“No!” Her eyes widened as he pressed his lips together. “Ted, stop!”
In one last desperate effort to fight back, she lashed out like a feral cat, screaming and clawing at his face. He lifted her head and brought it down against the rock, sending more pain shooting through the back of her skull.
“I’ll try to make this quick,” he whispered through clenched teeth as he lifted her head again.
A deafening roar shook the air, vibrating through Jillian’s entire body. Ted released her, jumping to his feet and stumbling backward. She gasped, coughing as she rubbed her throat and rolled to her side. Reaching back to rub her head, something warm and wet trickled through her hair. She held up her hand, rubbing her thumb against the wetness on her fingers. Her mind registered the color red as darkness crept in and her eyes rolled back. She shook her head and blinked hard, refusing to pass out. A massive brown bear lumbered into view.
Oh God. Do I play dead? I think with a black bear, you curl up in the fetal position, and with a brown bear, you have to yell and wave your arms. Or is it the other way around?
Ted stared the beast down, slowly backing away as the animal advanced with a deep growl, shaking the ground with every step. Backing up to the ledge, Jillian peered down into the river, cold misty air rushing up over her face.
She winced as the back of her head throbbed, and she realized there was no time to think about this. Taking the deepest breath she could muster, she hurled herself into the churning rapids below.
The icy water rushed over her skin like razorblades as she kicked for the surface. As soon as her face was above water, she screamed, her stiff limbs struggling to paddle for shore. Hitting a boulder, she tried to claw her way up the smooth surface but was swept away, sucked under by the current. She pumped her legs, suddenly wishing more than anything that she could have just one more chance at her stupid, fake, boring life. If she made it out of here, there were so many things she would do differently.
Her flailing arms burst through the surface, grabbing a piece of driftwood, clinging to it for dear life as she stretched her neck out of the water. Her limbs weakened, threatening to give out as the river raged around her. Just when she thought she couldn’t take anymore, the narrow waterway widened, and the violent waves gave way to calm glassy ripples.
She kicked toward a rocky beach, still holding the chunk of driftwood against her chest, groaning with relief as her feet reached the bottom. Mud squished between her toes as she realized one of her shoes was missing. Collapsing onto the smooth pebbles, she stared up at the trees, struggling to catch her breath. As much as she wanted to get up and keep running, some part of her kept saying that this was all just a nightmare. She rubbed her eyes, telling herself over and over again that this couldn’t be happening.
It was a dream, right? It had to be.
She shivered as the stars came out, and soon, they shone down through the branches. The throng of treefrogs and crickets overwhelmed her as she covered her ears. Reality set in; it wasn’t a dream. Ted had tried to kill her, and now she was lost in the middle of one of the country’s largest national parks. Sitting up, she reached for the back of her head, clenching her teeth as she found the gash in her scalp. She flexed her fingers, rubbing her hands together and blowing into them as she stood up.
I’m no expert on survival. The moon’s reflection danced on the water. But we drove past a river on our way in. Maybe if I follow this far enough, I can find a road and flag down some help.
The thorn bushes clustered alongside the river didn’t make for an ideal hiking trail, especially with one shoe. She ventured a little farther into the woods, keeping one ear on the river, convinced that following it was her ticket home. Her stomach growled, and she rubbed the dull ache, frowning as she glanced around for any berry bushes. She had eaten some almonds at lunchtime, but she wasn’t a fan of the canned ravioli Ted had packed for their actual meals. Licking her lips, she examined the thorny bushes, finding that they were utterly devoid of berries.
The sound of something shuffling through the leaves made her body go rigid. The treefrogs and crickets stopped singing, and she held her breath as whatever it was came closer.
Is it Ted? She trembled, clenching her fists at her sides. Is it the bear?
Her chest heaved with every breath as she stood frozen and exposed. Turning her head, she looked over her shoulder. She wanted to believe she was alone, but the hairs on the back of her neck told her that someone was watching.
She crouched, planting her feet beneath her, getting ready.
One. Two…
She lowered her brow.
Three!
As she charged through the darkness, twigs and sharp rocks shredded the sole of her bare foot. But this was life or death, and she wasn’t ready to surrender just yet. Ted didn’t get the best of her; neither did that gigantic bear or the river. It would be incredibly shitty for fate to bring her this far only to abandon her now.
Her foot caught the gnarled root of a tree, and she fell forward, tumbling down a steep embankment. Whether it was a tree trunk or a rock that struck her forehead, she had no idea. There was no resisting the abyss of unconsciousness that swallowed her.
In her
