Wild Fiction

‘Okay, don’t move. I’m going to think of something.’
‘I’ll stay right here then, shall I? You don’t want me to go off to the corner store and buy a can of coke for you while you’re thinking?’
James smiled again and pulled at a lock of hair on his forehead. He picked a nearby berry and popped it in his mouth. He pulled a face and spat it out. Black juice ran down his chin and dripped onto his shirt. He wiped his face with the back of his hand and then wiped his hand on his shorts.
‘Genevieve,’ he shouted down the hole. ‘Use the mobile.’ There was no response. He waited a minute and tried again. Still no response. ‘Damn, damn and damnation,’ he muttered.
He pushed his way out of the brambles and stumbled onto the track. Turning around he stared at the forest behind the blackberry bush. It sloped down steeply. He paced back and forth on the track looking at where he and Genevieve had trampled the brambles. His hands were on his hips and his breathing was fast and shallow. His throat felt dry and each breath rasped at it. He searched the thicket to either side of the blackberries but it was impenetrable. He strode to the far side of the road, took three deep breaths, turned around, and ran. His long gangly legs strode over the brambles and as he reached the hole, he jumped as far and as high as he could. His left foot caught in the bush as he was about to clear it and he fell headlong down the bank on the far side. He hit the ground with his shoulder and rolled up into a ball with his arms covering his head. His back glanced off two trees before he finally came to a stop at the bottom.
He lay still for a moment before uncurling himself and opening his eyes. It was much darker in here. This part of the forest was all pine and the thick branches obscured the sun. He pushed himself onto his knees and moved all his joints. Everything looked in place and apart from a dull ache in the middle of his back, he felt good. The pine needles covering the floor of the forest had cushioned his fall. The lack of light meant that there was no undergrowth to hamper his movements and he walked freely along the bottom of the bank until he reached a clearing. He stopped and stared ahead.