The Novice Prey & The Daring Prey

Chapter Three-1

Chapter Three

It was the flickering light that woke her. Alexa stirred and groped for the pillow that wasn’t there, groped for the nice, soft comforter that wasn’t there either, and finally sat up, yawning. She looked around, disoriented, wondering where she was for a moment, and then remembered.

She had no way of telling what time it was, but the sun seemed to be pretty low in the sky. There was just enough of a gap in the foliage for it to shine through in places, and just enough of a breeze moving the branches to cause the flickering light that had awakened her. She stood up, stretched and looked around. She didn’t see anyone, and she didn’t hear anyone. She did hear some birds singing, and the faint sound of the wind in the trees sounded soothing. What would be more soothing was hot coffee. At home she had a coffeemaker with a timer set so that when she woke up the pot was almost ready and she could smell it in her bedroom. She couldn’t smell much of anything now, except for the pine trees. She had water, and some freeze-dried coffee, but she didn’t feel like going to all the trouble of heating up the water and stirring those brown granules into it. And once again, she missed her bathroom. A nice hot shower would do wonders for her right now, but there was none to be had, and the tiny creek was too small for a bath, even if the water hadn’t been too cold for her comfort.

She changed into fresh underwear, feeling singularly vulnerable about doing it outside. She took a look at her jeans and sweatshirt and decided she could wear them again today. Laundry was another thing she hadn’t thought about beforehand. She supposed she could wash out some things in the creek, but wasn’t sure just how effective that would be. It would probably have to do, though, since there weren’t any laundromats out here.

The last thing she did before setting out to explore was tidy up her little campsite and hide everything she was leaving behind under some leaf litter and pine needles she gathered up. She stepped back to have a look at her handiwork. If anyone took a good, close look they’d notice that something seemed to be under the stuff, but short of burying it she didn’t think she could do a better job. She checked to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything she intended to bring along on this excursion and set off, heading south. She didn’t have any particular reason for picking that direction. It was just that, since she didn’t know much about the area, one way seemed as good as any other. Anyway, the main road had to be off to the south somewhere, and she wanted to find out how far away it was if she could.

She didn’t find it, but as the morning wore on she noticed she was in an area where the trees grew thicker and she kept wandering off from her southward direction. She still didn’t see or hear anyone else, so after pausing to rest, munch on a trail bar, and do some thinking, she headed back the way she’d come. If she kept a little to the right, she should come to one or the other of her two caches, and she wanted to see if anyone else had found them.

When she came to a wide, grassy area she stopped. She didn’t remember seeing anything like it yesterday. Had she managed to get herself lost? She had a brief moment of panic before she told herself that the little stream had to be somewhere to the north of her, so if she just kept going that way she’d have to come across it sooner or later and then she’d know that she wasn’t lost any more. It sounded easy enough.

She was about to start across the grassy spot when she realized that she would be completely out in the open if she did, so instead she began to pick her way along the edge of it, keeping just inside the trees. This was actually kind of fun, she thought, and then wondered why she would think that. This was a brutal competition, one that she simply had to win. Well, maybe it could be fun at the same time. She picked her way around the clearing and was almost ready to head northwards again when she heard a noise behind her. She crouched down and whirled to see what had caused it.

The last thing she’d expected to see was Lynette dashing towards her across the clearing, but there she was, legs flashing, long hair flying. It didn’t seem like Lynette had seen her because she kept taking quick glances back over her shoulder, as if she was being chased by something…or someone. Oh, s**t! Why couldn’t she have run in some other direction? Alexa hunkered down behind a tree. It was too small for her to hide behind, but it did offer some concealment. She tried to look past Lynette to see if she could spot whatever she was running from. There weren’t supposed to be any bears or wolves in these woods, but you could never be sure.

