Recaptured

As she came down from the apex, she suddenly sensed eyes on her. She laughed, realizing it was only a deer on the opposite bank. The sound of her laughter caused it to bound away.

Val's new-found freedom was thrilling, but she realized that losing herself in her own sensations could be dangerous out in the open. She made a mental note to be more careful in the future.

Midway through the afternoon, Val came across a small clearing. Several rabbits were nibbling on clover near the far edge. She dispatched one with a throwing knife, severing its spine instantly. This was a skill Val had perfected through untold hours of practice over her childhood. By the time she was 16, even her father could not come close to her deadly accuracy. She preferred the throwing knives as a hunting tool, especially when she was traveling. Sure, they offered somewhat less accuracy and much less range than a long-bow or cross-bow, but they were so much less bulky.

As the sun set, Val found a suitable spot to spend the night; one where her fire was protected such that the light would not be seen from a distance. After cooking and eating her rabbit, Val looked back with satisfaction on her day. Her mother was wrong. She could survive in the wild on her own.

Three days later, Val had to admit she was beginning to get lonely. She had never been even a full day without human interaction in the city. She had seen several traveling parties moving along the road but she always stayed out of sight as they passed. They were headed in the opposite direction she was anyway. It was likely their destination was Munroe, where they would seek fertility treatments, probably in vain.

Toward the end of the sixth day, she heard quiet voices ahead. She crept up to find three men and a woman sitting around a campfire, cooking their dinner. They were about 200 yards off the road in a well-hidden spot. She could see they were well armed and were at ease out here in the wild. She stayed in the shadows and listened to their conversation. They were headed north to the same outpost that Val was headed toward. She gathered that they were fur traders.

Val felt an almost overwhelming desire to talk to them. Still, she knew she shouldn't trust them. Reluctantly, she turned to leave. She needed to get some distance from them before she could make her own fire and cook her dinner without risk of detection, and soon it would be too dark to travel.

She had been so still and quiet as she watched the traders, that a deer had wandered close, oblivious to her until she stirred to leave. The deer snorted and crashed off. All four of the traders leaped up and grabbed their weapons.

"What was that?" a short stout man said, aiming his crossbow in Val's direction. Val was pretty certain they could not see her in the shadows as long as she stayed still.

"It was just a deer," said the woman.

"Yeah but something startled it. I think there's something else over there."

"Ah, Raul, you're just paranoid."

Val had to make a decision. She felt like a rabbit, with that classic decision they always seemed to be faced with: stay still and hope you aren't detected or bolt. The right choice really came down to whether the traders were going to come over to investigate or settle back down around their campfire.

Val didn't so much make a conscious decision as she did simply hesitate. It was likely the wrong reaction.

"C'mon Smitty, let's check it out."

The two men advanced on Val's position. If she bolted now she would likely end up with an arrow in her back.

"Don't shoot. I'm not looking for any trouble," said Val.

"Come over here where we can see you," responded the Raul.

The four traders gasped in surprise when Val stepped into the light. Clearly the last thing they expected was a teenage girl.

"Oh my god, it's a child!"

Val pulled herself up as tall as she could. "I'm not a child, I'm 18."

The stout man chuckled, "A feisty child, at that. Where the hell did you come from?"

"Obviously she comes from Munroe," chimed in Smitty, a slender, balding man with a bushy beard, "It's the only place where there's children, ain't that right, girl?"

"Yeah," replied Val.

"Are you really travelling these woods alone?" asked Raul.

"Yes, what of it? I can take care of myself."

"You are either really brave or really foolish, probably both. You may be a good hunter, but there are a lot of dangerous people out here. There are a lot of men that would kill to have their way with a tasty morsel like you."

Val recognized the men's leering looks, and assumed she could count them among the dangerous men that Raul referred to. She would need to tread carefully until she found a way to part company with them. She considered just bolting for cover, but she wasn't sure she could make it back to the dark shadows before they took her down.

"You should stay with us tonight . . . for your own safety."

For the moment, Val figured her best option was to play along until a good opportunity arose to slip away.

"We are offering safety and a warm fire . . . are you willing to share your bounty in return?" Raul asked as he aimed his gaze at her hip level.

