The Impostor, A Love Story (10 page)

As sunlight danced in a
rainbow of amber, a warmth came over me. I remembered how it felt
to bring color to an empty canvas. A smile emerged from
within. As the air
filled my lungs, I realized
there were no signs of impurities. I breathed the pure
air.

Emily and I trotted behind
Chris, taking in the view. After a while, the trail started going
steeply
downhill. My instincts told me to lean forward and
hold on with all my might.

“You want to lean back,” Chris corrected.
“If you lean forward, you will fall right off the horse, and then
he will trample you.”

Oh, how
wonderful
. That didn’t sound like
something that would fit into my perfect day.

I made a conscious decision not to look down
anymore. I could feel myself sliding toward the front end of the
horse. I knew I had to release my death grasp, and apprehensively,
I slowly leaned back until I was almost lying on the horse. My feet
in the stirrups felt as if they were standing.

I could feel every muscle
in my abs scream as I lay backward, simulating a stomach crunch as
we made the ninety-degree drop. Okay, so it wasn’t ninety degrees,
but that sucker was steep. Whispering a silent prayer like
HELP
! on the inside, I tried to remain calm, cool, and
collected on the outside. I held on tight, convinced my smooth
composure camouflaged my fear until I realized my yelps and
horrified
shit
comments may have given me
away.

As we got to the end of the
drop, I breathed that same refreshing Alaskan air, yet this time
with even more appreciation.
I almost
died, but I am alive. I am breathing. I am
breathing
!
Yes!
Okay, maybe it was more like
panting, but oh, how wonderful to be sitting upright on a horse
again.

“Oh, my god.” I could hear Emily behind
me.

I stared ahead. “Oh my god, it’s beautiful!”
I joined in her awe. We brought our horses to the river. Emily,
Chris, and I stood in paradise, captivated. The sanctuary was our
own.

The river stretched as far
as the eye could see. Hovering above, a mountain range caressed
the
river’s edge and sprouted all the way to infinity. The
trees—a sprinkling
of vibrant colors—not only
graced the mountainside, but their mirror-like reflection was
utterly perfect in the river below.

Every amber branch, every
sunset tree, every ruby leaf was painted as clear in the
water’s r
eflection as illustrated in the mountain
leaning over it. Colors for as far as the eyes could see, I just
sat there on this thousand-pound beauty, taking it all
in.

“You all hungry?” Chris
asked. He jumped off his horse with such ease, it seemed
choreographed. He started rummaging in a little pack he had on the
back of the horse. “I brought us something to eat.” He began
pulling things out of the pack like a Mary Poppin’s
sack
.

A bottle of wine, cheese
and crackers, and all sorts of goodies were in his magical bag. The
bundle, actually a blanket rolled up in a strategic way, became a
picnic blanket for the three of us
. We dined, the
masterpiece our backdrop as we drank
wine,
laughing and soaking up the magic.
Chris made a little
fire—not that we were cold, but it was just nippy enough.

I glanced at Emily. Her face radiated like it
did when we were kids hearing the music of the neighborhood ice
cream truck. I felt weird being the third wheel. This could have
been so romantic for Emily, but she wouldn’t have gone alone into
the woods with him, and they seemed not to mind.

“We best be heading out. We
don’t want to have to ride back in the dark.”
Getting ready
to go back, we burned all of our trash and packed away everything
else, leaving
this paradise as God made
it—perfect.

When I dismounted, I hadn’t thought about
the challenge of getting back on. I glanced around for a large rock
or a downed tree to stand on. With his hands clasped together,
Chris bent over, making a stepping harness so I could hoist myself
back into the saddle. Then he turned to Emily to help her. It
actually proved to be less terrible than I had anticipated.

I didn’t want to leave this
hidden sanctuary. As we followed Chris back up the path, I peeked
back one last time.
So
beautiful
.

Our downward descent became an upward climb.
I didn’t say anything, but I was a little nervous to be so high off
the ground as we climbed.

“Lean forward and let the horses find their
footing as we power walk the incline,” Chris yelled back.

