Female Prey & the Elusive Prey Read online

“Okay…which one of us goes, which one stays?”

  “I don’t care. Figure it out yourselves. I’ll call in if I pick up her trail.”

  “Roger that.” Kurt acknowledged. “I like it when they run.”

  He clicked off the radio and stored it away. That climb looked rugged. He hoped she didn’t break a leg or something before they caught up to her. He stood and began trudging up the ravine.

  Kimberley noted how fast the water was rising, and decided it might be a good idea to get up out of this thing and just walk alongside it. She looked around for a way out, and spotted a smaller gully that fed into the ravine. That ought to do.

  It was trickier going than she’d expected. The bed of the gully was mostly loose rocks that threatened to shift under her weight, and in the end it took maybe half an hour to climb out onto more level ground. She was breathing heavily when she was done, but at least now she was safe from being swept away by the water. It was rushing through the ravine now with a constant hissing roar. The soil must not be very deep to get so much runoff so quickly, she noted. She struck out upslope, keeping the ravine to her left. Trees and underbrush sometimes forced her away from it for a while, but she could always find it again just by going towards the noise. She grinned to herself. They’d have to work pretty hard to find her now.

  The water was getting too high and too fast, and he had to haul himself out of the ravine by some exposed tree roots and handy vines. Standing on the edge, he looked down at the water surging by and hoped she hadn’t gotten caught in it. He doubted she had, but if she’d gotten out on the other side it was going to be damned hard to spot her tracks from over here. Still, if she went up far enough, she’d strike the upper trail, and probably follow it for a while at least. Since it wasn’t shown on her map, she wouldn’t be sure just where it finally led to. Shrugging his backpack into a more comfortable position, he moved uphill. It would be getting dark soon. Maybe he’d be lucky enough to stumble across her camp before it got too dark. He’d settle for picking up her trail.

  Kimberley was feeling rather pleased with herself. She’d hiked a long way today, much of it over rough ground. She felt a bit tired now, but the good kind of tired you get from pushing yourself physically. Still...it was getting darker, and soon it would be too dark to see things she might walk into or trip over. It was time to make camp for the night.

  Some time ago, one of the taller trees had toppled over, the result of wind or age and death. The opening it left in the canopy above had given a number of small pines the chance to grow. They were pretty thickly clustered, and offered plenty of cover. She eased in between them, finding a spot just big enough for her to unroll her sleeping bag. This would be perfect.

  She shucked off her backpack, wincing a little as various muscles announced they had cramps, and propped it up against one of the pines. In a few practiced minutes, she had the sleeping bag laid out. She sat down gratefully on it and began to unlace her hiking boots when she paused. What if they came across her during the night? She’d need the boots for running. But, somehow, the thought of sleeping in her rather muddy boots was distasteful. If nothing else, they’d get the inside of the sleeping bag dirty. She shrugged. If they could find her in this cover in the dark, being able to run probably wouldn’t help her much. She unlaced the boots and placed them carefully close to hand, so she could find them in the dark. Her socks she kept on. It felt like it was going to be a cold night, and she’d welcome any little extra insulation she could get. The last thing she did before climbing into the bag was retrieve her canteen and some food from her backpack. She wouldn’t risk a fire tonight.

  He’d been searching the ground carefully as he moved uphill, looking for any sign that elf-girl had been this way. It slowed him down, but if he came across her trail he was sure he could catch up to her in time. Meantime, until he did find her trail speed meant nothing.

  It was almost too dark to see when he came across what he’d been looking for. There in a patch of bare ground were three distinct bootprints, heading uphill. They looked fresh, they looked like hers, and in any case, who else would be out here now? He couldn’t tell how long ago they’d been made. Could be a few minutes, could be a few hours. But she was definitely heading upslope, and would probably find the upper trail some time tomorrow morning. He took out his radio. It only had enough range to reach whoever had stayed put on the trail, but that ought to be enough. Once he’d made his report he could think about where to sack out for the night. All he had for sleeping was a blanket roll, but that would be enough. When he was still in the Rangers, often he’d had to manage with a lot less.

