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“Sorry. She’s a handful,” I said.
Jana shook her head, her hair loosening from her silvering bun. “Not at all. Children push boundaries. She will be all right with me. I brought a jigsaw puzzle of the mountains for us to do.” Her smile was warming, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her Britta hated puzzles. Yet Jana had a way of convincing Britta to do things I never could.
“You go on now.” She waved me to get into the van, so I smiled and climbed inside. In the passenger seat was a notepad with the address and names of the clients whom I was visiting, and I started the engine. I added the location in the GPS.
The sooner I left for Ringsted, the quicker I’d return. I was excited to visit the nearest town and to familiarize myself with the area. A buzz curled in my chest to discover what was near us. Strapped in, I waved to Jana and drove away.
An hour into the drive, and all I’d seen was an endless sea of pines, a winding road curving between two mountains, and snow. No one traveled between the towns it seemed, or at least not today. Back in California, it had been rare to travel during the day and find a major road abandoned, but this new place was growing on me. No angry drivers or fighting in a store. Last night, Britta and I had gone out for schnitzel at a local restaurant, and we’d walked straight in, getting a table. And everyone had been so nice, even though we couldn’t speak German.
I breathed easier. We had a roof over our heads and food. And for our first Christmas in Austria, I intended to spoil Britta. Including getting a real tree for us to decorate. I tapped my fingers to the German tune on the radio, loving everything about this place so far, and for the first time in so long, maybe my whole life, I’d woken up with a smile on my face every morning.
Up ahead, the road diverged in two. To the right, the woods grew sparser, and it seemed lighter, while on the left, the forest thickened, the skies darkening as if a storm approached.
A quick check and the GPS pointed left. Of course it did. But this wasn’t a spooky movie where I screamed at the kids not to take the dark path. This was real life, and that stuff didn’t happen. Besides, I was halfway to Ringsted, so I’d get this done and return home before the storm hit.
Fifteen minutes later and the road had grown narrower, the snow falling faster and thicker. On the seat next to me was my phone with one bar. If I got stuck or something, Manuel would come for me.Fuck, stop thinking that shit.
I gripped the steering wheel and pushed forward, going slowly because it felt as if I swayed across the road. God, someone would think I was a drunk driver, unable to just drive straight.
A sudden clunking sound came from the motor and the vehicle slowed as if it were on its last legs. Panic struck my chest, and I pumped the pedal. The vehicle stopped moving, as if I’d run out of gas. Except I had a full tank.What the hell?
I steered off the road just as the engine flatlined.
“Dammit!” Snatching the phone, it showed no service. I huffed and climbed out. Frosted air forced its way into my lungs. I rubbed my hands before opening the hood. The gigantic pines seemed to close in around me, towering over me like guardians. It wasn’t midday yet, but a dimness settled over the landscape. With the hood up, a quick scan with my limited knowledge showed nothing smoking. And the oil gauge appeared normal, so I shut the lid and checked the tires. No punctures or flats, not that either would stop the car like this. It had to be the battery, so maybe I’d find jumper cables in case someone passed. Surely, people out here came prepared, so I headed to the trunk and pulled open the door.
I faced a wall of wooden crates filled with schnapps and whiskey and peered past them but saw nothing that could aid me, so I slammed the door shut.
“What to do, what to do?” I mumbled to myself as I scanned around the pines, the branches laden heavy with snow. I supposed it made more sense to walk back to where the path forked in two where I last remembered having phone reception.
A light breeze blew past, and I wrapped the coat around my body, my ears frozen, the cold in my eyes. I hadn’t brought a hat or scarf, which was dumb in hindsight. I attempted to start the car once more, hoping the car trouble had been a fluke. Except it made no sound. I sighed and grabbed my phone, purse, and keys.
With the car locked, I journeyed back the way I’d come. A sudden explosion of squawks came from around me, and I jumped out of my skin. A crowd of blackbirds fluttered out of the tree and vanished overhead, snow from those branches hitting the ground. That was when I spotted a red smudge amid the white, like a speck of blood. Except this was something bigger, and I eyed the object, curious. Leaving the road, I passed several trunks. I reached down and pulled the fabric free from the white powder, finding a hat.
Not just any, but a Santa hat. I laughed to myself. Someone’s party had ended up in the forest. Their loss was my gain. I dusted it and dragged it over my head, covering my ears. It fit snug and a warmth smothered me at once as if I had stepped in front of a fire. The heat traveled down my body, and within moments, a fiery sensation flushed through me.
I took the hat off and studied it, but the earlier high temperature I’d felt dissipated. There was no tag to show what material it was, but I needed an entire wardrobe made of this fabric for the winters in Austria. I dragged the hat back over my head low, swimming in the sudden warmth.
When a guttural growl came from deeper in the forest, I flinched and pressed myself against a tree, my breaths locked in my lungs.
I peered out from around the pine, scanning the woodland. Nothing out of the ordinary. God, had a wolf made that sound? I darted back to the van, unlocked the door with a click, and scrambled inside, my skin crawling. I locked myself inside, dumped my purse on the passenger seat. Maybe walking wasn’t such a good idea if I had no clue what lurked in these woods. But sitting here all day and night wasn’t an option either, even with the world’s warmest hat. I’d freeze to death once night hit.
I studied the woods for any kind of movement. Only the breeze stirred, sending the branches into a soft sway. Insisting I visit the new client on my own had been a mistake. A fucking grand one. So I’d sit here for a while because whatever had made the sound would leave when it sensed no activity. And someone might travel past and stop to help me.
High hopes, but that was all I had to hold on to, so I reclined in my seat. I pulled out the phone from my pocket to play a game, but then set it on the passenger seat, needing to reserve the battery for as long as possible.
All right, I could do this. I lived near a forest, and that meant being in the wilderness, occasionally getting stuck out here. Still, unease coiled tight in my chest that I’d gotten stranded out here and Britta would freak if I was home late. Jana wouldn’t leave her alone, so that calmed me. She seemed like a woman who took care of any situation. Thank goodness I’d bumped into her at the grocery store. Well, more like she’d dropped a can of pickles and I’d collected it for her, then we’d gotten to talking. I picked up my phone—still no reception bars. I cursed under my breath, the earlier panic swelling in my chest.
A loud crash echoed out nearby, and I jumped in the seat. Then something slammed into the passenger side of the car. I flinched, paralyzed with fear. The whole vehicle swayed from side to side, the bottles in the back clanging and the distinct sound of smashing glass. I clasped the door, the phone dropping somewhere at my feet.
“What the fuck?”
I shot a glance at the passenger’s sidemirror. A black figure on hind legs darted out of sight. A bear. Was that a freaking bear?
Panic clawed though me, rocking me with the urgency to run. Escape.Oh, god. Oh, god.
When the vehicle come to a complete stop, I plastered myself to the seat, my pulse racing. Checking every mirror and window showed nothing. Just a silent forest, but without a shadow of doubt, I was not leaving the confines of this van. Not in this world with angry vicious animals out there. Walking to town could take thirty or forty minutes. Maybe longer, making me easy prey for whatever was out there. It was better I stayed in the vehicle, as someone might spot me if they passed.
Hell, when I got back home, I’d read up on what lived in the Austrian Alps. And how to deal with them. Then I was getting a gun and knife.