When we got to the top, the shadows had
already begun to overtake the forest. Night was falling fast, and
we were miles from the barn.

Through the trees, the moon revealed
herself, pure white. Only the dim light of the setting sun graced
the horizon. The twilight-purple sky, although mesmerizing, became
intimidating as well.

The sounds of twilight were
much different than those of daylight. The choir of crickets and
frogs almost drowned out the birds’ gentle serenades
. Owls
and god-knows-what-else
soon joined in the
symphony. The unknown voices were a little haunting.

“I don’t want you girls riding in the dark.
We really have to pick up the pace.”

“Pick up the pace? I already feel weird
traveling through the shadows on this giant horse, and you want me
to go faster?”

As the words left my lips, Chris kicked his
horse and galloped off. Emily’s horse followed. My horse just
stopped. Chris and Emily were soon out of sight.

“Misty, come on.” I tried
kicking her harder
, feeling so guilty doing it, but the
noises
grew more intense now that I was alone in
the woods
. Chills crept down
my back. The
trees that greeted me in the day seemed to have a different
personality at night. The shadows cast faces upon the
bark—almost coming alive
.

“Go, Misty, go,” I begged
her. I tried kicking her again. “Stupid horse.” I couldn’t believe
they’d left me. I had no idea where to go. It seemed we only went
down this one path, but maybe we turned somewhere. I had just
been
following, my attention
on the views
and on the horse.

“This is not the time to
stop, girl. Let’s go.” I tried yanking the reigns. Misty grew
restless, yet she still wouldn’t move forward. The feeling of being
watched grew even stronger. Silence. Only the sound of the dusk,
the sound of my breath, of my horse’s breath
, the sound of
night.

My head darted in the direction of a snapped
twig. I realiz
ed I was not alone. Many things
prowl in the Alaskan wilderness—bears, wolves, . .
.killers?

“Come on, Misty, let’s go. Where the hell
did they go?”

“Emily,” my pitiful voice cried out.

“Emily!” She wouldn’t leave me here alone to
die. I finally got Misty walking again.

Every noise seemed to echo. I heard more tree
branches being broken under the weight of something. I turned.
What lurked out there
?

All of a sudden, something spooked Misty, and
she stood on her hind legs, bucking me off her back. I crashed onto
the ground, landing in a patch of leaves. Misty raced off without
me. I laid there for a moment in disbelief.

I was in the
woods
—alone
. Soft footsteps crushed the
dry leaves as if trying to go undetected. What did we really know
about Chris? Maybe he was trying to separate Emily and me so that
he could kill each of us.

We were about an hour from
Anchorage, in the
woods. A vision flashed into my
head—running through the woods, tripping over a dead body. Chills
went up my spine as my mind played tricks on me.
If I screamed
would anyone hear me
?

I turned, focusing on the shadows surrounding
me and saw them. The
moonlight caught the eyes
of
something peeking out from
behind one
of the trees. They were human eyes. I lay motionless and searched
the forest. Where would I run? I cautiously rose to my feet. The
eyes were gone. I heard
another noise
. My
body jolted around.

“Chris?” My voice quivered,
knowing that the serial killer hunted his victims. No one returned
my call. “Chris?” My
scream
became frantic
as I turned in each direction of the sounds coming at me. I stared
closer and again saw the eyes peering out at me.
Shrieking
a
t the top of my lungs, I sprinted deeper into
the trees. Stumbling on an exposed
root, I hit the forest
floor. From the ground, I watched for the eyes.
Where was
he
? My breath was
erratic. The thumping sound
of my heart invaded my ears.

“Emily?”

Trying to stand, I found my
ankle entangled in the branches.
Trapped
. The footsteps crept closer.
I struggled to free my foot.

“Emily! Chris!” I screamed.
The figure edged closer
, still hiding
in
the shadows.

“Chris! Emily!” I broke
some of the branches, but vines tangled around my
foot and
prevented an escape. The figure came closer. I
yanked at my foot
, trying harder to release it.

