SOMEONE WAS FOLLOWING ME. For every step I took, I heard another. When I moved faster, he kept pace with me. When I stopped, he stopped. It was maddening.
I was alone in the woods, hiking. I'd planned to spend the night. Now all I could think about was the cabbie who'd left me a few miles from this state park and his ominous warning: "These woods aren't safe after dark." I'd shrugged his comment off as a joke, as a case of someone trying to get a rise out of me. But now I wasn't so sure.
Even though my backpack was heavy, I decided to make a run for it. Run where? Who knows. I just ran full blast. But I could still hear those steps right behind me, so I cut to the side of the trail and ducked behind a tree. My unseen follower stopped, too.
