The Wild Hike: Part I

Jessie continued to pace along the trail after Beth and Liam left. She would walk down to the point where she could see the rolling water and then back up to where David leaned against the wolf statue. He watched her as she paced, a bemused smile on his face. The walking made her feel like she was doing something, and it kept her away from David. A thought had wriggled into her mind that, at any moment, he could take some sort of turn and start bleeding out again. Jessie barely liked him when she was hammered. She certainly couldn’t be the one to offer him comfort in his final minutes. This thought, naturally, made her feel guilty as well. How could she be so selfish as to focus on herself in the scenario where her friend was dying?

“Maybe sit?” David asked as she neared him.

“Why is something wrong?”

“No, but you are making me a little anxious. I’m not a doctor, but I think you shouldn’t make the guy who took a mauling to protect you anxious.”

Jessie blinked, dumbly. He did protect me. He put himself in between us and fought a wild animal. If it hadn’t been for David, I could be much worse off than a mangled arm. She settled down on the ground near him. “Are you in pain?”

David held up the bandaged arm. “No, weirdly enough.” His fingers wiggled. “Doesn’t feel like anything is wrong at all. That’s probably still the shock. Not sure how long shock lasts.” They lapsed into silence, listening to the rush of water and the wind in the trees. David’s eyes eventually drifted over to Jessie. “Remember what we were talking about before that whole wolf attack thing?”

She’d noticed his eyes on her and blushed as she recalled her thoughts right before the incident. “Yeah. We were talking about how the other two should fuck and get it over with.”

“Right, right. The thing is, I’ve been wondering if you’d want to do the same thing.”

Jessie’s smile tilted in a disbelieving grin. “Are you fucking serious? Your arm almost gets torn off, and the second we’re alone you ask me to fuck you?”

David shrugged. “Near death experience gave me some new perspective, maybe. It’s weird, actually. Since the attack, I haven’t thought of much other than sex. Maybe since it was the last thing we talked about before the wolves, my brain latched on to it as some kind of grasp at normalcy. Doesn’t change the thoughts popping into my head. The hike out here, I pictured you naked the whole time. I could almost see in my head what you would look like buck ass nude walking through the forest. The sway of your ass from side to side with each step. The droop and jiggle of your breasts. Any spot that looked clear enough, I thought of the two of us rolling on the ground in a mad rush to fuck. When we got here, I watched you walk back and forth swinging your ass and tits for fifteen minutes, trying to keep my hard dick hidden so I wouldn’t embarrass you.”

“Well, you ruined that plan,” Jessie said. If David, or any man, had said something like that to her back in civilization, she would have berated him into a being of pure shame. At the moment, though, she found herself attracted to him. Very attracted, actually. “You’re loopy.”

“And if I wasn’t? What if I wanted to fuck you right now? Not sure how much leverage I can get with a bum arm, so you might have to do most of the fucking.”

This is a bad idea. She stood up and moved over to him. “You’re sure you’re not losing blood?” she asked as she knelt.

“Most of my blood is accounted for,” he said with a nod toward the lump in his shorts.

He smells good. Too good. “You’re not supposed to exert yourself. Liam’s orders.”

David’s good hand moved over to Jessie’s knee. His touch was warm and coarse. “Liam can give me advice on sex after he gets his own dick wet. Now, do you want to keep talking? Or do you want to get my cock out and suck it.”

Jessie grinned. “I think…I think I want to tease you first.” Jessie stood up and pulled her t-shirt over her head. The sports bra containing her D cups felt tight when she put it on, but at the moment she thought it might split at the seams to let her breasts out. Dropping the shirt on top of her bag, she ran her hand across her naked stomach, making certain David watched. His eyes stayed glued to her, but his hand had moved into his pants. The bulge changed to a clearly defined cock. It looks big. Next, she slipped out of her shoes, pulling off the socks so her feet could step on the cold, clean grass around the base of the statue. She pulled down her shorts, a little disappointed she’d only brought bloomer underwear. Still, it fit nicely around her bottom, and she liked the lime green color. It seemed to evoke the natural world around her. David clearly liked it as well as his hand moved slowly up and down in his pants. “What are you going to do for me?” she asked, keeping her voice low and slow.

