Mythe: A Fairy Tale (32 page)

“Uncle!” she cried and darted off into the trees. She found a trail of hard packed snow and followed it down the gentle slope.

“You can run, but you can’t hide!” Richard called after her, letting her get a sizable head start. Manda laughed and tried to run faster, but the packed snow underfoot was icy in places and footing on the trail was precarious. She heard Richard’s footsteps behind her, not close yet but narrowing the distance. She dodged around an outcrop of rock and the ground dropped away more steeply. The wind blew fiercely, funneled through a narrow canyon, and the trees thinned out. The snow was sparse here, where the wind had swept the rocky ground clear.

“Manda, wait! Stop running!” Richard’s voice was urgent now, no longer playful and laughing. Manda stopped obediently, nervous on the suddenly much more treacherous terrain. She began a cautious turn back toward Richard, but froze midway when a flash of movement caught her eye from the opposite direction. To her left, extending down the now steep slope, a granite outcrop jutted out, rising several feet higher than Manda’s head. On the top of the ridge, muscles bunched and body coiled to spring, a crouching mountain lion stared down at her.

It all happened so quickly that Manda didn’t have time to be afraid until afterward. As the danger registered in her thoughts, several things happened simultaneously. The lion launched itself toward her with teeth bared and claws extended. She heard Richard bellow “No!” but his shout was abruptly cut short by a deafening feline snarl—not from the cat descending upon her, but from another cat in Richard’s direction. And as the mountain lion bore down on her and Richard’s voice echoed in her ears, adrenaline rushed through Manda’s body and instinct took over. She threw up her right arm to protect her face and stumbled back, away from the cat. Fortunately, her right foot skidded on a patch of exposed ice and slipped out from under her. This misstep probably saved her life, for as she fell she felt the lion’s claws rake across her upraised arm as it overshot her. Unable to change direction in midair, the cat’s momentum carried it past her.

The terrain was steep where Manda fell however, and she tumbled down the rocky slope. After a dozen yards, her right foot tangled in an exposed root and caught, jerking her around sharply. Her cry of pain ended abruptly as she slammed to a stop and her breath was forced from her lungs by the impact.

Manda was stunned and disoriented. Pain fogged her mind and she couldn’t breathe. The world spun sickeningly and it was several agonizing moments before she was able to suck in a desperate breath. She found herself lying on her side with her back wedged against the trunk of a large pine tree. Her ankle burned and her head throbbed. She looked
around frantically for the cougar, but the trees around her danced crazily and her vision blurred. She fought back a wave of nausea and forced her eyes to focus, willing the world to cease its sickening spiral. As her vision cleared she sucked in another sharp, painful breath.

A little distance upslope from where she lay, not one but two tawny cats were locked together in a vicious, snarling whirlwind of claws and teeth. They rolled away from her, fur flying in clumps as the claws of the larger cat dug into the underbelly of the smaller. The bigger of the two was massive—at least twice the size of the other.

Manda concentrated on staying calm and motionless. Her breathing was ragged and painful, and her heart thudded in her chest. Instinct urged her to scramble away, but her foot was trapped. She knew Richard was nearby somewhere and she hoped he could somehow help her.

As the battling cats disappeared in the rough terrain, Manda struggled into a sitting position, working frantically to extract her foot. The pain that stabbed through her leg when she finally yanked it free filled her vision with dancing lights, adding to her already considerable disorientation. The larger cat would make short work of the smaller one and she was afraid it would then come back for her. She looked around frantically for Richard. Panic washed through her. She couldn’t see him anywhere.

“Richard! Richard!” she called urgently but softly, not wanting to risk the cougars’ attention. He’d been so close. Where could he have gone? She struggled to keep her eyes focused and noticed his coat lying on the ground. Why would he take off his coat? With difficulty, she managed to scramble up the rocky incline on her hands and knees to the coat. When she reached it her fear multiplied. It was ripped and torn and she realized it wasn’t just his coat. She saw more articles of clothing strewn in tatters across the icy slope. Manda began to tremble and struggled to gain control of herself. What could have happened? Had the larger lion attacked him? But there was no blood on the shredded clothing. What did that mean? The world still had a distressing tendency to tilt drunkenly, and Manda’s efforts to order here thoughts were proving difficult.

