Whispers Under Water, page 36
The creature paused to crane its neck and gaze at her. Wind blew through the trees, though none of the leaves moved. The whisper of a single word caught the current.
“Curious.”
And then the unicorn turned and faded into the dark of night like smoke.
A shiver ran over her. Had she been subconsciously looking for the unicorn? All her trips into the woods, she’d never actively sought it, but she couldn’t help wondering if that was why she’d been so drawn to trees.
She shivered again. They needed to get back to the warmer climate. She’d need to stay alive if she wanted to question her mental sanity later.
She turned Rocky around, directing him back down the incline, but leaving the reins loose to let him find his own footing through the wild tangles. She tried not to think of the large expanse of forest stretching between her and warmer weather, or the fact that she had no idea how to find any of the paths.
“We’re okay, Rocky.” She reached down to pat his neck and he ignored her as he stepped carefully around a divot in the ground.
Their descent was treacherous and Caitriona was just considering hopping down to make the going easier for the moose when his foot caught a hidden rut and he stumbled. His feet floundered for purchase in the loose rocks and dirt and he fell. His legs folded beneath him and he dropped onto his side, sliding down the hill without much fuss.
It didn’t go quite so well for Caitriona. She’d been able to get one foot out of the stirrup but when his body hit the side of the hill, her other leg was crushed beneath. She wasn’t even on the saddle anymore, but her body was dragged along with his, her leg getting pulverized by rocks and sticks the whole way. After a thorny vine swiped her face, she put her arms up to block any more attacks.
When the ground evened out, Rocky regained his footing and hopped up, freeing Caitriona’s leg but catching her boot in the stirrup. She was hoisted upside down, her head bashing into the trunk of a tree on the way. Her yelp was involuntary, but the stream of cursing that followed was entirely deliberate.
Her ankle screamed as she dangled from the saddle and her skull throbbed. Rocky danced on the spot, not understanding this new game. Black spots burst in her vision, pain exploding down her leg as she was flung around like a rag doll. Her head swung perilously close to the moose’s massive hooves.
Gritting her teeth, she reached up and freed her foot, crashing to the ground and landing with a strangled yowl. This was followed with a pathetic whimper as she lay in a heap. Tears she couldn’t feel ran down her cheeks and pooled with the snot dripping from her nose.
Rocky’s large nose came into view as he sniffed her face. Deciding the salt in her tears smelled good, he got closer and tried to lick her cheeks. She pushed him away, and sat up, readjusting her position. Her foot sat at an alarming angle to her leg. Her hiking boot laced above her ankle, so without removing it, she couldn’t assess the damage. Though she presumed white-hot, searing pain didn’t mean anything good. A low-hanging branch dangled just above her head and she hoisted herself up. She brushed off the dirt and leaves before carefully testing weight on her foot.
Sparkly lights burst in the darkness as her nervous system exploded. She sucked in air and leaned back against the tree.
“Nope nope nope.” She pushed the pain aside and tried to think of what to do.
Despite the pain, heat was her first priority and the best solution was to get back on Rocky and let him find his way back to campus. She’d be warm and could ride him all the way to the med center.
Ignoring the pounding in her temple and cheek where she’d struck the tree, she looked around for a fallen tree or rock to use as leverage. A large ball of roots from an overturned tree was ten feet away.
“Okay. Rocky, come here.” She motioned with her hands at the moose, gesturing for him to come to her. He looked at her quizzically and then took a step forward. “Good boy! Come on, come here.”
He danced the last few steps and sniffed her hands, looking for a treat. She shooed his face away and grabbed onto the reins, looping her arm around the stirrup straps.
“We’re gonna have to work together to do this. I need you to hold my weight.”
She adjusted her grip on the stirrup and then shook out the reins, directing him towards the tree roots. He did as instructed and she half hobbled, half dragged herself over. Once they reached the tree, she fell against it, breathing heavily and wiping at the sweat building on her forehead. Her whole body was trembling and her instincts were telling her that wasn’t a good sign.
