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I breathlessly climbed onto the riverbank, shivering from the frigid water which I'd only barely escaped with my life. I stared up at the darkening sky, wondering where the day had gone. I had set out early to avoid this. Being in those woods wasn’t safe, especially at night. All manner of Monster dwelled in the shadows.
I pushed myself up trying to ignore how sore my muscles were from fighting the current. I studied the opposite bank with a deep frown. I'd been trying to cross for hours. Normally I would have taken the wooden bridge, but the recent storms had made it too dangerous to traverse.
“You okay?”
I jumped when the deep voice came from behind me, a dagger appearing in my hand. The man behind me was almost invisible in the darkness; I could only barely make out his form.
“I'm fine. Just trying to cross the river.”
“This river? That's awful dangerous since the storms caused it to swell. What kind of boat are you using?”
“I don't have a boat. I'm trying to swim my way across. I've done it before, but never when the river was this rough. I've almost drowned probably half a dozen times.”
“Why are you so intent on crossing the river? Give it a couple of days. The water will calm down.”
I shook my head. “I don't have a couple of days. I need to be somewhere important and I need to get there sooner rather than later.”
“You act like someone will die if you don't hurry.”
I shrugged as I went back to studying the tumultuous waters. “I have important things to do and those things are across this river and south.”
“South? You mean the direction the river is going? Why not ride the current until it widens out down the way?”
“That's past where I need to go. Besides, I still don't have a boat. I'll freeze before I get to safety if I try to swim that far.”
“How about I lend you my boat?” There was something I didn't like about his tone. He hadn’t come out of the shadows yet and I swore his eyes had a faint glow.
“What's the price? People don't just give away boats.”
He chuckled and stepped forward, his features becoming illuminated by the moonlight. He was handsome but his skin was unnaturally pale and his eyes were darker than any I'd seen before. Maybe it was just the shadows playing tricks on my eyes. Something can’t glow and be dark at the same time, right?
Right?
“Don't worry about the cost right now. We can figure that out later.” He offered me his hand with a wolfish grin.
I glanced at his hand. “How do you know I'll return your boat?”
“Because I intend to come with you.”
“Negative. I travel by myself. I don't need a companion.”
He gave me a nonchalant shrug and leaned on a nearby tree. “Guess you don't get to borrow my boat, then. Good luck with the current. Mind the scathefish.”
I glared at him but sighed as I glanced at the raging river again. “Fine. But you leave when I'm done with your boat and have repaid you. Deal?”
He grinned again as I extended my hand this Time. “Deal.”
I yanked my hand back when it felt as though my palm had been stung. I looked at my hand, but there was nothing there despite the lingering pain. “What was that?”
He gave me a look that was almost too innocent. “What was what?”
I shook my head and disappeared my knife again. “Nothing. Nevermind. Where's the boat?”
I followed the stranger down the bank a few meters before he turned into the treeline.
“Why is your boat in the woods?”
“You think I'm dumb enough to leave my boat where it could be stolen? I spent too many hours on it to let someone just take it from me. You coming or what?”
I sighed heavily, fighting with my better judgment before following his quickly disappearing shape. The woods made it almost impossible to see anything, so I had to stick close to him if I didn't want to get lost.
“Why do you live out here? Isn't it full of dangerous Monsters?”
“Sometimes you have to be more dangerous than the Monsters, but they leave me be as long as I follow the rules. Mind the branch.”
I ducked below the aforementioned branch which he vaulted over without issue. “Rules? Monsters have rules?”
“Everything has rules, kid. You, me, the Monsters. You just have to figure out what the rules are and how to take advantage of them.”
“I don't think that's how rules work.”
“Only when you let the rules work you. I like to see them more as guidelines. Vague boundaries at best.”
After walking for another minute or two we emerged in a clearing with a small cabin and shed tucked between the trees. There was a sizable woodpile stacked next to the shed which was a bit odd for how early in the season it was. Nothing wrong with being prepared, I suppose.
I stopped when he opened his door. “You're not telling me your boat is inside.”
He laughed, the deep sound resonating inside my bones. “Oh, no. It's in the shed. I just have no intention of leaving tonight. The moonlight is too faint. We'll hit rocks on the way down the river. Believe me, you’ll thank me when we don’t nearly drown.”
I crossed my arms, not happy about the idea of staying in a stranger’s house in the middle of some of the most dangerous woods in the country. What else could I do, though? I wouldn't be able to find my way back to the water in the dark. I hesitantly followed him in, my anxiety not getting any better as he closed the door. At least he didn’t lock me in.
“You hungry? I've got some stew that I can heat for us. Only a day old. It's got wild vegetables and venison.”
I was going to turn him down, but my growling stomach made me change my mind. Swimming against the current had taken a lot out of me. He prepared us both a bowl which eased my worries a bit. At least he was eating the same food.
It probably isn't poisoned.
We ate in surprisingly comfortable silence and I was thankful he didn't spend the meal staring at me. As abrasive as he could be, this stranger wasn't so bad. When he wasn’t talking. The stew wasn't half bad either.
He cleaned our dishes and returned with a blanket for me. “I'd offer to share my bed with you, but I imagine you'd be more comfortable out here on my couch.”
I took the blanket with a nod. “No offense, but you can't be too careful these days.”
“Ain't that the truth? No offense taken.” He tossed the blanket over my head with another bone-deep laugh. “Sleep well, birdie.”
I uncovered my head and gave him my most convincing unamused face. “I'm not a bird. Throwing a blanket over me isn't going to make me fall asleep.”
“Have you ever tried?”
After a small pause, we both broke out into quiet giggles.
“You're not so bad for a guy who lives in this kind of place.”
He winked at me as he moved toward his bedroom. “You're not so bad yourself, kid. Get some rest. Tomorrow we traverse the rapids.”
I laid down, curling up under the blanket that almost seemed prewarmed. I shouldn’t have felt that relaxed in a stranger's house so deep in the woods, but I was too tired to care. Before I knew it, sleep descended upon me.