"Bye-bye little butterfly."
As soon as the words rolled from her tongue, Angela's eyes absorbed the world around her. She was no longer plagued with tunnel-vision and dreams. Reality set in. And that reality? Well, it was hardly one she was expecting.
Her hands tightened around the reins. Just... just where was she?
Spinning her head around, she tried to get a fix on her location, which was proving easier said than done. All around her sat some of the tallest pines she'd ever seen. Each looming tree cast large, dark shadows in the rather eerie forest she found herself in.
"Jack," her lip quivered, "why would you take me here?"
Where the rumors about the butterflies lies? Maybe butterflies were like foxes-sly and cunning, leading you away from the safety of familiarity. Or perhaps they were like ravens? Symbols of death, guiding you into the next life.
"Jack," her hands wrapped around those reins even tighter to the point where her knuckles turned white.
Fear began to set in, taking over her starving form. She never ate lunch (or breakfast for that matter) and after spending hours in the baking sun, her mind was starting to fray.
"No," she shook her head firmly. "This isn't like Jack." She shook her head again. "He would never hurt me." As she rubbed her eyes, she tried to refocus. She tried to collect herself. Prepare herself for whatever came next.
Only, the darkness around her made it hard to find hope. To find the light.
Nervously, she gulped down the lump that had recently formed in her throat. No matter which way she looked, nothing was familiar. Every tree was completely different. Not even the ground looked turned over, which meant following her original path would be impossible.
"Light," she sucked in her shaky breath, "ning." She leaned in closer, trying to calm herself with the horse's strawy mane. "Wh-where are we?"
Owlishly, she swiveled her head while blinking her large azure orbs. She was lost. Absolutely lost.
A light rumble caused her head to snap up. The sky was darkening-and for two reasons. The first being the obvious sound of a storm blowing in and the second being the common knowledge that it was no longer the afternoon. In fact-
Her body shivered. Arms wrapping around herself, she rattled her teeth.
It was getting late. Cold and late.
During the day, it wasn't impossible for it to reach the 90s. But at night? And with this cold front blowing in? Why, they'd be lucky if it stayed in the 70s.
"Shit," the word just rolled from her lips. "Shit, shit, shit." Her brows furrowed as she tried to come up with some sort of game plan. She had to get out of this forest. She had to find shelter.
The groaning of the pines caused her eyes to widen further.
"Wind?"
Oh god, what did the radio say? Her lips pursed as she tried to roll her eyes back into her mind. As if that would help her remember what she heard.
"Heavy winds, lightning, possibility for hail."
That much she recalled and truly that was more than enough information.
"We've got to get out of here," she whispered though her voice was drowned out by the moaning of the swaying trees. "Now," her bare heels butted lightly into her mare's side. "Yah!" At this point, anywhere was better than here. If Lightning could make a break for a clearing, that would have to suffice.
Sure enough, the horse took off in a mad frenzy. Much like her rider, Lightning felt the air pressure change. The temperature was falling rapidly too. And the woman on her back? She could sense every nerve that coursed through her veins. It was enough to put Lightning on high alert.
As the trees became nothing but blurry lines, Angela felt her heart pick up the pace. She was nervous, trembling. She'd never done this before. Or rather, she'd never done this alone. And especially with no supplies. She had no shoes. She hardly wore anything. She hadn't eaten since 7PM last night. She had no medkit on her. No backpack with rope or knives. No means of making a fire.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
"There," Angela's body leaned to the left some. Guiding Lightning, they eventually broke from the forest into a clearing.
It was hardly a clearing though. If anything, it was about the size of a 40x40 room. It was small, but at least it was open. It would also give her a chance to look up at the sky. If she could catch a glimpse of the setting sun, she could figure out which way was west.
Not that west would help. She had no idea where home was.
"Idiot," she berated herself. She hadn't brought a compass. She hadn't brought water. She hadn't brought snacks. She just ran off. Ran off because someone suggested they romp between the sheets of her ex-lover's bed. Because she let him get close. Felt him up. Let him whisper suggestive ideas.
"Fuck you, 76," she growled. It all stemmed back to him. All of it.
Tears started to roll down her cheeks again.
She wasn't being fair. She knew she wasn't being fair to the mysterious 76. The 76 that bent over backward to help her. The 76 that was always there to listen to her woes. The 76 that took her son fishing. The 76 that saved her from the nasty frog. The 76 that got close, close enough to make her feel whole again.
