Female Prey & the Elusive Prey (3 page)

As he trudged uphill, he reflected that this was indeed an odd line of work for him to be in. He had a degree in civil engineering, courtesy of the G.I. bill, and could easily find work almost anywhere: Work that would keep him outdoors and active, which he liked. But what other job offered the unique challenge of hunting down women? Granted, they usually just walked right into the trap, knowing it was out there somewhere, but wanting to be trapped anyway. Trapped, held captive, used and abused. Every so often, though, one of them made you really work at it. Those were the memorable ones, the ones whose faces you could recall with perfect clarity even years later. The others...well, they tended to blur into indistinctness, faces and bodies almost interchangeable.

Finding a trail up here was a surprise. Kimberley looked up and down it carefully from cover before she ventured out onto it. There was nobody in sight. She stepped off briskly, rejuvenated by the relatively easy going. It even went pretty much the way she wanted to go, too. After a few miles, though, her enthusiasm for it began to wane. This trail might not be on her map, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t on somebody else’s. And if it was, and they were following her, they’d know that sooner or later she’d come across it. Following it, however easy a path it offered, suddenly seemed like a stupid thing to do. She’d abandoned the first trail because it was too easy and felt like a trap. Now, here she was happily hiking along another trap.

She kept walking as she thought. The trail was easy to follow, but visibility along it was never more than about fifty yards, because it dipped and wound along through the woods. What was the chance there was somebody ahead of her right now, waiting? About as good a chance, she thought, of there being somebody behind her, following. For no reason she could tell, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Well, it was time for another rest halt anyway, or close enough to it. She moved carefully off of the trail and into the cover of some underbrush to rest and think things out. Taking out her map, she unfolded it carefully. She studied it for a few minutes, trying to identify where she was.

There…that was the ravine she’d moved up and then alongside yesterday and part of today. She couldn’t tell exactly where this trail she’d discovered was on her map, but she thought she could make a pretty good guess. If it kept running in the general direction it seemed to now, at some point it would cross another fairly big ravine some distance along.

She nibbled at her lower lip, frowning. That other ravine would serve to guide her downhill all right, and at some point it would intersect the original trail she’d been hiking on. But then what? Go back on the old trail?

Her stomach growled politely, reminding her that there was another factor to consider: Food. She was nearly out of it, and couldn’t really spend the next several days eluding her pursuers by moving off in unexpected directions. She hadn’t seen much she could eat in the woods: A few berries, one small mushroom she was sure of. Those might serve to stretch out her rations, but she was running out of rations to stretch.

Okay, she could catch fish from the lake, but that seemed to be the only likely source of food in the area. Mentally, she kicked herself for going uphill simply because it was the least obvious choice. It was the least obvious for a good reason.

She looked up at the sky. Some time past noon, she thought. Still plenty of daylight left. She sighed. This was getting harder. While every move she could make opened up different choices, those choices were all limited. Okay, she’d have to get to the lake. The only way she could be sure of getting there was to follow the ravine down. When it stopped being a ravine, she could follow the stream that ran from it to the lake. Maybe, just maybe, if there was an unmarked trail here upslope of the one she’d started on, there might be another unmarked trail down by the lake. She sighed again and shook her head. About the only choice left now was which side of the ravine to travel on, assuming she could get there without being overtaken.

She’d seen no sign that anyone was after her, but she knew they were out there, looking for her, no doubt more than a little irritated that she was making this so difficult for them. There was a chance that someone would be waiting for her up ahead. There was an even better chance that someone was following her tracks, slowly closing in. She shivered at the thought.

Well, she had to cover some ground while it was still daylight, and the trail, risky or not, would have to be used. When she got to the ravine, if the water had gone down enough she could move down it for a little ways and then climb out at some spot where it wouldn’t be easy to track her. She folded the map and stowed it away. Time to get moving. Maybe she could outdistance anyone following her. Before getting back on the trail, she moved along a rocky stretch of ground where she wouldn’t leave tracks, rejoining the trail some distance from where she’d left it. It wasn’t much of a trick, but it was all she could do just now.