  Zippered snugly into her sleeping bag, Kimberley slept very soundly, untroubled by dreams.

  Chapter Two

  Day Four

  Kimberley awoke at sunrise. She always did whenever she was camping, and she thought it was funny. Given a soft bed, she always overslept, and never felt as rested as she did after a night sleeping on hard ground. Before she got up, she listened carefully for sounds of anyone nearby. She heard nothing but birds and the wind whispering through the trees.

  She unzipped the sleeping bag and stood up, stretching and yawning hugely. The sky was clear and blue, the air clean and pine-scented. Now, she thought with a chuckle, if only there were a nice bathroom handy.

  She was packed up and back on the trail within fifteen minutes. One thing about roughing it: You were never inclined to linger over the same things you would back in civilization. As she hiked, she munched on a trail bar. It was better than nothing, but she sorely missed her usual cup of hot coffee. She had a bag of instant coffee in her backpack, but she hadn’t dared to light a fire. She knew how far the smell of wood smoke could carry. Maybe this afternoon she could risk a small fire for a hot lunch. She’d have to have at least one hot meal today, and a fire at night could not only be smelled, but seen from some distance away.

  It was kind of exciting, being hunted. She had a sharp appreciation of what would happen to her if and when they caught her, and that was exciting too…if a bit scary. She grinned to herself. It was the scary part of it that helped to keep her moving.

  He stood up, trying to work the kinks out of his neck. It looked like a nice clear day, and he ought to be able to pick up her trail without too much trouble. She’d surprised him so far, first in leaving the trail, and then in being able to cover so much ground. Somehow he’d never thought of an archaeologist as being an outdoor type. Oh, well. He used the radio once to contact Kurt, who’d stayed where they’d originally planned to intercept her, and found out that he’d relayed last night’s message to Lloyd, who was working his way back to that spot now. Once he arrived, Kurt could start uphill towards the upper trail. With any luck they could sandwich her today.

  With any luck…he was sure she wouldn’t be easy to catch, luck or not. He shouldered his backpack and set off to pick up her trail. Starting with the footprints he’d found just before nightfall, he moved upslope, scanning the ground for any additional clues. Within twenty minutes he found where she’d camped last night, and it was a bit annoying to discover she’d been so close by. Elf-girl was elusive. He began trailing her again.

  Her watch said it was time for a rest halt, and she was glad to take it. Her backpack was lighter than it had been when she started out all those days ago, but it was still a hefty weight to be carrying uphill. She sat on the trunk of a fallen tree and took a drink from her canteen. It was getting close to empty. She’d have to refill it soon, and the only source of water she knew of nearby was that ravine. The water was still running through it too swiftly for her to risk going down into it just to fill her canteen. Maybe further uphill, and later in the day, the runoff would have gone down enough for it to be safe. She huffed a bit from the effort it had taken to get here. The further up she went, the steeper the slope seemed to get. At some point she’d have to start heading west again, but that would mean striking out through the woods with no guidemarks, except for the few times she could see t
he mountain through the trees. She had a compass, but didn’t entirely trust it. Up in the mountains there were too many things that could make that little needle move off of true north. The last thing she wanted was to start wandering in circles while her pursuers closed in.

  It really was a beautiful day. Yesterday’s storm had washed all the dust out of the air, and the cooler temperatures that had followed were a welcome relief from the heat of the previous days. She didn’t know how long that would last, but she was grateful for it now.

  Her five minutes were up. She walked a bit wearily uphill, guided by the sound of rushing water in the ravine to her left.

