CORALINE
Ihaven’t seen Gavin in three days. He only left that one note, and the feet of snow keep growing by the day. It’s piled up so high against the back door that it almost reaches the roof. The electricity came back on in the middle of the night two nights ago.
An unnerving sensation runs through me.
Today is different. It feels different. The nightmares don’t stop. I wake up every single night, feeling like someone is watching me in every corner of the room. Goosebumps erupt all over my skin as the wind howls angrily through the cracks of the windows.
What if The Sleepy Coldwater Serial Killer is here? What if he knows where I’m staying, and he knows I’m alone since Gavin left me? What if he’s here to finish the job? What if the reason why Gavin’s been gone so long is because my stalker hurt him?
Oh no.
I think the reason why I’m still alive after I survived the car crash is because Gavin found me, scaring off my attempted murderer before he could finish what he started. I’m in his debt.
Slipping on snow boots one by one, I decide to look for him. Merelyn grows more worried by the day since he hasn’t come back from ‘being with the horses’. After I dress in a heavy coat, jeans, and snow boots, I head for the front door. I take a deep breath before I turn the knob.
I’m not sure why I’m already feeling a sense of worry when it comes to him, but I can’t help it.
He’s been a sarcastic asshole to me since we met, but I don’t want anything bad happening to him.
I’m still shaken from the flashes of people who disappear into thin air, to the empty cabin, and the mystery of the lurking threat.
I don’t want to be alone right now. I can’t leave anywhere.
I’m stuck in a home full of ghosts. When it comes to choosing between being alone with spirits while a stalker hunts me, or a cowboy who refuses to smile? I’m choosing Gavin.
Who knows what lengths this person will go to kill me? What if he hurts Gavin and Merelyn if this person finds out they’re harboring me?
Trees start to bang against the walls of the house. The lights flicker once again, making me freeze and stare at the withering electricity. I grip the doorknob tighter just as another bang thuds behind me, making me scream.
“Ahh!” I yelp and turn toward the origin of surprise. At the same time, I watch lightning strike a tree right behind Gavin’s house through the living room floor-to-ceiling windows, causing it to fall over in the backyard. Time comes to a stop for me.
“Oh, fuck this.” I shake my head.
I open the door, motivated to find someone with a beating heart. As soon as I do, harsh glacial winds slap me in the face unforgivingly. Its cold breeze is unremorseful, and I instantly regret my choice to leave.
I close the door behind me just as the bells continue to chime.
The blizzard is still in full force, so painfully freezing, I feel it in my bones.
I start walking, and the sky is a deep shade of grey.
The snow buries my foot when I take my first step.
I struggle pulling it out, marching through it, soldiering on as the winds and snow pelt my body.
I look to my left and then my right, trying to see if I can make out a barn full of horses or the crash sight in the distance, but I see nothing but snow flurries circling all around me.
I decide to go right. I coil in on myself, my arms wrapped around my biceps to create another barrier of heat.
Looking back at the cabin, and then to the tall trees I’m in the middle of, makes anxiety ripple through me. This may have been a dumb decision.
I’ve already committed. I have to keep going.
Branches hit my sides as I venture further. My feet get stuck every other minute, but eventually, I make it to a clearing.
Still…no barn or Gavin in sight. I keep going, walking into more trees for what feels like forever, until I spot a tire. I track it, my eyes going north until it lands on another tire and then another. My heart skips out of my chest when I see a beat-up, crumpled vehicle.
“It’s my rental!”
I rush toward it, hopping over branches, almost tripping over my own heel, when I hear something crack behind me. My brows raise curiously. I’m hoping it’s Gavin, but when I turn around, there’s no one. Trees, more trees, and snow whirl around in the storm.
Before I can keep venturing, something catches my eye in my peripheral vision. A tall, thick shadow steps out from behind a tree. Is that Gavin?
“Gavin?” I call out, but the shadow doesn’t respond.
“Gavin, is that you?” I walk toward him, biting my freezing lip. I can’t feel my face. I squint my eyes as if that’ll help me miraculously see better through thick flurries.
“Gavin!” I shout once more.
Suddenly, the shadow reveals more of himself and starts to run, straight toward me.
A wave of unease crashes into my soul, and my eyes widen.
It’s not a human.
It’s an animal.
A small moose appears through the fog. Its black eyes look straight at me. It’s chewing on something, looking anything but spooked. I’m the one who feels like their soul has left their body. I thought it was the one after me. I instantly feel relief. I sigh, my heart rate evening out.
Placing my hands on my thighs, I lean over and chuckle. It’s so cute. It doesn’t even have antlers yet. Brown thick fur, two pointy ears that stick out above its head, and extremely long legs—almost too long for such a small body.
“It’s just a baby moose. It’s just a baby moose,” I chant out of relief, but then I realize what that entails. Horror spreads through me. “It’s just…a baby moose. A moose that’s a baby…” Another sound of a twig snaps nearby, and my brows raise. “Oh, shit.”
If there’s a baby nearby, then that means its mother is too.
A tall, massive older moose slowly guards its calf by moving in front of it. It huffs, making a grunty sound before it’s heading toward me with its head down, using its antlers as a weapon. It’s charging me.
I can’t outrun an animal.
Oh my god.
Gavin warned me about the wildlife out here, and I didn’t listen.
I whip around and sprint toward the open field.
I run, the icy air burning my lungs, but I don’t care.
I peer over my shoulder, hoping it’s a symptom of my brain injury, but no, it’s not.
It’s not a delusion. I hear the thud of this moose’s hooves on the ground, and it keeps closing the distance, not giving up.
