Beth Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "suspense"
Happy News!
More 5 star reviews for Quiver on a variety of sites are popping up!
Here is one of the latest on Reader's Favorite:
Quiver: Angels and Demons Volume 2 by Beth Green is an action packed novel that has it all. It has action, it has adventure, it has love, and it has an epic tale that you will want to read till the end and wish for another page. I am simply blown away by the book and the sheer artistry of Beth Green. She did a tremendous job of creating characters that you can relate to and actually feel a connection with.
The novel follows Jonathan, a man with a supernatural gift that is beyond the comprehension of any mortal man. His powers are a gift, but sometimes they are a huge burden as well. His power attracts the attention of the Angels, but his power attracts Demons too. Now his powers are becoming a danger for the woman he loves and he cannot have that. So he leaves without telling her where he is going, and he becomes more familiar with his powers. Only now, he is a much bigger and easier target for the Demons. What will happen now that Jonathan is out there in the open? Can the Angels keep him hidden from the Demons? Or will he become an easy target before he can get complete control of his powers.
Quiver: Angels and Demons Volume 2 by Beth Green is simply fantastic. Even though it is Christian fiction, anyone can enjoy it. As long as you are a fan of paranormal, action and adventure, you will love this novel. You will also love Jonathan for his determination and his desire to make things right in his life and the lives of the people around him. Beth Green did an amazing job with this novel and in creating Jonathan; he is a well rounded character that you respect a lot. This talented author has the gift of storytelling!
Here is one of the latest on Reader's Favorite:
Quiver: Angels and Demons Volume 2 by Beth Green is an action packed novel that has it all. It has action, it has adventure, it has love, and it has an epic tale that you will want to read till the end and wish for another page. I am simply blown away by the book and the sheer artistry of Beth Green. She did a tremendous job of creating characters that you can relate to and actually feel a connection with.
The novel follows Jonathan, a man with a supernatural gift that is beyond the comprehension of any mortal man. His powers are a gift, but sometimes they are a huge burden as well. His power attracts the attention of the Angels, but his power attracts Demons too. Now his powers are becoming a danger for the woman he loves and he cannot have that. So he leaves without telling her where he is going, and he becomes more familiar with his powers. Only now, he is a much bigger and easier target for the Demons. What will happen now that Jonathan is out there in the open? Can the Angels keep him hidden from the Demons? Or will he become an easy target before he can get complete control of his powers.
Quiver: Angels and Demons Volume 2 by Beth Green is simply fantastic. Even though it is Christian fiction, anyone can enjoy it. As long as you are a fan of paranormal, action and adventure, you will love this novel. You will also love Jonathan for his determination and his desire to make things right in his life and the lives of the people around him. Beth Green did an amazing job with this novel and in creating Jonathan; he is a well rounded character that you respect a lot. This talented author has the gift of storytelling!
More secrets...
Chapter 3: Now What?
Darkness was everywhere and my head hurt. When I tried to move, I could feel ropes digging into my wrists and ankles. My instinct was to struggle and scream; but instead, I laid still and listened to get as much information as I could. The last thing that I remember was following the trail to the creek and finding the battered sleeping bag. Jake and I were looking for Sam and then we heard something weird. Now I’m tied down on a bed in a dark room.
What’s going on? Where are Sam and Jake?
As if on cue, Jake began yelling. “Ben! Sam!”
“Shhh.” I whispered, “I’m here. Just stay quiet.”
“Is that you, Ben? What’s going on, man?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I don’t know, but stay quiet. Try to work your arms and legs loose, if you can.”
“Where’s Sam?”
“I have no idea. I almost have one hand loose. Keep quiet.”
After a few minutes of tugging, my right arm was finally free. Quickly, I untied my left arm and sat up to look around as I worked on my ankles. We were in some type of room and it was pitch black except for the small light that bled under a door about thirty yards to my left.
I fumbled in the darkness to my right where I had heard Jake’s voice and worked to untie him. We both looked around but couldn’t see anything except the lighted area near the door. As we reached the edge of the light, I held up my hand and grabbed Jake to stop him from going any further.
