Chapter 61
I listen again. I need to be sure. There’s no mistaking it. The barking is a loop. The sound is not too far ahead. A moment ago, I’d been desperate to catch up. But now, I want to be as far away from here as possible.
At first, I back up, one step at a time.
My eyes dart around, trying to take everything in all at once.
The trees look sinister. The branches seem to reach out to me.
Each one, a skeletal hand. The pounding of my heart is so loud, it sounds like it is a recording, blasted on high volume, in the woods. Broadcasting my location.
I hear a branch snap in the woods ahead. It’s all I can take. I turn and run, crashing through the woods. The branches whip at my face. I barrel forward, arms like scythes. They don’t protect me; I don’t feel the cuts, but I can see blood on my arms. I feel it on my face.
I’m running and running, and I can hear something in the woods behind me, in pursuit.
I know I should turn around. If I turn around, maybe I’ll finally know.
I’ll know what’s pursuing me. But I can’t.
I’m too scared. If I had once thought I’d be brave in a crisis, I was wrong.
I’m a coward. I’m so scared, I’m hardly breathing.
The woods are dark, I can hardly see where I’m going. The thing behind me is getting closer. And closer. I can feel it’s breath on my back.
And then, I’m levitating. No, I’m falling. Momentarily airborne. Was I pushed? Or did I trip? It’s the last thought I have, before my head hits the ground, and everything goes black.
* * *
“Elinor.”
I gasp and jolt myself awake. Who is calling my name? It sounds so far away.
I blink my eyes, trying to adjust to the dark.
Slowly, a form takes shape. It’s a woman, with a pale beautiful face, but she has fur sprouting from her head like a wolf.
“Elinor. Can you hear me?”
My eyes come into focus. She doesn’t have fur. It’s a winter hood that surrounds her beautiful face, and long dark hair spills out from the bottom.
“Joan,” I say. My first instinct is to shuffle back. But my head is throbbing, and I make a feeble attempt at movement and then stop.
“Stay still,” she is saying. Joan holds my face in her hands, seems to be inspecting my eyes. Then she gently pats down my arms and legs.
“What year is it?”
“2026,” I whisper.
“What’s your name?”
“Elinor Lin.” That’s not right. “I mean, Elinor Leighton.”
“Thank god,” she says, softly. “Here, take my arm.”
Slowly, she raises me into a standing position. “Can you walk?”
I take a small step forward. My head throbs, but I can hold my weight. “I think so.”
“You’re barefoot!” Joan exclaims.
“I was taking out the trash when I heard Hugo. I know, it was stupid.” I must look crazy to her.
Joan sits and takes off her boots and helps me into them. “I’ll be fine in my socks,” she says.
We start walking, slowly, with Joan supporting my arm. I’m so vulnerable out here, I don’t know if I should trust her, but I don’t really have a choice.
“How did you know I was out here?”
Joan keeps her eyes trained on the ground below us. “I was out walking, and I heard you calling for your dog. Then I saw you run into the woods. I don’t know. I just thought I should check on you.”
“I heard him barking.”
“How did you know it was him?”
“I’d recognize his bark anywhere.”
Joan nods, as though this makes sense.
“Do you need to go to the hospital?” she asks.
“No!” I probably should. I think I hit my head. But I can’t. If Topher knows I’ve gone off into the woods alone and hurt myself . . . he can’t know.
Joan looks at me doubtfully. “I can drive you,” she says.
“Really, I’m okay.”
When we get back to the house, I consider inviting her in. I consider confiding in her and telling her that the barking was a recording. I think I can trust her. She’s an outsider, like me. And she saved my life. Who knows what would have happened if she didn’t find me?
But I hesitate. We look at each other, almost as though we are each daring the other to cross the line. To ask the unasked. Can I trust you?