Page 11 of Hunting for her Heart
Stepping up on the platform makes my legs and side ache, but I try not to let it show on my face, afraid these men will see my weakness and think it will make me an easy target for them to catch.
As soon as I’m on the platform and turn to the crowd, the older man starts speaking loudly as he addresses the entire crowd.
“Good day to you, friends! I am so pleased to be here today to host the very special two-hundredth anniversary of Mating Hunt!”
He pauses as people cheer and whistle. When I look out at the crowd, I realize it’s not just the men cheering, but what must be spectators behind them. From this raised position, I can see my so-called brothers standing beside an older woman and three older men. Are those the other Willow’s parents?
“This year things are going to be a little different,” theman beside me tells the crowd. “To commemorate this special event, we’ve given the hunt a few little twists.”
I glance at Larissa and the other women and see them watching the old man with interest.
“There are four new rules you need to be aware of. First, the women will now be given an hour head start, to make this more of a challenge for you young men.” He smiles at the crowd before continuing. “Second, you will all be split up from the groups you signed up with and must track your females individually. We have given you all your randomly selected start times. If you find each other in the forest, that is fine, but you must start alone.”
I don’t understand any of that. They signed up in groups? Those other women had said the first group of men to find us became our mates, but I got distracted before I could contemplate the part about it being with multiple men. But there could be a hundred men here, and there are only four of us women.
Glancing around at the spectators, I realize there are barely any women at all. Is that normal here? Or is that just because most women in this world know to stay clear of this archaic tradition?
“Third,” the man continues. “It’s no longer the first group to find her that gets to claim her as theirs. It’s whoever has her in their possession when the horn is blown in one week's time.”
My wide eyes turn to Larissa, who also looks surprised. I thought this would be over in a few hours. I have to hide in this forest for an entire week? I swallow the lump in my throat as I glance over my shoulder into the woods.
The forest is pretty dense, and I have spent my entire lifetrying to go unnoticed, but hiding in a forest is another thing completely, especially when I’m already in pain.
Not that my efforts to go unnoticed had done me any good in the long run. My father, the leader of the cult, had still given me to his right-hand man, a fifty-five-year-old man named Paul.
When I refused, the two of them pulled me from my bed and beat me until I passed out. As soon as I regained consciousness, I ran. They should have known better than to not lock me up, and I didn’t take that mistake of theirs for granted as I hurried away from the compound and through the woods.
Woods not too dissimilar from those behind me. I’m not sure that I’ve ended up in any better of a situation than I was in then. In fact, with all these men smirking up at me like I’m their prize to be won, I might have jumped straight from the frying pan and into the fire.
As I scan the crowd, my eyes connect with a pair of bright blue ones. The blond Viking cannibal stares at me with an intensity I feel through my entire body. I’ve felt true fear before. That’s how I felt when my father demanded I submit to Paul. This doesn’t feel like that.
I’m scared, yes. But there is something about him that makes me not want to look away. It’s like looking into the eyes of a predator and choosing to get eaten.
“The final rule,” the old man says from my side, gaining my attention again, “is that this year we are allowing killing.” I look at him in surprise as a gasp escapes me. He looks over at my worried face and chuckles. “Killing each other, not the women, of course. Harming a woman, as you know, means instant disqualification.”
I frown as I look back at the crowd. How wouldthey even know if I was being harmed out there? This doesn’t look like an advanced society. I doubt there are hidden cameras covering the forest. He continues speaking, saying something about how this tradition has been passed on for generations and how lucky everyone is to be a part of it. I tune him out as I seek out the cannibals again, unsure why I feel I need to look for them.
This time, I spot the spear sticking up that the third man is carrying. I find them all standing together, shoulder to shoulder, as they stare up at me. I fidget on my platform, feeling uncomfortable with all the attention. They don’t smile, they don’t even move, they just continue staring as the old man carries on.
“Alright, ladies, please turn to face the forest.”
I startle at his voice and see Larissa and the other two turn on their platforms, so I do the same.
“Your sixty-minute head start begins in three… two… one.”
A loud horn goes off, making me jerk in surprise as Larissa and the other two women jump off their platform and run into the woods. I watch them with wide eyes until the old man tells me, “Go on!” as he gestures where they have already disappeared through the trees.
I take one more quick glance behind me, seeing dozens of sets of narrowed eyes on me and quickly jump off my platform. The impact sends a bolt of pain through me, forcing me to my hands and knees, but I quickly recover, getting to my feet and heading into the forest.
I have no idea how big this place is. Should I just go straight for an hour so I can get as far away as I can? I decide to go on an angle to my right as that feels less obvious.
After a few minutes, I glance back to see what sort of trace I'm leaving behind me. My bare feet might be an asset,leaving less of an imprint than a shoe, but I have no idea what sort of tracking capabilities men here have. To be safe, I start to veer more to my right.
Ten minutes later I find a creek and stop to take a drink of water, hoping it’s safe to drink. I’m too thirsty to care right now.
I can’t believe they sent us out in the forest for a week with no food, no water, and no weapons. This is ridiculous. Why would any woman sign up for this? But I think back to Larissa and the other two women’s excited faces. They were hoping to get caught. They weren’t actually trying to hide, like me.
I suppose if a man found them straight away, they could provide them with food and water until the six days are up. That isn’t a good enough incentive for me to make this easy on those men, though. I have no idea how serious they are about forcing me to be with thewinnersof this hunt, and I’m not eager to find out.
