Hunted in a Red Winter

Drenched in cold sweat, I jerked awake banging my head on my slanted ceiling. Anger washed over me.

"Great start." I cursed sarcastically. "Even better it is three in the morning, and it snowed last night." Sadness and an intense fear shook through my body making my heart skip a mile a minute. My lungs stopped working as Misty, my white Westie barked into the sea of darkness.

"Hello, Poppet!" A cold familiar voice greeted me. "Lovely poochie you have here. Just here to make sure you don't remember too much." An icy hand grazed my high cheek bones. Shaking and out of breath, I slapped it away.

"You drugged me, so how could I?" I retorted angrily. "Misty, come here." A white fluffball plopped up next to me growling and baring her fangs. This dark memory was super spotty, so only bits and pieces came to me.

A loud burst of music rang throughout the hollow room freeing me from my odd dream. My brown eyes fluttered open only to be blinded by sunlight. Misty lay next to me still snoozing away. Must be nice I thought to myself. Groaning I got out of bed and dressed in a black blouse and frilly black skirt. Something seemed wrong and out of place. In front of me stood a muddy footprint. Was it real or not? I did not have time for this. Sliding on my black boots and filling Misty's food bowl, I left for work.

The sound of the road filled my ears as twenty minutes droned on. I whipped my car into my parking spot. Lisa was on the hood of her red corvette tapping her foot nervously. Misty was in her arms wiggling happily at the sight of me. Rushing to Misty, I flashed Lisa an angry look.

" His brother escaped from prison!" She exclaimed anxiously. "You and my cop brother can stay at our family's hunting cabin." My head spun as panic flooded my mind. He was in jail for kidnapping me. Silence lingered heavily in the air.

"What?" I questioned with a nervous smile. "You mean the one who tied me up." My ample chest rose up and down as a panic attack was starting. My ears rang as a migraine pounded down on me. Lisa started talking and it all sounded so distant.

"Britt!" She called anxiously. "You still there." Again the quiet was heavy in the air. Misty gave me a reassuring kiss.

"You need to leave town!" She warned. "My brother is here. You can leave your car here. He is in town. I am giving you two weeks paid vacation." Frantically my mind flashed back to the muddy footprint. Horror filled my eyes as I realized it was all real. Dizziness hit me as the world spun around me.

"I can keep my self safe." I protested looking at the snow around the parking lot. Shaking her head she handed a black overnight bag to me. I gripped the handles so tight that my hands hurt.

"She ready?" A deep calm voice asked." I will keep you safe and protect you guys with my life." He was wearing a black winter coat and black jeans. His black boots shone in the weak winter sun. He flashed a sheepish grin as he ran his hand through his long black hair. He ripped the bag from my hand and guided me to the black SUV . Upon sitting down, I just stared out of the window looking around. Numbness paralyzed me so much that I just spaced out.

A blue A-frame underneath a blanket of snow welcomed us. The orange woodstove burned brightly through the window. The door clicking open snapped me awake. Misty attempted to leap out when he caught her mid-air. He handed her back to me as he helped me out.

"We are here. We call her Turtle Cove." He boasted proudly. "I am James. Unfortunately no water, electricity, and no phone. I am going to get the oil lamps burning." His brown eyes shone warmly. Nervously I played with my dark brown bob.

"Let's go pee, Misty." I cooed. She hopped down and walked around. Tall trees towered above me and snow blanketed the ground. Snow started to crunching around me. Misty stopped what she was doing and started barking. Quickly I picked her up and ran inside.

"How do you feel about pancakes?" James offered. He was standing at a propane stove and next to a white propane fridge. Simply nodding I sat down at the dining room. We were surrounded by a light blue walls and gray oak floors. In the kitchen there was one blue cabinet with a wooden countertop. A dark blue futon stood in the other side of the room. It was small and cozy in here.

"I like pancakes." I answered looking out the big window next to me. A black shadow looked out behind a thick tree. James set down a plate of steaming pancakes and a small bottle of syrup. We both reached for a pancake and our hands touched. Our faces turned red with awkwardness. Dinner was quiet. We were picking up when the blue front door flew open. There he stood. Long dirty blond hair hung around his thin face. His blue eyes were crazed as he raised a hunting knife. It glinted orange in the oil lamp's glow.

"Found you poppet! " He teased with an evil grin. "You will pay for killing my brother." He ran towards me, but James jumped in front of me. The hunting knife plunged into his side. He howled in pain as the attacker choked him until he passed out. It was just him and me now. How hard could it be to kill him? Looking around frantically, I grabbed the fire poker.

"I killed him, so I can kill you, too." I whimpered with fear. "He was going to kill me." My heart stopped beating as he lunged towards me, knocking me to the hard, and cold floor. He put his hands around my neck and started choking me. My knee made contact with dick as I threw him off of me. He was rolling around the floor yelling in agony. Stopping, he jumped up and shot me in the leg. Acute pain shot through me like an electric current. Unable to stand I crashed to the floor. A glimmer of hope lit up my eyes as I struggled to reach the fire poker. Grunting he stood up and started walking over to me. He stood over me gun pointed at my head. Misty ran up behind him and bit his ankle. He kicked her away knocking her out. With glee, I grabbed the fire poker and stabbed him through the heart. Hot blood dripped down the poker and onto my face as he fell onto me. Groaning I shoved him off of me. My arms ached as I crawled over to James and Misty. Ripping a piece of my blouse off, I wrapped James' wound. Darkness soon enveloped me in a hug.

A bright white light woke me as I wondered if I was dead or not. My eyes burned as I saw James and Misty in the corner of the room.

"Am I dead?" I asked weakly. "Is this Heaven?" James laughed as he walked over. Misty was wagging her tail and smiling at me.

"Heaven would suck if it was a hospital." He joked. "You are alive and I hope to make your life Heaven, but it looks Misty does the job." A soft smile lit up my face as he kissed me on the lips. My face flushed scarlet as I kissed him back just happy it was all over.