Prey

Sophia sits in the hospital bed, shaking. Though the danger has passed, she remains rigid and on high alert. Nurses file in and out of the small room, performing tests and checking the readings of various medical machines, but she barely notices. Traumatized, she is locked in her mind, reliving the events of the day over and over, with no power to stop it. Her doctor thinks he is out of earshot when he whispers to a nurse, “they just found the animal and put it down. It was banged up pretty bad, she's stronger than she looks,” he nods at Sophia before continuing, “They said it was a big one. It's a miracle she survived the attack all by herself.” The nurse nods solemnly and glances over to her with a look of sympathy and respect.

“The poor dear,” she murmurs and then turns her eyes to Sophia's close friend, Janie, who is curled up under a blanket in a chair in the corner of the room, silently staring out the window.

The doctor continues, “not many could do what she did out there. She's very lucky.” Sophia hears his words despite his quiet tone and scoffs reflexively. He has no idea.

Mere hours ago, she'd been staring the beast in its face. All she'd had to protect herself was a make-shift spear; a large branch with one end shaved down to a point. The sight of the cougar's snarl was more terrifying than her worst nightmares but she didn't have the luxury of panicking. The animal growled at her before he lunged to attack. She pulled all of her emotions into one loud guttural scream. Just before he could strike her with his killer claws, she ducked to the left and used her weight to add force to the blow as she heaved the spear into the animal's side with all of her might. It slammed into its rib cage, hard. She heard a loud crack as at least one of the animal's bones snapped from the impact. The cougar made a pitiful sound and stumbled backward. He then gave her one last glare before limping into the woods and out of sight. She'd let the spear fall to the ground and walked over to her boyfriend, Abe, whose lifeless body was lying on the bloodied ground. She fell to her knees and began to sob. She'd remained crouched on the ground beside him, unwilling to leave his side until the rescuers came.

Sophia and Abe had been together for less than a year but their love was strong and she couldn't imagine life without him. Having to stand by helplessly as he succumbed to his wounds was more than she could bear. It had only taken one swipe of the cougar's sharp claws to slice through his neck and chest, puncturing his jugular artery. Blood gushed from his wounds as he fell to the ground, gasping for air. Sophia didn't need medical training to know that he only had a matter of moments to live. It seemed Janie knew it too because she dropped her spear and took off running north, towards the ranger's station, without looking back.

“No, Janie, don't leave!” Sophia had called after her in shock, but her friend didn't stop and soon disappeared from her sight. She could only watch as Abe swiped at the cougar weakly. The animal latched onto his right hand and Abe made a terrible sound that Sophia knew would haunt her forever. Abe bravely yanked his hand forward, pulling the cougar's head with it, and then jabbed the fingers of his left hand deep into the animal's eye. The cougar released Abe's hand and shook his head wildly, in pain. Sophia's heart sank as she watched Abe's body go limp and knew what it meant. Her heartbreak was quickly replaced by panic as the animal turned and stared at her with its good eye; the other was swollen shut. She stood before the cougar, broken and terrified, knowing that she was going to have to fight for her life. Despite a strong will to live, she had little faith in her chances against the savage hunter who stood before her, with Abe's blood still on its lips.

The hopelessness she felt in that moment mimicked that which she'd felt when the predator first stepped out in the open to reveal itself. They'd known that the cat-and-mouse game had come to an end and the cougar was ready to come in for the kill. Though each one feared their chances against the savage predator they banded together and, with their weapons in hand, they moved towards the animal as one, making loud, threatening noises and lifting their arms overhead to appear big and menacing. It appeared their tactics were working as the animal took a step backward, but it was only to get poised for an attack.

Sofia's fears emanated from her. The cougar appeared to pick up on them when it suddenly focused on her over the other two. The animal lifted its head and growled at her, calling her out as its next victim. Janie could only manage a scream as the animal moved in to claim Sophia. Abe reacted quickly, swinging his hand, armed with a large rock, and hit the cougar on the side of its head. He followed with the other and knocked the cougar off of his feet. His victory was short-lived as the animal quickly scrambled back on all fours and lunged at him, sinking its sharp teeth deep into Abe's arm. Sophia screamed wildly and rushed the animal, striking it with her spear. Janie stood frozen in place and Sophia soon followed suit as the cougar released Abe's arm and then stood up on its hind legs to swipe a large, powerful paw at Abe's chest.

At that moment, any hope she'd had for their survival disappeared forever. They should have known that a couple of rocks and sticks wouldn't be enough. The rugged spear that she'd clung to so tightly had been hastily constructed by Abe no less than an hour ago. He'd used his pocketknife to shave the ends of two large branches, turning them into spears for Sophia and Janie. For himself, he'd chosen two large stones. He'd held them tightly in his hands and tested them out by throwing a couple of wide punches into the air and then bringing them together in a clapping motion. Satisfied, he glanced around them, scanning the trees for the threat but saw nothing. Each of them had been able to feel the silent predator's eyes on them at all times.

