Dark Tales 1 by Viola Masters Read Free Book Online Page B

stone, so she moved carefully around the heat source and tried not to consider herself lucky.
    The humidity would soak into her suit and freeze her to death the next day. She had to take steps to protect her outerwear.
    With a deep sigh, she emptied the contents of her pack onto the slick stone and then peeled off her ski suit, stuffing it into the protection of her pack. At least she wouldn’t be putting on a sodden mess the next day.
    Looking down at her inner layer, she made a decision. She stripped down to the thin thermal underwear and put the rest of her clothing in the pack with the compressed suit.
    The cave was dark, but an odd glow was coming up from the depths of the water. With the absolute darkness in the shadows, the light actually made the room comfortable, if a little creepy.
    Lea ate one of the granola bars in her pack and finished the soup before scooting to the highest and driest edge she could find. She checked the time on her phone, noted that there were still no bars and put it to sleep to save the battery. She would use the light in the morning to find her way out.
    The puff of her pack was her pillow, and she settled against it to sleep.
    She smiled in the darkness. “Nothing like cross-country skiing for a good night’s sleep.”
    Her sarcasm kept her from crying.
     
    * * * *
     
    Someone was in his territory. He lifted his head to sniff and followed the light, feminine scent toward the hot spring.
    The taste of her fear hung in the air, and it made him hesitate. When he stood in the shadows and watched her settling in to sleep next to the sedating spring, he had to admire her thinking with her placement. She was as dry as she could get, but if he left her there, she would not get up. The gases given off by the spring were toxic to mammals over a period of hours. The beasts knew enough to keep clear of this place.
    He thought about it for a few heartbeats and watched as her breathing slowed. He had to get her, or she would not wake up.
    He moved around the pool and caught her up, lifting her and cradling her against his chest while grabbing her pack in one motion.
    His wide, heavy feet were silent as he stepped around the pool and retreated to the shadows where the access to his shelter was. The storm outside was going to take days. He was going to have something for his guest to eat.
    He settled her in his sleeping pallet and headed outside to find some food before it all went to ground.
     
    * * * *
     
    Lea turned and felt softness all around her. The sound of the water was gone, and she was in deep shadows where a small glow was the only light source.
    She chalked it up to being half awake and settled back into sleep.
     
    Lea felt, more than heard, that she was not alone. There was also the tang of blood in the air. That woke her up completely.
    A huge, shadowy figure was in the corner, and the sound of ripping flesh was distinctly audible. Lea shivered. This was not where she had gone to sleep.
    Her pack was a few feet away, and she knew it wasn’t a dream. Her imagination never included scents of musk and blood when she dreamed.
    She must have made a sound, because the shadow paused and slowly turned toward her.
    She covered her mouth with her hand as she swallowed her scream. Has to be a dream, has to be a dream, a dream, a dream.
    Bigfoot was real, covered with blood and had a chunk of raw meat in his hand.
    She held perfectly still, and he put the meat on a stick and parked it over the small fire in the corner of the room. He calmly dealt with the rest of the carcass, carrying it to the next room.
    She was shaking with fear.
    He glanced at her, huffed and passed her, covered with blood. She couldn’t see what was in the shadows, but he disappeared.
    The moment he was out of her sight, she ran to the exit where he had taken the deer. Her body felt heavy, jerky. A thick animal pelt hung from the top of the wall, and as she pushed it aside, she was wrapped in frozen hell. Different