Page 31 of Hunted By Them

The lot at work was already half full when I pulled into my spot and put the car in park. I didn’t move to get out. My phone stayed silent in the cup holder like a small gravestone. I hadn’t turned it on since…since the storm, since the cabin, since waking in my car with sunlight I didn’t trust. I stared at it until my eyes ached.

“Rip off the bandage,” I muttered, and held down the button until it came to life.

The screen lit up, and the phone vibrated like it was having a seizure. Notifications avalanched at me. Work, my mother, my friend who lived in Nashville, my landlord, and of course, the always annoying Connor. Everything from missed calls to texts, voicemails, and news alerts. My name was in headlines about a rescue I hadn’t experienced. My mother’s name popped up in a stacked column of bubbles like a code for panic.

I swiped and scrolled and felt the bottom drop out. Thirty-six missed calls from Mom. Twelve from Connor. A scattering from co-workers who were either concerned or wanted gossip. Two from an unknown number, and one text from Beth, who wrote in all capitals.

Beth: YOU BETTER NOT BE DEAD!

I smirked at that one. I knew better than to give a dramatic person ammunition to be extra. They’ll take it every time.

I hit call on Mom before I could talk myself out of it.

She answered on the first ring, her voice a shriek and a sob all at once.

“Sage! Oh my God. Oh my God, baby, is it you? Why didn’t you call me last night? The news said you were found yesterday, and you didn’t reach out once.”

She broke down as she found a way to make my going missing for a week about her.

“Hi, Mom.”

My throat tightened with annoyance and yes…guilt. Even when I knew she was manipulating me, I still couldn’t help feeling guilty over whatever crime she accused me of during our calls.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to jump on you like that. I’ve just been so worried. Are you okay? Are you safe? Where are you?”

“I’m sitting in my car.” I stared up at the high-rise in front of me. I couldn’t even see the top from this spot.

“Oh…what in heaven’s name happened? Officers said they found your car but not you, and then they said maybe you’d gone off-trail, and then your cousin Teresa said she saw on TikTok that there was a bear attack not far from your location and…”

“I’m okay,” I said, cutting her off before she listed ten more horrible things that could’ve happened. “I…I don’t know what happened. Maybe I hit my head, or got extremely dehydrated, I’m not sure.”

“You said you’re in your car, where are you going?”

“I’m at work.”

“At work?” She made the word sound like a war crime. “Sage Harlow, you went into the woods alone and disappeared for…do you even know how long? There was an entire search party out looking for you. Do you understand what could have happened? You could have been…kidnapped, or murdered, or sold to a creepy cult!”

A startled laugh escaped before I could stop it. Kidnapped…a creepy cult. If she only knew. Not kidnapped, chosen, hunted, and then…kept. My face heated with the wrong kind of memory, and I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead.

“This is not funny,” she scolded, hearing the edge of my laugh and misreading the meaning. “You scared me half to death. You scared everyone. Even poor Connor was calling me. I was about to fly out there and staple your picture to trees like wanted posters.”

Jesus, he called my mother in Florida. I needed to put a stop to this. His caring act was getting old.

“I’m sorry,” I repeated and meant it. “I wish I could tell you what happened.” Part of me wished that I could tell someone, but I knew it was a secret that I’d always keep to myself.

Silence crackled like static on the line for a few seconds. When she spoke again, her voice had softened around the edges.

“I’m just glad you’re alive, and you’re going straight to a doctor after work.”

“Mom…”

“No discussion. Concussion checks, fluids, and bloodwork. And a therapist. You know I love holistic wellness, but there are no essential oils for you going missing in a national park.”

“I’ll…make an appointment,” I lied, smoothly so that she’d drop it. This wasn’t my first rodeo.

“Good. And Sage…” Her tone shifted again, her maternal radar sweeping my soul. “You sound…far away.”

“I’m in a parking lot.”