Chapter 1 Desperate Calls for Help

"Awooo... Awooo..."

The pack of wolves finally retreated from the cave amidst their pack leader's howls. However, they were far from satisfied.

I huddled in the corner and kept trembling as I stared at the shredded pieces of my body, which were no longer recognizable as human. It seemed as though I could still feel the pain from just before I died.

I stood up cautiously and crawled toward the mangled remains of my body. In some naive, desperate attempt, I thought I could piece myself back together. I hoped that when the rescue team arrived, they would immediately be able to identify the victim as me. Or maybe, deep down in my heart, I didn't want my husband to see me like this—beyond recognition and torn apart by animals.

Alas, when I reached out to touch the scattered chunks of flesh before me, my hand passed right through them and grasped at nothing. I stared, wide-eyed, at my opaque hand in disbelief before falling to the ground in despair.

'It turns out that when one is dead, one cannot clean up one's body,' I mused sadly.

Three days earlier, my teammates and I had been assigned an exploration mission deep into the mountains. Before that, I had just found out I was pregnant. The first person I wanted to share the news with was Howard Wells, my husband. Sadly, he was on a mission for a month straight.

I had initially planned to pass this assignment to another colleague, but fate had other plans. As it turned out, there were only two of us left in the group.

Regulations stated that exploration teams entering the mountains must consist of at least two people. As I didn't want to slow the team down, I reluctantly packed my gear and set off with my colleague.

Before I headed into the mountains, I called Howard. His voice came through the line, urgent and impatient, but he still managed to tell me where he was located.

When I learned that he was stationed not far from our exploration site, on a nearby peak, I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

No sooner had we reached the mountains than my colleague and I were in trouble. We took a wrong turn, and my teammate slipped down a steep slope.

I panicked at the sight of him falling and hastened to help him. Yet, there was a tiger right in front of him. I was shaking with fear, but I managed to keep calm enough to dial Howard's number.

The instant he picked up, his irritated voice boomed in my ear, "Wendy, you need to know when to check in! I'm in the middle of a rescue operation. Are you satisfied now?"

He hung up on me before I could respond.

When I noticed that the tiger was prowling closer and closer to my colleague, who was clutching his bleeding leg, he looked back at me with terror in his eyes and shouted desperately, "Wendy, run quickly! Get to the opposite mountain!"

I shook my head stubbornly as tears spilled down my cheeks uncontrollably. I pressed my fingers against my phone and called Howard again.

He had once told me before that he was the leader of the rescue team. It didn't matter where I was as he would come immediately if I called him.

He was just on the nearby mountain. As long as I could explain the situation, he could save my colleague. Yet, he hung up on me.

My calls went unanswered over and over again. I was jolted back to reality when I heard the agonizing screams of my colleague.

The movement of the tiger shredding its victim viciously filled me with fear, and I dashed to the other side. I protectively put a hand over my stomach as I ran while pleading inwardly to God, 'I want to live.'

Luck was not on my side as I stumbled upon a pack of wolves.

They cornered me, forcing me into a cave. I made myself calm down before using my lighter from my hiking bag to ignite some dry grasses and twigs scattered around the cave.

I pinned the last of my hopes on Howard when I saw that the wolves were inching in closer and closer with every passing second.

The reason was that he was closer than any other rescue team. If he could get here in time, my chances of staying alive would be far greater.

I waited for a long time for him to finally answer the call. Yet, I was met with his irritated and angry voice, accusing me. "Can you stop wasting public resources? I'm the rescue team leader first, and then your husband."

In the background, I heard a soft, feminine voice. "Howard, there's a cut on my arm. Can you take me to the hospital?"