  Normally, he’d be taking rest halts every so often, but he was trying to catch up with a young woman who was apparently in great physical shape, so he had to press on. The slope grew steeper the closer you got to the mountain itself, and he hoped it was slowing her down as much as it was him. At one point, he picked out a small, straight sapling and in a few minutes had made himself a walking stick, using his small axe. Maybe the help such a thing gave was mostly psychological, but he was glad to have it. He’d been able to pick up her tracks every so often, and soon realized that she was moving more or less parallel to the ravine. Was that on purpose? He rather thought so. She seemed to be at home in the woods, and keeping the ravine as a guide would keep her from getting lost. She ought to be getting very close to the upper trail now. If she took it, he could catch up with her more easily, he was sure…well, almost sure. He was developing a grudging admiration for elf-girl. When they finally captured her he was sure she’d still be a challenge. That was fine with him. He grinned wolfishly.

  As he trudged uphill, he reflected that this was indeed an odd line of work for him to be in. He had a degree in civil engineering, courtesy of the G.I. bill, and could easily find work almost anywhere: Work that would keep him outdoors and active, which he liked. But what other job offered the unique challenge of hunting down women? Granted, they usually just walked right into the trap, knowing it was out there somewhere, but wanting to be trapped anyway. Trapped, held captive, used and abused. Every so often, though, one of them made you really work at it. Those were the memorable ones, the ones whose faces you could recall with perfect clarity even years later. The others...well, they tended to blur into indistinctness, faces and bodies almost interchangeable.

  Finding a trail up here was a surprise. Kimberley looked up and down it carefully from cover before she ventured out onto it. There was nobody in sight. She stepped off briskly, rejuvenated by the relatively easy going. It even went pretty much the way she wanted to go, too. After a few miles, though, her enthusiasm for it began to wane. This trail might not be on her map, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t on somebody else’s. And if it was, and they were following her, they’d know that sooner or later she’d come across it. Following it, however easy a path it offered, suddenly seemed like a stupid thing to do. She’d abandoned the first trail because it was too easy and felt like a trap. Now, here she was happily hiking along another trap.

  She kept walking as she thought. The trail was easy to follow, but visibility along it was never more than about fifty yards, because it dipped and wound along through the woods. What was the chance there was somebody ahead of her right now, waiting? About as good a chance, she thought, of there being somebody behind her, following. For no reason she could tell, the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Well, it was time for another rest halt anyway, or close enough to it. She moved carefully off of the trail and into the cover of some underbrush to rest and think things out. Taking out her map, she unfolded it carefully. She studied it for a few minutes, trying to identify where she was.

  There…that was the ravine she’d moved up and then alongside yesterday and part of today. She couldn’t tell exactly where this trail she’d discovered was on her map, but she thought she could make a pretty good guess. If it kept running in the general direction it seemed to now, at some point it would cross another fairly big ravine some distance along.

  She nibbled at her lower lip, frowning. That other ravine would serve to guide her downhill all right, and at some point it would intersect the original trail she’d been hiking on. But then what? Go back on the old trail?

  Her stomach growled politely, reminding her that there was another factor to consider: Food. She was nearly out of it, and couldn’t really spend the next several days eluding her pursuers by moving off in unexpected directions. She hadn’t seen much she could eat in the woods: A few berries, one small mushroom she was sure of. Those might serve to stretch out her rations, but she was running out of rations to stretch.

  Okay, she could catch fish from the lake, but that seemed to be the only likely source of food in the area. Mentally, she kicked herself for going uphill simply because it was the least obvious choice. It was the least obvious for a good reason.

  She looked up at the sky. Some time past noon, she thought. Still plenty of daylight left. She sighed. This was getting harder. While every move she could make opened up different choices, those choices were all limited. Okay, she’d have to get to the lake. The only way she could be sure of getting there was to follow the ravine down. When it stopped being a ravine, she could follow the stream that ran from it to the lake. Maybe, just maybe, if there was an unmarked trail here upslope of the one she’d started on, there might be another unmarked trail down by the lake. She sighed again and shook her head. About the only choice left now was which side of the ravine to travel on, assuming she could get there without being overtaken.

  She’d seen no sign that anyone was after her, but she knew they were out there, looking for her, no doubt more than a little irritated that she was making this so difficult for them. There was a chance that someone would be waiting for her up ahead. There was an even better chance that someone was following her tracks, slowly closing in. She shivered at the thought.

