The landscape seemed less morbid during the day. It took a moment to find the small path. I must be insane to return to this place only a day later, but I wasn't going to cower the woods for the time that I'd live in this town.

I tried to piece it together in my foggy memory, pushing past the intense fear and picturing the route that led to the encounter. After twenty minutes of roaming in circles, I was lost again. Too many narrow crossings to choose from.

I breathed deeply to calm my nerves. In the afternoon daylight, leaves were a vibrant green, casting their tinted glow over the ground.

Even though the woods looked nicer at this hour, it was all too easy to imagine the beast looming up from behind, snarling and growling.

How was my ankle okay now? What happened to the animal after I blacked out? Why did it chase me only to leave me alive?

It had wanted to kill me. There was no maybe.

Something stopped it.

My brain churned with a few possibilities, but no outcome made sense. Turning in my spot, I spread my arms open. How useless. What was I supposed to find? Not my cellphone, that's for sure.

I spun back, only to freeze.

An apparition stood ramrod straight on a hill, hands hidden in his lumberjack vest pockets. Shivers rattled down my spine. It was a young man, about twenty yards away. I didn't even hear him sneak up.

The harsh line in his jaw and his furrowed brows made me think that he was a few years older. His eyes were a stunning shade of green, deep and rich like the leaves bundled against the sky. Dark, tousled hair was concealed under the hood.

Something about him didn't feel right.

"What are you doing?" He jerked his chin.

I took a step back. My hand slid into my rear pocket, tightening around the knife.

Meeting a stranger in the woods wasn't exactly a good sign. The guy was tall and slim. I could picture him overpowering me if he wanted to.

The corners of his mouth turned down in displeasure.

"Hello? This is private property. Kindly fuck off in the other direction."

I wasn't completely defenseless with my knife. Dad taught me punches and kicks—I was a Navy Seal's daughter, after all. But I wasn't going to take chances.

"You shouldn't be here, much less alone," he added in a deep voice, emphasizing the last word.

I registered the surrounding trees. My hand remained securely wrapped around the pocket knife, refusing to let my guard down. At this point, I should say something.

"I'm pretty sure this is public land?"

Or it was federal land, which did make that trespassing... except he wasn't one to tell me to pound sand.

"The signs are hard to miss, but I guess you could. Tourists here aren't bright," he said, almost drawling it out. He scouted left and right, and I realized he still expected others nearby. "Public forests are further west and south."

"I'm not a tourist."

"Just stupid, then."

"And you're so helpful," I snapped. "You're like if my bug repellent spray could talk. Keep the whole mountain clear of people just to avoid you."

Not sure where this insult came from, but it was the first thing I could conjure. His expression shifted from dislike to full-blown warning.

He bent his knees and jumped off the little hill, landing on the bed of foliage below. He stalked over slowly, never freeing his pockets.

My legs possessed a will of their own.

Leaves shuffled and a spiky rock caused me to stumble way off. I yelped breathlessly when my foot fell into soft, caving earth.

Arms wheeling, the rest of my body followed. I sprawled all over the sticky soil.

The boy stopped and pressed his lips. Even from that distance, I heard the snicker.

"Oh. Thanks for the concern."

"What for? You were already so low to the ground there was hardly any chance of injury."

He moved again, and I crawled to the base of a tree, chest heaving. I drew out the knife. "Stay back..."

I started to warn him yet the words faded as I kept getting a better view.

Up close, I noticed his lashes—long and sooty—and defined cheekbones. There was nothing ordinary about him.

Striking eyes studied me in silence. Then, he seemed to shed a few years, and I realized he must be about the same age as me.

The boy gazed on like he never met a human being before. With mistrust and contempt. Seconds passed by and his face relaxed.

Okayy, not weird at all!

"I won't do anything. Do I have to remind you that you're the trespasser?"

"I might do something if you come closer."

Although I gathered I was making questionable life decisions again, I was too far gone to stop.

"You got a lot of nerve, kid. You better learn to keep it down a notch before someone does it for you," he threatened, breaking the awkward observation. He felt around his jacket pockets and inverted them, then repeated the gesture with his jeans. "There's nothing on me. No weapon."

"Nothing under the jacket?" I asked, clutching my one and only reassurance.

The boy's eyes glimmered briefly. He showed me the flaps of his jacket and flashed the waistband of his pants, proving his words. "Like I said, I'm not the intruder. And you have some explaining to do."

Great, first hot guy I meet is a total creeper. And I managed to irk him. Great start.

"Don't tell me this is actually your property."

He did not put more distance between us, and I had a hard time holding his stare. "Well, not mine as in my investment, but mine as in belongs to my family. You should piss off if you don't want issues with the law."

The rebuff caused a wave of embarrassment within me, but I won't let him enjoy it. I brushed my knees then unfolded, raising both hands in surrender.

"Fine. Your turf."

Who wanted woods infested with nightmarish creatures anyway? I backtracked onto the trail, turning away from him. I truly didn't understand what was up with me.

"Wait."

I wondered why I cared enough to do as he said. Clicking the blade back into its hilt, I faced him. "What?"

"Why did you come all the way here? You're pretty far from town," he asked out of the blue.

I wanted to ask why the sudden interest, but I was so ready to kindly fuck off in the other direction. "Nothing. Just... thought I lost something."

The boy stiffened. "So you were here before?"

Crap.

"Look, I didn't know this was a private property." I began to turn back. "I'll be leaving. You can stop biting me in the ass for it..."

There was the faintest of chuckles as I paced on the path. His voice called again, and I rolled my eyes.

"One more thing."

I didn't turn around this time.

"Go straight down the mountain, turn left on your first crossing and right at the second. Don't stray from the trail. People get easily lost around here."

✩