SNAP!
Her head jerked behind her. Something snapped a twig. Lightning's ears flung forward as Angela's eyes sought out whatever made that noise.
SNAP!
Angela's heart went into double time. It thundered within her chest. Just... just what was out there? Perhaps the clearing wasn't the best idea? Maybe the forest was saver?
Lightning seemed to have the same idea. Bolting forward, the horse took off. It broke into a mad dash toward the safety of the treeline. If they could put some distance between whatever lurked in the forest, maybe they stood a chance.
Darkness swallowed them again. The forest was still. Quiet, too quiet.
"Whoa," Angela tried to slow the horse down. Stroking the pinto, she tried to brush away her nerves. But, if anything, it made the situation worse. Lightning was feeding off Angela's fear. A horse always knows what it's rider is thinking and Angela was swarming with nervous vibes.
Something rustled the bushes not too far off. Hands drawing back, she tried to shield her body. Whatever it was, it was getting closer. Closer and cl-
Her body was in free fall. The world around her seemed to slow. As her blue orbs pulled from the bush to Lightning, she saw her body flying off the back of the horse and falling harshly against the needled floor below. Her side collided first with the earth, which was soon followed up by her head.
Body smacking against the ground, all the air in her lungs came out in a sharp, hissing sound. Wincing, she tried to pry herself from the forest floor but found the pain from the fall too much to handle. Her head was spinning. Her body aching. Everything, everything hurt.
Outstretching a hand, she reached for the bucking, wild creature. Lightning was absolutely terrified.
"L-L," oh god did it hurt to talk. "Lightning," she tried to calm the horse. Hand out, she stroked the horse's powerful leg.
The moment it happened, Angela regretted it. That massive hoof came kicking back, just missing Angela's head. Rolling, tumbling, escaping, Angela put some space between she and the spooked horse.
"Light," she tried again but a crack of thunder about 5-miles off sent the horse over the edge. Away it ran and with such speed and vigor that Angela had no means of ever catching it.
"LIGHTNING," she cried out one last time before the realization that she was truly alone set in.
Body jerking and breath falling into quick, sharp gulps, she fought to get up. She knew she had to move but her ribs burned and her head throbbed. She's never fallen off a horse but she equated it to the same sensation of getting shot. That brief moment when your body loses control followed by the seething pain of actually taking a bullet. The way the body swelled with emotions and hormones. They way one's senses heightened so every little thing seemed like a big ass deal!
Wincing, she clenched her jaw. She had to get u-
SNAP!
Whatever stalked her was close. Dangerously close. Clearly they hadn't run far away.
Seizing the nearest stick, she swung it madly. "YOU WANNA PIECE OF THIS," she yelled. Though every ounce of her body trembled. She was not ready for this. She did not want to die.
What laid within these Indiana forests? What did Jack always tell her to be wary of?
Badgers, bobcats, coyotes, foxes.
Yup, none of them sounded fun. And with the world so topsy-turvy due to omnics and war, she couldn't help but wonder if a lone robot crawled within the forest. Or worse! A mad man.
"Oh Jack," her eyes closed tightly as she held that stick at arm's length. If this didn't work, she'd be joining him soon.
The rustling intensified. Another twig snapped. It was coming.
It was coming!
"AHHHH!" She screamed, still refusing to open her eyes to see just what was going to kill her.
Then it came. Death.
A cold, wet death pressed against her cheek. And then came a lapping, coarse...
She opened her eyes.
Tongue.
Tongue?! Since when did death have a tongue?
A pair of floppy ears fell every which way as a tail happy wagged behind the massive brown and black coat.
"A-Avery?" Her hands cleared away the tears that blurred her vision.
She had to be dreaming. She was definitely dead.
But that...that looked just like Jack's dog, Avery. The one she saved over 7 years ago
No. No, it wasn't Avery. Avery ran away about a year ago. He should have been dead. And yet, there she was, staring down that loving, sweet face of an old friend.
"Avery," her hands clasped neatly around his thinned face. "Oh my god," the tears fell from her eyes again. Burying her face in his soft fur, she smiled happily. "Oh Avery," she rubbed him before pulling him in closer. "Oh am I ever glad to see you."