  Well, she had to cover some ground while it was still daylight, and the trail, risky or not, would have to be used. When she got to the ravine, if the water had gone down enough she could move down it for a little ways and then climb out at some spot where it wouldn’t be easy to track her. She folded the map and stowed it away. Time to get moving. Maybe she could outdistance anyone following her. Before getting back on the trail, she moved along a rocky stretch of ground where she wouldn’t leave tracks, rejoining the trail some distance from where she’d left it. It wasn’t much of a trick, but it was all she could do just now.

  It was well after noon when he came to the spot where she’d left the trail. He could think of a couple of reasons for doing that…but he didn’t see any sign that she’d gotten back on the trail. He frowned. That would be her first stupid move, just wandering into the woods. Well, if she had, she’d be easy enough to find a bit later, but he suspected she hadn’t. He continued on the trail for a while, looking for any sign of her. He found it, sooner than he’d expected. So, another little trick from the elf-girl. He shook his head, grinning. He was really looking forward to catching her. It should be very interesting. He set off in pursuit.

  Kimberley kept mulling things over as she walked. She’d need food and water….both could be had by the lake. She wasn’t entirely sure she could get to the lake uncaught, but it was the only choice she seemed to have. Of less immediate importance, she was wearing her last change of clothes, and it was beginning to bother her just a little. Outdoor living had its disadvantages. If she could get across the next ravine on the trail, she’d head downhill alongside it. At some point, she ought to find a spot where she could do some washing. She was normally very fastidious, and wearing the same clothes day after day, however necessary, bothered her.

  Some adventures got pretty arduous, she thought. She was in good shape, but today she noticed that the trek was taking a toll on her. Well, she’d been cutting her rest halts short, trying to keep some distance between her and her still-unseen pursuit. She halted on the trail and looked back, shading her eyes. No sign of anybody. She was certa
in, though, that there was someone back there, following. Maybe even catching up. Turning away, she trudged on.

  He had to stop for a while. She was setting one hell of a pace. While he felt that he was slowly gaining ground, it was going to be a while before he caught up with her. A lot depended on whether or not Kurt or Lloyd could somehow get in front of her, but until he was sure which way she’d be going for a while there was only a small chance of that. They were both back by the original trail, waiting for word from him. He hoped to be able to tell them something soon, but elf-girl was elusive and unpredictable.

  Still, he told himself, she only had so much food. Sooner or later she’d run out, and start to weaken. The way she was going, though, it didn’t look like it would be any time soon.

  It was late afternoon when she reached the second ravine. The water had gone down since yesterday…or maybe this particular ravine just didn’t get that much in the first place. Standing on the rim, she looked down it. It looked difficult, but practicable, and it was unlikely anyone could track her through that jumble of rocks. She checked her gear to make sure everything was secure before starting down, stepping carefully. Some of the rocks were loose, and the wet ones were slippery. There was enough undergrowth growing in the ravine to give her some cover once she got far enough along it. As she picked her way, she kept an eye out for someplace she could climb up and out without leaving any traces.

  He reached the spot where the upper trail crossed the next ravine. Her tracks showed that she’d gone down into it, but hadn’t come out the other side. He sat down on a convenient rock, shaking his head in rueful admiration. It would be just about impossible to track her in all those rocks, which was probably why she did it. Elf-girl was tough.

  Still, she couldn’t go very fast down there. She’d tried a trick earlier, where she’d left the trail only to get back on it later. She’d probably exit the ravine somewhere to travel on easier ground. The only question, then, was which side would she get out on? He hated having to make a guess, especially with this girl. Whichever way he went, he thought it likely he’d be wrong. Time to contact the others. He took out his radio, hoping the battery would last. If Kurt and Lloyd could take positions on the lower trail where it crossed the ravine, they had a chance to intercept her. If and when they did catch her, they’d have to be careful that she didn’t get away.