She was so intent on looking that she didn’t realize that Lynette was still coming straight for her, apparently totally unaware that Alexa was there. Then Lynette crashed through the sparse shrubbery that ringed the clearing. Alexa tried to pull back, but it was too late. Lynette tripped over her and both of them went down. Lynette bounced back to her feet instantly. From the look on her face she was ready to fight. Alexa struggled to get up herself. One of Lynette’s knees had hit her in the head, and she was feeling dizzy and even a little nauseous.

“What the hell did you get in my way for?” Lynette hissed in a rasping whisper. She crouched down next to Alexa and looked out across the clearing. “Someone’s after me, you stupid bitch.”

“Sorry,” Alexa mumbled, though she didn’t really feel sorry since their collision was Lynette’s fault for not looking where she was going. It felt just a little too difficult for her to express herself that clearly at the moment. And it was probably more important for her to get up and get the hell away from here anyway, but doing that seemed to be even more difficult than expressing herself. She’d taken a hellacious whack to her head, but she’d had worse and the effects seemed to be passing.

“Stupid little b***h,” Lynette grumbled. “It’s your fault if I get caught.” She kept looking back the way she came. Alexa managed to sit up with her back against the tree. The small backpack she wore provided a little padding. She resisted the urge to tell Lynette that she hoped that she would get caught. Lynette was known for a short temper and taking Tae Kwon Do lessons.

“You okay?” Lynette asked, peering at Alexa.

“Yeah,” Alexa whispered back. “Just banged my head a little.”

“But you’re okay?”

“Yes.” Alexa wondered why Lynette was still asking.

“You ever heard the joke about the two guys being chased by a bear?” Lynette leaned closer, smirking.

“What?” Even for Lynette, that seemed to be a really strange thing to ask.

“Well, the punch line is when one guy says to the other: “I don’t have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you.” With that she hit Alexa hard in the pit of her stomach. Still a little groggy, Alexa had seen it coming, but too late to do anything about it. All of the air went out of her in a deep, pained grunt. Lynette snickered wickedly and started pulling Alexa’s trail boots off. Alexa tried to pull away, but didn’t seem to have the strength for it. Then Lynette stood up and dangled the short boots in her face by their laces.

“I just have to outrun you, you clumsy b***h,” Lynette taunted. Alexa made a feeble grab for her boots, but Lynette snatched them back out of reach.

“See you, Alexa,” she sneered as she set off at a long-legged trot. Alexa didn’t yet have the breath to call the skier even one of the nasty names that she wanted to. All she could do for now was try to remain still and hope that she wouldn’t be noticed if whoever was pursuing Lynette happened to come this way.

Time passed. Her head cleared, and while her stomach still hurt where Lynette had punched her, she could at least breathe normally again. She waited a while longer, but didn’t see or hear anything threatening. She did hear a blue jay screeching its head off about something, but that sounded like it was coming from a long ways off. Well, those birds got ticked off at just about anything.

Still sitting against the tree, she looked at her bootless feet. Her thick wool socks were still on them, but those wouldn’t provide much protection. And for all the extra items she’d packed for this contest, a spare pair of boots had not been on her list. She couldn’t possibly get around in these woods without shoes of some kind, but where could she get some?

Wait. Lydia had told her that she could get almost anything she needed from one of those trading posts, hadn’t she? Would that include footwear? She’d have to find out. It ought to be safe enough now for her to move.

Walking was difficult, and intermittently painful. Even when she tried to keep to areas covered with pine needles she kept finding sharp things hiding under them. She wound up moving very slowly and carefully, heading northwards towards the creek. She’d planned on moving her campsite today, but it would probably be dark by the time she got back there, so that was out. Right now she’d settle for just getting back to her sleeping bag.

“Well, hi there!”

