A Boy Lost: Part Two

I tied the shuddering mare to a pine. Two white-tailed deer scattered off into the murk. I backtracked through the forest until I heard the cries again. The forest dipped down and then rose slightly. I left the trail and came upon a small landing, covered in thorn brush.

The canopy overhead opened up a little. The stark sunlight upset me because I’d thought the day already passed. Circling the small meadow, I found a piece of cloth stuck to a branch. I tore it off and clutched it in my hand. A shimmer of light fell on something red and wet leading away from the brush. I dropped the cloth. Trees rustled, and my stomach wobbled. A small jay hopped down from a perch. Its tiny feathers flittered in the autumn air. I followed the blood. The droplets were faint and scattered about but seemed to go on forever. As I stomped through the blackness, I lost sight of the red. I crossed trampled understory and came upon a second clearing. A creek trickled nearby, and small clouds gathered overhead, exuding a deep orange. Soft shadows in the field played tricks on my mind. I stumbled upon the scarlet line and trudged up the embankment, my heart pounding.

A girl rested against an ancient pine. Her right arm had been sliced open from her wrist to her elbow. She had the starkest blue eyes, and an ocean of freckles moved about her face. Her short-cropped hair stuck out in places beneath her bonnet. Tears glistened on her cheeks. I dropped to my knees, took out my knife and cut the bottom of my flannel into strips. Then I bound her arm and wrist in swaths of cloth, while I tried to steady my hands. When the blood didn’t stem, I tore off more fabric and tried to staunch the flow. The wound kept leaking. I pressed down on the wettest parts. Her lips trembled, and she turned her head away. At last the flow began to ebb. Yellow blotches colored my sight. I sat back on a tangle of pine needles.

After drying my eyes, I caught the scent of burnt flesh. Something moved in the woods. “Don’t stalk me!” I shouted. A man took cover behind a tree and fired a shotgun. The clangor, dull and hard, took me off guard. I rolled in the duff and drew my Colt from the safety of a sheltering pine. “Get out here, where I can see you!” Another shot ripped through the dark forest, and then the apparition limped off into the gloom. I dropped to my stomach and fired. The bullet tossed rot into the air. Musty gunpowder clung to my jacket. The man’s footsteps grew faint in the distance.

Pale stars covered the sky peeking through the boughs. If I’d thought the world black before, I’d been mistaken. I couldn’t see a thing among the trees. The girl’s breathing became shallow. I scanned the darkness for enemies. When satisfied the man had fled, I wriggled over to the girl and ran my fingers over the cloth snaking her wound. The blood had finally dried.