The Truth About Kadenburg (5 page)

Five

N
othing sucked more than being frightened back
into a sober state. Presley was cold, wet, and she had no idea what direction
she was going in. If only she’d paid attention in Geography-or even History
for that matter. She knew one of them taught a person how to follow the North
Star.

Her vision was still blurry. Maybe it was the alcohol,
or maybe it was just the hot tears that refused to stop falling. Her teeth
chattered as she hugged her arms around herself and carefully placed one foot
in the front of the other. It was pitch black. She couldn’t even see her own
hand in front of her face. She was certain she’d crossed back to the other
side of the water at some point. She didn’t even
know
if it was Jessen River.
The river
and
a creek ran on either side of Jessen Bend Road. She
couldn’t be sure about which side Jim had gone off on.

Great. He was going to die because she had gotten
herself lost. God, who trusted her with these things? She clenched her
jawline in an attempt to make the chattering stop, listening to an owl hoot in
the distance.

I wish I was an owl,
she thought as she nearly
toppled over a fallen branch. She reached her left hand out on instinct and winced
from the pain that reminded her she was injured.
If I was an owl, I could
just fly to where I needed to be. I could save Jim’s life by being an owl.

She lifted her green eyes to the sky, hoping to catch
sight of a light pole, somewhere. She had to be near the road-there wasn’t
anywhere else for her to go! She was following the river..or maybe it was the
creek. She could’ve easily gotten back in to see how deep it was, but who
wanted to mess around with trying to drown themselves after just surviving a
car wreck?

I’ll pass,
she thought as she stopped for a
moment to catch her breath. She lifted her left wrist again to squeeze her
fingers around it gently. Maybe it wasn’t sprained. Maybe she’d broken it and
it was numb now. That would explain why the pain was dulling, wouldn’t it?

“Don’t lose your mind right now,” She pleaded with
herself. “You’ve got to get out of here and find help. You have to get Jim to
a hospital.”

Again she wondered why people trusted her with such
things. Why did fate have a twisted sense of humor when it came to her life?
All she wanted was to make a little money and get out of Dodge. That’s all she
was asking for. She hadn’t been home a week and already she had gotten herself
into trouble.

Why did I decide to drink tonight?
She wondered
as she continued along the path near the rushing water.
Oh, right. I can’t
handle things.
Which was true-she
couldn’t
handle what had happened
to her. She didn’t know how any woman handled
that
. She shifted
uncomfortably as she tried to hug her hoodie tighter around her body. The
fabric was drenched and it wasn’t doing her any good. If anything, it made her
colder. Her blonde curls were dark from saturation, clinging against her
chilled flesh as she took another step before stilling immediately. What was
that? She’d heard a noise.

Probably a rabbit or something,
she thought as
she turned her head towards the direction of the trees. No, there it was
again. She could hear the leaves crunching as if someone was stepping on
them. Oh god. What if this was like all of the cheesy horror flicks where a
crazed killer decided to take refuge in a small country town? What if she was
his next victim? What if he targeted blonde women?

Presley held her breath as she quickly moved towards a
tree, pressing her back against it as she eased her head around it to peer into
the darkness. Silence. Where did the crunching noise go?

She could feel her heart hammering against her ribcage
as she let her head fall back against tree once again. She kept her hands at
her sides, ignoring the fact she was cold as she willed her breathing to remain
as slow as possible. That was the mistake a lot of women made in the movies.
The loud breathing was always a dead giveaway, and quite frankly, she didn’t
intend on dying.

You are freaking out over nothing,
her mind
stated and Presley couldn’t help but to roll her eyes.

“Broad imagination,” she whispered to herself as she
licked her lips. That’s all it was. Her imagination was getting the best of
her. She’d just been through an extremely traumatic experience and the alcohol
was still in her system. It made sense.

Pushing away from the tree, Presley continued on her
way alongside the water, her eyes searching the dark night sky as she counted
her steps. One, two, three…

Crunch.

Okay, she wasn’t imagining things.
She
definitely
heard it that time. Presley whirled around and froze
instantly as she met piercing silver eyes that belonged to the largest beast
she’d ever been this close to in her life. She felt her heart drop into her
stomach as she took a step back.

This is the part where I turn to run,
she told
herself as she heard the deep rumbling growl coming from the wolf. She felt
her knees going weak, trying to give way as she reached out to grab for the
tree again. She missed entirely and fell to the ground.
Typical Hollywood!
She thought as she scrambled to push herself up from the ground. The added pressure
to her wrist made her cry out as pain shot through her arm once more.

Don’t worry about your stupid arm! Worry about the Big
Bad Wolf eyeballing you right now.

Her breathing was growing
shallow as she turned her eyes to the wolf again. It hadn’t moved towards her
yet. Maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe it would turn and run away. A wolf could be
just as scared of her as she was of it, right?

She licked her suddenly dry lips as she took another
step backwards. And another.
Good wolf,
she thought to herself.
Just
stay where you are. I am not a tasty snack.

Her skin was beginning to burn
and she suspected it was because her blood pressure was rising. Whose wouldn’t
at a time like this? She had to keep herself calm or else the wolf would
attack in defense.
I will never drink again if you just let me walk away
from this.
She whispered in her mind as she stared up at the sky.

Ugh. What was that smell? The stench was floating into
her nostrils and she felt like she would gag because of it. Was it the wolf?
She made a small face as she took another step back and watched in horror as
the wolf took a step forward. Again, the growl sounded from him as his mouth
opened to reveal the razor sharp fangs he possessed. Two perfect rows of flesh
tearing, bone crushing fangs.