“Do you hear that?” I whispered and Jake nodded. It sounded almost like a growl and my heartbeat rapidly increased. I reached over and felt along the wall toward the door for a handle and noted that the wall was rough and slightly damp — like it was made of dirt. My mind raced and then the musty odor around us finally made sense. We were in some kind of cave. Before I could respond to my thoughts, something lashed out and both Jake and I were yanked backwards further into the darkness.
My head struck the ground after I flew through the air and Jake started screaming my name; but there was no way to help him. The floor of the room was hard packed dirt and bits of rock, which furthered my realization that the room was inside a cave. I scrambled along the floor and moved toward the light again and found a rock about the size of my fist. At this point, I wasn’t even sure what we were fighting; and I had no idea which way to strike or if I would hit Jake, but I just flung the rock as hard as I could toward the sounds on the other side of the room. There was a large thud followed by a horrible sound that was a mixture of some type of growl and a scream. There was no way to know what had happened so I clawed along the floor toward the light again and prayed I could get outside and find some help.
Something grabbed my leg and I pulled away as hard as I could and flung myself into the darkness of one corner to hide.
“Ben!” Jake whispered but I was afraid to answer, so I moved cautiously toward where the voice had come from and ran right into Jake, who was trembling and speechless.
Without saying a word, I tugged Jake’s arm and pulled him toward the door, while expecting to be attacked again at any moment. Something in the room was moving around and screeching and I knew that we might not have long before it attacked again. The door was easy to find again and I quietly turned the handle and was surprised that it opened easily. I half dragged and half yanked Jake until we were both out of the room and then shut the door behind us. The outer room had more light and I found a chair to tuck under the doorknob, hoping that would be enough to at least slow down whatever was in that room.
Jake was whimpering but stayed close as we eased through the next door into a large open area. I looked back as the door behind us closed and realized the rooms were all separated by doors had been built into the rock. I didn’t have time to really contemplate it all as we stood trying to determine which way to go. Three openings led from where we stood and I chose the one with more light, hoping it wouldn’t lead us to our captors but to the outside. Fortunately, I chose wisely and within twenty yards we encountered the opening to the outside, although it was covered in thick hedges.
I peaked through the thick brush and saw only the forrest and no signs of people or anything else, so we both quickly squeezed through without a word. The sudden light half-blinded us but I knew we needed to keep moving and get away from this place to be safe. There was a trail leading away in both directions and I just decided to go right for no reason in particular. My body ached slightly as I jogged down the trail with Jake following closely behind, both of us hoping to outrun whatever was in that cave. We ran for a long time until we reached a small creek along the edge of the path.
“That might be a feeder creek to the large one we camped near.” I walked across the rocks to the other side, leaving the path.
“What are you doing? Shouldn’t we stay on the path?” Jake looked around nervously.
“I don’t think so. That’s definitely not the trail we were on and I don’t want to be anywhere near whatever that was back in the cave. We need to walk in the creek bed for awhile and lose our scent in the water. Maybe this small creek will dump into our creek and we can find the trail we were on and get out of here.”
“Okay, that sounds good.” Jake had no idea what to do and I knew it.
“Stay close.” I said as I headed downstream. Inside I was furious that I hadn’t looked at the maps more closely.
I kept a close eye on the surrounding woods and moved quickly over the stones and through the shallow water. Thankfully, we were both wearing waterproof shoes and had little worry of the water rushing over our feet. I wanted to put as much distance between us and that cave as possible. After moving down the creek for about a half hour, Jake tripped and fell. I grabbed his hand and for the first time really looked at him. Across Jake’s forehead was a scratch and he was bleeding down the side of his cheek.
“What was that thing in the cave?” Jake said and he began to tremble as he spoke as tears sprouted under his eyes.
“I don’t know but we’ve got to keep moving!” I was getting annoyed. Didn’t he know how much danger we were still in? If there was one thing I did know it was to get far away from whatever was going on around here. The strange old man and his comments rolled through my mind and I had to brush them aside. Surviving was the only thought process that I could afford to have.
“Where are we? And where’s Sam?”
I kept moving. If Jake wanted to figure it all out now, he could do it alone. I wanted to get out of here and nothing more.
“I have no idea; but it’s late in the day. The sun is going to set soon and we have to get somewhere safe so it won’t find us again. We’ve got to keep moving.”
“It. What was that thing, man?”
I refused to speak and kept moving.
“Do you think it got Sam?”
