Page 197 of Hunters and Prey

I could feel the city was where I needed to go, but the idea scared me. I also had no idea how to get over there. There was no Bay Bridge here. A boat across that monstrous lake struck me as foolhardy, at best.

Either way, the sun was tipping towards the horizon. It was getting dark.

I had to find shelter for the night.

Deciding I’d been in one place for too long already, I made up my mind and started down the hill in front of me, on the opposite side from where I’d climbed up. That had me heading roughly south-west. Given how the lake sprawled over the eastern and southern sides of the bay, I figured the shortest way to the opposite shores on foot would be going west and north––so over that black wall of rock that replaced the Golden Gate Bridge.

I aimed myself at a narrow lane of forest, not quite in the direction of those buildings and makeshift houses I’d seen, but away from the lake.

I hoped I could use my seer’s sight to find something abandoned to squat in for the night––preferably something with a door, a hatch, or even a big rock.

Somewhere I could lock myself inside before I let myself go unconscious.

Fighting my way down the steep slope, I stumbled and skidded on the muddy, leaf covered hill, sliding on patches of moss, tripping over ferns, roots and water-washed stones until I half-fell into a bog at the bottom of the slope, really a small tributary off the lake.

After the barest hesitation, where I looked around, trying to decide on my best––or least terrible––option, I waded in, hoping it would at least cover my tracks.

I had to find some clothes.

That was on the list, but definitely further down than shelter.

I honestly wasn’t even sure whether clothes would help me much here.

Even so, looking down at myself, I frowned, somehow more disturbed by the vampire bite marks across my breasts and stomach than I was by the new cuts and scrapes I’d obtained since being here, much less my nakedness itself.

I had no idea what they might do to me if they caught me.

I had no idea what they even wanted.

In the way the trees didn’t look quite like trees, they hadn’t looked quite like humans, either. They’d been… different.

Like something related to humans maybe, but not actually human.

Or maybe like they’d been human once, and had evolved…

Mutated,my mind interjected.

…into something else.

Shoving that from my mind, I balanced on a rock in the weed and mud-choked, sort-of creek, then leapt lightly for the next rock, then the next. I slipped on the mossy stones, almost fell a few times, even with how careful I was being, and how tightly my bruised and bloodied toes gripped the wet rock.

I was maybe halfway across the deepest part of the water, when I looked back over my shoulder… and saw one of them standing on the top of the hill.

It was looking down at me.

I watched it stare at me, and froze in a crouch.

For a long-feeling few seconds, we just stared at one another.

I saw it take in my hair and body, its gaunt, skull-like face unmoving.

I couldn’t help but look at it in return, at the way the creature stood there, at a strange, almost broken angle, like its spine ran at a diagonal tilt, or one leg was severely shorter than the other. It was tall––too tall––with a skeletally-thin body.

Its face was elongated, as if designed to stretch the small amount of skin it had even further over his gaunt features. In my mind, I called it a “he,” but really, I had no idea what it was, or even if it had a gender.

Its milky, filmed eyes with the dark-yellow pupils made it look dead.

Blind, at least.

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