Frantically, I screeched, “Help! Help!” Tears
drenched my face. The man seemed to stalk like a panther, taunting
me as if playing a game.

“Help me!” I screeched, hoping someone heard
my cries.

I screamed again
hysterically as I thrust my foot, trying to loosen the binding of
the branches. The
image grew
larger, about
to over take me. Out of fear, I closed my eyes.

“Nicole?” someone spoke. The voice sounded
familiar. “Nicole, is that you?” My pulse screamed through my body.
I looked up.

“Steve? Thank god! Oh my god. Oh my god. Did
you see someone? I think someone was watching me.”

“What are you doing here? What did you do to
yourself? It’s almost dark. You shouldn’t be here alone. Why are
you out here alone?”

“The stupid horse threw me.”

“That’s terrible. Are you all right?”

“I’m stuck. I don’t know how, but I can’t
get out.”

“Here,
let me help
you.” He took a hunting knife out of his pack. The blade glistened
in the moonlight. I shook as he approached me.

“What . . . what are you doing out here?” I
tried to hide the terror in my voice.

“Camping. Randy is setting up camp. We’re
going hunting in the morning.” He got closer. My eyes focused on
the jagged blade as he moved toward me.

Alone. Afraid. I grabbed onto the forest
floor as if I were holding someone’s hand for protection.

He stuck the blade into
the
branches. I gasped as he
cut the
vines. I was free.

“Oh my god. Thank you so much.” I wrapped my
arms around him, giving him a hug. “I was so scared.”

“We need to get you
home. It’s getting
dark. Come back to camp with
me, and I’ll get the truck.”

Just then, I heard it—the sound of angels. A
hard, deliberate thumping noise sprinted straight for me. I hoped
Chris would appear with Emily.

“Nicole,” Chris called out.

“Chris
,
” I sighed.

“Thank you, Steve. It seems my ride has
returned.”

“Okay, if you are sure you’re okay.”

“Thank you again.”

He slipped back into the darkness of the
trees and out of sight as Chris got to me.

“What happened to
you
?” Chris held the reigns
of my horse in
his hands.
But where was
Emily
? I began to wish I hadn’t let Steve
go.

“She bucked me off.” I didn’t want to get
back on. I could still feel the bruises from my fall.

“You have to listen to me.” Chris jumped off
the horse to help me on mine. “We gotta get back to Emily. I don’t
like you all being alone in the dark. Listen to me, I’m serious,” I
nodded as he continued. “We are going to be going downhill, fast.
It’s dark and you will not be able to see the branches. Remember
how we laid back on the horse when we were going downhill?”

“Yes.”

“You have to do that. Lean back and grab the
mane. You will not be able to see anything, and if you lift your
head, you could get hit by a branch and get a concussion—or worse.
Trust your horse, lay back, and hold on with your thighs. You have
to lay back.”

“I can’t even get my stupid horse to trot,”
I mumbled under my breath.

“You ready?”

“
I . . . I guess.”
With that, he swatted the back of my horse and
Misty darted off. She raced downhill so fast I thought I’d fall
off.
Shit
! The
trees branches swished over my head as if they were trying to
decapitate me.

Lay back
. That is what he said to do—lay back and don’t die
!
Traveling like a roller coaster in the dark, I
had no idea where we were going. I had no idea when we were
turning; I just heard the branches pass over me like they were
taking swings at my head.

Hold on Nicole, hold
on
. My ab
muscles felt tight.
Before I knew it, the ground leveled out and I
could sit upward. Misty continued bolting toward the barn, so I
leaned in.

Da dada, da
dada
. The hooves’ echo had a certain
beauty to the rhythm.
Da dada, da
dada
. We would soon be safe.
Da dada, da dada
. I
could see Emily up ahead.
Da dada, da
dada
. Could that be the barn? I proceeded
closer.
Oh shit how do I
stop
?
Seriously
how do I stop
?
Da
dada, da dada
. Misty kept running.
Doesn’t she see the fence
?
What do I do
?