My frustration was overtaking my fear. “Look, I don’t know, okay? I just know that I don’t wanna be next.”
“Okay.” Jake managed to say.
“Here, let me clean that wound.” Using the creek water, I washed the scratch on Jake’s face and then took off upstream again, this time at a more manageable pace. “We need to drink. I’m not sure when we can get water again.”
Both boys drank from cupped hands. Nearby was a ridge and that seemed like the obvious place to go at this point.
“We can try to get up there before dark to see if we can see the trail or something to head toward.” I pointed up and Jake’s eyes followed. The mountain was steep and rocky but not impassable. My other thought was that we could hopefully see anything coming to look for us as well. Higher ground was always an advantage.
“Okay, I can do that.” Jake nodded over and over and began to mumble.
“Get ahold of yourself, Jake! We don’t have time for crazy. Whatever that thing was might come to hunt us, do you understand?”
Jake nodded and let out a sigh. “I can do this.”
We started the climb to the top of the mountain with darkness following close behind and I silently wondered how we could survive a night out here with no supplies and with that creature looking for us. Neither of us said a word as we moved quickly toward the top of the ridge before us. Within in an hour, we reached the summit and moved along the edge and found a small flat area with an overhang that could serve as some cover for the night.
“What do we do now?” Jake asked in a small voice.
“We survive.” I answered with conviction. In the distance, we could hear something growling and moving through the forest. I closed my eyes and prayed for protection.
Darkness was everywhere and my head hurt. When I tried to move, I could feel ropes digging into my wrists and ankles. My instinct was to struggle and scream; but instead, I laid still and listened to get as much information as I could. The last thing that I remember was following the trail to the creek and finding the battered sleeping bag. Jake and I were looking for Sam and then we heard something weird. Now I’m tied down on a bed in a dark room.
What’s going on? Where are Sam and Jake?
As if on cue, Jake began yelling. “Ben! Sam!”
“Shhh.” I whispered, “I’m here. Just stay quiet.”
“Is that you, Ben? What’s going on, man?”
“Yeah, it’s me. I don’t know, but stay quiet. Try to work your arms and legs loose, if you can.”
“Where’s Sam?”
“I have no idea. I almost have one hand loose. Keep quiet.”
After a few minutes of tugging, my right arm was finally free. Quickly, I untied my left arm and sat up to look around as I worked on my ankles. We were in some type of room and it was pitch black except for the small light that bled under a door about thirty yards to my left.
I fumbled in the darkness to my right where I had heard Jake’s voice and worked to untie him. We both looked around but couldn’t see anything except the lighted area near the door. As we reached the edge of the light, I held up my hand and grabbed Jake to stop him from going any further.
“Do you hear that?” I whispered and Jake nodded. It sounded almost like a growl and my heartbeat rapidly increased. I reached over and felt along the wall toward the door for a handle and noted that the wall was rough and slightly damp — like it was made of dirt. My mind raced and then the musty odor around us finally made sense. We were in some kind of cave. Before I could respond to my thoughts, something lashed out and both Jake and I were yanked backwards further into the darkness.
My head struck the ground after I flew through the air and Jake started screaming my name; but there was no way to help him. The floor of the room was hard packed dirt and bits of rock, which furthered my realization that the room was inside a cave. I scrambled along the floor and moved toward the light again and found a rock about the size of my fist. At this point, I wasn’t even sure what we were fighting; and I had no idea which way to strike or if I would hit Jake, but I just flung the rock as hard as I could toward the sounds on the other side of the room. There was a large thud followed by a horrible sound that was a mixture of some type of growl and a scream. There was no way to know what had happened so I clawed along the floor toward the light again and prayed I could get outside and find some help.
Something grabbed my leg and I pulled away as hard as I could and flung myself into the darkness of one corner to hide.
“Ben!” Jake whispered but I was afraid to answer, so I moved cautiously toward where the voice had come from and ran right into Jake, who was trembling and speechless.
Without saying a word, I tugged Jake’s arm and pulled him toward the door, while expecting to be attacked again at any moment. Something in the room was moving around and screeching and I knew that we might not have long before it attacked again. The door was easy to find again and I quietly turned the handle and was surprised that it opened easily. I half dragged and half yanked Jake until we were both out of the room and then shut the door behind us. The outer room had more light and I found a chair to tuck under the doorknob, hoping that would be enough to at least slow down whatever was in that room.