"My god," Val thought angrily, "does he really think I will give it up that easy?" She was about to snap back at him when she suddenly realized he was referring to the two rabbits that hung off the pack slung over her shoulder. Relieved, she agreed to share.

After they had eaten, the traders passed around a bottle. Val had only tasted alcohol once, when Brian had snuck some from his father's supply. Now she was reluctant to take it, but her pride got in the way. She didn't want them to see her as a child. The liquid burned down her throat and it was all she could do not to cough and sputter. Soon, however, she felt a pleasant warmth spread through her. After the second time the bottle made its rounds, she decided it would not be wise to drink any more. She raised the bottle to her lips but didn't consume any more.

Soon the conversation faded out. The third man of the party, a silent mountain of a man named Luke, drifted off to sleep first. The woman, who the men referred to as Ann, dozed off a few minutes later.

Val decided she would slip out of the camp as soon as all the traders were asleep. Raul sat on the opposite side of the campfire and watched her. Val found his attention unnerving. Soon Smitty was asleep as well. Only one more man to wait out.

Val snapped to attention moments later, realizing that her head had bobbed as she started to doze off herself. She bit her tongue to keep herself alert. She couldn't afford to fall asleep. She looked across to see Raul grinning at her. She wondered if she could take him out with a throwing knife before he could pick up his cross-bow. She noticed his eyelids were beginning to droop and decided to stick with the original plan.

After about 10 minutes of waiting, Raul's head rolled to one side and his breathing became steady. Val began to reach for her pack, when Raul snorted and stirred. Val froze. His eyes opened briefly, then drooped again. Val settled down to wait a few more minutes.

Val awoke in terror as strong hands held her wrists and ankles and Raul's weight came down on her. She had fallen asleep and now she was about to pay for it, perhaps with her life.

Luke had her hands pinned over her head and Smitty held her ankles. Raul sat on her hips. Val struggled but they had her well under control.

Raul leered at her as he reached down and ripped her vest open. "Mmm, that is sweet," he said as he fondled her breasts roughly. She cringed at his touch.

The men pulled her pants off. Raul stood up and dropped his own pants, then kneeled between her legs. Val fought with renewed vigor, squirming around as much as she could.

"Dammit," said Raul, "she's moving too much." He reached to his side and pulled out a knife. He put it to Val's throat. "Here, Luke, hold this knife. If she won't cooperate, slit her throat and we'll fuck her while she bleeds to death."

With the cold steel blade pressed against her throat, Val stopped struggling. Defeated, she waited for Raul to violate her. It never happened. Raul suddenly keeled over to his left, with an arrow sticking out of the right side of his head.

Luke snapped his head around to look for the unseen attacker. As he did so, the knife drifted off of Val's throat. Val seized the opportunity. She pulled out two throwing knives from her vest. The one in her left hand she drove deep into Luke's neck, just below the base of his skull. The other one she let fly toward Smitty, who had backed off from her feet. It lodged in his temple, just as a second arrow found its mark between his eyes.

Val sprang to her feet and sprinted for the dark shadows in the opposite direction from where the arrows were coming. She caught a glimpse of Ann cowering on the ground as she ran by. Val made it safely to the heavy brush and darkness. She hid and waited. The seconds ticked by.

A deep voice called out from the opposite tree-line, "You can come out, young lady. I didn't rescue you from these louts just to turn around and kill you myself. If I wanted you dead, you would already be dead."

"Forgive me if I have some trust issues right now," Val replied, "come out where I can see you first."

"As you wish." A man stepped out of the woods into the light of the campfire holding his cross-bow at his side.

Val stepped out of the woods herself, another throwing knife at the ready.

The man reached down and picked up Val's pants. "You might want to put these back on."

Val went red, suddenly remembering she was fully exposed, between her missing pants and ripped open vest. She tried in vain to cover up as she snatched the pants from him. She turned away from him and put them back on.

"It's a little late for modesty now," he laughed, "especially after the show you put on at the waterfall a couple of days ago."

"You fucking pervert! You've been spying on me all that time?" Val was livid and deeply embarrassed, remembering what she had done. Even worse was the fact that he had been able to shadow her for days without her noticing.