Alexa froze and turned her head. He was sitting on a fallen log, almost in plain sight, but she’d been so intent on choosing where next to put her foot that she hadn’t seen him at all. He was dressed in well-worn and faded clothes, all in shades of brown and tan. He had short, dark-brown hair and a short beard a shade or two lighter. And he was smiling. Alexa lost it. She couldn’t possibly outrun him, and while he didn’t seem to be especially tall he had shoulders broad enough to suggest impressive physical strength, so she probably couldn’t effectively fight him off either. She fell to cursing Lynette to the skies, calling that nasty, vicious, devious, cheating, bullying, arrogant, self-absorbed, self-centered, mean, backstabbing, long-legged b***h every vile name she could think of. Once she ran out of words for Lynette, she rounded on the man, who by now was just sitting there in what she assumed was a stunned silence and unloaded on him. Finally she ran out of words again and paused to take a deep breath in case some other words occurred to her. To her surprise, he smiled at her again and held up a finger.

“Shh,” he said quietly. “Listen.” He looked up at the trees.

“Listen to what?” Alexa demanded. “I don’t hear anything.”

“Exactly,” he nodded, turning his attention back to her. “There was a blue jay following me around scolding at me. I think you either scared him off or he decided to leave the job to a professional.”

In spite of the situation, Alexa couldn’t help laughing, albeit unsteadily.

“Hi,” the man said again. “I’m Will. Will Longstreet. And you are?”

“Alexa,” she replied warily. “Alexa Marx. I won’t go easy, I warn you.” She took up a defensive stance, which was about all she remembered from the introductory karate lesson she’d taken some years ago. To her surprise, Will just laughed.

“Take it easy, Alexa Marx. I’m not after you. You aren’t even on my list.”

“List? What list?” Alexa relaxed, but only a little. He could just be trying to put her off guard.

“Oh. I guess you don’t know how the men’s half of the deal works.”

“Men’s half?” Alexa shook her head.

“Say, what happened to your shoes?” Will pointed. “Lose them somehow?”

“No,” Alexa spat. “They were stolen.”

“Uh-huh. Got another pair?”

“No,” Alexa replied.

“So you’re just walking around in your socks?”

“What else am I supposed to do? Just sit and wait to be found or rescued?”

“You have another pair of socks? With you?”

“Yes,” Alexa nodded. There was a pair stashed at the bottom of her backpack. “Why?”

“Well, if you put them on over the ones you’re already wearing it’ll give you a bit more protection.”

“Uh…thanks.”

“And try to walk only on the balls of your feet,” Will went on. “It’s hard on your calves after a while, but it won’t hurt your feet as much.”

“Uh…thanks again.” Alexa wondered who the hell this guy was: Some kind of guide or helper, waiting here to dispense wilderness advice to any woman who happened to pass by. No, wait, he couldn’t be.

“What did you mean about a list?” she demanded.

“Oh, that,” he chuckled. “There are more hunters out here than women to hunt. It’s usually that way. So to make it a little harder for us we have to pick our primary target and then a secondary one. We can’t just go after whoever we spot first. And we all have a one-woman bag limit.”

“And I’m not on your list?” Alexa asked.

“Well, no. You’re not.”

“Why not?”

“Really?” Will regarded her seriously. “You really want to know?”

“Yes, really,” Alexa replied, folding her arms.

“Well, okay,” Will shrugged. “You’re not bad looking, but your eyes are a little on the small side, aren’t they? And do you pluck your eyebrows, or are they just naturally that thin? And what’s with your hair?”

“What do you mean?” Alexa demanded, stung. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

“Well, it’s a nice dark blonde shade, I’ll give you that,” Will responded. “But geez, what’s with keeping it so short? Looks kinda like a boy’s butch haircut from the Fifties after it’s grown out for a month or so.”

“Hey!” Alexa objected.

“You asked me,” Will said. “I told you. Anyway, I like tall women. You’re pretty much average height, aren’t you?”

“A little taller than that,” Alexa answered defensively. “Anyway, you don’t look like you’re all that tall yourself.”

Will only laughed. “Didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. I’m sure you’re the primary on somebody’s list.”

“Oh, go screw yourself,” Alexa grumped. “So who’s your primary target?”

“That tall, blonde volleyball player,” Will replied. “Martina.”

