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Erika

I t’s been a month, and Fletcher the silver fox, mountain man who has made my little art gallery famous, hasn’t come in with any new pieces for me to sell.

I have never gone up the mountain here at Hunter’s Peak, but I won’t let my fear keep me from finding out what’s wrong with the man I can’t stop thinking about.

I stop at the grocery store and ask Cassie for directions up the mountain. Things can be rugged up there, and I’m scared I might get lost.

She’s kind, and I take notes in my planner as she chats away.

After we gossip for a while, I decide it’s time to tackle the mountain. I get into my Mini Cooper and give myself a pep talk. I can do this. I know I can. Following the instructions, I take a ‘shortcut’ that Cassie uses often.

The road out here is rough, and the undercarriage of my car is too close to the ground, so I feel every bump I drive over. Mostly gravel, but I’m worried about what it’s doing to my baby. It took me a long time to save up for this car, and I don’t want anything to happen to it.

Then I hear it, a loud bang underneath my car, and it immediately stalls.

“No, no, no, no, no.”

I get out and try to see what I ran over that caused this mess. I’m no mechanic, so I can’t figure it out. When I look around me, I realize I’m in the middle of nowhere. I reach for my purse to get my phone, and of course, there are no bars. There’s no reception out here. Damn it.

I start cursing like a sailor, which is something I do when I’m really upset. It won’t change my situation, but it makes me feel better, and that’s something I need at the moment.

Not knowing how far or close I am to Fletcher’s cabin, I decide to keep going on foot. I’m not wearing the best shoes for a hike, but what’s a girl to do? After a while, I realize I’m no longer on a road and I start to panic.

That’s when the heel of my shoe breaks and I limp awkwardly while trying to find something I recognize that can get me back to my car.

I’m tired, so I sit down on a fallen log and try to make sense of it all.

Clearly, I’m lost. I consider myself a smart, resourceful woman, but this is too much for me right now. Damn Fletcher and this mountain. I try to remind myself that I, too, found Hunter’s Peak a wonderful refuge from the world.

After sulking for a few minutes, I realize that I need to move before it gets dark. So I get up, dust myself off, and start walking. I still don't recognize anything that could lead me back to the road or my car, and I start to panic.

I'm also getting tired and seem to stumble more and more on the uneven terrain. As I maneuver myself through the woods, I suddenly catch my foot on something. I fall down and due to the steep incline of the mountain, I start to roll down at an incredible speed.

It seems like hours not seconds pass until finally I hit something that stops my movement but also hurts like a son of a bitch. I don't even try to move because my whole body is in pain, so I just lie there for a bit. I do a self-check on my current status.

I've lost my shoes, I've hit my head, and I have a large bump to go with it, and something seems to be pinning me to the ground. I lift my head to see that there’s a big splotch of red on my side, and there's a branch sticking out of me. Shit.

This. This is how I die. Now I let the tears flow freely and resign myself to my fate—dying alone on the side of a mountain.