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They’re closing in on me. My chance for a quick getaway is gone, so I do the only thing I can think of right now. I turn around and climb the tree. Dead fingers snap when they grab at my foot and I kick them back, pulling myself up to the second branch and out of their reach.
The only thing I can do now is sit and wait. Maybe they’ll give up on me and chase after a squirrel that runs by.
I don’t know how much time passes, but my bladder wants me to get down. It’s impatient, and it’s starting to hurt. “Come on, go away already,” I mumble, but of course, the rotters don’t listen. I’m the only thing on their breakfast menu. Another rotter joins them until there are four of them snarling and hissing and snapping their jaws at me. One of them loses another tooth, it just falls out.
“You know what, fine, have it your way.” It’s not an easy feat, but I maneuver on the thick branch enough to relieve myself. I don’t aim for anything. I merely let gravity be in charge. I’m pulling my underwear back up when I hear a snap of twigs nearby. “You’ve gotta be kidding me. I’m not even enough to satisfy the four of you, let alone a horde.”
I lower my head and squeeze my eyes shut. This can’t be happening. Never have I been without a weapon on me. I’ve been caught in some shitty situations, but I’ve never been this helpless. Imagining rotters piling up below, climbing on top of each other to get up the tree, doesn’t help. I can keep climbing, and I’ll keep climbing for as long as I can. But for now, I need to breathe. Well, not too deeply. The stench rising to me is almost unbearable. It’s something I can tolerate for now, but that still might end up killing me before they can get to me.
Sounds happen below me and I keep my eyes shut, not wanting to see how many rotters have congregated to the one-woman buffet. Instead, I focus on trying to control my breathing.
“Emily?”
My eyes snap open and I look at William down below, standing there looking up at me with his face twisted in confusion and looking like an avenging angel. I think he even has a halo shining over his head. “William?”
“What are you doing up there?”
“Oh, you know, just thought it was a lovely morning to climb a tree.”
“Emily.”
I motion to the dismembered rotters strewn around his feet.
“Are you okay?” His voice is stern and laced with concern.
“I’m fine. I was cornered and couldn’t outrun them.”
He looks around on the ground. “Did you drop your weapon?”
“I forgot to grab it.”
His head snaps back up to me, his eyes narrow.
“I know, I know, it was stupid. Believe me, it won’t happen again.” I go to move off the branch I’m sitting on, but when my feet touch the branch below, it snaps off and lands on the ground with a loud thump. “Shit, sorry.” I glance down and am relieved to see that William managed to jump out of the way in time.
“Let go, Emily. I’ll catch you.”
I’m dangling from the branch high enough to know that if I land wrong, I could really hurt one of us. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You can’t hurt me, Emily. I’ve got you. Trust me.”
Trust him, he says. I want to laugh. The crazy thing is that I’m starting to trust all three of them. “Okay, here I go. One, two—” the bark I’m holding onto detaches from the branch and I fall with a scream.
My arms land around his neck and my legs wrap around his waist. He catches me with ease, his arms wrapping around my back, holding me against his hard, broad chest.
“See,” he says, grinning down at me, “told you I’d catch you.”
“Thanks. Seriously, thank you. I wasn’t sure how long I would be trapped up there for.”
Covering my head, he jumps to the side and the branch I was dangling from moments ago thumps to the ground where he was standing. “Not much longer, I would say.”
“Oh, man.” I bury my face against his neck, his warm neck. I can feel the gentle thrum of his pulse against my cheek. It gradually speeds up. I can’t believe how close I came to joining the rotters. If William hadn’t come looking for me when he did…I rub my face against his throat, trying to push the thought away. He rubs small circles along my back with his thumb.
“I got you, Emily. I wouldn’t ever let you get hurt.”
“Thank you,” I say, but my voice comes out meek.
When I pull my face back, embarrassed, I can barely see him through the curtain of tousled brown hair. He chuckles before setting me down on my feet. I don’t complain when the tiny rocks and twigs dig into the skin. He raises one hand and pushes the hair back until I can see him clearly again. “That’s better.”
