The Prey

I didn’t move. I couldn’t. The anticipation rooted me to the spot, tangled with a thousand conflicting emotions clawing their way to the surface. Anger. Frustration. Resentment. And beneath it all, a deep, ugly ache I hated acknowledging.

The vibrations in the air seemed to settle overhead as the helicopter landed. My heart pounded in my chest and every beat echoed like a drum in my ears drowning out the crackle of the fire, hush of the wind and my thoughts. I clutched the edge of the table, my knuckles turned white, as I waited.

Five minutes. That’s all it took for the sound of footsteps to break...