Prologue

Sara Walker was bouncing as she clocked out of work. As much as she loved her job as a trauma nurse, she was ready for a break, and she had the next two weeks off for vacation. 

Sara had planned to spend her vacation with her husband, Kevin. Unfortunately, Kevin had an emergency with the company where he worked and would be out of town for her entire vacation and most likely even longer. She would get to see him off in the morning, and that was it. 

As disappointed as Sara was that she and her husband would not be together during the vacation, she was elated that she would be doing something she was passionate about and rarely got to do, even if it would be on her own. Sara had made arrangements to go backcountry hiking in northern Minnesota for her vacation. It would be just her and nature for almost the entire two weeks she had off. 

Sara dashed to her car and began to make her way to the sporting goods store to grab the last few things she needed before picking up dinner and heading home. When she pulled into the parking lot, she was thrilled to see it was nearly empty. That meant she would be in and out of the store sooner than she had thought.

Sara went inside, took a cart, and headed straight to the aisle with the backpacks. As much as she loved her old pack and considered it lucky, there was no way it would survive nearly two weeks in the backcountry of Minnesota. Sara had been so focused on the backpacks in front of her, she nearly jumped out of her skin when someone spoke behind her.

“Can I help you with anything?” a man’s voice politely asked her.

Sara whirled around to see a gray-haired man in his early sixties standing behind her. He was wearing a store shirt with the name Steve embroidered on it.

Sara gave an embarrassed smile and answered the store employee, “Oh, no, thank you. I’m just looking for a new pack.” 

“Well, I can help you find one if you like,” Steve told her. “What type of things are you going to be using the pack for?”

“Backcountry hiking and camping,” Sara said. “I have a trip scheduled, and my old one is just not up to it. The last thing I need is to be in the middle of nowhere and have the bottom of it fall out.”

Steve let out a chuckle. “That would be bad. You sound like you’ve done this before, and you know what you need.”

“Oh yes. It’s been far too long, a couple of years, but I know what I need. I just need to replace some things before I head out into the Lost River State Forest for two weeks,” Sara said, smiling broadly.

“The Lost River State Forest?” Steve asked, visibly disturbed.

“Yes,” Sara answered hesitantly.

“Up near Roseau?”

“Uh, yeah,” Sara said. She was becoming increasingly nervous at the questions the man was asking. She had heard all kinds of horror stories about people being stalked by a store employee, and the conversation was beginning to make the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

Steve suddenly realized how uncomfortable Sara had become and tried to explain. The last thing he wanted was to upset her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable with my questions. My family’s from there, and that’s where I grew up,” Steve told her. “It is a beautiful area and perfect for backcountry hiking and camping. Done it quite a few times there myself in my younger days. I even went camping in that area before it was a park.”

Sara could feel herself relax as the man explained why he asked her questions about where she would be going. However, that relief was to be short-lived as the man continued.

“You know about the rumors about what’s around that area, right?” Steve asked her.

“Rumors?” Sara asked him. “I don’t think so. Rumors about what?”

“Well, for years in the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds, there were reports of a wendigo in that area. Each time someone saw it, there was a strange death that followed. Now, I don’t know that any of that stuff is true, but that’s what they say.”

“A wendigo?” Sara asked in disbelief.

Steve confirmed, “That’s what they say.”

“Thank you for telling me, but I don’t think I’m going to worry too much about that. I’m more concerned about the wildlife than a wendigo.”

“Yeah, that’s the way I always felt about it, too,” Steve said. “Speaking of that, make sure you get a new can of bear spray if you haven’t been hiking in a while. I don’t want you to need it and not have it work.”

Sara gave a slight laugh and replied, “Oh, don’t worry. That’s on my list of things to get while I’m here. Quite a bit of my equipment was on its last leg the last time I was out. So I am treating myself to some new gear tonight.” Sara took a large teal and gray internal frame backpack from the display. She began opening the pockets and examining it closely. “And I think I am going to start with this pack. It’s perfect, and it’s even my favorite color.”

“I guess it’s meant to be then,” Steve said with another chuckle. 

Sara grinned, “Guess so.”

“Hey, why don’t I help you with the rest of your shopping? I can tell you some of the places to go while you’re hiking and camping up in the Lost River area,” Steve offered.

Sara nodded, “Yeah, I’d like that. As much hiking and camping as I have done, I’ve never been up there.”

Sara and Steve roamed the store for the next hour, chatting about the Lost River area. Sara was glad to have the information and knowledge of the area in advance. Steve told her about places where he had camped in the past, which areas she should try to see because of the flowers that would be blooming, and, of course, cautioned her about the wildlife that might be a problem. By the time Sara had finished shopping, she felt as if they were old friends and appreciated what the man had done. However, when he walked her to her car and helped her load her purchases into the trunk, he made her worry again.

Steve looked at Sara and said, “I hope you have a wonderful trip filled with adventure. But just in case, I want to give you my cousin's number. He lives right outside the park and is a deputy sheriff for Roseau County. If you have any problems or need help, you can give him a call. He’ll make sure you get the help you need.”

Sara stood gazing at Steve with her mouth open. She didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t fathom why she would need to call a deputy sheriff for help directly. If something happened and she was injured, she would dial 9-1-1 if she had cell service. 

Steve pulled a notepad and pen out of his pocket and quickly scribbled something down. He ripped the sheet of paper out and held it out for Sara to take, which she did hesitantly.

“His name’s Danny. If you need to call him, just tell him that his cousin Steve gave you his number and told you to call,” Steve instructed her.

“Thank you,” Sara replied as she took the paper and looked at it. 

Steve said, “Anytime. You have a good trip now.”

“I will,” Sara called out. 

Sara got into her car and stared at the paper in her hand. For some reason, Steve giving her the number of his cousin made her uneasy. She wasn’t necessarily worried about Steve or even his cousin, but the trip in general. She began to think of why she would need to call a deputy sheriff for help and dismissed each one as she drove home. Sara was going to enjoy her time in the wilderness no matter what happened.