Chapter 33
The scream cut through the woods, high-pitched and urgent, causing the hairs on the back of Joni’s arms to stand on end.
Helena began to run. “Maggie!”
Joni followed. Trees rushed by. Undergrowth clawed at her bare legs. The thrust of her pack slammed up and down on her back. Liz raced at her side, arms pumping.
The scream grew louder, inhuman in its shrill desperation.
The three of them skidded to a stop, breathing hard.
A figure was crouched low; something lay prone on the ground in front of them.
Another high-pitched cry tore through the forest.
Joni realized the figure was Vilhelm. He had one knee in the dirt, his right arm raised, a rock in his fist. He brought the rock crashing down, even as Joni was moving forward, yelling, “No!”
There was a dull thud of rock against flesh.
The screaming was silenced.
The forest fell quiet.
Vilhelm dropped the rock, then pushed to his feet. Joni could smell the warm ooze of blood.
Now that he’d moved, she could see the limp body of a hare at his feet, its skull crushed from the blow.
Vilhelm wiped his hands on his dark trousers. He shook his head sadly. “Runa caught him. Never kills them outright. Gets the scent of blood and bolts for the next meal.”
Joni stared at the dead hare. Its fur was wet from the dog’s mouth, puncture wounds marking its breathless belly.
“Something else will get a meal out of it, I hope.” He pulled on his pack, his rangy frame handling the weight with ease.
“The scream . . . ,” Joni said.
“Terrible noise, isn’t it? Wrong to let it suffer.”
Vilhelm whistled loudly for Runa. A few moments later, the dog came bounding toward him, tongue lolling. “You don’t know any better, do you?” he said, stroking its head.
Joni felt her heart rate slowing.
Vilhelm asked, “You enjoyed the fish I left? It was a good one. Too big to feed just me.”
They glanced at one another.
“Yes. Thank you,” Liz said cautiously, still trying to get the measure of him.
Vilhelm looked between them. “You are one down.”
“Yes, Maggie. She got separated,” Joni told him. “We were walking in the woods . . . thought she was behind us.”
Vilhelm looked concerned. “How long has she been missing?”
Missing. The word felt unnervingly serious. A missing person. That implied police. A search . . .
Liz looked at her watch. “For two hours. Do you have a radio? Our phones don’t have a signal. We need to call for help . . .”
“No radio,” Vilhelm said. “But I will help you find her.”