Falling For A Monster by Delilah Hunt

Author:Delilah Hunt [Hunt, Delilah]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springtime Publishing
Published: 2017-02-17T22:00:00+00:00

13

The next day, after lazing around in bed with Chase for the better part of the morning, Larke found herself in the middle of the woods. Instead of the thunderclouds she remembered from her last venture inside woodlands, there was nothing but golden rays of sunshine brightening the sky.

“So this is prime hunting ground?” she asked, listening carefully for wild animals.

“You could say that.” Chase turned to her, one brow raised. “From the way you say it, I’m guessing you don’t agree with hunting.”

Didn’t she? Larke shrugged. “When I hear the word hunting I have to be honest. It sounds a bit awful. Whether I agree or disagree. I can’t really say because I don’t know enough. I don’t know anyone apart from you who does that.”

“I was out hunting that day I saw you,” he said, watching her closely. “I’d heard there was a wild hog roaming those woods. I sneaked out of the house while my folks were arguing, got my knife and thought I could find it and take it down by myself.”

“Are you serious?”

He nodded with a wry grin. “Yep. Couple of weeks after what happened to you and me, I heard one of the guys was out walking his dog close to that area. He got hurt seriously. That same boar attacked and punctured his lung. The worst is, he was twice my size, a grown man. Even the dog couldn’t help him.”

“Oh my God, Chase. That’s horrible. Did he survive?”

“Yeah. He healed up just fine. But the thing is–if I hadn’t seen you that day, I would’ve gone deeper into the woods. If I’d tried to take down that hog he probably would’ve ripped me to pieces. After everything that happened there, I didn’t go anywhere near those woods for a while. The next time I went hunting, was a year later when I was twelve. I had to. Things were getting rough. We barely had any money. Gramps said the government stole most of it to hand out to minorities and was scaring new people from joining.”

Larke thought about asking him if he really believed that but thought better of it. Deep down Chase had to know it wasn’t a simple matter of favoring minorities. But what could she say? He chose to confide in her, trust her to hear him out and that meant so much right now. She wouldn’t risk losing his confidence.

“Did you have to go hunting for food?” She prayed with all her heart that wasn’t the case.

He chuckled low. The sound was harsh, devoid of any trace of humor. “I had to. It became every man for himself.”

“But you weren’t a man,” she pointed out. “You were a child and I thought you’d lived with your mother and stepfather. They should’ve made sure you were taken care of.” The more she learned about his family the more she despised them, even without the racism factor.

Chase shook his head. “I went back and forth staying with my grandfather and stepfather.

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