"You are awfully ungrateful considering I just saved your life. Yes, I have been watching over you for days. I'd hate to see a pretty little child like you get hurt out here in the wild.

"I'm not a child and I can take care of myself."

"Oh sure, you were doing such a great job of it before I stepped in," he said sarcastically, gesturing to her three slain attackers.

Val looked down at them and suddenly felt ill. The realization that she had just killed a man, possibly two, hit her. She ran to the bushes and vomited.

"I can see you are a cold blooded killer," the man said dryly.

"Fuck you."

"I'm sorry, but I hope the whole incident was a wakeup call for you. You have no business wandering about in the wild on your own. These guys were completely right about one thing: you are brave and foolish . . . mostly foolish."

Val opened her mouth to protest, then shut it. She knew he was absolutely correct. She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. As a young girl wandering through a violent and lawless land, filled with violent and lawless older men, most of whom hadn't seen a young girl in decades, she was always going to be an enticing target. She was still angry that the man felt it necessary to point out her stupidity.

"If you would like to live, I suggest you stick with me. The name's Mason." He stuck out his hand. Val ignored it; she wasn't done pouting.

Mason walked over to Luke's body, pulled out Val's throwing knife and wiped the blood off on Luke's shirt. He felt the knife's balance in his hand, then flipped it up in the air and caught it again. "That's a quality blade." He went over to Smitty and recovered the other blade, as well as his arrow. He handed Val back her knives.

"I've got to admit, you have some serious skills with those knives. Val was pleased with the compliment, despite her lingering anger.

"What should we do with her?" asked Mason, gesturing to Ann. She had been sitting quietly this whole time.

Val shrugged.

"Please sir, let me travel with you. This is no place for an old woman to travel alone either," Ann pleaded.

"No, I have no use for you. At least the young lady has some self-defense and hunting skills. What do you offer? You didn't exactly display any loyalty to your previous travel partners either. No, you are nothing but a liability."

Mason turned to Val, "would you like to kill her or should I?"

Val was appalled. "NO!"

"Are you sure? She was going to just sit there and watch you be gang raped and killed just a few minutes ago."

"I don't blame her, what could she have done?"

"OK, fine, I'll do it then."

"NO!"

Mason looked at Val and gave her a wink, then turned to the older woman, "Lady, you're lucky my new traveling companion is soft-hearted. Get out of here before I change my mind."

Ann got up, picked up the bundle of furs the men had been bringing to market and crashed off into the darkness.

After she was gone, Val asked Mason, "You wouldn't have actually killed her, would you?"

"Only if she refused to leave. I had to put fear in her, because I don't want her coming back. That's the same reason I let her keep the furs. I don't want to give her any reason to return. I don't trust her. She looks harmless, but I guarantee she would slit our throats in our sleep if she thought it would benefit her."

"But you trust me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"The girl who pukes because she can't stand the thought of having killed a man? A man who was trying to rape and kill her? That same girl is then going to turn around and kill me in cold blood while I sleep?"

"OK, fair point, I guess. Why should I trust you?"

"Don't, if you don't want to. I don't care. I'm going to get some sleep now. You can do the same, or stay awake in terror, or leave . . . whatever works for you."

Val decided she would trust him. The adrenalin of the earlier events had drained away and she was desperately tired. She kept a throwing knife in her hand, just in case.

"Mason?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Val."

"Pleased to meet you, Val."

Mason lay down to sleep. Val realized she had one more thing to do before she could rest. She pulled out some fishing line from her pack and laced her vest closed again.

Val awoke late. The sun was already streaming in to the little clearing. A delicious smell was in the air. "It's about time you woke up. Have some warm bread and blackberries. I bartered for the loaf of bread earlier yesterday. It's still fairly fresh. It's not much, but it'll do to start with. Hopefully we can kill something to eat a little later."

Val was ravenous. She was still hungry after her share of the bread. She pulled some venison jerky out of her pack and shared it with Mason.

"Hey, I got one more thing . . . try this," said Mason. He handed Val a lump of something brown.

Val tasted it. A sweet explosion overwhelmed her taste buds. "Holy shit that's good, what is it?"

