Jennifer rolled over in pain. "Emily?" she called faintly but her sister was gone. She tried to sit up but twisted in pain, her leg was broken. Next to her, her horse was laying still. Judging by the position of her legs, three of them were broken too. "It's okay Ginger, just try to stay with me, everything will be ok, don't worry," Jennifer whispered to the horse.
Suddenly a twig cracked behind the trees. "Emily?" she tried to say out but it only came out as a whisper.
"Hello? Is anyone there?" the voice was not Emily's, it was too deep, a mans voice. Jennifer knew enough about men to know not to trust them. Ignoring the pain in her leg she managed to crawl behind a tree. Quivering with fear she watched the figure approach the horse. He looked around before crouching next to her. "Hello," he said to Ginger, stroking her neck. "Are you alone?" He looked around again and another figure appeared out of the woods. The second figure turned out not to be a human at all. It was, in fact, a wolf. The wolf came up behind the man causing Jennifer to gasp, the wolf was about to kill this guy right before her eyes! To her amazement though, he stroked it. "I think I've found us dinner," he said to the wolf.
Ginger neighed in pain and attempted to look at the mans face. The stranger took another look around to see if the horse had any owner, then glided his rough hand down her neck. He thought for a second before taking out knife out of his pocket. Then, he plunged it into the horse's chest.
This caught Jennifer completely off guard and she gasped.
"Who's there?" The man stood up defensively and cautiously approached the tree where Jennifer was hiding. She flattened herself against the rough trunk and curled up her legs, silent tears stream down her face. "Hello?" A shadow was cast over her and she looked up to the stranger standing over her. "Are you Ok?" he asked.
Jennifer looked up and was just able to see his face in the moonlight. He looked about 18, a year older then her. His face was well built and muscular. His eyes were a deep brown and his hair the same color. His clothes were torn and stained with sweat. His long russet hair reached down to his shoulder framing his face nicely. "What are you doing here?" He reached out his large, callused hand to help her up. She cowered away eyeing the bloodied knife in the other hand. "It's ok, I'm not going to hurt you," he said with a hint of humor in his voice. He wiped the knife on his pants and stuffed it into his pocket. "Was that your horse?"
She nodded, still unsure about whether or not she could trust him. "I'm sorry, it looked like its legs were broken, and I didn't know what else to do." He looked at her torn clothes, and then at the steep hill from which she had fallen. "Did you fall?" He asked curiously. Jennifer nodded and looked down at her leg as a shot of pain crawled up from her toes to her neck; her face cringed in pain. The stranger looked back up at the drop, "wow that's a big fall, what were you even doing in the woods in the middle of the night?" She didn't answer. He started to bend over to help her up but she cowered away. "Okay, here," He was looking down at her leg, "how 'bout you let me help you clean up that leg of yours and we'll talk about this later." She realized she didn't have any other choice just as a searing pain shot through her leg once more.
She nodded, wincing. He smiled and leaned over to help her up. She was reluctant to let him touch her but was unable to get up herself. Gingerly, he lifted her. He carried her through the woods, the wolf panting happily behind them. She liked the feeling of his arms as he cradled her, they were warm and comfortable. She felt like she could doze off right there.
Finally, once they came into a clearing, Jennifer was shocked at what she saw. She was just able to make out an adorable little wooden cabin was nestled in the trees. "You live here?" She breathed.
"Now you talk," he smiled, amused, "yes, this is where I live. I came here, found this cabin, fixed it up, and now it's my home," he smiled again, proud of himself. He brought her through the door of the cabin and they entered into a small room. He laid her down on a small bed. It was so soft and comfortable she felt like she could fall asleep right there. Well, until she felt the pain in her leg again. She winced as he placed her.
"Here," he went into a small homemade box and pulled out a long cloth. He kneeled at the end of the bed and carefully tended her leg, wrapping the cloth around it. "I'm Mike by the way," he said looking up at her.
"Jennifer" she whispered before slipping into sleep.
