idea which beast had prevailed.

Finally, I climbed back inside the Jeep, turned it around, and fishtailed back down the road. I needed to talk to Josiah as soon as I got a signal. I slowed down as I approached the barrier in the road and swore.

There was a familiar sedan parked in front of the cement section.

I slapped the steering wheel and swore. “God damn it, Daphne!”