Chapter 9
Sydney
Iam never, ever leaving the State of Florida ever again. Why on earth anyone would want to live where it’s so damn cold is beyond me. Is it beautiful? Of course it is, but so is the beach and sand.
When Mason showed up on that stupid toy of his and told me it was too dangerous to be outside by myself, I was ready to throttle him.
Who the hell does he think he is? How dare he tell me I can’t take care of myself!
I’ve been doing that since he decided to leave and not tell me about it ten years ago.
Now he cares.
He can kiss my ass.
As I make my way through the woods looking for Mason so I can explain to him that he fucked up royally by letting me go, I keep telling myself to only walk in a straight line away from the lodge that way I can just turn around and walk straight back. Easy peasy.
Go straight. Don’t turn. I can’t get lost.
I’m lost.
After what feels like hours, I turn back determined that I’ll give Mason a piece of my mind after the wedding tomorrow. I’m walking straight, but it’s so dark out now that I can’t see if that’s really the way I’m going. Am I going straight? Did I turn? How far did I walk? How long have I been gone?
I pull out my phone, but of course there’s no signal in the middle of the woods. “Why would there be, Sydney?” I say sarcastically to no one but myself.
Instead of trying to make a call or send a text message, I turn on the flashlight and try to navigate my way back towards the lodge. Remembering a movie I once saw about tracking a serial killer through the snow, I look for my own footprints, but I don’t see any. None.
Well, that’s not good. I thought I was just walking straight. No turns.
“Shit, Sydney. Maybe you shouldn’t be outside by yourself.
No panicking, girl, you’ve got this. You’re fine.
Take a deep breath and start walking straight.
You’ll find the lodge.” I take a deep breath and watch my breath flow into the cold air through the light of my flashlight.
Straightening my shoulders, I start walking one foot in front of the other. “You’ve got this.”
I walk like this for a few more minutes, but I still can’t find my footprints. It’s not snowing, so they shouldn’t be covered up, so that definitely means I’m walking in the wrong direction. Do I turn around or keep going?
I shine my flashlight up in front of me, but it’s so dark that my light fades away farther than a foot in front of me. Now, I’m beginning to panic.
That’s when I hear, off in the distance, a motor. That must be Mason on his ATV. Right? I start waving my arms and my flashlight in the direction of the sound hoping he’ll hear or see me.
“Mason. Over here!” I call out. “Mason! I’m over here!” I yell again and that’s when I hear something distinctly different than a motor. More like a growl.
Instinctively, I stop moving and slowly turn holding my flashlight out as far as I can to see what’s making that sound. ‘Please don’t be a bear. Please don’t be a bear.’ I chant in my head.
It’s definitely not a bear. But it’s big and now I’m trying to recall every single nature show I’ve ever watched in my entire life to see if I can figure out how the hell I don’t end up as dinner for a mountain lion, but nothing is coming to mind.
He’s big; like almost eight feet long and his dark eyes are directly aimed at me.
In the distance, I can hear the engine of the ATV, and I think I can hear Mason calling my name, but I don’t dare move.
Do I stare directly in its eyes, or do I look away?
Do I wave my hands in the air and try to look big and scary?
I know not to run because then I’ll be prey to him.
Yeah, like you’re not already prey, Sydney.
I take a small step backwards to test to see if I can move away from him and he just stands staring at me, barely blinking.
“Nice, kitty. You’re a good kitty.” Okay, this is good, so I take another step back, this time a bit bigger but freeze when he takes a step towards me and growls again. “No, no, kitty… you need to stay.”
Fuck. Now what? “Get. Go home. Go away.” I say softly but he just ignores me. “Go. Get.” I say more forcibly as I take another step back. This time he just stands there with his head hunched forward, so I try it again. “Go! Get!” I wave my hands out a little, too.
The mountain lion suddenly leaps in the air and lands within five feet of me. It startles me and I scream but don’t move. If he wants to, he can just stretch out his front leg and swat me with his paw. Then I’m dead.
