Page 2 of Redemption

In theory, maybe I should stay where I am. I’m sure that the guys are looking for me by now, although I’m not entirely certain how long I’ve been out here, so I could be wrong and they may not even know that I’m missing yet.

Wait, of course they know I’m missing. It’s dark, there’s a storm, and I’m still not home in my PJs with a bowl of soup.

I frown, I’m now even more certain that I have a concussion.

Awesome.

Forcing my hand into my soaking wet pocket, I pull out my equally wet phone.

Ugh, I hate wet jeans, they’re the worst.

“Please work, please work,” I mutter to whoever might be listening and may decide that they want to help me.

I sigh when I tap the screen, and it, of course, doesn’t light up. As I get a closer look, I realize that the screen is completely smashed. Yeah, that makes sense. Of course it’s broken, that’s just my luck.

Considering how hard I landed, I’m surprised that my phone is the only thing that’s broken.

So I guess that’s the silver lining to this awesomely shit day I’m having.

If I stay where I am, then the guys could find me more easily.

Probably.

The problem is, I have no idea how far out I really am, and our property is huge.

The storm is still raging, and it’s not safe to be out in this weather anyway, but staying where I am means that I risk lightning hitting a tree, and I could get trapped underneath it, or knocked out again, because that would just be my luck.

Maybe I do have a concussion. I already decided I did. For fuck sake, Ever.

On a more serious note, because that obviously wasn’t serious enough, I could also develop hypothermia. I’m already colder than I should be, and I’m wet. By keeping moving, I can keep my core temperature up. Plus, if I can track which way Tank went, then I should hopefully be able to meet the guys as they come to find me. Of course, that’s assuming that Tank was heading in the direction of the barn and not in the opposite direction. To be honest, even if I knew he was heading in the wrong direction, I would still track him because I need to make sure that he’s safe.

That settles it then. Either way, I’m tracking Tank.

It would usually be fairly easy to track an animal of Tank’s size: hoof prints in the ground, broken branches, that kind of thing, but we’re in the middle of a storm. The tracks have been washed away, and there are a lot of broken branches. I’m going to have to look for some with consistency, all at the same height, all going in the same direction, that kind of thing, and I’m going to have to be careful.

As if to prove my point, a huge flash of lightning lights up the sky as the wind howls through the trees, and I dive out of the way of a falling branch.

It’s time to move.

It would make sense if he carried on going in the direction that we were riding in, at least at first, until he realized that I was no longer on his back. I turn in a slow circle, squinting into the darkness and swiping the rain out of my eyes. Finally, I recognize the direction that we were heading in.

I think.

I’m either about to save myself or get myself even more lost than I already am. Considering I’m known for my shitty sense of direction, I’m going to bet that it’s the second one.

However, what I lack in directional skills I make up for in tracking ability, so in theory, they should balance each other out well enough.

Right?

I’m too fucking cold to stay where I am anyway, so I start moving, looking for any signs that show that Tank has been through here, all while keeping an ear out for any cracking branches that want to kill me.

Death by tree, what a way to go.

On the plus side, I shouldn’t have to worry about any predators that may be out here because they should be scared and be holed up somewhere, keeping out of the storm.

Plus, nothing tried to eat me while I was out cold, and it would have been very easy to eat me since I was unconscious, obviously. I frown. My brain is doing some weird mental chatting right now, and I somehow know that I’m forgetting things, but I don’t know what those things are, so that’s frustratingly unhelpful.

Something catches my eye to my right and slightly behind me.