“Alright, buddy,” she said, mustering a forced calmness to her voice, “I gotta get back up there.” She pointed to the saddle sitting a little crooked on his back. “So I need you to stay very still.”
He stamped a hoof as if to acknowledge this and she loosened one of the saddle straps, pushing it back into place before tightening it down. She used all her upper body strength to pull herself up the roots until she was high enough to get her good foot in the stirrup. Gripping the saddle tightly with her fingers, she took a deep breath and then heaved. But she couldn’t get her momentum forward enough to get up and over the saddle.
She crashed back to the ground, tumbling awkwardly in an effort not to land on her bad foot. Rocky sidestepped and looked down at her curiously.
“Fuck!” she yelled. A few birds scattered from the branches above her and Rocky tossed his head, taking a few steps away. The outburst hadn’t been as satisfying as she’d hoped.
“Okay. Don’t panic. Panic is not thinking straight. This is fine. It’s fine. We need a plan B.”
But her nerves were already causing her thoughts to flounder desperately for a solution. Her teeth chattered and her body was hot and cold at the same time.
She took a few more deep breaths, running her fingers over the medallion secured to her wrist in Eero’s bracelet.
“Focus.”
She needed her cell phone. But she’d stopped carrying it around with her and she pictured it stuffed in her sock drawer.
No, that wasn’t right.
She’d been texting Fianna when she left for History. It was in the zip-up she’d worn that day. The one she was still wearing.
Her frozen fingers flew to the pocket and struggled to get the phone out in her haste. A Brussels sprout fell out and Rocky dove for it. When her hand closed around the phone, a wave of relief washed over her. She flipped it open and her fingers flew across the keys.
Monroe was her first, desperate thought, and she punched in his number. But how would she explain to him where she was? She barely knew. And how long would it take him to find her?
The phone finished ringing and disconnected.
“Fuck.”
She couldn’t call her roommates. For the same reason that Monroe would be all but helpless. She wouldn’t be able to describe well enough where she was. She needed someone intrinsically familiar with the forest. Like an earth elemental.
“Double fu-u-uck.” A shiver shook the word.
She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. It was tender but not as bad as her cheek. She could feel it beginning to swell. Her fingers felt like ice and she barely registered her own skin. Her leg felt like it was submerged in a pool of magma, but the rest of her body convulsed in its efforts to generate heat and a stab of fear motivated her fingers to dial his number.
The silence between each ring felt like an eternity.
“Come on,” she mumbled through clenched teeth. The coward in her didn’t want him to answer. But the survival part of her knew she needed him to. After the sixth ring, it connected.
“Whos’it?” His voice was groggy.
“Oliver!” Caitriona’s relief came out a bit shriller than she’d intended.
“Cat? Wha?” She heard rustling on the other end of the line. “Iz the middl’v’night.”
“Yeah, so…funny thing.” She took a deep breath that splintered, despite her effort to keep it steady. A wave of embarrassment rode in on the crest of a shiver and for the first time, she was grateful for the flush that inflamed her cheeks, welcoming the heat. “I’m kind of lost.”
“Wha? What’re you talkin’bout? How’re you lost?” He sounded like he was drifting back to sleep.
“It’s a long story.”
No response.
“Oliver!” The word had an edge as she clenched her teeth against the clattering, the bruised bones in her face protesting. Rocky, who had moved on to grazing at the surrounding trees, twitched his ears at her.
“Hmm…what?” He yawned widely. She wanted to shake him. “Wait. Where are you?” Awareness was creeping in now.
Good.
“I’m in the woods. I…” she blew out a sigh, the movement irritating her throbbing cheek, “I went for a ride.”
“It’s the middle of the night.” He sounded much clearer and a little irritated.
“Yuh-huh.”
“Okay. The woods. Can you narrow it down?”