“You know that she’s like four or five inches taller than you are, don’t you?”

“Oh, hell, yeah,” Will smiled and nodded. “But I don’t plan on letting her stand up all that much, and lying on her back she’ll be just the right height.”

“Aw, geez,” Alexa groaned. “I’m glad I’m not on your list.”

“What sport do you compete in?” Will asked. “I didn’t look at your file too closely.”

“I compete in lots of sports,” Alexa said, looking away.

“Yeah, but which one do you specialize in? You don’t look like a volleyball player to me.”

“I don’t specialize,” Alexa replied, still looking away.

“So you just kind of dabble?” Will prodded.

“I’m a fitness instructor!” she rounded on him. “I’m a personal trainer! Sometimes I compete locally, but I’m not really good enough to win! OKAY?”

“Why are you yelling?” Will asked mildly. “What’s wrong with being a personal trainer?”

“Nothing!” Alexa snapped.

“Say, didn’t I see you in a commercial once? Or in an ad somewhere?”

“Maybe,” Alexa relented. “I do some fitness modeling some times.”

“Yeah. I think I did. You had your hair longer then, but I think I remember the eyes. You weren’t on for long, but you looked pretty good.”

“Thanks.”

“Well,” Will stood up. “It’s been nice chatting with you, but I’ve got to get back on the trail of my volleyball player.” He bent over and picked up what looked like a rifle. Alexa froze.

“What are you carrying a gun for?” she asked. “There aren’t supposed to be any dangerous animals here.”

“Oh, hey, relax,” he said easily. “It doesn’t shoot bullets. It uses compressed air to fire tranquilizer darts.”

“What? Why would you have that?”

“I’m out here by myself,” he replied. “Most of the other guys are in two-man and three-man teams. I need some kind of edge. You have no idea how hard it was for me to convince them to let me use this. It was even harder for me to qualify with it. I have to get pretty close to the target, and I can only shoot her in the ass.” He slung the air rifle over his shoulder.

“That’s barbaric!”

“I’m not after you, remember?”

“It’s still barbaric.”

“Okay, it’s barbaric. So’s huntin’ women in the first place, but here we all are, out in the woods, being barbarians. I don’t want to argue with you about it. I’ve got some trackin’ to do.”

“Hey, wait a minute,” Alexa said as a thought struck her. “This tall, blonde volleyball player you’re stalking. Have you actually seen her?”

“I caught a glimpse or two from a distance,” Will answered. “The tracks I found are all from a tall, long-legged woman.”

Alexa snickered. Will looked at her, waiting.

“I think you’re actually on the trail of a long-legged skier: Lynette. She said someone was following her just before she hit me and took my boots. Is she on your list?”

“Yeah. She’s my secondary. Damn.”

“What’s the matter? Can’t you just go after her? She’s a real b***h. I wouldn’t care if you shot her in the ass at all. Hell, shoot her twice. She’s a big girl. You might need to.”

“Hey, what happened to the barbarity of it all? Thanks for the blessing and the advice, but I want my volleyball player. I spent more than half the day chasin’ the wrong prey. I guess I owe you for lettin’ me know.”

“If you mean that,” Alexa said, “maybe you could help me find my boots?”

“She’s probably chucked them down a hole somewhere. I don’t owe you that much.”

“Well…thanks anyway for the advice on the socks,” Alexa said.

“My pleasure,” Will replied. “But if you’re planning on doing much hikin’ out here you really ought to get yourself some new boots.”

“Can I get some at one of the trading posts?”

“It’s possible,” he shrugged. “I really couldn’t say for sure. I never had anybody steal mine.”

“She sucker punched me.”

“Well, then, if you run into her again, hit her first.”

“She knows some martial arts,” Alexa said.