His tail wagged happy, thumping endearingly against her thigh. "Yes, yes." He littered her face with kisses. "Yes, I missed you too."
He must have gotten lost? Though, from the way he smelled, it didn't appear so. He was rich with the scent of baby shampoo. Maybe someone else took him in?
Her hands sought out his collar. Sure enough, it wasn't there.
"Avery," she gave him one of her coy smiles, "did you lose your collar?"
He barked.
"And did some stranger take you in."
His growl-like yelp-bark followed.
"So you didn't run away, did you?"
He yelped happily before jumping a bit.
"Did you?! Someone stole you from us!"
He pawed at the ground before flopping lazily in front of her, belly completely exposed.
"You nut," she laughed before giving him that much needed love.
"Avery?" She cupped his cheeks between her hands, "do you know where home is?"
His upper lip got trapped behind his lower tooth. He looked derp as fuck. Then, his ear flickered forward before falling back down. Turning curtly, he sniffed the ground a bit before barking and pointing in the direction she and Lightning just came from.
"Wait," Angela crawled forward, still too afraid to stand up for her ribs were mighty tender, "are you saying you can get me home?"
His tail wagged before a plethora of blissful barks followed.
"Oh Avery," she exclaimed happily. "Let's go ho-"
KA-BOOM!
A cascading roll of thunder shook the land. As it growled and moaned, Angela looked to the sky.
It was dark. Very dark with flickers of purple light dancing above the clouds.
"Shit," she bit her lip. "We need to get a move on."
Gingerly, she moved up onto her knees before hobbling onto her toes. Her body truly ached but at least she was mobile. "L," she grit her teeth, "lead the way." Her jaw was clenched as she tried to fight through the pain.
She definitely twisted a rib with that fall.
Plip ploop. Plip plip plip. Plip ploop.
The faint sound of rain came but quickly ramped up. In just seconds, it went from lightly raining to a complete downpour. The kind of downpour where the rain stung as it struck your skin. Not even the pines could keep that much water from burning into Angela's flesh. And with each drop that fell against her tender skin, she winced.
It was so cold. So fast. So wet!
Slowly, she started to move forward. Avery took the lead, tail wagging as he led her home.
"Good boy," she cooed to him, while trying to shield her eyes from the rain. Though it didn't really help as large puddles were already starting to form all along the ground. The rain bounced right back up, soaking every inch of her form.
Shivering, she picked up the pace. If they hauled ass, maybe they could get him before the lightning started to really light up the dusk sky.
Then again, was it ever a good idea to run in the rain?
So focused on getting home, Angela lost track of her footing. Toes getting wedged beneath a raised root, she felt something in her ankle snap long before her body made contact with the mud. Hissing, her head jerked toward her caught foot. With one quick look, she could already assess the damage.
"Fuck," she chided.
Again, she winced. Slowly, she snaked her body back to where her foot was caught.
Hands moving to break it free, she yelped. Oh god, did that hurt! It was already swollen to twice its size and a nasty red color. It also felt like was at least 110 degrees.
Pathetic blue eyes fell on Avery. "No more running for me," she quivered. But hey, at least they covered quite a bit of distance.
Thankfully, Avery was a brilliant dog. Wandering off, he found a stick that was nearly the length of him. Dropping it at Angela's hand, he barked. "Th-thanks," she mustered up the strength to say. Though she wasn't sure she could even use this. Her leg hurt like fucking hell!
But hell, she had to try.
Positioning the stick in her right hand, her shaky body rose from the earth. Only to flop down in it a second later.
Avery whimpered, coming ever closer to the woman. His wet, cold nose pressed lightly against her tender ankle. He was trying to help and knew that she was injured.
"Maybe we crawl," she whispered. She didn't want to stop moving as she knew it would only make things worse. She needed to keep moving, keep the blood circulating. If any fluids pooled into her leg, it would just make things way worse.
Looping her arm over Avery's back, she pushed forward with her uninjured leg.
They could do this. Her knee would get torn to hell, but they could do this. She could drag her limp leg and use Avery as her crutch while her other leg tried to power through it all.
While squinting with the pain, she noticed a dark patch not too far down the trail from there. Up, on a rocky cliff, sat what looked like a cave.
"There," she pointed with grinding her teeth together. "We have to get up there."
For those interested in learning more about Avery, you can meet him in my "Tomorrow at 7" story!
