Pulled In

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO

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MOST OF THE TREK, DARCY avoided the slope of the mountain covered with thick bushes and grass. Anyone could have spotted her there. She chose to lose her trail through the patches of dense trees.

Darcy slid on the wet soil and went down hard. However, she braced herself on her knees and hands this time. The fall took the wind out of her, and she groaned.

That wasn’t her first fall, though. Luckily, it wasn't the worst, either. The leaves littering the forest floor had protected her. The woman even patted them with affection, although some doubts concerning her sanity lurked in the corner of her mind.

Darcy knew that her skin must have been blue and black by now, on top of the bruises which already covered her body before she left Emmett's grounds.

'It doesn't really matter,' Darcy mumbled to herself when she caught her breath. 'I am free, and that's more important.'

Earlier, am owl had hooted and startled her. Darcy had stepped onto a patch of musty soil and fallen with a thump. She skidded a few yards down the slope.

That fall had scared her out of her mind. The woman had barely broken her fall, and that by pure chance. At the last moment, her fingers had blindly grabbed the trunk of a young tree. God only knew how far the foot of the hill was, and Darcy could live just fine without finding out.

Darcy shook her head to clear it. Exhaustion had caught up with her, and she pushed herself to put a foot in front of the other.

Darcy hadn't slept much the night before, and she had paced across the bedroom most of the day. That had sucked up some of her energy.

Darcy had sneaked out of Emmett's ranch through the back gardens so that the guards wouldn’t see her. Then she had hiked through the forest and up the mountain, walking most of the night because of sheer will.

She had dallied only a few minutes here and there to rest and take her bearings. She didn’t doubt that she had even walked in circles a few times.

Darcy had moved fast at the beginning of her journey, afraid that Emmett Driscoll's guards would discover her absence and come after her.

Her vivid imagination had created all sorts of scenarios. The woman had even crossed a stream a few times, in case Emmett's goons had brought dogs with them to catch her scent. After a few crossings, she had decided to walk through the stream up on the mountain. She had reasoned that the dogs would lose her track in the water for good.

When she arrived at Driscoll’s ranch, the man had shown her around, pointing to most of the buildings close to the ranch house. Darcy had noticed Emmett Driscoll’s pen full of hunting dogs, situated on one side of the ranch yard.

Darcy had also caught snippets of conversations here and there. She understood that they used dogs for hunting. It wasn’t apparent what kind of hunt, though. However, she wouldn’t put it beyond Emmett to chase after her with the dogs.

After the first few hours of freedom, Darcy had slowed down. Her feet hurt, and she became more concerned about the wildlife on the mountain. She had read about bears and bobcats and didn’t plan to be their dinner. A couple of times, Darcy had seen something like red eyes shining in the dark through the leaves. That had scared the wits out of her. She had run like chased by the hounds of hell.

'I will have to find a place to stop and rest,' Darcy thought. 'It will be dawn soon. I can't walk in the daylight anyway. Anybody would spot me easily.'

Darcy feared that even if Emmett's people wouldn't see her, someone else might, and they would tell on her.

The woman pushed herself off the ground with determination and grimaced when a sharp pain crossed her right knee. 'Damn, not an easy thing to wander through the forest at night,' Darcy reflected with acrimony, rubbing her knee. 'Especially after it rained,' she mumbled under her breath.

Another sharp pain made her swore, and Darcy didn’t abstain but uttered all the bad words she had learned during her last stint at a ranch near Missoula. There wasn't anyone nearby to hear her swearing, after all.

It had rained furiously for about a couple of hours earlier. It had soaked Darcy to the skin, and the water had saturated the soil. The woman thought that it poured too much, and the ground couldn’t absorb all the water. Nonetheless, she continued dragging her feet through the slime on the ground.

Now and then, a gust of wind swirled in the air, and the young woman shivered. But then, Darcy didn't feel the nippy bite of the night air. The effort had heated her, and she had been sweating profusely.

Suddenly, the forest made way to shrubs and grass. A pale moon shone over Darcy's head, so the woman had a better view of her surroundings.

Her eyes swept over the slanted terrain, and she noticed the menacing sharp rocks erected in the distance. Darcy resolved to stride toward them and find a cave or something where she could lay down over the day, although she didn’t have a precise idea in her head.

Darcy headed up, following an oblique trajectory. The woman didn’t dare to brave the steep incline directly. Her strenuous walk had depleted her stamina, and the side of the mountain tilted at about forty-five degrees.

Darcy tripped over a thick root, and once more, she kissed the ground with a loud woof. When she caught her breath, she swore again.

Darcy thought of lingering on the ground for a while but changed her mind fast. She stood up, using the trunk of a tree for support. Once on her feet, she breathed deeply and allowed herself a moment of rest.

The woman leaned on a tree trunk with a sigh of relief. Then annoyed, she glanced down at her dirty pants and sneakers. A thick coat of filth covered nearly every inch of her body.

Darcy scowled with disgust, but then she thought better. She reflected that being covered with mud was better than having Emmett on top of her, which disgusted her. Anything was better than that.

Nevertheless, after a moment of reflection, she reconsidered. She wouldn’t have liked it if a bear had eaten her. Nothing else bothered her.

Darcy shrugged and decided to continue her journey. She pushed ahead, but her legs shook already, and the woman knew that she needed to stop soon.

Nevertheless, after a moment of reflection, she reconsidered. She wouldn’t have liked it if a bear had eaten her. Nothing else bothered her.

Darcy shrugged and decided to continue her journey. She pushed ahead, but her legs shook already, and the woman knew that she needed to stop soon.