He rolled his eyes. “Obviously. Peachy?”
“Hmm?”
“Can you step out here for a bit and get inside our territory?”
She whined and protested, but gave in and came closer to sit on a spot where trees clumped together and no one could sneak up on her.
“You know, I wish had I fallen in love with you.”
He had just packed the tent and handed her the crystals. The words had him jerking back.
“I’m sorry?”
Peachy snatched the crystals and pocketed them. “Oh, don’t be like that. I just meant if things were different. You are a much more open man than your brother. Not that I’m saying I still love him, because I don’t. That whole thing with Daniella opened my eyes and made me realize it’s time to stop mooning over some stupid guy who won’t even give me the time of day, and…oh. Oh, I’m sorry, Nico.”
“Don’t worry about it.” The truth was, Daniella never even crossed his mind since he had ignored her calls and texts. He bit his tongue, certain she didn’t want to hear his protest over Michael not giving her the time of the day. The thing was, his brother did give Peachy the time of the day, and he didn’t know where things went wrong. But that was their business. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to move on and forget about Michael. I’m going to date someone new and…oh, you mean the crystals.” She giggled. “I will get a friend to make it into a bracelet for me.”
“Cool.”
She eventually got bored and bid him farewell while he stubbornly insisted on walking her to the streets. On his way back, he used another path and slowed down when the silence became deafening. It didn’t take long for him to find two squirrels mauled to death, the blood stains drying on the ground and eyes bulging out of their sockets. Humans? Instinct dictated otherwise, but the organs were still intact, puzzling him.
He circled whatever area he could within and outside their territory but found no other dead animals or presence. He returned to the forest area sweaty and irritated, so Nico decided to wander off to the nearest river. He found a pond in less than an hour, assessed the place once more, and was already discarding his clothes when he stepped in the water. The trees shaded it from the sun, offering coolness to his skin as he closed his eyes and methodically scrubbed himself off under the water to minimize noise.
A sigh flitted in his senses, soft and surreal. His body lowered into the water, leaving only half of his face out. There was no one in the pond with him…but there was someone in the adjoining pond, separated by shrubs and allowing him a small window to peek on the other end.
The water didn’t move. Then it did, small ripples coming from a source he couldn’t see. He moved excruciatingly slow, adjusting his head without stirring his pond until he glimpsed the murky figure at the edge of the other pond. A few blinks, and it became clearer. Recognition flared.
There were no more sighs, no hums. There was only a woman washing her hair and her body, as methodical as he had been as she scrubbed herself raw. While he was hidden in the shade, her area had more light coming in between the break of trees. At one point, she tilted her head up, the only act of relaxation in her otherwise efficient bathing.
Sunlight illuminated her face, heavy lashes resting above her cheeks. The next sigh that escaped her lips felt like she was releasing all the tension from her soul, a breathtaking sight that caught him off guard. When her hands reached up to pat her wet hair down, he looked away, overwhelmed by the intimacy of the gesture and refusing to be a Peeping Tom anymore. He blended in the water, waiting her out until he heard the shimmer of water and her subsequent leaving.
Then Nico began his plan.
***
There was one more mauling incident, and no sign of the culprit before Nico spotted her again, darting towards his part of the forest without crossing his territory, then zipping towards the other forest area. Every time he attempted to track her, he was left empty-handed as he couldn’t figure out where she stayed. So, he decided to stay in his lane and observe from afar.
The weekend brought more hikers eager to reach the peak of the nearest mountain in a few hours, while campers headed in the other direction to more flatlands. Most used the forest path, but a stubborn group of men tried for the steep path until one cried out and rolled down. There was a phone call, someone groaning in pain, and medics coming into the scene as Nico watched on, his body bristling from all the crowd.
“Sir, are you aware that this property is closed down, and there’s another path towards the campgrounds you want to visit?”
“It should be on the map,” someone grumbled. “Why is it not on the map?”
“It’s in the online map, not the old ones in stores. There have been many changes to this area, and I advise that you download the online map and use the newer path. It has a better view, too…”
The cheerfulness and firm tone had Nico peeking closer until he spotted none other than Charlie lounging about with the medics. He didn’t once glance in Nico’s direction, but Nico watched as Charlie monitored the emergency treatment like an overeager newbie before they hoisted the camper on a stretcher. Charlie trailed after their backs, his back turned to Nico, and a peace sign held up.
Nico grinned until they disappeared. But the group of men came back minus the injured one, talking in low tones and heading in his direction.
“There’s still time.”
“He was adamant about crossing up, and look where that got him. I heard this is a shortcut.”
“Are you sure this is better? That guy earlier did say…oh, this gives us less travel time. Shall we go, then?”
Before they could decide, another group passed them with greetings and headed to the forest shortcut. They shrugged and followed. A third camper darted in to catch up, then slowed down upon closing on the male group’s back. He watched the three groups in unison, the first and second conversing casually. His gaze kept flicking towards the third one, the hat covering her face and body snuggled in a jacket. Her bag was small and her footwear was wrong. He predicted another accident in the making and climbed up a tree, willing them to walk faster so they could move on to safer paths. One of the male campers turned and greeted the woman. She nodded and turned her head away, discouraging any more conversation.