Pull yourself together!
she chided herself, still struggling to gain control of the panic that was hampering her. She tried to climb to her feet, using the trunk of a small aspen to steady herself, but her ankle buckled, sending excruciating shards of pain lancing through her leg, and she collapsed back to the ground as the world careened crazily again. For several minutes pain blotted everything else out. Manda lay gasping for breath until it faded but as the pain in her leg slowly slackened, the stabbing pain in her head emerged to take its place. She touched the place above her left ear that throbbed with each heartbeat. Her hair was gritty and wet and her hand came away red with blood. She must have hit it when she fell. The panic she had been fighting to subdue threatened to overcome her again. Would the smell of blood increase the risk of the cougar returning?

As she huddled on the icy ground, struggling to think, she could hear the two fighting cats growling and crashing through the forest. When the noise suddenly stopped Manda whimpered. She was out of time. She clutched the remnants of Richard’s coat to her chest with trembling hands and scooted back against the trunk of a nearby tree, dragging her injured leg. She blinked blearily at the forest around her, not sure which direction the cat would come from if it returned. She saw it at once when it darted around the outcropping of rock. When it saw her watching, it slowed to a walk, padding toward her cautiously. Manda’s labored breathing quickened, and she pressed herself back against the rough bark of the tree. At her slight movement the lion froze, watching her. Manda slowly and clumsily searched through Richard’s coat pockets for anything that might be of use. Her own pockets held nothing helpful, but she hoped that perhaps he had something—a pocket knife, pepper spray, anything she could use to protect herself. She rebuked herself for being caught in this situation without bear mace. Her father had taught her better than that, but she hadn’t expected to need it. Her groping fingers found only Richard’s wallet and car keys and her camera. Remembering the self-defense tips she had once read, she clutched the keys in her left hand, the largest one projecting from her fist. If she could jab the key into one of its eyes, maybe it would go away. It was a slim chance but with her thoughts so confused and dizziness making the ground tip sickeningly, it was all she could think of.

Manda’s eyes locked on the threat in front of her, waiting for any movement in her direction. Her hands were shaking and sweat was dampening the hair around her face, which immediately turned icy in the frigid air. The cougar didn’t approach though. Instead it sat down and regarded her with its amber eyes.

Go away. Just go away,
Manda thought. Maybe she could drive it off. Without taking her eyes off of the huge cat, Manda fumbled blindly with her right hand for a rock or stick she could throw. She was able to find a fist sized rock after a bit of searching and clutched it to her chest. As she clenched her hand tightly around it, a fresh torrent of blood gushed from the wound in her arm. She paused uncertainly. What if throwing the rock just provoked it? She decided she had to try and hope for the best.

With a trembling hand she threw the rock as hard as she could. Her aim was good, but the cat ducked aside at the last moment, avoiding her throw. It didn’t run away, but nor did it spring at her. Instead it sat back down and watched her with its ears laid back slightly and its tail twitching in agitation.

“Please, just go away,” Manda whispered in desperation. “Just go away. Please. Where are you, Richard?” Tears froze on her cheeks unnoticed. What had happened to him?

The cat flinched at the sound of her voice and began pacing restlessly back and forth. Manda inched cautiously to one side, hoping to put the tree between herself and the cougar, but her injured ankle bumped against a projecting rock and she gasped in pain before she could stop herself.

The cat’s attention immediately snapped back to her and the twitching of its tail grew more violent. Gradually its eyes closed and its head drooped down, as if it were very tired. It stood that way for several minutes, and Manda began to wonder if perhaps it were injured. Then, opening its eyes again, it stared at her. Her gaze locked on the lion’s piercing eyes and she swallowed, her throat suddenly dry.

That was when Manda blacked out. One moment she was looking into the feline gaze of the cougar and the next she was being nudged back to consciousness by a warm nose against her cheek and found herself staring into a familiar pair of soft brown eyes. She blinked several times, but the huge mountain lion was gone and a large, wolfish dog was standing over her.