In answer, David shifted around and pulled down his shorts. The boxer briefs came next, and his cock popped up into view. Jessie had never seen a naked man outdoors in broad daylight before, but she also didn’t think she’d ever seen a dick as big in person. Even David seemed somewhat surprised by his own manhood as his palm wrapped around the shaft and continued to slowly stroke. The head of his cock glistened with precum. Jessie’s mouth watered at the idea of letting his dick push into her mouth, leaving that clear fluid as a glossy coat on her own lips. She couldn’t deny her own arousal any longer. Her panties stuck to her soaked pussy as she moved. “You’re fucking gorgeous,” David murmured. With his words came a low rumbling in his chest that thrilled Jessie down to her core.

She moved over to straddle him. Having him look up at her as she stood over him gave her a sense of power she had never felt before. Jessie looked around, half expecting to see Liam and Beth watching them, but no. They were alone. She grabbed the edges of her sports bra and pulled it off. Her breasts dropped down with a wave of relief. David’s face was perfectly framed between the two mounds. His eyes widened, and his mouth hung agape. He stopped masturbating and let his hand move up her leg. Even with the distance between her nose and his skin, she could smell the sweat on his body.

Putting her ankles together between David’s outstretched legs, she turned around and bent over as she slowly pulled down her underwear. The forest air glided over her ass and chilled her slightly as it ran over her wet lips. David wasted no time grabbing her and pulling her drenched pussy lips to his tongue. He lapped at her like a frenzied dog, eager, if sloppy, in his effort to please her. She didn’t need his tongue, though. She wanted his cock. Gently, she pulled away from him and turned to face him. She lowered herself down in front of him, resting the back of her thighs on his legs. His cock slapped against her stomach as his mouth lunged forward again and slurped her nipple into his mouth. Jessie moaned, and David’s cock twitched against her stomach.

What the fuck are we doing? Twelve hours ago, I would have rather murdered him than fuck him. But he smells so good. God I need him inside me. As his hand moved around her thigh to cup her ass, she grew keenly aware of her position — naked, squatting on top of a near stranger in the woods. Her hips flexed forward. The fat head of his cock caught in her lower lips. Another wriggle of her hips, and David slipped inside of her. They both groaned in satisfaction. Her walls stretched as she moved further down the length of his dick. She brought his face up to hers, and they kissed before breaking apart to look deep in each others eyes as David pushed further inside of her. Jessie thought she saw a glimmer of golden light in the depths of David’s eyes, but the crashing pleasure through her body stole her attention. She’d never had sex like this. Nothing in her memory even came close.

With his cock fully inside of her, David wrapped his good arm around her back, pulling her hard against him. He thrust up with his hips in time with her slow rocking. Every inch of him that withdrew stretched her again as he pushed back inside. She found a good angle for her clit to grind against David as she still raised her ass up and down in time with his thrusts. Sounds forced their way out of her throat, mewling, whimpering moans of ecstatic pleasure as David kissed her throat and neck. “God you feel so fucking good inside me. You’re going to make me cum. Mmmhm. David!” Her body went rigid as he kept his rhythmic pace. She shuddered and squealed as orgasm thrummed through her whole being.

As her orgasm settled down, some level of sense returned to her. “Oh, god. Don’t cum inside me. I’m not on the pill.”

David’s eyes flashed for a moment as a low growl rumbled up from his chest. He did lessen his grip on her though. His hand moved down to her ass as she slid back off his cock. Wet with their juices it slid up her bald pussy as her hand went down to continue stroking it. David’s eyes wrenched shut. The cock throbbed in her hands before a blast of cum splattered on her stomach. The second shot bathed the underside of her tits. Jessie kept stroking him and more cum gushed from his dick. She’d jerked off a few guys before, but none of them had ever cum half this much. By the time David finished, they were both soaked from the waist down in his jizz. As she looked at the mess, Jessie was overwhelmed by disappointment. How could I not let that happen inside me? Am I insane?

