Haunted (Wolf Lake) (3 page)

“
Welcome to Wolf Lake,” he said somewhat sarcastically.  Then he added, “There’s an ATM down at the end of Main Street.  It’s right next to the beauty parlor – can’t miss it.”

Once again, Amelia found herself outside in the eye of the storm.

When she returned a short while later windblown with cash in hand, she was met with a smirk.

“What?” she demanded, feeling somewhat annoyed.

“Your dress,” he said with amusement as he took the money from her. 

Amelia looked down.  The wind had blown her yellow sundress up around her waist and she hadn’t even noticed.  She yanked it down quickly, wondering how much of an eyeful she’d given the arrogant jerk.  At least she was wearing cute panties.

“Twenty bucks is your change,” he said, carelessly tossing a twenty down on the counter. 

She picked it up feeling a little irritated. 
Seriously – he couldn’t even hand the money to her?  Talk about poor customer service!  She tucked the bill into her purse and reached for the paint.  Then she paused.

“Are you Bert?” Amelia asked, curious about the sign outside
the shop that read “BERT’S HARDWARE.”  She couldn’t imagine why someone with such awful people skills would ever go into business in a small town where, one would think, one’s personality could make or break their professional reputation.

“Bert’s my dad.  I’m Chase.”

“Oh,” Amelia said, feeling a bit awkward.  “I’m Amelia.”

He shrugged.  “Alright…well
I’m
out of here.”  Then, perhaps feeling a little guilty for being such a prick, he grabbed the two heavy cans of paint from the counter, holding them as though they weighed nothing at all.  “Where’s your car?”

****

By the time Amelia got out of the ghost town, it was pouring.  Lightning illuminated the sky and thunder boomed in the distance.  She drove slowly and cautiously due to the reduced visibility.  Thankfully there was no other traffic on the road whatsoever.  That made the driving much less stressful.

What Amelia couldn’t have anticipated, however, was that the dirt road near her cabin had become so saturated with rain that it had turned to mud.  It looked normal, but the second she drove her car over it, she knew something was very wrong. 

The tires sunk right into the thick goopy mud.

She tried to put the car in reverse and back up, but it wouldn’t budge.

She tried to drive forward but couldn’t.

She was stuck.

Feeling defeated, Amelia pulled her cell phone out of her purse.  Of course, there was no reception.  She’d forgotten how spotty cell phone service was up at Wolf Lake.  Back when she and Jake had spent weekends at the cabin they’d been more than happy to shut out the outside world.  Now Amelia was totally alone but it wasn’t by choice.

Irritated, she climbed out of the car, getting mud all over her favorite pair of flip flops in the process.  She took one look at the deep
swampy mess and decided there was no way she could push the car out of the mud.  She’d have to get someone with a big truck to haul her out.

At least the rain had let up.  Now it was just a gentle mist. 

But there was no telling how long it would be before someone came along.  Amelia hadn’t seen a soul since Chase the hardware store guy had carried her paint to her car back in town. 

She surveyed the area.  She really wasn’t that far from the cabin.  In fact, if it wasn’t for the heavy fog hanging in the air, she was pretty sure she’d be able to see its red roof peeking out from in between all the trees.

Amelia was tired of feeling like a helpless woman. 

She’d never thought of herself that way until Jake had died.  They’d split the household chores equally but Amelia’s domain had always been within the home – mostly because Jake was a lousy cook and
seemed to have a knack for destroying clothes in the wash.  Because Amelia had taken care of all those things, Jake had done the outside stuff like mowing the lawn, changing the oil in the car and keeping the house in good repair. 

Once he was gone, Amelia had to figure out how to do everything he’d looked after.  The first time she’d tried to mow the lawn she’d accidentally mowed over the daisies she’d planted in the front yard. 

She could have cried, not because of the ruined flowers but because Jake would have found the whole thing hilarious.  She could practically hear him teasing her, telling her it was payback for the time she insisted he wear the white shirt that had somehow come out pink after he’d put it through the wash. 

But Amelia hadn’t cried.  Instead, she’d been more determined than ever to learn how to do the things Jake had taken care of.  She didn’t want to be incapable and dependent on others for help.  She wanted to prove that she could look after herself.

She may have lost her husband, but she hadn’t lost her independence or her strong will.

It was that same
stubborn determination that made Amelia venture into the forest.  After all, she had things to do and didn’t want to spend hours waiting in her car for someone to come along and rescue her.  She could rescue herself just fine.

The last thing she wanted to do was get lost.  Even though Amelia didn’t know Wolf Lake like the back of her hand
the way Jake had, she had a decent sense of direction.  So she grabbed her bag of groceries out of the car and marched fearlessly into the forest.

It became apparent almost immediately that traipsing through the woods in flimsy flip flops was less than ideal.  It slowed Amelia down but she pressed on through the thick underbrush, determined to reach her destination.

The further she walked into the forest, the thicker the trees became.  They blocked out what was left of the setting sun, causing her to be in near darkness.  She walked gingerly with her head down, watching her feet.  It would be easy to stumble over a fallen tree branch – she sure didn’t need a broken ankle in the middle of nowhere!

It was eerie, waking alone through the dark woods. 
It almost felt as though the trees were whispering her name.  Amelia began to regret her decision to leave the safety of her car.  She couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that she was being watched.  She sternly told herself to quit letting her overactive imagination get the best of her, but the uneasiness continued to nag at her.

After some time, she noticed the sun had all but disappeared behind the hills.  It was getting late.  Amelia wished her flip flops would allow her to walk faster. 
She happened to glance up as she neared a clearing, relieved that the moon was now illuminating her way – everything always seemed scarier in the dark.

Her relief was short-lived.

