The Back of The Mind: A Collection of Eerie Short Stories

Walk to Salvation: Part 2 of 8

The only light they had was from the half-moon in the sky. Erik trudged through the waist-length grass with a small bag of clothes, a blanket, and his pillow strapped to his back. He always tried to keep a few metres behind the hunter, hiking consistently fast, even with an animal slung over him. The bow hung on his back next to the quiver of eight arrows. After the first hour, Erik had to put a jacket on to keep warm even though his legs were burning. The straps of the uncomfortable backpack were digging into his shoulders, and he had to shift it on his shoulders every so often. The jacket helped with that, even if only slightly. His feet and toes were starting to take a beating in his shoes, which he wished fit better than they did.

After more than two hours of walking and pushing through the grass, his legs wanted to give in.

"There," the hunter pointed to a small cluster of trees in the distance. It was the first time he had talked since they set off on their small expedition. Erik noticed that the trees weren't that far away and that he just might make it there with less than three blisters on his feet.

The night was eerie and open. Every now and again, he had heard frogs croaking through the landscape of chirping insects. Once there had been an echoing howl of a wolf or fox - he couldn't tell the difference. Everything was still and silent - anticipating something. He felt vulnerable, sticking out like the Eiffel Tower in a desert. The breeze was cold to the touch and made his nose and ears numb.

"Do you have a name?" Erik asked, now that they were speaking again. He still felt cautious around the hunter but a bit more comfortable now.

"Berk," the hunter responded.

"Erik." He kept to the theme of one-worded sentences, not wasting breath.

Closer to the campsite in a shallow valley, the ground started to sink ever so slightly beneath his weight, allowing the moisture held in the soil's firm grip to seep into his shoes. "God damn it,' he swore under his breath. His body was really becoming worse for wear by the second now. He was used to sitting behind a desk for most of the day, glasses perched on his nose, staring at numbers and paragraphs. The last time he went hiking was with his ex-girlfriend two years ago, and even that was almost a literal walk in the park. He still missed her sometimes and wondered what she did to occupy her days, but he would never want to be stuck in a relationship like that again. You can't help caring for someone.

The camp was secluded between the trees, a small pile of ash being the only indication that someone had been there before. He put his bag down against one of the thicker trees surrounding the fireplace. Berk placed the deer down on the opposite side of the camp and started gathering wood from a small stack. Erik realised that Berk hadn't once switched shoulders in carrying the deer.

As quiet as the night had been on their journey, it couldn't compare to the void between the trees. It was like experiencing the inside of a closed cupboard with nobody home. Even the crickets seemed to stop chirping.

Erik pulled his phone from the backpack. Still, no signal, with twelve per cent battery left. He turned it off and put it away, panicked and disappointed.

With his knife and a piece of flint, Berk set fire to a ball of dead grass and started stacking the wood on top.

"I know place," Berk said while the fire was heating up. "Help you." His voice held a thick accent between the words.

Erik looked up from his bare feet and the mesmerising flames. "How far?"

"Two days." He put another log on the fire and stood up.

Two days, Erik thought. Could he withstand the agony that awaited his legs?

"They got car," Berk said as he couched down to the deer once again, knife in hand. Erik could hear the blade's friction against the hair and skin of the animal. He shivered at the thought of tearing flesh.

"Why did you shoot that thing right in front of me?" Erik asked, thinking back to the events at the car.

"Chase long time. Need food." He grunted as he twisted on one of the back legs.

Erik sat in silence for a while, thinking about the proposed two-day journey with the brute. If he didn't get killed, at least he would be cared for. If he wasn't cared for, at least he would have good company. On one side of the scale, he had already had the worst vacation of his life, so what would another few days of hiking through a field be if it meant that he could get home? After all, that was what he wanted most - to sleep in his own bed and drink a good cup of coffee. On the other side, there could be a car passing by on the road at any moment. It wasn't probable, though, judging by the lack of tyre tracks he had seen on the road. Both sides of the coin looked unattractive.

Berk sat down at the fire and put the skinned hind leg on the woodpile to grill.

"I'll come with you," Erik answered finally. "But we go straight to wherever it is you're taking me. I don't want to be lost with a stranger longer than I need to be."

"Water?" Berk pulled a pouch from his side and held it out to him.