“Holy shit,” David said. “I came a gallon. That was fucking amazing. Best sex I’ve ever had.”

“Me too,” Jessie admitted. “Liam said there’s a stream nearby. We can get cleaned up in that.”

“Lead the way. I’ll enjoy the view.” They scrambled to their feet. Jessie put her shoes back on and grabbed her clothes. David awkwardly waddled around with his dick out while he got his clean shorts from his bag. Jessie called to him as she ventured toward the stream. “Yeah, coming.” He looked at his cock with some confusion. It seemed bigger, but that happened from time to time after a big night of drinking and exercise. What couldn’t be explained, though, was the thick patch of hair covering his pubic area. He had not noticed it while watching Jesse and couldn’t remember if he’d noticed it that morning. He tucked himself into the messy shorts and turned to follow Jessie. For a moment, he couldn’t remember which path she took. Her scent drifted to him on the wind, and, unconscious of what gave him the direction, he followed after her.

Beth’s legs ached. She could feel the sun causing the previous day’s blister to prickle and worsen. She wanted to stop and rest, but Liam showed no sign of slowing. Nor should he, she thought. David could get worse. Liam’s the only one of any use. Of all the conflicting emotions of the day, the worst was her feeling of helplessness. David and Liam seemed to know exactly what to do and when to do it. She and Jessie tagged along trying to do what they were told without screwing everything up. And she even struggled to do that. She worried her legs would give out. Imagining the trek back with the added weight of a tent or other supplies made her sure it would happen eventually.

They reached the campsite in record time. Liam sat down on one of the logs and gestured for Beth to rest with him. They didn’t talk. Each of them worried about the passing minutes, but Beth also watched the edge of the woods with anxious dread. The wolf could have been stalking them all the previous day, she imagined. It could have been ten feet from her the previous night. She could have gone to pee and never came back. The daylight did little to push back her fear.

Liam’s canteen clanked as he set it down between them. “We’ll need to refill before we head back. You’re not drinking enough. Try to take little sips. You’re sweating more than you realize.”

Beth doubted that was true. She could see the full pattern of sweat on her front and could feel the whole of her back dripping with it. The rain cooled off the air, but left it humid. “How do you know all this stuff? How to bandage an arm or fend off a wolf or whatever?”

He shrugged, “I’ve gone camping a lot. It’s how David and I really got to be friends. He did this stuff back in high school with the Scouts cause his dad made him. I don’t really know how I got into it. Wasn’t one thing, I guess. I liked the outdoors. Used to sleep in the backyard in a tent as a kid. Spent hours — whole days, really — off in the woods tromping around. When I got older, I took it more seriously. I could usually find someone to go with me. David and I have gone together a few times now. Never actually had anything go wrong before.” His voice shook slightly.

Beth put her hand on his shoulder. “You don’t think it was your fault, do you? A wild animal attacked David, you couldn’t have prevented that.”

“He shouldn’t have been alone,” Liam said, his tone darker and his head slumped. “If Jessie hadn’t gone to be with him then… It’s dumb, really. He said he was going off, and I knew I should go with him. I wanted to be here at the camp, though, so I could see you when you woke up.”

Beth hid her blush. Now isn’t really the time. “That’s sweet,” she said, letting her hand squeeze his shoulder. “David’s going to be fine. You don’t have to feel guilty.”

“Sure. I’ll feel better when we’re safe. All of you are my responsibility for now, though, aren’t you? Let’s get moving. Sitting still will make you cramp up.”

He hopped to his feet and moved to take down the big tent. Beth frowned, remaining seated to rub some of the ache out of her thighs. One second he’s being sweet. The next he’s treating us like a burden. I guess he is under a lot of pressure. Jessie and I are more of a liability than an asset out here. Maybe I should take it as a compliment. He knowingly allowed us into a risky situation because he wanted to spend time with me. She got to her feet and helped.

