Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21159 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
And then I feel it. Drops of chill on my head and shoulders. I hunch beneath my jacket and pull up my hood as the rain starts to come down, but this is one heck of a storm. Within seconds, it’s as though someone has turned on the shower just above my head. Water is absolutely pouring down on me.
My jacket is only water-resistant, and within less than a minute, it’s soaked through. My jeans are soaked in even less time, my boots are drenched, and each step feels like I’m walking on sponges. This is bad. Really bad.
Thankfully I left my phone in the car. There’s no signal out here anyway, so what would be the point? If I had brought it, it would be getting ruined right now, and I’d have to buy a new one when I get back to the city. Whenever the heck that’s going to be.
I push on as the thunder roars above me and the rain cascades down upon me. I can barely see through the storm. It’s like trying to navigate through a thick mist. Not to mention the fact that I was already lost.
I actually kind of wish Jerry was with me now. I have no idea if he’s one of those outdoorsy types, but at least then I’d have another person with me. Being all alone up here in the woods, especially under the force of this storm, is actually quite terrifying.
But there’s nothing else to do but keep pushing on, so that’s what I do. After what seems like it could be anywhere from five to fifteen minutes, I reach a stream. It’s just wide enough that it seems like I could jump it. I prepare myself, take a deep breath, get a running start, then race toward the edge of the bank.
The jump takes me ninety-percent of the way across the stream, but my back foot lands in the water. Of course that doesn’t really matter, I guess, considering it’s already soaked from my trek in the rain. I reach out for a branch in front of me to pull on to help myself up, but to my utter shock, it is replaced by a hand, outstretched as if to help me up.
The hand is large, thick, callused, and clearly strong. It is a man’s hand if I’ve ever seen one. Nothing like the hands of the men who I work with back at Goldman Sachs. Even the wrist is bulging with sinews and muscle fibers.
I follow the lines of it up to the figure of a man, tall as a giant and broad-shouldered, his face obscured by the hood of a dark rain jacket. He stands there looking down at me as a crack of lightning illuminates the sky behind him. The flash of light gives me the slightest glimpse of him, and I see he has a strong jaw and long, shaggy, brown hair.
“You’re a long way from the city, girl,” he says, his voice strong and deep, like it was forged from the very rock he’s standing on.
I try to reply, but my own voice will simply not come. It’s like something is stuck in my throat.
“Do you speak?” he asks, causing my cheeks to redden.
“Y-yes!” I blurt out, forcing the word from my lips. “I’m lost. I was hiking and must have gotten twisted around somehow.”
“Hiking without a compass?” He shakes his head, making me feel immediately inferior. “City girls. And you didn’t check the weather?”
The realization hits me like a revelation. I suddenly realize that I did not check the weather. I was in such a hurry to get out of the city and upstate that I just rented the car and drove.
“I guess I’ve done everything wrong today,” I admit.
The man scoffs, nearly laughing. “You’re lucky I came along. Come with me. I’ve got a place you can take shelter that’s not too far away.”
Without waiting, he turns his back on me and begins walking in a totally different direction than the one I was headed in. I may not know much about hiking and nature, but I know people. And this man knows that I’m going to follow him. That’s why he’s not waiting.
Soaked through and feeling the chill beginning to penetrate my bones, I turn and make after this man I don’t know and have just met. After all, what choice do I have?
2
PENNY
The rain shows no sign of letting up as I follow this mystery mountain man through the woods and up the mountain. I am starting to shiver and my legs are starting to shake as we hike up the slope. I’m afraid, not only of this storm and whether or not I can hold out, but of this man and his intentions toward me.
For all I know, he could be a serial killer, hiding out here in the forest, just waiting for a tiny woman like me to come upon his secret lair so he can kill me. It doesn’t seem too likely, of course, but all kinds of crazy things happen in this world.