Page 3 of Scarred Mountain Man

With trembling hands, I reach for my phone to dial the number Steve gave me, unsurprised when I see the empty bars at the top of the screen. Just my luck that there would be no signal. Now I'm stuck on a mountain with a broken car and no signal to call for help. Yep, this is definitely becoming a horror film.

My only other option is to get out of the car and take a look under the hood, but I don’t know anything about cars and also… bears. Despite my earlier conviction of thinking I could deal with a bear if I ran into one, I am hesitant to step out of the car. Even so, I know I can’t stay here forever, I need to get out and look for a phone signal or try to find help.

After a little pep talk to curb my nerves, I reach into my bag for the bear spray and slowly step out of the car, whipping my head left and right to make sure there aren’t any bears lurking behind the trees waiting to pounce.

I walk a few steps away from the smoking car, taking in the crisp autumn air. For a solid five seconds, I stop to take in the serene silence and fresh air, but I don’t linger. With the bear spray clutched to my chest like a weapon, I lift my phone to the airdesperately searching for a signal but nope, not even a single bar shows up.

I drop my hand with a frustrated sigh as I contemplate heading up the mountain to find a higher point. The thought of walking further from the sanctuary of my car – even a dead one – doesn’t sit well with me but it’s not like I have many choices. It’s getting late and I would hate to be caught in this part of the mountains in the dark.

The thought alone is enough to propel me forward. I walk away from the car with my hand lifted in hopes of catching a signal… just a single bar so I can call my friends or even Steve. If I’m lucky, both.

“C’mon, please,” I whisper as I trek up the mountain trail, swinging my hand around and begging the mountain gods for a single bar. “Please, please...”

My eyes widen and I shriek with excitement when a single bar pops up. I quickly dial one of my friend’s numbers and it takes a full, tense moment before it starts ringing. The call connects immediately and I catch her broken voice before it drops and the line goes dead.

“No, no, no! Come back, please,” I cry out, walking a bit further into the trees and begging for the signal to come back but after multiple attempts, I lose the little hope I had left. Now that I think about it, I would have had a better chance of sending a text to my friends instead of banking on the call. I quickly fire a text to them and hope I can catch a signal so it goes through.

I turn around to head back in the car when I realize that I’ve walked off the mountain trail. I whip my head around as panic sets in, but I don’t locate my car. Christ, I must’ve wandered too far and now all I see are trees and more trees.

Panic sets in as I start walking around in hopes I can find the trail but I find nothing. It slowly dawns on me that I am lost.

Oh, God!

I walk around some more, but it feels like I’m going in circles. This is my worst nightmare. I should have stayed in the smoking car. At least then, I had a chance of survival and now I’m practically serving myself to the bears on a silver platter.

At least I’ll have a beautiful view when the bears finally catch up with me.

I sniff back tears that clog my throat as the reality of my situation settles in. I listen for the sound of voices or cars but… nothing. The silence in the forest is broken only by the distant call of a bird and the rustling of leaves. I feel a mix of unease, realizing how small and vulnerable I am.

“All right, calm down,” I whisper to myself, barely pushing back the panic attack that threatens to suffocate me. I force in deep breaths until my heart isn’t hammering in my ears anymore and that’s when I hear it…

A gentle murmur in the distance. Water!

I choke back a sob when I catch the sound. It’s not much but it’s something. If I find the river and follow it, there is a chance it’ll lead me back to town or at the very least, some sort of civilization. Either way, I’ll have a sense of direction as opposed to being stuck in the forest.

I follow the sound, pushing through the underbrush and stepping on tree branches, thankful that I had the foresight to wear hiking boots for this little adventure. The sound grows from a gentle murmur into a roar and I almost drop to my knees when I finally emerge into the clearing to be greeted by a river.Its crystal-clear waters cascade over the rocks and relief washes over me as I realize I have found a lifeline.

The relief is short-lived when I notice something huge immersed in the water and fresh panic surges through me as my mind registers the silhouette and for a split second, I mistake it for a bear.

I hug the bear spray tightly and back up a step, afraid to draw attention to the animal but I must make some sort of noise as the animal quickly whips its head around and I gasp when cold eyes settle on me, dark and threatening.

No, it’s not a bear.

I stand frozen in fear as I take in what I am staring at. It’s a man standing waist-deep in the rushing river. His broad shoulders taper down to his lean waist, while his muscular arms glisten with water droplets. The sunlight dances on his tanned skin, highlighting his chiseled features. Long midnight black hair, dampened by the river, falls in tousled waves around his face, framing piercing eyes that send a shiver through my entire body.

I realize why I mistook him for a bear. His body is covered in a layer of hair and a large scar marks the side of his face, giving him a rugged and almost primal aura, one that screams of danger and intrigue. I can feel my core warm at the sight of him, the thought of what he could do to me with that body overriding the common sense that I should run.

We lock eyes, his gaze slightly widening in surprise that I’m there and I feel my heartbeat thump wildly, like a rabbit stuck in a snare. He takes a cautious step towards me, his eyes unblinking, a predator that has locked onto his prey.

I guess rainbow suspenders Steve was right about one thing and it wasn’t the car. There is indeed a beast in the forest, and he’s coming right for me.

Chapter Two

Shaw

The wild berries I ate earlier must've been poisonous because I think I'm seeing things. Barely twenty feet from me stands an angel. She's beautiful with her long blond hair and blue eyes that are captivating and deep like the endless expanse of the sky.

I don't dare blink in fear that she'll disappear if I look away even for half a second, so I stare at the angel, willing her to stay and God almighty, she's quite a sight. My eyes run hungrily over the perfect swell of her perky tits under the green sweater she has on and to the dark jeans hugging her feminine curves in ways that send my cock swelling in the water. Christ, she’s petite too and I bet she would fit perfectly into my arms, like a puzzle piece.