After a half hour, they figured out two bundles. The big tent, while not too heavy, was too unwieldy to carry much else beside it, at least with the packs they’d brought. Liam also wanted to take back all the food, cooking supplies, and a bag of tools and general supplies David had brought to the woods. After some discussion, Beth argued in favor of taking back three of the bottles of liquor as well as the small speaker. They could be safely wrapped inside the bedrolls which could be tied together and carried like a strap across the chest. At worst, they could drop the excess halfway back to riverside and make retrieving it a little easier. “Let me repack this stuff,” Liam said. “Go down to the stream and refill our canteens. You won’t be more than a few feet out of sight.” Even that seemed to trouble him.

Wrangling the supplies and the prospect of the return with an extra fifty pounds of weight gave Beth a strengthened resolve. She wanted to be done with it, for one. For another, she was determined to prove she could, rather literally, carry her own weight. With the two canteens in hand, she made the quick walk over to the water. The rolling water made a surprising amount of noise, but she called out to Liam and he responded immediately. He was out of sight, but not by much. Three long steps up the hill would put him fully in view. She didn’t know how fast a wolf could move, but hoped it wouldn’t come down to three steps. Under Liam’s advice, they’d not attempted to be quiet while packing. Beth continued the advice by rattling the canteens as much as possible.

Despite her own noise, the sound of Liam clattering about, and the roar of the running water, she heard the branch snap with amazing clarity. Her eyes shot up, ready to see black fur and glistening fangs. Instead, she saw only half of that. Across the small stream, right on the edge of a thicket, a deer took two steps out of the forest. From its size and lack of antlers, she guessed it was a doe, but a large one, with fur as black as the night’s sky. Beth didn’t know much about deer, but she figured she’d have seen at least one photo of a black deer in her life if they were even remotely common. The creature exuded dangerous beauty. It’s head turned to look at her with large, golden eyes. Beth didn’t yell or run, but watched as the creature stepped cautiously toward the stream, lowered its head, and drank.

Moments passed. Beth couldn’t look away from the creature’s eyes. Swirling pools of golden light reflecting the gentle swirl of the running water. She heard noises from behind her, but she didn’t want to look away.

“BETH!”

The trance broke. Liam was yelling, but she could also hear the loud thud of a large animal moving. Instinctively, she grabbed the canteens and ran. As she crested the hill, she saw Liam hovering in midair, as though a huge gust of wind had picked him up and tossed him to the side. He landed with a thud at Beth’s feet. Otherwise, the clearing was empty. Beth turned to look back at the deer, but it was gone, too. She bent over Liam and searched him for any injury but he waved her off, trying to get to his feet. “Liam? Liam! What’s wrong?”

“Where the fuck did it go? Did you see it?”

The campsite looked wrecked. David and Liam’s tents had been trampled. Huge ruts had been carved into the grass. One of the logs had been smashed into splinters. “See what?” He spun around to face her. His shirt was torn and a dark welt showed on his skin. “Liam, you’re hurt.”

“A…bull,” Liam muttered. He scanned around the campsite, looking for somewhere the creature could have gone. “It came out of the woods. Charged at me. I’m fine, don’t paw at me. Didn’t you hear me yelling?”

“No, I —” she stopped. She didn’t want to tell him about what she’d seen. One crazy person at a time. “I couldn’t hear you over the water.”

Liam ignored her. “Something fucking weird is going on with the damn wildlife around here. Grab your stuff. Let’s go.”

The pack was heavy, but the bedrolls slung over her shoulders were heavier. They flopped awkwardly against her back with each step. She carried the tent while Liam lugged the cooler and other supplies. She wanted to dump everything and get as far away from mysterious ghost bulls and black does as she could. Liam still had enough sense to know they needed somewhere to sleep and something to eat. After watching her struggle with the extra weight, he took them off her, draping them on one shoulder while carrying his own set on the other.

The welt on his stomach turned to a bruise. Beth forced him to allow her to look before she took another step. While whatever hit him hadn’t broken the skin, it had left a foot long mark from his navel down to the side of his hip. It didn’t affect him at all. He trudged on, leading the now well cleared path back to David and Jessie. Occasionally, he stopped to wait for Beth, not wanting her to fall too far behind. Other times, he stopped and let her walk on ahead, telling her to follow the trail while he watched behind them with straining ears.

