Part 1
OTHER THAN RAIN filled
footprints in the mud, there was no trace of the one tracking her, and even
those vanished when rock replaced mud underfoot. Part of her desired to hug the
river, for then she would be certain she was still being followed. The other,
greater part of her wanted to vanish into boulder territory higher up. She
would then leave no footprints to shadow.
She caught sight of the tracks by accident
on the first day. Having realized she left her water bottle behind when she
briefly rested as dawn arrived, she retraced her path … and discovered the
prints. Fresh, and clearly stepping alongside those she herself made. No sight
of the one making them, but every time she looked back, there they were. It
felt as if a ghost tracked her, for whoever it was, was good at hiding in plain
sight.
This hunter and prey game began two nights
ago when she fled her home and the man who intended to make her life hell on
earth. Her older brother, point of fact. It wasn’t him behind her, that she
knew. Colum would never wait this long; no, he preferred the direct approach.
Someone saw her leave in the dead of night, and that someone now tracked her.
Who? And why? Was it the man Colum said she had to marry?
Here in the steppes, one needed a car to
reach the nearest town. On foot as she was, it meant days of walking, which she
was more than prepared to do if it meant escaping her personal monster. She
dared flag no passing vehicle, for Colum had eyes everywhere. She loved her
brother, but truth was, since he took over the business, she’d seen him become
almost ruthless. He’d find her in no time if she hitched a ride. In fact, she
stayed away from all paths and roads. Thus, she walked, using the river to
guide her, sometimes along the bank, other times inland with the watery glints
in the distance her compass.
Seriously, in the 21st century someone –
her own brother! – sought to dictate to her who she would spend the rest of her
life with. He became obsessed with success when their parents died, throwing
himself into the family business, a travel agency that went fully online
recently, one that apparently needed investment from a wealthy entrepreneur,
and he found one, one looking for a wife, or more precisely, a stepmother for
his two boys. She, Chloe, fit that bill. Quid pro quo, according to Colum. Both
of them won. The business would flourish, and she would live a life of luxury.
No, she’d be a caregiver. She didn’t mind
that, but then pay for her services, no need to marry her. Which meant the man
had a hidden motive, and she wanted nothing to do with it. Colum was adamant,
and so was she. She left during the night, the one preceding the signing of
contracts in the morning. The man was about to pay a visit and seal her fate.
Well, she had now chosen a different fate.
Was it him tracking her?
Part of her hoped so, for she could talk
her way out of a situation her brother had engineered. Creepy would be the
kindest word for him, though, if he was following. That hidden motive
had to be quite something then.
Part of her hoped it was another, but that
also scared her. The unknown was a monster in its own right, after all. And,
horror, it might be a monster, the kind one read about in the news,
preying on women and children.
A small, inner voice spoke of a ghost, but
she ruthlessly pushed it aside. Nope. 21st Century and all.
Darkness would catch her soon. She needed
somewhere to wait for daylight. Falling around in the dark invited only trouble,
no matter how much she wished to speed her journey. Tomorrow she would reach town,
which was soon enough, and she simply needed to remain patient a while longer
and to get through this one night. Maybe when she reached town this hunter and
prey game would end. Maybe it was a manifestation of her own fear of being
caught before she attained freedom.
Earlier, she marked in the distance ahead
what looked like a small cave from the river’s edge and had been walking
towards it for the last two hours. Better shelter than the bushes last night. Now,
as Chloe approached, she saw it was no more than an overhang. Good enough for
her purpose, but she would be in full view of whoever followed her.
As luck would have it, the rain reappeared
then, having threatened to offer more than the periodic shower all day, and it
came in torrents and drumming sound. Shivering, she hastened for the overhang.
No other choice was now available to her. A cold, wet night lay ahead.
Hopefully it would send her stalker into some kind of shelter also.
Hopefully.
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