“Oh god,” she whispered under her breath as she
stumbled backwards. She would never again make fun of women in movies. Trying
to escape a predator was not as easy as people would think. Her back hit the
ground, hard, and the wind was knocked from her lungs as she gasped.

The wolf let out a howl that sent shivers down her
spine and Presley shut her eyes tightly as she braced herself for the attack.
What
bull crap,
she thought.
Survive a car wreck just to be eaten.
Was
that how zombie apocalypse survivors would feel?

As she anticipated the unimaginable pain of being
ripped to shreds, another loud growl made her eyes pop open. That was
not
the wolf’s growl.

Presley’s eyes widened in surprise and disbelief as a
large-and she did mean
large
-bear came out of nowhere, standing back on
its hind legs as its gigantic paws lashed out to smack the wolf away from her.

Great. She was saved from one of nature’s most
ferocious creatures only to be killed by another. Why did the universe hate
her so much?

Presley kicked her feet against the ground, scooting
backwards as she ignored the streaks of hot pain scorching up to her elbow. If
she was going to die, it wouldn’t be like a helpless damsel in distress. She
would at least
try
.

The wolf had regained his footing as he turned his
attention to the bear. Presley could make them out as the moon appeared above
the treetops and shined down against them. The near-white wolf’s fangs were
exposed again as he snapped them at the bear, drool dripping from them as he
scraped his claws against the ground. The bear was standing on all fours, its
mouth open as it revealed its razor sharp teeth in return. They were trying to
intimidate each other, and Presley saw her window of opportunity.

She pushed herself up from the ground and broke out
into a run. The moonlight was providing enough visibility for her to avoid
tripping over anything else. She tried to pace her breathing despite the fact
her chest ached. She still had a chance. She could do this.

Her wet clothes were weighing her down, but she was
determined to get away. She would do it for Jim. She would do it for
herself. She was panting heavily as she leapt over a large rock and then she
followed the bend which then broke out into a clearing. There weren’t any
trees in her way now. She was in a full sprint as she looked behind herself
briefly. They weren’t following her. Good.

The muscles in her legs were screaming at her as she
finally made it away from the woods. She could see a porch light just beyond
the scarce trees that remained.
I made it!
She thought happily as she
took only a moment to catch her breath.

Her tired legs carried her up onto the steps of the back
porch and she tugged open the screen door with the last ounce of strength she
had. She lifted her good hand, hitting her fist against the door as she
waited.

Her mind was so hazy. Her lungs hurt. Her legs
ached. Her wrist was throbbing. Everything was beginning to spin as
exhaustion caught up to her. She needed to use their phone and call 911. She
needed to let them know Jim needed help. She needed to tell them that wild
animals had tried to attack her. She needed to sleep.

Why weren’t they answering? Presley lifted her hand
yet again, pounding it against the door as she listened for footsteps. Someone
had
to be home. She let out a small whine as she leaned against the
door. Was this karma? Was she finally being punished for the harmless pranks
she’d pulled as a teenager?

“This isn’t happening,” she sobbed as she opened her
eyes to gaze down at her shoes. They were covered in mud and her toes were
soaked.
The only good pair of shoes I’ve got. Go figure,
she crinkled
her nose. If only she could sit down for a minute…

As her agitation grew stronger and her patience wore
thin, Presley reached for the doorknob. She curled her fingers around it,
intending to give it a firm shake to let some frustration out-but to her surprise
it
opened
.

Who left their door unlocked?

Even though the more intellectual voice in her mind
told her not to do it, Presley found herself pushing the door open and stepping
inside. The scent of tuna casserole immediately attacked her nostrils and her
stomach growled. She was
so
hungry.

How can you be thinking about food when Jim is hurt?
Her conscience asked. It did have a good point. Maybe she could call the
police and
then
eat some food. It would serve them right for leaving
their door unlocked!

Completely chilled to the bone and exhausted, Presley
wandered further into the home, exiting the kitchen and all temptation of
eating the tuna casserole as she entered the living room. She spotted the
house phone on the coffee table and immediately reached for it. Numb fingers
dialed the number as she lifted it to her ear.

“Nine one-one, what’s your emergency?” The male
dispatcher questioned.

“Uh, y-yes,” Presley started as she licked her lips
again. “I’m calling to report an accident in Kadenburg.”

“What kind of accident, Ma’am?”

“My friend drove off the road and went into the river.
He made it onto the shore but he’s hurt very badly. He’s very old, too. Can
you please send help?”

“Yes, Ma’am. Can you tell me what road he went off
of?”

Was this guy kidding? The
only
road a person
could go off of in Kadenburg!

“Jessen Bend Road,” Presley replied as she shrugged out
of her hoodie and let it hit the hardwood floor with a wet
plop
.

“What is your friend’s name?”

“Jim Proffitt.”

“Were you in the vehicle with Jim?”

“Yes, I was. I..I got out. I went for help but I got
lost.” She admitted guiltily. “I just need someone to help him, please.”

“What’s your name?”

She didn’t want her name involved in this. She was
already going to be in enough trouble as it was. She chewed her lower lip,
remaining perfectly silent as she contemplated her next move.

She hung up the phone.

The first thing that she decided to do was shed the wet
clothing. They were only making her freeze to death. If the car wreck and
hungry animals didn’t kill her, the temperature of her body would. Clad in
only her under clothes, Presley made her way into the kitchen to pull the
aluminum foil away from the bowl of tuna casserole on the stove. She inhaled
the scent as her mouth began to water.