"You've never had chocolate?"

"No, but I think I have a new favorite food."

Mason took out his sword and went to the edge of the clearing. He picked out a straight sapling and hacked it down.

Val watched him. He was not a huge man, but he was solidly built. He looked to be about 50, but as with most adults he was likely older. Still, he was in top physical condition. He had thick black hair that was just graying at the temples and a couple of day's growth on his tanned face.

Val wondered what he planned to do with the sapling. He trimmed the branches off of it, then he cut it to about a 7' length. He swung it about like a staff. Then he bent down and picked up Val's staff. He looked at them both as though he were comparing them. Then he tossed Val's staff at her. She stood up and caught it.

Without warning, Mason charged her and swept the end of his staff low, taking Val's feet out. She hit the ground with a thud. Mason swung the sapling down at her, but she rolled away and sprang to her feet. "What the fuck!" She counter attacked, her staff nearly a blur. He was blocking each blow with his sapling, but barely keeping up with her. She drove him backwards with the fury of her attack. She paused and stepped back. They each crouched at the ready, waiting for the other to make the next move. Mason straightened up, relaxed and laughed. "I'm impressed," he said. Val realized he had been testing her.

Val came out of her stance and started to lower her staff. Suddenly she gave him one last jab. He reacted quickly, moving to block it, but he wasn't quite quick enough. Her jab caught him in the ribs. A look of pain and anger crossed his face.

Val laughed, "What? Not fair because I attacked you with no warning?"

"OK, point taken . . . guess I can't complain about that. Damn, that hurt. Who taught you to wield a staff like that?"

"My mom."

"Really?"

"Yup. She can still kick my ass. She was a 'Black Widow'," Val added with some pride in her voice.

Mason shuddered a little at the mention of the infamous female gang. "I don't think I want to face off against her."

Mason appeared to be studying her. A strange look came over his face. "Your mom isn't Liviana, is she?"

"Yes . . . do you know her?"

"No, I've just heard the legends. I didn't know if she was real."

"Yup, she's real. I'm not sure how real the stories are though."

"Actually, you are kind of a legend as well. Aren't you the first born of the new generation?"

"Yeah, yeah . . . the salvation of the human race and all that horseshit. That's why I came out here. There was too much damn pressure on me in the city."

"So you thought you would just run away and get yourself killed?"

"OK, pretty stupid, I admit."

They broke camp and traveled north. Val had always prided herself on her ability to move quietly through the forest, but she was amazed at how stealthy Mason was.

Midway through the morning, they startled a pheasant. It flew a short distance and landed again. Val moved quietly and slowly toward it until she was within 25 yards. She let a blade fly and it neatly decapitated the bird. "Lunch," grinned Val.

By the end of the day, it began to rain. Mason and Val built a quick lean-to shelter. Mason pulled a sheet of plastic from his pack and draped it over the shelter to repel the rain. Just under the overhang of the shelter, they built a fire and cooked their meal.

After they ate, Mason pulled out a bottle. Val realized it was the same one the trader's had last night. She looked at him in surprise.

"What? Why let it go to waste? It's not like they need it anymore." He took a deep swig and handed it to Val. She hesitated, then took it. I while later, Val was feeling a little tipsy.

She looked at Mason, remembering something he had said last night. "So, I can't believe you spied on me back at the waterfall. Doesn't privacy mean anything to you?"

"If you want privacy, I suggest you not masturbate in open clearings in broad daylight."

Val giggled and slapped Mason's arm. "You pervert!"

"Me? I wasn't the one performing a sex act for all to see. I'd say you're the pervert."

"OK, maybe I am. Did you really watch the whole thing?"

"Every stroke and every moan. It was damn hot, too. It got me off."

"Wait, you mean you . . . um, you know . . . relieved yourself, too?"

"You're damn right. I wasn't going to let that show go to waste."

Val had never had such an open conversation about sexuality with a man. She was getting highly aroused and it frightened her a little. She decided she should change the subject.

"Um, Mason?"

"Yes, Val?" He sounded a little breathless.

"Where are you headed?"

"To the trading outpost. I have some business to conduct. I have come into possession of a very valuable commodity."