It was well after noon when he came to the spot where she’d left the trail. He could think of a couple of reasons for doing that…but he didn’t see any sign that she’d gotten back on the trail. He frowned. That would be her first stupid move, just wandering into the woods. Well, if she had, she’d be easy enough to find a bit later, but he suspected she hadn’t. He continued on the trail for a while, looking for any sign of her. He found it, sooner than he’d expected. So, another little trick from the elf-girl. He shook his head, grinning. He was really looking forward to catching her. It should be very interesting. He set off in pursuit.

Kimberley kept mulling things over as she walked. She’d need food and water….both could be had by the lake. She wasn’t entirely sure she could get to the lake uncaught, but it was the only choice she seemed to have. Of less immediate importance, she was wearing her last change of clothes, and it was beginning to bother her just a little. Outdoor living had its disadvantages. If she could get across the next ravine on the trail, she’d head downhill alongside it. At some point, she ought to find a spot where she could do some washing. She was normally very fastidious, and wearing the same clothes day after day, however necessary, bothered her.

Some adventures got pretty arduous, she thought. She was in good shape, but today she noticed that the trek was taking a toll on her. Well, she’d been cutting her rest halts short, trying to keep some distance between her and her still-unseen pursuit. She halted on the trail and looked back, shading her eyes. No sign of anybody. She was certain, though, that there was someone back there, following. Maybe even catching up. Turning away, she trudged on.

He had to stop for a while. She was setting one hell of a pace. While he felt that he was slowly gaining ground, it was going to be a while before he caught up with her. A lot depended on whether or not Kurt or Lloyd could somehow get in front of her, but until he was sure which way she’d be going for a while there was only a small chance of that. They were both back by the original trail, waiting for word from him. He hoped to be able to tell them something soon, but elf-girl was elusive and unpredictable.

Still, he told himself, she only had so much food. Sooner or later she’d run out, and start to weaken. The way she was going, though, it didn’t look like it would be any time soon.

It was late afternoon when she reached the second ravine. The water had gone down since yesterday…or maybe this particular ravine just didn’t get that much in the first place. Standing on the rim, she looked down it. It looked difficult, but practicable, and it was unlikely anyone could track her through that jumble of rocks. She checked her gear to make sure everything was secure before starting down, stepping carefully. Some of the rocks were loose, and the wet ones were slippery. There was enough undergrowth growing in the ravine to give her some cover once she got far enough along it. As she picked her way, she kept an eye out for someplace she could climb up and out without leaving any traces.

He reached the spot where the upper trail crossed the next ravine. Her tracks showed that she’d gone down into it, but hadn’t come out the other side. He sat down on a convenient rock, shaking his head in rueful admiration. It would be just about impossible to track her in all those rocks, which was probably why she did it. Elf-girl was tough.

Still, she couldn’t go very fast down there. She’d tried a trick earlier, where she’d left the trail only to get back on it later. She’d probably exit the ravine somewhere to travel on easier ground. The only question, then, was which side would she get out on? He hated having to make a guess, especially with this girl. Whichever way he went, he thought it likely he’d be wrong. Time to contact the others. He took out his radio, hoping the battery would last. If Kurt and Lloyd could take positions on the lower trail where it crossed the ravine, they had a chance to intercept her. If and when they did catch her, they’d have to be careful that she didn’t get away.

The ravine was treacherous. Besides all the loose or slippery rocks, the depth of the water varied widely. The old saw that still waters ran deep was true enough, though. If she could see the water flowing, it was probably shallow enough to ford. If she saw little or no movement, she had to go around. She wished she’d taken the time to make herself a walking stick. It would be very useful here.