Jake was whimpering but stayed close as we eased through the next door into a large open area. I looked back as the door behind us closed and realized the rooms were all separated by doors had been built into the rock. I didn’t have time to really contemplate it all as we stood trying to determine which way to go. Three openings led from where we stood and I chose the one with more light, hoping it wouldn’t lead us to our captors but to the outside. Fortunately, I chose wisely and within twenty yards we encountered the opening to the outside, although it was covered in thick hedges.
I peaked through the thick brush and saw only the forrest and no signs of people or anything else, so we both quickly squeezed through without a word. The sudden light half-blinded us but I knew we needed to keep moving and get away from this place to be safe. There was a trail leading away in both directions and I just decided to go right for no reason in particular. My body ached slightly as I jogged down the trail with Jake following closely behind, both of us hoping to outrun whatever was in that cave. We ran for a long time until we reached a small creek along the edge of the path.
“That might be a feeder creek to the large one we camped near.” I walked across the rocks to the other side, leaving the path.
“What are you doing? Shouldn’t we stay on the path?” Jake looked around nervously.
“I don’t think so. That’s definitely not the trail we were on and I don’t want to be anywhere near whatever that was back in the cave. We need to walk in the creek bed for awhile and lose our scent in the water. Maybe this small creek will dump into our creek and we can find the trail we were on and get out of here.”
“Okay, that sounds good.” Jake had no idea what to do and I knew it.
“Stay close.” I said as I headed downstream. Inside I was furious that I hadn’t looked at the maps more closely.
I kept a close eye on the surrounding woods and moved quickly over the stones and through the shallow water. Thankfully, we were both wearing waterproof shoes and had little worry of the water rushing over our feet. I wanted to put as much distance between us and that cave as possible. After moving down the creek for about a half hour, Jake tripped and fell. I grabbed his hand and for the first time really looked at him. Across Jake’s forehead was a scratch and he was bleeding down the side of his cheek.
“What was that thing in the cave?” Jake said and he began to tremble as he spoke as tears sprouted under his eyes.
“I don’t know but we’ve got to keep moving!” I was getting annoyed. Didn’t he know how much danger we were still in? If there was one thing I did know it was to get far away from whatever was going on around here. The strange old man and his comments rolled through my mind and I had to brush them aside. Surviving was the only thought process that I could afford to have.
“Where are we? And where’s Sam?”
I kept moving. If Jake wanted to figure it all out now, he could do it alone. I wanted to get out of here and nothing more.
“I have no idea; but it’s late in the day. The sun is going to set soon and we have to get somewhere safe so it won’t find us again. We’ve got to keep moving.”
“It. What was that thing, man?”
I refused to speak and kept moving.
“Do you think it got Sam?”
My frustration was overtaking my fear. “Look, I don’t know, okay? I just know that I don’t wanna be next.”
“Okay.” Jake managed to say.
“Here, let me clean that wound.” Using the creek water, I washed the scratch on Jake’s face and then took off upstream again, this time at a more manageable pace. “We need to drink. I’m not sure when we can get water again.”
Both boys drank from cupped hands. Nearby was a ridge and that seemed like the obvious place to go at this point.
“We can try to get up there before dark to see if we can see the trail or something to head toward.” I pointed up and Jake’s eyes followed. The mountain was steep and rocky but not impassable. My other thought was that we could hopefully see anything coming to look for us as well. Higher ground was always an advantage.
“Okay, I can do that.” Jake nodded over and over and began to mumble.
“Get ahold of yourself, Jake! We don’t have time for crazy. Whatever that thing was might come to hunt us, do you understand?”
Jake nodded and let out a sigh. “I can do this.”
We started the climb to the top of the mountain with darkness following close behind and I silently wondered how we could survive a night out here with no supplies and with that creature looking for us. Neither of us said a word as we moved quickly toward the top of the ridge before us. Within in an hour, we reached the summit and moved along the edge and found a small flat area with an overhang that could serve as some cover for the night.
“What do we do now?” Jake asked in a small voice.
“We survive.” I answered with conviction. In the distance, we could hear something growling and moving through the forest. I closed my eyes and prayed for protection.