The glint of a large animal’s eyes peered back at her from the thick brush only feet away.

Amelia’s breath caught in her throat.  She didn’t know whether to run or refrain from making any sudden movements.  She slowly set down the bag of groceries she held and continued to walk
at a slow, measured pace, her legs trembling.

She watched the gleaming eyes as she moved forward, barely breathing.  They continued to remain fixed on her,
observing.  She was relieved the animal didn’t seem to be coming toward her but she was still completely unnerved.  She was afraid it would advance on her and tear her to shreds at any moment.

Amelia could see the cabin, but it was still probably a good half mile away.  If she could just make it there, she’d be safe.  She tried to focus on its red roof to calm her frayed nerves.  When she looked back an instant later to where the eyes had been, they were gone.

The terrified redhead’s entire body was shaking.  She fought the instinct to run and instead forced herself to walk.  If the animal was still around and had simply lost interest in her, she didn’t want to attract its attention again. 

But it seemed it had never lost interest to begin with.

Seemingly out of nowhere, it emerged from the shadows directly in front of Amelia.  She saw that it was a wolf.  It moved with agility and grace, its coat sleek in the moonlight.  Amelia frantically tried to remember if she should scream to try to scare it off or if that only worked with bears.

It didn’t matter.  Amelia was so frozen with fear that she probably couldn’t have made a sound even if she’d tried.
  Its teeth looked so sharp and its paws so strong that she was sure it could overpower her in an instant if it wanted to.

But surprisingly, t
he wolf didn’t advance on her.  It just watched her.  It gazed at her with such intensity that it sent a shiver down her spine.  She was struck by the expression in those eyes – she felt crazy for thinking it but the way the wolf looked at her seemed to convey sadness, tenderness and wisdom all at once.

Suddenly
a switch in Amelia flipped.  Her shock, it seemed, had worn off enough for her legs to finally cooperate with her brain.  She took off like a shot, running through the woods in a panic.  Somewhere along the way she lost one of her flip flops. 

She got turned around.  She didn’t even know where she was anymore as she crashed through the stillness of the woods, twigs snapping and leaves rustling as she went.  Her heart was beating like a hammer and her face was as white as a sheet.

She heard voices ahead.

She stumbled through the trees and came across the remnants of a bonfire.

“Amelia?”  It was Mike, one of the young college guys who’d been on the quad near her cabin.  He was poking at a very damp looking pile of firewood with a big stick. “Our bonfire got rained out but Shawn and some of our friends are out drinking on the deck,” he said, gesturing over his shoulder towards a cottage.  “Feel free to join them – I’ll be along in a minute.”

Then he got a better look at her.

His eyes widened.

“Jesus, what happened to you?”

****

When Mike dropped Amelia off at her cabin, she was exhausted to her very core.  She assured him she was fine but she could tell from the concerned look on his face that he didn’t quite believe her.  She didn’t care.  The second he was gone, she collapsed on the couch.

Once again, her dreams were fitful.  It was no wonder, considering the terror she’d experienced in the forest.  Her dreams were filled with shadows and uncertainty.  She was once again tormented by visions of the wolf she’d encountered in the forest.

This time Jake didn’t make an appearance to save her.

But she could hear his voice.

“Don’t be afraid,” he told her.  “I’m not here to hurt you.”

“I know that,” she replied.  “It’s not you I’m afraid of – it’s the wolf.” 

“Don’t be afraid,” he repeated.

Just then a loud crack of thunder awoke the sleeping woman with a start.  Apparently the storm hadn’t yet passed.

She got up off the couch, every muscle in her body aching.  She glanced out the window and saw the sun was beginning to rise.  She could hardly believe dawn was breaking already – it felt as though she’d just collapsed on the couch only moments earlier.  It had actually been hours.

Amelia made her way into the bathroom, glanced in the mirror above the sink and was confronted by quite the sight.  No wonder Mike had looked at her with such concern.  There were leaves and twigs tangled in her dishevelled red hair and several large scratches covered her fair skin, presumably from where thorns had brushed against her.

A long hot shower helped Amelia feel a little more human.
  But she still felt beat up.

A knock on her door made her jump.
  She peered out the window cautiously, still feeling jumpy.  It was Harold. 

“Oh good, you’re up,” he said when she opened the door and he saw her wet hair.  “I’m sorry to drop in unannounced so early in the morning, but when I was out for my morning walk I saw your car at the side of the road and got worried.  Are you okay?”

Amelia managed a half-smile.  “I’m fine but my car is stuck in the mud.”

“That sure was quite the rain we had last night. 
I’m afraid my little car is no good for pullin’ folks out of the mud, but I know a fella in town who can haul your car out.  How about we go have breakfast at the diner and then I’ll get in touch with him.”

Amelia’s stomach rumbled noisily at the mention of breakfast.  She realized she still hadn’t eaten anything – the groceries she’d bought in town were in the woods.  “Breakfast sounds great,” she agreed, reaching for her purse.  “It will be my treat.”

****

The diner was everything one would expect a small town eatery to be: cozy, quaint and folksy.  There were only a couple of customers
seated on stools at the counter when Amelia and Harold arrived.  After all, it
was
pretty early.

Harold nodded hello to the other patrons before he and Amelia settled into a booth by the window.
  She marvelled at the way the locals all seemed to be on a first name basis with one another.  Small town charm was, well, charming.  No wonder Jake had loved the place so much.

Amelia practically inhaled her scrambled eggs and bacon.  She paused to pour some syrup onto her pancakes, finally coming up for air.  “Thanks for everything you’ve done for me,” Amelia said.  “I really appreciate the great care you’ve taken of the cabin.  I want to write you a check for all your trouble.”