“We've got to get back to the car,” Abe urged them, “or it's going to kill us too.” Sophia looked from him to Janie and the two women nodded at each other.

“Let's go,” Sophia said to Abe.

“Okay, but if anything happens, head north towards the ranger's station.” He pointed to show them the direction, “don't run or it will chase you. Do you hear me? Move slow, with confidence, and make a lot of noise. Above all, stick together. I need you to promise me.” She nodded and they embraced quickly while Janie stared blankly back the way they'd come, lost in her emotion.

Janie had stopped talking shortly after they'd found her husband, Jack. They'd stumbled on his mangled body in the woods just over an hour ago. In a grisly scene, he'd been ripped apart by a large animal. Janie had, understandably, fallen apart at the sight of him. It was something a loved one should never have to see. Sophia had grabbed hold of her and turned her away, her grip tightened as her friend began to scream. She went down to the ground with her as Janie's knees buckled, and she held Janie tight as she sobbed. Sophia struggled to find words to comfort her but found there was nothing to say.

As the two women huddled together on the ground, Abe searched the area. It didn't take him long to find a footprint in the dirt near the body. He'd known right away that it belonged to a big cat.

“What kind of cats are out there?” Sophia asked when he'd pointed it out to her.

“Cougars, lynx, and bobcats, I think.” He eyed the trees around them.

“Shit,” she muttered under her breath as a fear struck her that was more powerful than she had ever felt before. They were out in the middle of nowhere, help was miles away, and they were being hunted. This was not the camping trip they'd signed up for.

It was hard to believe that the three of them had still been enjoying themselves only a short time ago when they'd first noticed that Jack hadn't returned from the woods. Seated comfortably in front of the campfire, Sophia had turned to Janie and asked, “Where's Jack? He's been gone for at least half of an hour now. Wasn't he just going to pee?” Janie's smile faded and she glanced over where she'd last seen him.

“That's what he said. Maybe he found something interesting out there, do you think we should go and take a look?” Janie asked. Sophia nodded and motioned to Abe, then the three of them headed into the thick woods to search for Jack.

The last time they'd seen him was after lunch, Sophia had prepared the meal over the campfire. Afterward, Jack said to her, “I don't know how you can do so much with so little. It's no wonder they made you head chef so quickly,” he rubbed his full belly, “that was delicious.” Abe and Janie nodded and grunted their agreement as they finish their last bites. They'd all spent the morning setting up their tents and catching up. Jack and Janie asked about her job while Sophia wanted to know everything about Jack Jr., their precious baby boy. Shortly after they'd finished eating, Jack excused himself and went off into the trees in search of a private place to relieve himself.

“I'm really glad we were able to do this. It's been too long,” Janie said as she reached out and squeezed Sophia's arm affectionately. Sophia echoed the sentiment. The trip had been long overdue. She smiled wide, then glanced over and caught Abe watching her and they both laughed. She couldn't help but think that it was shaping up to be an amazing trip and got the feeling the others needed the break as much as she did.

Back when she and Abe pulled up at Janie and Jack's house that morning, the couple had come bursting out the front door before Abe could even honk the horn. “Hey, I wanted to see the baby!” Sophia said as they piled in the car with all of their gear.

“Sorry, Auntie Sophia, my mom just laid him down for his nap. We'll have to save the introductions for when we get back.” Jack told her.

“Yes, let's go! I'm so ready for this,” Janie exclaimed excitedly. “We haven't done anything fun/by ourselves since he was born, have we Jack?”

“It's been a year of diapers and spit-ups for us,” He said with a happy smile.

“Well, all right then,” she turned to Abe in the driver seat, “you heard 'em, let's go camping!” Abe pulled into the street and they were off. Sophia turned to her friends in the backseat, “you're going to love the campsite we found. It's out in the backcountry, farther than we've ever gone before. We'll leave the car at the ranger's station then hike to the campsite. It'll take a couple of hours, the terrain shouldn't be too difficult. It's supposed to be really beautiful out there,” she said proudly. “How does that sound?” Jack and Janie broke into loud cheers. Abe joined in. It was perfect. The two-hour car ride was filled with excited chatter.

It was just as Sophia had hoped for when she and Abe loaded up the car in the early morning light. As Sophia set the cooler in the trunk, she paused for a moment; lost in thought. She'd been working so hard at the restaurant lately, too hard, she needed to relax and enjoy herself this weekend. There was no better way for her to do that than the camping trip that she'd been planning all month. There was just something about the outdoors that made her feel alive and brought out a sense of calm serenity that refreshed her soul. Introducing her favorite people to her favorite man was going to be the icing on the cake. She knew they were going to love him as much as she did and she couldn't wait to get started.

“Hey babe,” Abe called through the car window, “you coming?” He smiled and her heart fluttered. She closed the trunk, hurried over to the passenger side, and got in.

“I'm ready,” she said happily, “this is going to be so much fun!”