A Forager's Peril

Her legs burned as she raced through the trees, lungs gasping for breath, every muscle in her body begging her to stop. But to stop was to die so she pushed forward. Nothing like danger nipping at your heels to get in a good workout. Not that she’d recommend this regime to anyone.

She’d been reckless coming out so close to dark, but she’d naively thought she’d make it back to the bunker before the sun dipped behind the horizon. Before the night air woke the beasts.

Her nerves were alight with sharp fear. Stupid, stupid, stupid! If she died, she’d have no one to blame but herself and frankly that realisation disgusted her. When death finally claimed her, she’d fully intended to curse someone else’s name.

Each rustle of leaves and snap of a twig as her feet touched the forest floor stung her pride, but there was no point trying to be stealthy. It had caught her scent. She couldn’t hide from it, couldn’t sneak away. The only thing she could do was hope to outrun it.

You have a better chance of befriending it and training it to follow you around like a cute little puppy.

As amusing as the image was, Jess told her inner voice to shut up. She had more important things to do than have a snarky mental debate with herself.

Could mind numbing terror cause insanity?

Possibly, but she didn’t have time to worry about that either.

Adrenaline sharpened her senses and it was that hyperawareness alone that saved her; feeling more than seeing the attack a second before it collided. Instinct had her diving to the leaf covered floor just in time to avoid the sharp teeth that gnashed together right where her head had been. The giant beast’s momentum carried it forward and it crashed heavily into a tree with a yelp. A yelp that quickly turned into an angry snarl.

Not that Jess had stuck around to hear it.

She’d hit the ground rolling and gracefully jumped to her feet. Unlike the mutant wolf, momentum had been her friend and she darted further into the forest. If she’d had her weapons she might have tried to fight it, but they lay uselessly where she’d had to abandon them. Breaking rule two of foraging in the process: never be without a weapon. She’d broken rule one as well: never go foraging alone. The matron would have her hide for this.

She pictured the disconcertingly large white fangs that had snapped at her only seconds earlier.

If she was lucky enough to have a hide to give.

A chilling howl sounded behind her. Though what really sent tendrils of fear snaking throughout her body were the answering howls. Howls that were much too close for her liking. Wolves had always been faster and stronger than humans, but wolves mutated by the radiation that had ravaged the earth two-hundred years ago were so much worse. At least these ones weren’t spitting acid. And yes, unfortunately, she had seen that happen before. She had the scars to prove it.

Branches whipped at her arms and face, leaving behind stinging cuts, as she pushed through the foliage, but the pain barely registered.

Not with the baying wolves closing in with every step.

She would never make it back to the bunker. Time to move onto plan B. Well plan C to be totally honest. Plan A had been not to get herself into this situation to begin with.

Her eyes darted left and right as she desperately searched for her only lifeline. Slowing down might help her find it, but slowing down meant death and she enjoyed breathing too much to even consider it.

Finally! She would have whooped for joy if she didn’t think the act would use up the last of her oxygen. Passing out and being eaten was not how she wanted to go.

Although at least she would be too dead to suffer from the humiliation.

With one last surge of energy, she bunched her muscles and launched herself into the air. Her hands dug painfully into the rough bark of a branch, but she almost cried in relief. Pulling herself up onto the lower limbs of the tree, not stopping to catch her breath, she climbed with the easy grace of an acrobat.

Mutant or not, wolves were wolves, they had yet to gain the ability to scale trees.

Though it would be just her luck to come across the only pack that could.

Settling as comfortably as she could on the highest branches, she watched as five wolves paced and snarled beneath her, angrily yipping as they tried and failed to reach the branch that her saved her life. She resisted the urge to stick her tongue out childishly as her pulse returned to a normal rhythm. For one fleeting second she was ecstatic she was alone. She could puff like a hundred-year-old woman who had never ran a day in her life and not have to deal with the mortification. That wasn’t to say she wasn’t terrified. Only an idiot wouldn’t be and despite what her current situation might imply she was not an idiot. One look at the blood-shot eyes of the massive wolves baring those wicked fangs had convinced her of that.

She sighed and banged her head against the tree. Not for the first time she cursed her ancestors’ good luck at being near a bunker when the radiation had hit.

Sure if they hadn’t she’d be a ravenous, blood thirsty monster like the beasts currently prowling beneath her, but being a ravenous monster definitely beat being eaten by a ravenous monster.

On top of everything, now that she was out of immediate danger, her adrenaline was wearing off. This meant that she felt every protesting muscle and throbbing scratch acutely. Narrowing her eyes, she lifted them skyward, suspiciously scouring the surrounding trees, lest radiation-infected birds or monkeys decided to join the party and mock her optimistic thought. Painful or not, she’d rather deal with something that could be easily treated than have to choose between the lesser of two evils.

