Night Walk

Drooping conifers speed past on either side, snow piled up high on either side of the winding road. Long shadows flicker in Susan’s eyes despite her large sunglasses. Just fire him. The whole company will be better without him. She blasts the stereo louder and louder until it swallows the sound of grit being spat up by her tyres.

Unable to drown out her thoughts, she punches the off-button and drives in silence. Whatever she does, Colin will not get out of her mind. The insufferable bastard cannot handle his clients let alone manage the office at weekends.

She takes a long sip from her iced latte and sighs, trying to appreciate the cool sweetness. It’s too watery by far and the girl who made it forgot to add the syrup, but she is determined to have something good in her life.

Her phone pings and she pulls it out of her handbag. It’s Gregory. What does he want now?

She glances up at the road ahead but it is empty for as far as she can see, winding through the snowy forest in the fading light. She taps on the message and a photo pops up. Little Julia is perched on her high chair, holding a bowl of what looks like cake batter.

For a moment she smiles then glances at the time. It’s already six o’clock. She grabs her phone and, with elbows jammed in the steering wheel, punches in her reply. You were meant to be at ballet practice an hour ago! This is the third time you’ve forgotten!  Send.

For a moment she’s content. He doesn’t remember everything to do with her daughter. Their daughter. Then the next message pops up.

Message not sent. Please check your cellular service.

Susan groans but out of the corner of her eye, something moves. Slamming her hand into the horn, she narrowly misses a deer. Before she can right her path, another leaps out from the trees. Dropping her phone, she swerves to the left. There is a shudder and a squeal of tyres as she hits the snowbank. With a bang and a jolt, she’s back in the middle of the road. For a moment everything is fine and she rights herself onto the left. Then a warning light pops up on the dash, flashing. Low tyre pressure.

Cursing, she slams on the brakes and comes to a stop at the edge of the road. Bloody deer.

She climbs out of the vehicle, dropping to the ground. An icy wind immediately cuts through her office-wear and she reaches up to grab a long woollen coat from behind the driver’s seat.

The road is icy and despite the grit, she loses her footing several times before reaching the other side. It doesn’t look good. The large tyre is shredded and the rims are barely above the tarmac. So much for off-road tyres.

She squeezes her eyes shut. This is just what she needs. A long day’s work and all she wants is a quiet house, and a glass of wine.

She pulls open the passenger door and picks up her phone. No cell service. Cursing again, she waves it around. Still no service. Her stomach tightens. Does this truck have a spare tyre? She looks underneath but so far as she can tell there is nowhere one would be stored and even when she pulls open the boot and shoves folders aside. Underneath is just more empty storage.

She suddenly wishes Gregory is there, he’d know what to do. She glances around but she’s easily an hour’s walk from home, maybe longer.

She glances along the road. There are no signs of approaching cars in either direction and the shadow grows longer by the minute. She glances down at her feet which already hurt. Her flat shoes are caked in snow and wet through. When she glances back in the vehicle there is nothing but black leather, scattered files and takeaway cups strewn over the back seats.

She swallows, it will have to be the walk. At least until she gets a signal. Well, there was no point in waiting for it to get dark. Curse you, Gregory, for wanting to live up here. She rounds the vehicle, closing the doors and pulling the keys from the ignition. As soon as she gets service, Gregory can pick her up, since he’s at home anyway.

She looks again either way for signs of other vehicles but there are none. It’s not surprising, few people live this far north of the city and most of them are farmers. They have no business in the city anyway.

She takes one last glance at the truck, sitting against the snow bank and sets off, one slippery step at a time. The cold sets in fast, an icy chill that she didn’t notice before.

As the road climbs higher the trees seem to get denser, and darker. The sun is now below the distant horizon and only the dusk-light illuminates the road around her, the trees like the pale columns of a temple.

She laughs suddenly. She prayed for someone to make her forget about Colin and here was the solution. It worked, with the long night setting in and a long walk ahead if she couldn’t get a signal, it is now the least of her problems.

Her resolve lasts a mere ten seconds until snow crunches to her right. She stops and tries to hold her phone’s torch out in front of her but it barely shrinks the shadows. Nothing. Taking a deep breath, she continues.

For the next fifteen minutes, she checks her phone every few moments but as the minutes wear on and the darkness deepens, she watches at the battery. It is already down to 30% and she’s not been going for long.

With still enough light to see by, she shoves it in her pocket and pulls her coat closer, focusing on the road ahead. It curves to the right here, as the slope gets steeper but she can’t quite remember how far it is from there.

A message pings on her phone and she almost whoops in glee. It’s from Gregory. Good thing too, her phone is almost at 10%. The cold must be going for the battery.

Just as she clicks on it a phone call pops up and her heart sinks. Alexander MacAlasdair. She answers it and raises her phone to her ear, grimacing.

“It’s not a good time,” She barks, “I have a flat tyre and I am not home yet!”

Silence. Then… “Susan, I understand but this is important. Regarding our plans to take the company public—”

“Now is not the right time! Honestly… Wait a minute, what do you mean? Everything is well?”

Alexander coughs, “Well, no, I wouldn’t say so. Several of our largest clients are backing out at the last minute. We only need them to stay until tomorrow but…”

“Shit.”

“Yes, it’s certainly that.”

“Get Colin on the phone to them right away. There must be some way we can keep them on. Give them a consulting discount. Something!”

Another cough. “Uh, Susan, Colin just handed in his resignation. Something about finding less stressful work elsewhere. Honestly, I think we’re better off without him.”

She squeezes her eyes shut again. “Fine,” she says, “Just hang on, I’ll get Gregory to run me back, I have a flat tyre. Keep them on for an hour!”

“They are quite sure about leaving, and you have your daughter’s birthday dinner this evening. I’ll handle it.”