They reached the first statue before she understood why. It sounded like a tank plowing through the woods behind them. She and Liam stopped dead for a moment to look. Brush flattened and tree trunks splintered as the beast charged. Liam shouted and grabbed her hand. They ran.

She wanted to get the pack off, but she would have to stop. Limbs slapped at her face. Liam’s grip grew tighter any time she lagged behind. She missed a step and thudded down to one knee, but Liam pulled her up and back into the run. Beth thought her arm might pull lose if he kept it up. Still, the thing behind them thundered closer and closer.

Liam cut hard to the right, yanking her along behind him. In the short moment of turning, she saw an immense, black shape. A horn caught in a low limb of a pine tree. The force caused the branch to shatter rather than break as the beast hurtled forward uncaring of what it encountered. Beth couldn’t make out a form, but did see its eyes, shimmering and gold.

“We’ll try to run it to the river. I don’t know what else to do.” Liam’s voice rasped as he tried to speak without breath. The other statues flew by them. They came into sight of the small area where David and Jessie waited. They sat near each other, both looking up as Liam started to scream for them to run. The words never made it to the air, though. A root caught his foot, sending him flying forward in an avalanche of gear. He toppled to a stop as the cooler crashed in front of Beth. She hopped lightly over it, landing on shaky legs with surprising grace.

“Something’s coming,” she said, looking at Jessie and David. Yet, she didn’t hear it any more. Turning around, she braced to see the monster explode out of the brush and trample them in its unprovoked rage. Nothing came.

“What’s gotten into you two? Some kind of joke?” Jessie asked. “Scared us half to death, you know. Jesus, Liam are you all right?”

David pulled his friend to his feet. “Was it the wolf?”

Liam shook his head, looking past all of them to the trail. “No, it…it was chasing us. You heard it didn’t you? The fucking thing was knocking trees down.”

“Only thing we heard was you,” David said. “You brought the booze? Sweet. Good thing none of this broke.”

Jessie took Beth’s arm and steadied it. “Are you ok? What’d you see?”

Beth shrugged. She genuinely didn’t know. With each passing second, she became less convinced she’d seen anything at all. “Something chased us. Something big. Go, look for yourself. It tore down whole limbs like he said.”

Jessie shrugged and walked toward the path. Liam started to object, but went quiet, watching with nervous eyes. After walking a few feet beyond the furthest statue, Jessie squatted down. She made soft, cooing noises until she reached out her hand. When she stood she held something close to her chest. Slowly, she turned and held up what she’d found. “Is this what had you two spooked?” In her hands, she held a solid black bunny rabbit with dark, golden eyes.

Beth gasped. “Jessie, put it down!” She reached for something to throw, but the rabbit leapt away at the sound of her voice.

“What the hell, Beth?” David grumbled. “It was cute. Or we could have eaten it.”

“They’re all the same,” she said, pulling Jessie away from the brush. “The rabbit, the wolf, the bull, and the doe.”

“Doe?”

“I saw it. By the stream when Liam got attacked at the campsite.”

“Liam got attacked?”

“It’s nothing. I’m fine.”

“Holy shit, your fucking entire side is bruised. Did a tree fall on you? Are your ribs broken?”

“No. Everyone calm down.” Liam’s nerve returned. He stood with planted feet and a defiant gaze at the woods beyond. “Yes, something strange is going on. It’s toying with us. The bull could have caught us if it wanted. The wolf could have torn David’s arm off, too. I want to get us out of here, but with the river up, that’s not happening. So in the meantime, we have to deal with the real problems in front of us. Shelter, water, food. We brought back the one tent and everyone’s sleeping stuff. We’ll all be bunking together, but strength in numbers is a good idea anyway. This area is a better place to camp anyway. Clearer views of the woods, and we’ll have our back to the water. Whatever is out there can wait.”

“Demon animals,” Jessie said drawing stern looks from Liam and Beth, but a dumb grin from David. “What? Sounds like demon animals.”

“Come on. Let’s get the tent up.”

More to come. Read the whole story now as a $5 patron.