The road up the mountain narrowed shortly out of town and wound up in elevation in a series of switch backs with more hairpin turns than I could count.
A road like that is enough to make anyone carsick.
By the time we reach the place where the paved road ends, Arizona's pallor has been replaced with anger.
"Do those assholes back at the police station know that?"
She turns fully toward me, pulling the seatbelt tight against her chest so that it runs between her full breasts and strains against her shoulder.
I tell myself that's not one of the important details to take notice of, but there's no way to ignore the outline of the orbs beneath her t-shirt or the mesmerizing movement beneath the fabric as her body shakes with rage.
"My understanding is yes."
I grit my teeth and pull to a stop in a large, graveled clearing with signage indicating the nearby trailhead.
I see Sagan and Leo standing near a forestry vehicle, deep in conversation with a uniformed ranger. Austin is standing near a well-equipped Jeep, looking over maps. I don't see his brother, Jaden, anywhere in the fray.
"They know that it's not safe to hike in those woods and they haven't said anything? The ranger station just issued us abackcountry permit for our trip and the only thing they thought to warn us about wasbears?"
Zona's rage is contagious. I had no idea the local agencies weren't making hikers aware of the recent events. They know full well that we're here and exactly why.
The threat hasn't been confirmed to be eliminated.
It's fucking irresponsible as hell to not be making people aware of what they know-- especially not a couple of young women heading into the wilderness on their own.
But then, my protective nature seems to be in overdrive since setting eyes on Arizona, ever since she started telling me what happened to her friend, I haven't been able to get past thoughts of how easily it could have been her. How easily I could have lost her before I even knew she existed.
Before she has a chance to jump out of the SUV and go tearing the rangers new assholes-- which I'm more than happy to let her do once our conversation is done-- I remind her that she still needs to explain to me why the local PD wrote her off as stoned and hysterical.
"Because of what happened right after they got out of the clearing."
Zona's indignation leaves her with a sigh. She straightens in her seat and lets her shoulders slump as her gaze fixes on nothing in particular somewhere beyond the windshield.
"Just as they got into the trees, where the forest got dark, something-- someone--"
I don't miss the intonation when she self-edits, the way the conviction of "something" becomes the acquiescence of "someone--" telling me that no matter what anyone else wants to hear, or what she wants to believe herself, she doesn't think what she saw was human.
"Someone came out from behind the trees after them."
I nod, watching the scene around us outside the vehicle unfold as another ranger vehicle arrives.
"Okay, now tell it exactly the way you saw it."
Zona swings her head to look at me, and I catch the uncertainty in those green eyes.
"I know you've already told your story a few times. I know the officers in town didn't believe you. But I need to know what you saw the way you saw it-- no judgement."
"It was like, the shadows of the forest just came to life."
She shivers at the memory.
"Like something had been there the whole time, standing in the trees, completely invisible. As soon as the men with Astrid went passed those trees, the shadows just... followed them. I-- I don't know what happened after that. It's like that was the thing that shook me out my daze. I just ran all the way back to the road and kept going until I came across the ranger.
"You know the rest."
We climb out of the car in silence, most of Zona's fight has left her now and the urge to go to her and pull her into my arms grips me strong as I look over to where she just stands beside the SUV, watching the scene around us with her arms wrapped across her middle.
With a firm shake of my head, I get a hold on my better judgment.
