Hunter's Heart

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. Unbelievable, but accurate. As the call died, chills pimpled her skin. Whatever it was, it could be miles away.

That idea was enough to get her moving. She felt too much like a sitting duck here, and she couldn’t try the projection again for a while anyway. Quickly, she broke camp, packing her tent and supplies, and then making sure the fire was completely out. Then she headed down the trail on the way to her next site.

Thoughts of the blond man were never far from her mind as she hiked. She much preferred to think of him rather than the terrible dream, or 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 from her thoughts and lost herself in enjoying the day. She tackled a couple of steep switchbacks, and by noon, tired and sweating, finally stopped to rest. Dragging off her pack, she rolled her shoulders with relief and bent to reach inside for her water.

A familiar stench 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 blue jean material, maybe a boot.

“Aw, shit.”

Quickly, she grabbed her handheld radio from the backpack. If it was a body, she’d have to call the rangers’ 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. Carefully, 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 literally torn 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 due to her lack of 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 slung her backpack to the ground, radio in hand. Then she dove for the water hooked to the side and rinsed her mouth several times. 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 about 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 her 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 abandoned her belongings, 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 the branches low enough. Snarling, 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 right 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 there, 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 here.

The moment of distraction cost her. The wolf gathered itself, leapt, and knocked her backward. Daria staggered, tried to regain her balance.

And stepped into thin air. She fell, screaming, and then her back connected with the rocky ground, knocking the breath from her lungs. She tumbled, ass over elbows, rocks gouging and scraping, 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. There was nothing but rock all around, and her broken body was firmly trapped. The radio was gone, the cell phone in her pocket crushed  . . . 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 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. She thought of reaching out to her father, but he was too far away to make a successful connection. But there was someone who was much closer. Ignoring the horrendous pain of her injuries, she closed her eyes. Found her center. It took much longer than usual.

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 would understand her message. There was no time to lose.

She flew over the trees, soaring. Eventually, she reached the place she’d found him before, the big building in the forest. A curious place that appeared to be some sort of compound with another big building next to it—a hangar, going by the jet parked next to it—and yet a third building under construction, not far from the main one.

In moments she found herself in the hallway. This time, a woman with long, curly brunette hair emerged, carrying a clipboard. She wore a lab coat, and Daria realized she was a doctor. The woman was taking care of the sexy stranger. The doctor passed by, not having seen Daria at all.

Daria drifted into the room, her attention immediately focused on the tall figure in the bed. Knowing time was short, she moved forward, to his side.

Tentatively, she reached out and gently touched the face of the handsome blond man. Watched as he opened his gorgeous, crystal blue eyes—eyes that widened as he saw her astral form hovering by his bed. He might not hear her, or understand. But she had to try.

“Please, help me.”

Two

Holy shit, his entire body hurt like hell.