“Well, that’s a useful thing to know,” Will smiled. “You should start when she isn’t lookin’, then, and use a club. It’s been nice talkin’ to you, Alexa Marx, but I’ve got to go. See you around, maybe.” He gave her a wink and strolled off, back in the direction Alexa had come from. He wasn’t wearing camouflage, but the drab browns he was wearing made him very hard to see once he’d passed a little way into the woods. Alexa sat down on the log he’d just vacated. Her feelings were not only mixed, but confusing. On the one hand, she’d ducked a bullet that Lynette had set her up for. On the other hand, who the hell did that guy think he was, putting her down like that? And then, on even another hand, if there could be such a thing, he’d been friendly and helpful, even though he’d seemed to find her predicament amusing. And he wasn’t bad looking with that tanned, weather-beaten face. It looked as if he lived most of his life in the great outdoors.

She took off her backpack, got her spare pair of socks out of it, and put them on over the ones she was already wearing. She took a few experimental steps and found that the trick worked. Oh, it wasn’t like actually having boots on, but it was an improvement. She shrugged her pack back on and looked up at the sky. The sun was almost directly overhead, so it was no use for determining direction. But she knew which way she’d been heading before the interruption, so she set off anyway. Later on, when she stopped to take a rest, she could check the sun’s position and see if she was still going the right way.

Will had seemed to be a nice enough guy, and so it irked her all the more that he’d preferred first Martina and then Lynette over her. He wasn’t that tall a man, so why was he intent on bagging one of the two very tall women in the contest? Well, girl, she told herself, you ought to be used to coming in somewhere behind them by now. At least this time it had actually worked out in her favor…but it still irked. She plodded on, walking on the balls of her feet, as Will had suggested, any time she came to rough spots. That worked too, but it was still slow going, and she had to stop and take a break more frequently than she wanted. She kept checking the sun to make sure that she was heading north, and late in the afternoon she finally came across the little stream. It was almost like meeting an old friend, and she celebrated the occasion by taking off her pack and using it as a lumpy pillow while she stretched out in a patch of sun to rest again. Her feet hurt, her legs hurt, and she was hungry. She was also almost out of water. She turned her head to regard the stream. The water seemed clear, and they’d been told that it was safe to drink from any of the streams in the area, though they shouldn’t drink from any ponds. That jibed with what she’d learned from some of the books she’d read. Still lying down, she looked around. This place didn’t seem familiar, so her camp was probably downstream somewhere. In a little while, she’d get up and head that way. Tonight, she’d risk a fire. She really wanted a hot meal.

It was almost dark when she finally found her campsite, and she was too worn out to do more than crawl into her sleeping bag. Even so, she had to take off her socks and hang them out to dry first. Crossing the stream without boots had been trickier than crossing it with them. In retrospect, she probably should have taken her socks off before trying it. She’d made a misstep, and in trying to regain her balance, had thoroughly soaked her socks. At least she hadn’t fallen in. After she’d been lying down for a while, she felt her legs starting to cramp up. She gave her calves a vigorous massage until the danger had passed and laid back down again. She was more tired than hungry now. She’d rest for a bit longer and then see about food.

When she woke, it was pitch dark. Her legs still ached, but it was the kind of ache that came from intense, sustained exercise. On the other hand, she couldn’t recall ever feeling as hungry as she did now. Groping around in the dark, she managed to find all the parts to the little camp stove and even found the can of fuel that went with it. She knew that a fire could be seen from a long way off at night, but it felt like it was three in the morning. It didn’t seem likely that anyone would be up at that hour, and she was really, really hungry, so she went ahead and took the risk. The resulting meal was filling, but that was about all it was. The freeze-dried stuff had hardly any taste to it at all, so she treated herself to a granola bar with some chocolate bits in it for dessert.

It was lonely out here. She kind of missed Will’s company. He seemed to be more at home in the wilderness than she was, and she’d welcome the opportunity to pick his brain. But he was off in pursuit of Martina, and she was here alone. She hoped he’d catch her. That would mean she only had Lynette and Naomi left to beat. And the thought of Martina going down with a tranquilizer dart in her tight round ass made her smile.