“Umm…I was on the Greenveil Trail…I made it to the bottom of M-m-mount Ben.” Her shivers were making it impossible to speak smoothly, and her lips felt clumsy with numbness. “But I’m off the path.”
“You’re off the path? Why…never mind. Can’t you just head towards the Orethia Roadway? It’ll connect to the Greenveil and take you back to campus.” He sounded annoyed now. Why was she calling him for something so trivial? “Rocky can find the way.”
“W-well I kind of…I can’t…” She stopped for an aggressive tremor.
“What’s going on? Are you okay? You sound weird.”
She let out another puff of air. “I’m-m-mostly fine. A bit cold. And I sort of…f-f-fell off. Twisted my…ankle.”
The line went dead. She looked at her phone, confused, and a text came through.
Oliver
Don’t move. I’m coming.
She put the phone back in her pocket and scooched up against a tree, arranging her ankle in the least painful position possible. Her boot was laced tightly and she didn’t know if it was better to leave it or loosen it. Her toes, which had been numb before the fall, were prickly with needles and felt like they were going to pop like grape tomatoes inside in her boot. Her entire leg throbbed, bolts of pain radiating from her ankle. It was amazing how one part of her could be blazing with heat, while the rest of her was shutting down from cold.
She flipped the hood of her sweatshirt up, pulled her arms in and wrapped them tight around her chest, and tucked in her chin. She watched Rocky happily strip a tree of its foliage. The pad across his back that sat beneath the saddle had gotten jumbled and was sitting crookedly. If only she could get it, she could wrap up in it and stay warm…
She jolted awake. Her head was full of fuzz and her bones felt cold. Could bones get cold?
A gentle rumble came from deep in the ground and she clamored to stand up. Her muscles, too cold and too stiff, seized and she lost balance. She stuck out her foot to try and stabilize herself. Agony and adrenaline surged up her leg and jump-started her brain awake.
She made a sound somewhere between a strangled cat and a frog being stepped on. Oliver burst from the ground, sending dirt and stones clattering in every direction. He rushed over to her.
“Bloody hell, there you are.” She could hear the frustration in his voice.
“Oli…” The rest of his name cut off with a full-body tremble.
He stopped and took in the sight of her collapsed against the tree. “Fucking hell. Where’s your fucking coat?”
He wrestled out of his, shaking out clumps of dirt. He hoisted her upright and hugged her into him, wrapping the coat around her.
The coat was large and fell to her knees. It smelled like Oliver and earth, and was so, so warm. She melted, making a “mmm…” sound as she closed her eyes and absorbed the warmth. Her ear rested over Oliver’s heart and it sounded angry. His chest rose and fell with ragged breaths as if he’d run the whole way.
“What the bleeding hell are you doing out here? You look a mess.” Oliver tipped her chin up to examine her face. He ran his thumb across her cheek, wiping at the line of blood that had congealed there.
Caitriona winced. She couldn’t feel the tightness of the skin in her numbness, but her eye was beginning to swell shut. Oliver pulled her in again, rubbing at her back.
“Here, sit down. Lemme look at your ankle.” He eased her onto the ground and gently pushed up her pant leg. Dirt was crusted to the outside of it and blood had soaked in on the inside from a large scrape that ran down her calf, surrounded by a dozen other small cuts. Her leg at the top of her boot was swollen and pinched around the laces, the skin red and rapidly darkening. “Fucking shit.”
He grasped her foot and he’d barely moved it when she squeaked with pain.
“Sod it. I think it’s best to leave your boot on. I can’t tell how badly you’ve hurt it, but if it is broken, I don’t want to try and take it off.”
“How d-d-did you find me?” She ducked her head inside the collar of his jacket, feeling like a turtle.
“Rocky’s footprints leave heat signatures, though faint ones. I headed for the mountain and picked up your trail. I found Rocky a ways off that way.” He pointed through the woods. “He’s getting plenty fat off a cranberry thicket. Then I followed his meanderings back here.”
“Thas’ predy cool,” she spoke from within her shell.