I keep running, and don’t dare to look over my shoulder again.
My hair gets caught several times in the branches as I weave through the trees and head straight for the wreckage.
I ignore the pulsing pain in my scalp as the sounds of its footsteps grow closer and louder.
I’ve read somewhere that moose attacks are not uncommon in Alaska, but can be fatal.
I’m not ready to die and definitely not like this.
I lean down, my hand curling around a rock.
Grunting, I hold it over my shoulder, ready to launch it, just to scare it away, not hurt it, but when I turn around, it’s gone.
My lungs burn, my chest tightening with each shallow breath.
Adrenaline is simmering in my veins as I hold on to the rock so tight like it’s my lifeline.
Standing still, I search for it and its calf in every tree.
It’s really gone.
With every passing second, I wait for it to pop out again—charging me, but it doesn’t. I guess the moose gave up and granted me mercy. I don’t waste another second.
Still holding onto the rock by my side, I rush toward the wrecked vehicle.
I skim through the snow until I find the driver’s seat.
The car door is closed, but all the glass is shattered.
I peek through the open window and search for a purse, bags, or anything that I can take back to the cabin.
But most importantly, why can’t I find my cell phone?
It’s been a few days, so it might be dead.
Great. My cellphone is nowhere to be found, but something glistens, calling my attention. Dipping my upper half into the car, I grab my ring with a wedding band attached to it. I pinch it, twirl it around, and set it back on my ring finger. It fits like a perfect glove.
I find the ring from Liam—my cheating, despicable ex, whom I can’t seem to separate from in my heart fully and a sting hits my eyes.
I hate it when you fall in love because it can be scary.
The one person you promise yourself to and build a life with, stabs you in the back and isn’t even sorry about it.
Then, I find my wallet. A familiar warm feeling makes my heart swell.
This is my sister’s wallet. I miss her so much.
I never miss our weekly check-ins. She knows something is wrong, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she has the National Guard looking for me right now because I know how crazy protective she is.
I open it, and sure enough, my identification cards are tucked inside.
I pull out the Texas-issued one first and find my name on it.
The black-and-white portrait of me is unscathed right next to all my information.
Coraline Rosa. 5’1. Hispanic. San Antonio, Texas. Organ Donor.
The ground begins to vibrate. The sensation runs up my legs as I continue to tiptoe into the car. Then, the sound of something cracking sends a shiver down my spine. My eyes widen as I push myself out of the vehicle.
A bolt of fear strikes deep into my gut when I spot a pack of wolves in the cracked rearview mirror.
One of them stepped on glass, leaving a small trail of dark red underneath its paw.
The wallet slips from my trembling hands.
The one in the front is the biggest. Massive, light ocean eyes, sharp and texturized, with a white and silver coat.
She’s beautiful. If it weren’t looking at me like I’m its next meal, I’d pet it.
With a snarl, the wolf flashes me its sharp teeth.
Its tongue swipes its lips as it takes more slow, calculated steps my way.
The rest of the pack start to howl behind it and bark at me like they’re ready for the command to take me out from their leader.
All of them disperse, circling me as they bolt left and right on their paws.
They jump with excitement, vividly hungry, and they’ve chosen me as their next meal.
“Go!” I shout. “Go away!” I warn, flailing my hands in front of my chest.
A deep and low rumbling overpowers their growls and the sound of my blood thrashing in my ears.
I would turn my head toward the origin, but I don’t want to look away, and then I’m getting blindsided by jaws.
All of the wolves make a high-pitched whimper, their gazes suddenly off me and somewhere else.
They all scatter and follow the silver-tailed leader.
I track them as they amble in the direction of the woods.
The mysterious loud roars send reverberations through the ground, rattling my boots.
I flick my gaze to my feet, then back to the last spot I saw the pack running through.
They’re gone. Whatever this sound is, it’s scaring them off.
They’ve disappeared through the trees with no more signs of wildlife.
Is this an earthquake?
Before I can move or think, I get the answer to my own question.
It’s not an earthquake. It’s an avalanche.
Hundreds of feet of snow are falling off the peak that’s right by Gavin’s ranch.
I see it every morning I wake up, and right now a piece of it is falling straight on top of me.
I abandon the car and trudge through the feet of snow.
I run like my life depends on it, because it does. I keep going with tears rolling down my face, the sound of the snow falling behind me growing louder and louder. I’m not running fast enough!
The snow envelopes me, sticking to my body. I find myself unable to lift my knees smoothly as I stumble deeper into white ice. It’s burying me, swallowing my screams, crashing against my back, forcing me to hold my breath.
I couldn’t get away in time.
“No!” I shrill, but the sound doesn’t go anywhere, staying trapped inside more ice.
I’m still alive.
I’m still alive even though I’m buried. Fighting through it, I do my best to make space to breathe.
But the more snow I push out with my hands, the more that comes rushing back in, coating and violently rocking against my face.
I keep my mouth closed so I don’t swallow it.
I swing, kick, scream—fighting until I can see the sky again, but nothing but more white keeps trampling my face.
Panic settles in as I keep probing for something to pull me out, but I keep coming up empty.
I’m sinking deeper into the snow every time I jump in place.
Blinding white envelops me. I flap my arms up and down, holding my breath as I try to make an opening, but nothing happens.
Everything burns on the inside as my lungs scream at me, desperate for air.
With every flail, I let out a strangled cry.
I don’t know how long it’s been, but it feels like hours that I’ve been screaming and fighting.
Growing weaker, my vision dims with darkness as I slip into unconsciousness, still attempting to resist death.