*** This story is the result of a cooperation between myself and another writer on a forum. I provided the world and story, she provided the main character's reactions to the action. There is a terrible, terrible pun at one point. I am solely responsible for it.
The following is an edited and slightly re-written version of our interaction.
*****
Hiking the Appalachian Trail had always been a dream for Valentine. The wilderness, the fresh air, the break from the college exams, it all sounded like the perfect way to spend a summer. By day three is was more of a nightmare. The path had disappeared a while ago, the day was hot and muggy and her backpack felt heavier and heavier.
Valentine hadn't seen another person for hours. She had been following what looked like a path, but it ended at the sheer face of a steep hill. She was forced to follow the base of the hill, trying to get around it and somehow find the path again. Or a path. At this point she wasn't sure she was on the Appalachian trail anymore. And she only had a few hours of daylight left before she would have to set up camp in this unknown forest.
That part didn't scare her. She had spent many a night camping and hiking in the hills and mountains of her native Canada. She had faced a bear once, she could face a night in the wild. But she still pushed herself a little, her muscular legs pushing her through the thickening underbrush. At 22, she had the build of an athlete and the stamina of youth. She pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail and moved on.
A cleft in the hill appeared. The path seemed to veer towards the cleft, which apparently headed straight through the hill itself. Valentine followed the path and soon found herself in a steep canyon, hemmed in on all sides by the sheer sides of the cloven hill.
She noticed what looked like ancient carvings on the sides, swirls and patterns, some looking vaguely Celtic which she knew to be impossible.
It was dark in the canyon. And much cooler. Val was relieved when the path opened and she found herself back in the open forest, the sun shining warm but low on the horizon.
Determined, Valentine continued hiking for a while, hoping to find the markers on the path that would lead her to the nearest rest stop, restaurant, Appleby's or even 7-11. She was hungry and thirsty, and sweaty. The thought of having to set up camp felt overwhelming.
There was a noise behind her; the loud crack of a broken branch. She turned, surprised. There, in the path, is a horse, with a man on it. No, not on it. A half man half horse. A centaur. And he is looking at her.
Valentine stepped back, gasping, not sure what to think. She took a few quick steps back and tripped over a root, landing flat on her ass. She scooted back some, half dragging herself along the dirty ground. She looked around, trying to find a large branch or something to defend herself with. She spotted one and scrambled to grab it. She planted her feet, heaved with all her strength, and swung... just as it broke and fell apart in her hands.
"Shit... it's rotten..." she swore under her breath.
Before she could look for another branch, she noticed that the centaur was not alone. One by one they stepped out of the underbrush until a dozen of them formed a half circle around her.
They were all male, fierce looking and mostly naked, their long black hair decorated with beads and feathers in a vaguely Native American manner. Most had a leather pouch slung across their broad and muscular chests, as well as a quiver of arrows. Spears and bows were in their hands, and...
Valentine noticed something they never mentioned in any Greek mythology class. All these men were naked, down to the long thick cocks hanging at the base of their human torsos. They all had two cocks, one human and one horse, and two sets of balls. Val briefly wondered if the flopping hurt when they galloped.
"Human!" Called out one of the centaurs. "What are you doing in this part of the forest? You have no right to walk these woods."
"Is she actually human? She looks a little scrawny for a human." Said a different centaur.
"Maybe she is a shape-shifter. A spy!" Called out another "look at her clothes! No human wears those kind of clothes!"
"Maybe we can eat her. That would tell us if she is human. If she is delicious, she was human and we can just apologize to her family for having eaten her." Said a third, quite reasonably.
Valentine gasped and stammered, trying to find a way to jump in the seemingly one sided conversation. She glanced down at her clothes, hiking shorts and boots, with a tank top under her plaid shirt, and wonder why that's strange. Then again... she had two dicked centaurs in front of her and was in no position to be judging what's strange.
She finally stammered out "I am human! I... I don't know where I am, I came through the canyon and now I'm here! Where the fuck is here!?"
She began to shriek, talking to herself as much as these naked beasts. She rubbed her fingers against her temples, taking deep breathes.
"Please don't eat me..." she whimpered out meekly.
"She cries like a human" muttered one of the centaurs.
"But she is lying! No one had come through the path in centuries! " yelled out another.
"Enough!" Yelled out the one in the middle, who seems to be the chief. His face was square, the lines of his face almost harsh, a few strands of grey hair streaking through his thick mane.
"We will take her to Rom, he will decide whether we eat her or not. Whistling Bear, you carry her." He said, glancing to a centaur near Valentine.