Chapter 4
A Tight Spot
The overhang wasn’t much and both of us had trouble keeping our bodies back inside the shadows and out of sight. The sun was sinking quickly and we tried to stay still and listen to the sounds of the forest, particularly the sound of something continuing to move methodically below us.
“What is it, Ben?” Jake whispered.
“I’m not sure. It’s pretty far below us and doesn't seem to be getting closer.”
“What’re we gonna do?”
I held up my hand to signal for Jake to be quiet.
“Stay here,” I whispered and I eased forward to try to catch a glimpse of the creature. The last rays of the sun were bleeding through the leaves, casting long shadows over the already dense foliage below. As I inched carefully to the edge of the ridge and slowly peered below, the darkness was already overtaking the woods making it difficult to see. Squinting, my eyes slowly adjusted to the low light. The woods was eerily still and I scanned the trees and the ground below for any sign of movement. Now that the sound had stopped, I was even more nervous. Hearing the movements of the creature had been frightening but at least we knew where it was. I quickly decided that the silence was much worse.
A strange low growl began to rumble through the air and I could see some leaves begin to move in the brush directly to the right and below where I was. My heart thumped so loudly that at first, I thought it was a drumbeat. The light was fading fast and I froze in place, listening to the sounds of the creature. Leaning further forward the dirt beneath me began to slide, sending a few rocks cascading down the side of the mountain. The creature stopped moving again and I pulled back and plastered my body on the ground and waited. After several seconds, I lifted my head and strained to see what was below once again, praying that we would be okay. The woods was completely still and several minutes passed as I laid there on the ridge without flinching. Finally, I could hear the creature began to move again, this time heading away from where we were hiding. I slid back beside Jake, who was curled in a ball and trembling.
“What happened?”
“I’m not sure,” I said as the full effect of our predicament began to bathe me in fear. I didn’t want to admit it to Jake, but I was more than a little bit scared.
“Well, what did you see?”
“Not much. But there was something moving through the brush — probably a bear.” I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. Jake was too easily upset as it was. He didn’t need to see me exhibit any fear.
“That was no bear making all that noise! We’ve got to get out of here!”
“Shhh. Keep your voice down. It moved back down the mountain so we should be okay. There’s no way we can find our way out of here tonight. We just need to stay here and keep quiet.”
Jake shook his head and began to rock back and forth. “I don’t wanna die out here, man.”
“We’re not gonna die! Keep it together. Let’s just get some rest and we’ll start moving again at first light.”
Jake nodded. I was only able to see Jake’s outline in the growing darkness. “I’ll stay up for a few hours and you rest, and then we can switch.”
“Like in the movies.” Jake sighed and curled up on his side.
Moving toward the opening of the overhang, I silently prayed that that thing was tired and headed home. “Yeah, I guess.”
Leaning back against the rock, I stared out into the darkness. My mind wandered back to a few days earlier when we had started on this hike. Why had this trip been so important to Sam, who wouldn’t take no for an answer? I loved hiking; but I had had to trade days off in order to get here, causing a lot of trouble for me there and at home. Sam had made it sound urgent — like the trip was something we had to do as if it were life or death. And now it really was.
What happened to Sam? Was he back in that cave too?
There was nothing we could do for him until we could find some help. For now, we were still in danger as well.
Two hours passed and I was starting to get tired. Jake had rolled to his back and had begun to snore and make strange noises, so I pushed him back onto his side. The night was clear and cool with no signs or sounds that the creature was back. The tops of the trees swayed gently as I thought through the last 24 hours. Last night we were just friends heading to bed after a great day of hiking and anticipating being in the next and final town by today. Eating a large meal and getting a clean shower had dominated our thoughts all day on their last hike. Now, I was stuck on a ridge with Jake and our friend Sam was missing. My mind rummaged through anything I had learned about survival in the woods from the short years with my father.
How long has it been since I’ve eaten anything?
I wasn’t even sure. All of our supplies were gone, including cell phones, which were dead anyway and had only sketchy service out here when they did work. Water was the main problem. I knew that we needed water by tomorrow or we would be in trouble.
I need to make it another hour and then I can wake Jake for his turn.
My stomach growled again and I tried to remember any of the plants my father had mentioned that were edible in the woods but nothing came to mind.
Why didn’t I pay more attention to my dad back then?