Oliver leaned back against his heels, looking at her with a blank expression. His face was pale and covered in smudges. Dirt fell out of his hair as he shook his head.
“You’re stranded in the middle of the woods, in the middle of the night, alone, with a destroyed ankle, freezing to death. Your lips are fucking blue. Does any of that concern you at all?”
“Not alone, am-m I?” She snaked a hand through one of the large coat sleeves and booped his nose. The sane piece of her brain, buried beneath the frozen fuzzy bits, rolled its eyes at her. She chuckled.
His frustration dissolved into alarm. “Cat, can you tell me what day it is?”
“Is nighttime.” She looked up towards the treetops. The moon had sunk lower, but the sky was still pitch black.
He grabbed her wrist and pressed his fingers to her pulse. “We need to get you to the med center. Now.”
She leaned back against the tree, tucking into the coat and closing her eyes. Exhaustion descended on her from every angle. “M’kay. I’ll wait here.”
“Cat.” Oliver put his hands on either side of her face. They were hot and burned against her cheeks.
She blinked with her good eye, but his face wouldn’t come into focus. Someone was stuffing cotton balls in her ears and Oliver’s whistle to Rocky sounded far away. Her shivers faded to twitches.
chapter thirty-three
Her mind woke up, but moments passed before Caitriona returned. Followed immediately by a pounding in her head.
Her eyelids refused to cooperate as she tried to pry them open. She groaned and it felt like swallowing sandpaper, which caused her eyes to water and she scrunched her eyelids tight before forcing them up. Only one fully opened.
The sun hung low in the sky out her dorm room window, but was it rising or falling?
Every inch of her body felt weak and bruised, every muscle ached, her movement hampered by a warm, weighted blanket. Her left ankle was propped on a pillow with a bean bag wrapped around it, throbbing to high hell. She tried to sit up but her muscles protested. Her armpits were sticky and she peeled back her t-shirt. A large leaf was plastered over the skin with an orange paste oozing from beneath it. She could feel another on the back of her neck. The scent of ginger and cayenne assaulted her nose and she sneezed.
A glass of water sat on the desk next to her bed. She picked it up and took a sip, wetting her mouth and throat before drinking deeply.
The door cracked open and a head peeked around it. Justine smiled, stepping fully into the room.
“Well, hello there.” She held another bean bag in her hands. “I was just coming to swap this out.”
“Hi,” Caitriona took another drink of the water before setting it aside. “How long was I out?”
“Is she awake?” Alaia’s question came from outside the door.
“Yes, she is,” Justine answered.
Alaia appeared, carrying a fresh glass of water, followed by Dusha and Bulat. The wolf hopped onto Justine’s bed and made himself comfortable. Justine didn’t bat an eye.
“And most of the day,” Justine added. “It’s almost four.”
Caitriona didn’t know what time it was when Oliver found her in the woods, or what time it had been when she’d left the dorm for her nighttime walk. She barely knew what day it was. She pushed herself into a sitting position, and Alaia fussed over her pillows, fluffing them into a more supportive shape.
Caitriona shooed her away. “I’m fine.”
Alaia retracted, taking a step back.
“I’m sorry. Thank you. I’m just-”
Alaia cut her off, waving her hands. “No, it’s okay. I understand.”
Justine set to work on Caitriona’s ankle, unwinding the wrap and revealing a gruesome sight. It was swollen to twice its normal size in a nasty display of black, purple, and red going up to her knee. Caitriona cringed.
“Good work.” Dusha nodded approvingly.
“Yeah. It’s pretty bad,” Justine removed the other bean bag and placed the new one on. The cold was a relief against the hot, tight skin. “What the heck were you doing out there?”
A vision of the unicorn outlined in the snow came to Caitriona’s mind. Had she really followed a phantom unicorn to her death? Or had the unicorn been drawing her in? She couldn’t shake the sensation that some deep part of her subconscious had been pulling her toward the woods.