Manda gasped in disbelief. It was the stray she’d befriended at her house. She blinked again. Was she dreaming? She was in a great deal of pain, which seemed to argue against unconsciousness. “Is that you, boy?”

The dog whined and thumped his tail against the ground, looking at her with an expression that could only be called pleading. She must have blacked out for a moment while the dog frightened the lion away. She didn’t know how he’d gotten there, but she was grateful nonetheless. Surely this must mean that his owner was nearby.

“I’m glad to see you.” The dog pressed himself against her body, and she welcomed the warmth that radiated from his shaggy coat. He sniffed gently at the cut above her ear and whined.

“I’m okay, boy,” she assured him weakly. “Just a little cold.” Her body trembled uncontrollably, as if to emphasize this. The sleeve of her coat gaped open where the lion’s claws had slice through it and blood from the gashes slicked her arm and hand. The pain was dull now, numbed by the cold of the air. The frigid wind sliced through her, chilling her to the bone, and the dog whined again, more urgently.

“I’m tired, boy. I don’t suppose you could find Richard for me?” The adrenaline had worn off and a fog was descending on her mind, though she struggled against it. “I need to find him.” Tears were freezing in Manda’s eyelashes. The dog licked her face vigorously, startling her back into alertness, pushing the fog back a bit. He nuzzled her left hand insistently, and she opened it, letting Richard’s car keys drop to the ground so she could wrap her left arm around the dog’s thickly furred shoulders. As soon as the keys dropped from her numb fingers however, he snatched them up in his mouth and darted away, racing off through the trees.

“Wait!” Manda called, but she could barely hear her own weak voice over the sound of the wind. “Come back! Don’t go!” The dog kept running and was soon out of sight. Manda choked back a sob. She was alone, and even if the dog’s owner were near, he would never hear her. “Richard! Where are you?”

Dizziness and cold threatened to overcome Manda, and she struggled to remain alert. She had to do something or there was a very real possibility that she could die here. They had come far enough from the car that no one was likely to happen by or hear her even if they did drive by on this remote road, and she had left her cell phone in the car...right next to Richard’s. Reception had been spotty and they hadn’t intended to be away from the car long.

Manda knew she couldn’t just sit there and hope for someone to come. She had to get to her phone. She could try to call for help then and someone could come and find Richard. Something must have happened to him. She would have to get to the car. She could warm up there until someone came, or if she couldn’t call out, she could drive to help. Then she remembered that the dog had run away with the car keys and despair threatened to defeat her.

Manda gritted her teeth against the hopelessness and confusion. Okay, she couldn’t start the car and warm up, but she could get to her phone. She would throw a rock through the window if she had to. First, though, she had to make it to the car. Manda slipped Richard’s wallet into her coat pocket, unwilling to leave even that small part of him behind, and began crawling laboriously up the steep slope.

Chapter 23

M
anda had made it to the outcrop of rock and was leaning against it, gasping from the pain, when she heard running footsteps approaching. Relief made her lightheaded. Someone was coming!

“Help!” she called, but it came out little more than a hoarse croak. “I’m over here! I need help!” Whoever it was could phone for help and then look for Richard.
Please, oh please, let him be okay.

As if conjured by her thoughts, Richard raced around the rocks and dropped to the ground at her side.

“Manda,” he groaned, pulling her close in a fierce hug. “I’m so sorry.”

“Richard! Are you all right?” she managed through numb lips. She clung to him, shivering violently.

“I have to get you back to the car,” he growled roughly. Somewhere he’d gotten a blanket and he wrapped it around her gently. Then he scooped her up in his arms, as if she were a rag doll, and ran. He sped through the snowy forest so quickly and sure-footedly that Manda thought, again, that she must be dreaming. He jumped over obstacles and dodged around trees smoothly, barely jostling her. She gripped the front of his shirt with her left hand and pressed her face into his chest. She was so cold, and his coatless body was blessedly warm.