I realize that I’m about to die and no one will ever know what happened to me.
Some hiker next spring will find my phone and that’ll be it.
Maybe my bones will be spread across the valley; maybe this thing will eat them, too.
I can feel my tears start to freeze on my cheeks as the realization hits me that I’m about to die.
“Sydney. I want you to very slowly take two steps straight back towards my voice. Do not turn your back on him.” The relief of hearing Mason’s smooth, comforting voice behind me makes my blood pulse in my ears. If this thing doesn’t get me, he’s going to get Mason.
“I tried and he jumped at me. Get out of here, Mason. Go before he gets us both.”
“Baby, he’s not getting either one of us. I’m holding a twelve-gauge shotgun on him. Now, do as I tell you and take two steps back straight towards my voice.” Mason racks a round into the chamber of the shotgun almost as proof that he really did have a gun aimed at my predator.
I slowly take one and then another step backwards.
“That’s it, baby. Two more.” Mason’s voice is closer as if he’s walking towards me.
Again, I take first one and then a second step back as I stare at the mountain lion. He doesn’t seem to be following me this time. Do mountain lions know what shotguns are or is he weighing his options on eating at least one or both of us?
I can feel the heat coming off Mason before I can even see him. “Get behind me.” He says right next to my ear. Slowly, I maneuver behind him. “Good. Put your hand on my shoulder and guide us backwards towards the ATV.”
I glance behind me and see the vehicle a few yards away. I called it a toy earlier, but right now it’s our saving grace. Mason has his gun aimed at the mountain lion that hasn’t moved since Mason showed up. We both move back a few steps at a time until we’re standing next to the ATV.
“Baby, I need you to climb on, start it, and then drive away.”
“What? No. I’m not leaving you,” I argue.
“I’m climbing on with you, but I need to keep this gun on him in case he decides to give chase.”
Making it to the ATV felt like a victory, but if this thing can chase us down on it, it feels like a hollow one. “Okay. You should know I’ve never driven one of these.”
“It’s just like driving a car. Get on, Syd.”
I climb on by throwing one leg over the seat and get myself settled as Mason climbs on backwards so that he’s facing the danger behind us. “Which way?”
“Just get us out of here, first. Then I’ll get us home.”
I start the engine and aim us in the opposite direction from the mountain lion as fast as I can get this thing to go. As I keep steering in the same direction, I can see the outline of the lodge in the distance. I was definitely walking in the wrong direction.
“I’ve got her. She’s safe. Thanks everyone.” I hear Mason say behind me into a radio.
“Oh, thank god.” I hear Emily’s voice come over the radio speaker.
“10-4” Comes Franco’s voice.
As we approach the lodge, I glance behind us to make sure the mountain lion wasn’t following us and am relieved to find nothing back there.
“Pull into the garage over there.” Mason points to the left.
As we both climb off the ATV, my adrenaline starts to crash and the reality of what just happened and what could have happened hits me as my knees give out.
“Whoa, baby. I’ve got you.” Mason catches me before I fall to the floor of the garage.
“Come on. Let’s get you inside before you freeze to death out here.
You’ve been gone for hours.” Mason picks me up and carries me to the back entrance of the lodge, through the kitchen, and down a hallway I’ve not been through before.
The entire time he’s carrying me, I’ve got a death grip around his neck and my head buried into his neck as the tears pour out of me.
I can feel Mason open a door and then close it behind us, but I don’t look up to see where we are, but thankfully it’s warm.
I can hear a fire crackling and it’s a welcome feeling. I had no idea how cold I was out there.
What the hell would have happened to me if Mason hadn’t shown up? Would I even still be alive right now? Would that mountain lion play with me first and then attack me or would it be one swift slice of its claws across my neck and instant death?
I’m shivering and I don’t know if it’s because of being out in the cold for so long or because of my fear. Or finally being in Mason’s arms again after all these years.