She was skirting one particularly dark and deep-looking pool when the rock she’d stepped on suddenly shifted under her weight. She flailed wildly for balance, but it was no use. She toppled over backwards into the very pool she was trying to avoid, praying that it wasn’t too deep as she fell. With all the gear she was carrying, she’d never be able to swim.

The shock of the cold water made her yelp. She went under, felt herself hit bottom, and struggled to get her legs under her. Her feet touched the bottom and she bent her knees before pushing upwards as hard as she could, ready to gulp air as soon as she broke the surface. The weight and bulk of her backpack slowed her.

The pool turned out to be no more than chest-deep. She stood gasping for breath, more out of shock than anything else, looking around wildly before she realized she wasn’t going to drown after all. Getting out of the pool proved to be difficult. There were few handholds, and she was soon shivering uncontrollably from the cold, cold water. She finally struggled out, dripping wet and chilled through. She’d have to get up out of here, on to level ground, and build a fire as soon as she could. She wished for the hot, dry weather she’d had to endure earlier.

It wasn’t easy to get out of the ravine. She had to move a considerable distance downhill, shivering worse with every step, before she found an exit. After two tries, she found she couldn’t climb out still wearing her backpack. It was too bulky, and some of the contents had taken on water, making it heavier. She shucked it off, tying a rope to it. With the rope in her teeth, she clambered out, getting very muddy in the process. Finally out, she hauled the pack up, using the rope. Once she’d retrieved it, she leaned against a tree, breathing heavily. The exercise had about done her in for now, but she still had work to do. When she’d recovered a bit, she picked up her pack and carried it with her hands until she found a spot where she could make a fire. She cleared an area of the accumulated leaves, down to the bare earth, and used the drier leaves and some small twigs for kindling. She had some matches in a waterproof container on her belt. Once she had a small fire going, she carefully placed bigger fallen branches on it. As they were catching, she stripped off her sodden clothes. She had to remove her socks too, but put her boots back on. Uncomfortable as wet shoes might be, there were too many sharp or hard things that could hurt her bare feet. She collected more branches, feeding them to the growing fire before opening her pack to see what damage had been done.

It wasn’t as bad as she’d feared. Her clothes were all wet, of course, but her sleeping bag, made to repel water, was only damp on the outside. She zippered it open and spread it out to dry. Her scanty food supplies were a bit wet, but she’d be eating them very soon anyway. A light blanket she’d packed was thoroughly waterlogged, as was her towel. Still shivering, she wrung everything out that she could, hanging it over various tree limbs to dry. She took an aluminum camp pot, filled it with water from her canteen, and emptied some soggy soup mix into it, setting the pot on the fire. Some hot food would take a lot of the chill out of her, but until her clothes dried, all she could do was huddle by the fire, trying to keep warm.

He finally got out of the ravine once he was sure she wasn’t going to double back along it. It took some effort. The sides were steep and rocky, offering few handholds. Some exposed tree roots came in handy. He paused at the edge of the ravine to contact Kurt and Lloyd and tell them she was heading downhill along the ravine. They could cover both sides of it and intercept her while he followed up, driving her into the trap. She hadn’t really had much of a chance to begin with, he thought, but she surely did make them work for it. He started downhill, keeping the ravine to his left as a guide. The hunt ought to be over by tomorrow. While he was looking forward to her capture, he’d miss the chase she’d led them on.

With any hunt, though, it was never safe to assume anything was over until it was over. Elf-girl had surprised them…well, him…more than once, and she might have a trick or two left to use. As he went along, he kept looking for any sign of her tracks, or anything at all that might show she had gone this way. By the time it was getting too dark to see much, he’d found absolutely nothing, and was beginning to think elf-girl had eluded him again. He felt suddenly very tired, and sat down for a rest. Where could she have gone now?

He took a candy bar out of his pack and munched on it glumly as he tried to figure out where she was. It was very possible she was on the other side of the ravine. It was also possible she’d doubled back. Either way, he was too tired and it was too dark for him to do anything about finding out. Not much point in contacting the others right now either.