Deep down, I knew why. My father had been hard on me and I had deeply resented it. The hiking was fun and it was really the only time that we agreed on anything, but taking my father’s advice was too hard back then.
Stupid! I should’ve listened.
Even so, my dad and mom had made their choices and now it was all over. For now, I knew we needed to get to the creek in the morning and get some water. Even though we’d be risking getting sick, without the water we wouldn’t live much longer anyway — creature or no creature. The creek bed would be an easy way to find the trail since it ran close to the creek most of the last few miles. My thinking was that we could backtrack to the last town and call for help.
I woke Jake for his turn to keep watch and then moved to the back of the overhang to get some sleep.
“Make sure you stay awake. I just need a couple of hours — three if you can make it that long.”
“I got it,” Jake said and he moved to where I had been sitting and leaned back on the rock.
I watched Jake for a few minutes to make sure he was fully awake and then drifted off to sleep. In what seemed like only a few minutes, Jake was shaking me violently.
“There’s something out there! It’s moving up the mountain!”
The sounds of something moving were clear even inside the makeshift shelter so I slid forward and turned back to Jake, “Follow me and stay as quiet as you can,”
We moved quickly out onto the ridge and along the edge. The sun was just coming up but there wasn’t enough light to see anything clearly. The strange sounds of the creature moving through the woods echoed up to us, indicating it was getting closer. When we reached the edge of the ridge, I could easily see that it dropped off at least 100 feet. As the creature came up the mountain, I looked around for somewhere for us to hide. A thick cluster of wild azaleas stood against one side of the ridge and we both ran and crouched behind them, each of us grabbing a few loose rocks on the way. Within seconds, we could hear the creature move onto the ridge. It seemed to be tracking where we had been and we could hear it move into the overhang. Jake was trembling but I was beyond fear and had entered some kind of warrior stage where it was either us or the creature. For some reason, this gave me peace. I kept my eyes glued on the edge of the rock where not long ago we had taken turns keeping watch during the night. There was nowhere to go now. If the creature came around to the ledge, we would have to fight for their lives or jump to our deaths. I had already decided what I would choose and hoped Jake had done the same.
The overhang wasn’t much and both of us had trouble keeping our bodies back inside the shadows and out of sight. The sun was sinking quickly and we tried to stay still and listen to the sounds of the forest, particularly the sound of something continuing to move methodically below us.
“What is it, Ben?” Jake whispered.
“I’m not sure. It’s pretty far below us and doesn't seem to be getting closer.”
“What’re we gonna do?”
I held up my hand to signal for Jake to be quiet.
“Stay here,” I whispered and I eased forward to try to catch a glimpse of the creature. The last rays of the sun were bleeding through the leaves, casting long shadows over the already dense foliage below. As I inched carefully to the edge of the ridge and slowly peered below, the darkness was already overtaking the woods making it difficult to see. Squinting, my eyes slowly adjusted to the low light. The woods was eerily still and I scanned the trees and the ground below for any sign of movement. Now that the sound had stopped, I was even more nervous. Hearing the movements of the creature had been frightening but at least we knew where it was. I quickly decided that the silence was much worse.
A strange low growl began to rumble through the air and I could see some leaves begin to move in the brush directly to the right and below where I was. My heart thumped so loudly that at first, I thought it was a drumbeat. The light was fading fast and I froze in place, listening to the sounds of the creature. Leaning further forward the dirt beneath me began to slide, sending a few rocks cascading down the side of the mountain. The creature stopped moving again and I pulled back and plastered my body on the ground and waited. After several seconds, I lifted my head and strained to see what was below once again, praying that we would be okay. The woods was completely still and several minutes passed as I laid there on the ridge without flinching. Finally, I could hear the creature began to move again, this time heading away from where we were hiding. I slid back beside Jake, who was curled in a ball and trembling.
“What happened?”
“I’m not sure,” I said as the full effect of our predicament began to bathe me in fear. I didn’t want to admit it to Jake, but I was more than a little bit scared.
“Well, what did you see?”
“Not much. But there was something moving through the brush — probably a bear.” I tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. Jake was too easily upset as it was. He didn’t need to see me exhibit any fear.
“That was no bear making all that noise! We’ve got to get out of here!”
