Page 30 of Heart of the Hunted
CHAPTER TWELVE
Natalia
Natalia's heart was racing so fast she thought it might explode from her chest. She knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was still out there. She didn't have a clue how she knew it, but that didn't change the fact that she did.
The question was, did he know she was in here? And if so, then why wasn't he coming in after her? It didn't make any sense. Unless he was waiting for something, but then if that was the case, then what was he waiting for?
If he was waiting for her to go out to him, then he would be waiting a long time. The same goes for if he was waiting for another one of her kind to either leave or arrive. Natalia just hoped that he wasn't out there waiting for more of his kind to arrive.
It would be really bad news for her if that was the case. All she could do, was hope and pray that he hadn't found her hiding place, had given up the search, and was now on his way back to wherever it was he came from.
When her heart finally stopped racing, Natalia explored the new bunker. It wasn't much different from all the other ones she has stayed in over the years. It consisted of one main living area, a sleeping area, and a small washroom.
Luckily enough for her, whoever it had been that stayed here prior to her arrival had left plenty of food and water. It was more than enough to last her a good couple of days at least, even longer if she rationed it well.
After that she would have no choice but to leave the bunker, or starve to death... which definitely wasn't an option she was willing to even consider. Especially not when Amberly and Donovan counted on her so much.
Natalia didn't know what she was going to do about Amberly and Donovan. She knew it wasn't them that had been the last people to stay here, Amberly would have left some form of clue if they had been. So, where were they? Was there another bunker close by? Or were they still along the pass?
Natalia knew they wouldn't have moved too far away from the pass if they didn't need to, they would want to be as close as possible so she could find them easily enough, and she hoped to hell that they weren't still on the pass.
Each day they spent traveling along the mountain pass increased their chances of not making it through alive. Now Natalia wished she had taken the time to checked each of the caves on her way past them, just in case they were still taking shelter in one.
If they had made it and were just staying in a different bunker, then she hoped they didn't decide to go looking for her. If the monster was still out there, like she had a feeling he was, then they could get caught by him and that was the last thing she wanted to happen.
What if they were already caught by him though? It was possible that Amberly and Donovan had been staying here but had been caught. She hoped that wasn't the case, but until she found them, she wouldn't know.
If they had been, then was that why he was still here? Was he waiting to see if any more Humans were in the area and she just happened to appear at the perfect moment?
She didn't know, but, it was just her kind of dumb luck that it would be something along those lines. Natalia hoped that the others were as far away from here as possible. The last thing she wanted was for them to be captured and killed. Natalia would never forgive herself if anything happened to any of them, but especially Amberly and Donovan.
Agitated, Natalia wanted to head straight back out to look for them, but she knew it would be the biggest mistake of her life if she did. If the monster was still out there looking for her and hadn't found where she was hiding, then her leaving the bunker so soon after being seen would definitely give away her location, if he was still looking for her.
Not only that, but if he hadn't seen where she went, then it would also show the monsters how they had managed to stay hidden after all this time. She couldn't be the one to give away the secret to the survival of the Human race. It would ultimately mean that she had caused the end of their species, and that was not going to be what she was remember for. Not that there would be anyone left to remember her, but still, it wasn't going to happen. At least, not if she could help it.
No, as much as she hated it, she was better off staying where she was for as long as she could. She had enough food to hopefully out last him, and once he was gone then she could safely go outside and find the others. She just hoped they didn't go in search of her and get themselves caught in the meantime.
Amberly and Donovan weren't stupid though, but she couldn't stop worrying about them. She needed to stop thinking that they were going to get caught without her there to keep them safe. She needed to trust that they would do what needed to be done. Even if it meant she would never see them again.
She knew they were both more than capable of not only looking out for themselves and each other, but also everyone else in the group. Natalia wouldn't have gotten everyone in the group as far as she had if it hadn't been for Amberly and Donovan standing by her side every step of the way. They didn't know it because she's never told them, but they were the reason she carried on each day, and the reason she climbed out of bed each day.
If it hadn't been for them supporting her every step of the way, then she would have broken down and given up years ago. But they wouldn't let her, they forced her to face each new day as it came and she would eternally love them for it because it made her a better person. A person her mother would have been proud of.
They made sure that she not only took care of everyone else, but that she took care of herself as well. They made sure she didn't miss a single meal and that she had plenty of sleep each night, even going so far as to taking over her night shifts when it had been a long few days with little sleep.
Natalia grabbed a bowl from the kitchen area and filled it half way with hot water. She needed to clean and bandage the wounds on her feet before they got infected. She knew with all the walking she had done over the last couple of days that her feet were going to be covered in cuts and blisters. Plus, she still needed to warm them up because at the moment they were so cold she could barely feel or move them.
Her socks and boots were both soaked through, which was preventing her feet from warming up on their own. She knew if she didn't deal with them quickly, then she wasn't going to be able to walk on them at all very soon.
Carefully carrying the bowl of water over to the table, she set in down on the floor in front of a chair. She took her coat off and hung it on the back of the chair before taking a seat.
Slowly, one by one Natalia took off her boots, wincing at the pain it caused. She placed them on the floor under the table before gently sliding off her socks. Natalia noticed cuts and blisters all over her feet from where the boots had rubbed so badly against them as she had walked.
They were also starting to turn a bluish shade as well, which wasn't a good sign. Natalia hoped the hot water helped fix the problem, if not she didn't know what she was going to do.
Natalia gingerly placed her feet in the water to help warm them up and get the blood flowing, as well as clean some of the cuts. Thankfully, as her feet began to warm up, she started to get some feeling back in them.
Opening one of the bottles of water she had found, Natalia gulped it down as she leaned back, relaxing into the chair. It wasn't exactly the life of luxury, but it sure beat the hell out of sleeping rough in a freezing cold cave for another night.