She groaned one last time, throwing in some impressive profanities, then forced herself to stop feeling sorry for herself. She had gotten herself into this mess and she would get herself out. She longed for her bow. With it, she would make short work of the wolves circling the tree, but she did not have her bow because it was lying by a brook where she’d left it like the world’s biggest moron.

Don’t pine for what you wish you had, take stock of what you do have.

Her dad’s words floated around her head and simply imagining his calm manner soothed the last of her frayed nerves. Heeding the advice given to her long ago she assessed what meagre possessions she still had, cursing when she realised only one thing could help her.

Grumbling under her breath she pulled her pendant out from under her sweat-soaked shirt. The heart-shaped locket had been a gift from her boyfriend, but as much as she loved him she didn’t take it everywhere with her out of romantic sentiment. Opening the clasp, she carefully removed the earbud and placed it in her ear, activating the homing beacon at the same time. Her boyfriend being a wizard with technology was one of the many reasons she loved him. The fact that he knew her well enough to know this would come in handy was another. Shutting the locket and rendering the comforting red light invisible, she turned on her communication device.

“I may have screwed up.” She stated without preamble.

Sean snorted on the other side of the line. She had known she wouldn’t have to wait for a response. As the communication expert of their clan, Sean was always listening. And as the caring boyfriend of someone constantly getting into trouble, he was always tuned into this particular frequency.

“Considering I’m placing you three hundred and twenty-seven metres outside our bunker, fifteen metres high,” A wolf chose that moment to snarl viciously and she pulled at face at it. “Surrounded by wolves, I’m going to say you’ve done more than screw up.”

Jess eyed the growling wolves. Her darling boyfriend had a point. She had done more than screw up and now, as much as it stung her pride, she needed rescuing. If radiation from the rising sun wasn’t likely to kill her, she might have taken her chances and camped out in the tree for the night.

“Any chance you could scramble up some warriors and send them on a night-time excursion?”

“Keeping their skills sharp are you?” He teased.

She detected the trace of worry he tried to cover up with light-hearted humour and guilt stabbed her. One day her recklessness would get someone killed and all she would leave behind was a wake of tragedy. She couldn’t help herself though. She longed for a freedom she had never known. She was eternally grateful to the matron and the rest of their leaders for keeping them safe, understood why the rules needed to be so strict, but she’d been pushing their boundaries for as long as she could remember.

“What are the odds of you keeping this quiet?” She questioned hopefully. “A secret among friends?”

Sean laughed and she could picture his easy smile, his blues eyes sparking in amusement. “Absolutely none. I love you, but I fear the matron more. In fact,” Jess heard faint typing in the background and her hopes died a painful death. “I’ve just informed her.”

“Great,” She muttered sarcastically. “Maybe I should let the wolves have me. It will be a more merciful death than the one I have waiting for me back at the bunker.”

“Please don’t. Besides the team is already headed to your location. I would hate to have wasted their time. And,” He added, his voice bright with humour. “It’s been boring here. A public execution might be exactly what we need to liven up the place.”

“We are done.” She deadpanned. “Finito. No more. Never again will you touch a hair on this beautiful body.”

“Don’t worry about me,” He joked without missing a beat. “I’ll have more than a few takers considering my beautiful body.”

Their banter, however odd, was sorely needed. A way for both of them to pretend that all was well, but she wasn’t out of the woods yet.

Literally and metaphorically.

Being weaponless had been her own stupid mistake, but leaving the bunker alone and without permission was against the rules and couldn’t be overlooked. She doubted the fact that she’d managed to sneak past the guards would win her any favours.

However impressive the feat had been.

The matron wouldn’t actually execute her, but her life was not going to be fun for the next few months.

Shaking her head to banish concerns she could do nothing about, she grew serious and explained her situation. The five wolves shouldn’t cause trained warriors any problems, but better they knew what they were up against.

Considering how close she had been to the bunker, how annoyingly close, it didn’t take her long to spot the light of the rescue team’s torches bearing down on her position. A second later the swizzle of the wolves’ ears told her she would hear them soon. Then see them. Then die of sheer shame and embarrassment.

She sighed one last time. She was grateful to be alive and more than thankful that they’d risked coming out at night to save her sorry excuse for a human being, but she almost wished she’d been wounded. At least then, they might have taken pity on her. Instead she shifted a bit, bark digging into her back uncomfortably, and mentally prepared herself for what was to come.

And honestly? A part of her would rather have taken her chances with the wolves.