Julia’s birthday. Of course. Her stomach twists, how could she forget? Well, it is just a day like any other, she could wait until the weekend.

She swallows, “No, I’ll be back in an hour or so. Just hang on.”

Silence.

“Alexander?”

She glances at her screen but it’s black. She presses the power button several times but only a red battery icon appears. Her breath comes quickly, damn this phone. Damn everything! She resists the sudden urge to throw it into the snow, to jump on top of it. Instead, she looks back up at the road ahead.

Just as she does there is a sudden rustling of leaves and a deer, it had to be, the way it bounds, crosses the road ahead. Another one?

I knew I should have rid myself of Colin ages ago. And now it comes to this!

She shivers as a gust of wind flicks her hair around. There is snow coming, she’s sure. Well, there is just one way to get out of this and that is to walk. With determination not to let her problems get the better of her, she sets off again up the hill as it winds back and forth.

She walks for what feels like hours. At least it keeps her moderately warm though her legs burn from the effort. Finally, however, the slope levels out and in the patchy moonlight she can see the white strip that runs down the middle into the distance.

Not far now. And yet, how far was it? By car she’d never really paid any attention to the journey save when Julia had pointed it out. As soon as she stepped out of the door in the morning, her head was in work mode and it stayed like that until she stepped back through the door. Does it even turn off then?

Stuffing her hands into her pockets, she hurries along, trying to ignore her numb does and the chill that quickly cuts through her with every blast of wind.

A branch snaps somewhere in the forest. Susan freezes and glances back but the moon is behind a cloud and she’s barely able to make out the road let alone the dark forest.

“Hello?” Idiot, who would be wandering about in the forest at this time of night? It had to be another deer.

For a moment she lets herself relax and then there is another crunch as something heavy shifts its weight. It’s just the wind. That was bigger than a deer.

Swallowing, breath coming in sharply, she sets off at a stride, glad that she’s no longer on the slope. I should have waited in the car for someone to come, she thought. And yet… She often stayed at the office late, Gregory wouldn’t even think it amiss until much later.

Another crunch, closer this time. Two more. Susan begins to run, heart pounding in her throat. She prays that the snapping sticks won’t follow. They do. And they quicken as well, one, two, three… Silence.

She runs for a few more moments and then slows, glancing back. Nothing, just darkness. She holds her breath. Is that… The moon comes out from behind a cloud and partially illuminates Susan’s worst nightmare. The hulking silhouette can only be of a bear.

She lets out a squeak and runs. After a few steps, she kicks off her stupid little shoes and runs barefoot, cold air searing her lungs with every breath.

She glances back but the moon has gone behind a cloud again. Yet, if she strains her ears she can hear heavy pads on the tarmac. Tears of terror run down her cheeks as she runs for all she’s worth.

The pads grow closer and closer. She knows, deep down she won’t outrun a bear. There was no situation in which she could win against one. Maybe she was supposed to fight back against this type, she had no idea. And yet… Something soft and sharp caught her ankle and she screamed. Yet still, she didn’t fall, with every step her heart rose higher in her throat.

A distant rumble is her only warning and she’s no longer touching the ground. She collided with the tarmac hard, face first. Instinctively she tucked her knees and head in as she came to a rest.

“Please,” she whispered, desperately wracking her brain for any tips on how to act.

A heavy paw slams into her side and she rolls over, losing grip of her knees. A high-pitched screech covers her sobs. Tyres.

Lights suddenly blind her and a horn blares again and again. A car. She squints up just in time to look into the eyes of the beast, its teeth bared in a snarl, dark brown fur framing a huge snout. Then it’s gone.

Susan just lies there, shaking as footsteps approach. When she does look up again, it’s Gregory’s concerned face looking down, his hands pulling her up into his arms. “The bear is gone,” he whispers in her ear, “It’s gone and not coming back.”

She can do nothing but whimper as he holds her.

“Mama.”

“Julia,” she sobs and finally pulls free to crouch down on unsteady feet. Julia, her daughter stands there in just her pyjamas and pink slippers. She pulls her close, squeezing her eyes shut. Slowly her heart slows and her breath comes steady again.

“Susan,” Gregory says, putting a hand around her shoulder, “Come on, we must get you somewhere warm. Gosh, your feet! They’re all bloody.”

His gaze says everything he won’t in front of Julia. She looks away, back to the car, engine and lights still on. “But I’ve got to… I need a lift to get back to…” The words die on her lips as she looks back at her small family. Her only family.

“I’m not too late for the birthday girl, am I?” She says, forcing a smile when all she wants to do is sink back to the ground and cry. She begins to shiver, only now feeling her sweat-soaked shirt. Thankfully, the woollen coat kept it’s claws from touching her skin. 

Julia grins and shakes her head, “We made chocolate cake for you!”

As Gregory lifts Julia back into the back of the car, Susan glances back the way she came, a hand on the bonnet as if it might disappear. There is no sign of the bear, just an empty road flanked by piles of dirty snow.

A hand touches her shoulder and she lets Gregory pull her into an embrace.

“Alexander called,” he says, shrugging her out of her coat and wrapping his own around her. 

“I won’t go back,” she says, “I promise. I know I have been working too much,” she turns to him, gripping his forearms as hard as she can, “We have the whole weekend. I’ll take the week off. I…”

“It’s okay,” he says, “Alexander told me that you had a flat tyre and bad signal. I guessed the rest. He told me… Well that he had everything under control, that you didn’t need to go back.”

She shakes her head, a shrill laugh escaping her mouth. “I almost died, and I am worrying about…” She looks back to the car where Julia wriggles in her child seat. “I sometimes forget the reason I work in the first place.”

He doesn’t reply, only helps her gently into the passenger seat.