“Where’s the snake now?” I ask.
Luke shakes his head. “Heat signature traveled back towards the mountain. It’s gone.”
“What the fuck was it doing out here?” I say.
Luke shrugs. “I can’t even begin to guess. But, boss…”
“Yeah?”
“It looks like it was scouting our new location.”
I let that sink in, pinching my lower lip with my fingers as I think.
It’s intelligent, we know that, but how smart is this thing? Was it really scoping out our new town, checking our defenses, and planning an attack?
Running footsteps and shouts break through my thoughts, and I stand up to greet the Eccles medics. After making sure Declan is on his way to safety, we put in a call to cover the patrol.
“I want everyone pulled in closer to town,” I say as Luke texts out the new orders. “A much smaller perimeter. And if anyone sees this thing, pull back—immediately. Do you understand?”
“Yes, boss,” Luke says. “I’ll text this out on the main thread now, then after we get back to town, I’ll go out and evaluate each checkpoint, making sure everyone knows what to do.”
“Good,” I mutter, shifting and running back into the forest. Luke stays on my heels, and I let my thoughts drift away again as I let the physical exertion clear my mind.
When we arrive back, I realize I don’t want to scare Grace with the information, and Luke and I give her a quick, insufficient explanation about coyotes. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t buy it, but she doesn’t argue with me, either.
She isn’t stupid. Well, actually, she’s probably a lot smarter than I am. I should be more honest with her.
As she cleans up the kitchen, I wrestle with my thoughts, trying to think of a way to tell her what happened without scaring her half to death. The longer we spend in silence, the worse the tension gets, until it seems impossible to break it.
“We should go,” she says, wiping her hands dry after stacking the dishes. “The pack will be waiting for us.”
“Yeah,” I say, trying to summon a friendly tone. “I asked everyone to assemble at the main square.”
“Let’s go, then,” she says, striding out the door ahead of me. I have to jog to catch up, and I’m actually kind of impressed by how fast she can move while looking completely calm and composed the whole time.
She looks like she could break into a run and streak through three miles without breaking a sweat.
When she completely bypasses the car and walks towards the street, I realize she wants to walk into town, and she seems completely confident about where she’s going.
That’s right… she said she explored this place before. She must know it really well.
My next thought gives me such a stab of anxiety, I actually stop, and Grace gets ahead of me a few paces.
She must know the whole area! Even the mountains where the snake has been hanging out. She was also in the circle every time that thing woke up…
Grace turns and looks over her shoulder. Her cool, steady gaze unnerves me.
It’s like she has a whole universe of secrets inside her.
“Are you coming?” she asks.
“Of course,” I answer, my mind tumbling with contradicting thoughts.
The side street curves gently onto the narrow main road, and up ahead, I see people gathered at the park. Children are playing, laughing as they chase each other through the fields. Someone has a barbecue fired up, and I can smell the tangy sauce and rich meat roasting on the grill. A few people are playing instruments while others dance.
It’s my responsibility to protect these people. They trust me. I can’t let them down.
As we approach, people turn to greet us, and even though everyone is welcoming, I sense a hint of anxiety in the air.