“Shhh. Keep your voice down. It moved back down the mountain so we should be okay. There’s no way we can find our way out of here tonight. We just need to stay here and keep quiet.”
Jake shook his head and began to rock back and forth. “I don’t wanna die out here, man.”
“We’re not gonna die! Keep it together. Let’s just get some rest and we’ll start moving again at first light.”
Jake nodded. I was only able to see Jake’s outline in the growing darkness. “I’ll stay up for a few hours and you rest, and then we can switch.”
“Like in the movies.” Jake sighed and curled up on his side.
Moving toward the opening of the overhang, I silently prayed that that thing was tired and headed home. “Yeah, I guess.”
Leaning back against the rock, I stared out into the darkness. My mind wandered back to a few days earlier when we had started on this hike. Why had this trip been so important to Sam, who wouldn’t take no for an answer? I loved hiking; but I had had to trade days off in order to get here, causing a lot of trouble for me there and at home. Sam had made it sound urgent — like the trip was something we had to do as if it were life or death. And now it really was.
What happened to Sam? Was he back in that cave too?
There was nothing we could do for him until we could find some help. For now, we were still in danger as well.
Two hours passed and I was starting to get tired. Jake had rolled to his back and had begun to snore and make strange noises, so I pushed him back onto his side. The night was clear and cool with no signs or sounds that the creature was back. The tops of the trees swayed gently as I thought through the last 24 hours. Last night we were just friends heading to bed after a great day of hiking and anticipating being in the next and final town by today. Eating a large meal and getting a clean shower had dominated our thoughts all day on their last hike. Now, I was stuck on a ridge with Jake and our friend Sam was missing. My mind rummaged through anything I had learned about survival in the woods from the short years with my father.
How long has it been since I’ve eaten anything?
I wasn’t even sure. All of our supplies were gone, including cell phones, which were dead anyway and had only sketchy service out here when they did work. Water was the main problem. I knew that we needed water by tomorrow or we would be in trouble.
I need to make it another hour and then I can wake Jake for his turn.
My stomach growled again and I tried to remember any of the plants my father had mentioned that were edible in the woods but nothing came to mind.
Why didn’t I pay more attention to my dad back then?
Deep down, I knew why. My father had been hard on me and I had deeply resented it. The hiking was fun and it was really the only time that we agreed on anything, but taking my father’s advice was too hard back then.
Stupid! I should’ve listened.
Even so, my dad and mom had made their choices and now it was all over. For now, I knew we needed to get to the creek in the morning and get some water. Even though we’d be risking getting sick, without the water we wouldn’t live much longer anyway — creature or no creature. The creek bed would be an easy way to find the trail since it ran close to the creek most of the last few miles. My thinking was that we could backtrack to the last town and call for help.
I woke Jake for his turn to keep watch and then moved to the back of the overhang to get some sleep.
“Make sure you stay awake. I just need a couple of hours — three if you can make it that long.”
“I got it,” Jake said and he moved to where I had been sitting and leaned back on the rock.
I watched Jake for a few minutes to make sure he was fully awake and then drifted off to sleep. In what seemed like only a few minutes, Jake was shaking me violently.
“There’s something out there! It’s moving up the mountain!”
The sounds of something moving were clear even inside the makeshift shelter so I slid forward and turned back to Jake, “Follow me and stay as quiet as you can,”
We moved quickly out onto the ridge and along the edge. The sun was just coming up but there wasn’t enough light to see anything clearly. The strange sounds of the creature moving through the woods echoed up to us, indicating it was getting closer. When we reached the edge of the ridge, I could easily see that it dropped off at least 100 feet. As the creature came up the mountain, I looked around for somewhere for us to hide. A thick cluster of wild azaleas stood against one side of the ridge and we both ran and crouched behind them, each of us grabbing a few loose rocks on the way. Within seconds, we could hear the creature move onto the ridge. It seemed to be tracking where we had been and we could hear it move into the overhang. Jake was trembling but I was beyond fear and had entered some kind of warrior stage where it was either us or the creature. For some reason, this gave me peace. I kept my eyes glued on the edge of the rock where not long ago we had taken turns keeping watch during the night. There was nowhere to go now. If the creature came around to the ledge, we would have to fight for their lives or jump to our deaths. I had already decided what I would choose and hoped Jake had done the same.
