He shrugged. “If you say so.”
I yanked myself out of the booth. “Order me a burger.”
“Where are you going?”
“To smoke!” I snapped, heading back out the door. I pushed the door open and stepped outside. I dug into my pocket, pulling out my cigarettes, and lit one up. I took a puff of it, hating the taste. But I sucked it in, holding it deep in my chest—an old habit, picked up again. I stared across the street and froze when I watched the library doors open, and Gabriella stepped outside. My fingers froze as I watched her.
She clutched a book close to her chest, her steps slow as she headed down the sidewalk. She was wearing a coat that clung to her tightly, and I wondered if it was even keeping her warm. She was wearing boots that looked worn out, and a hat that covered most of her hair.
I took another puff and blew it out. Two people walked down the sidewalk toward her. They were speaking to Gabriella, but the way she paused told me they weren’t friends. I narrowed my eyes as I watched them grow closer, and Gabriella dropped her head.
My fingers tightened on the cigarette, and my jaw ground together.
I watched as they circled her, and she stepped back, stumbling into the wall. I was ready to hurry across the street and do something, anything. But I didn’t because it wouldn’t solve the problem. If anything, it might make things worse for her. If I came as her savior, people would likely only bother her more.
I watched her push past them, practically running down the street. I watched as the two stood there for a moment, seeming pleased with themselves, before continuing on their way.
I threw my cigarette onto the ground and stomped on it. I turned and headed back inside. Asher was still sitting in his spot, but two drinks were now on the table.
I sat down and took a big gulp of mine. Asher raised an eyebrow at me. “I ordered you a burger.”
“Thanks,” I said.
Neither of us really spoke through lunch, which I was fine with. I kept going over what I’d seen and what needed to be done. Gabriella had never mentioned having problems, but I doubt she wanted to stir the pot either. She likely kept it to herself, so who knew what was really going on. I knew either way, I needed to bring it to the guy’s attention. They were under our protection after all.
Just then, both of our phones started to ring, and I looked down at mine. “That’s not good.”
“Shit,” Asher said.
We both jumped up, knowing that meant there was a sighting somewhere. I answered my phone as we hurried out of the building.
“Yeah?”
“Meet us at the west side of town near the new park. A hybrid was sighted.”
“West side, new park,” I told Asher as we both jumped into his car. “We will be there in five minutes.”
We arrived to find Brandon and Kaleb standing with some of the other guys, ready to head into the woods. We both jumped out and hurried to join them. Brandon gave us a nod in acknowledgment and continued to talk. “A hybrid was spotted going east. We need to get out there and search the ground.Everyone is pairing off together, and if you run into it, you order back up right away.”
I felt my blood pumping as I glanced at the woods. I was always eager to get to work, a reaction from years of doing it. We all had handled some ugly tasks before and worked under pressure, but this was a curveball for all of us. We liked to get busy, liked getting a solution to a problem as quickly as we could.
“Where do you want us?”
“I want you and Westley to head back in the direction it came from. We need to figure out if there is a hiding spot or a start location for them. We have no idea if it’s planning to strike or if it already has.”
My stomach sank at his words, my mind traveling to the several towns that were destroyed. The massacre we had all seen.
Asher and I nodded in agreement and headed into the woods, in the opposite direction everyone else was going. Asher and I had been doing this for months now, so we knew the ground well. We knew the hiding spots, the alcoves, and the high locations. Asher gave me a hand signal that he was going farther up, and I nodded in agreement, signaling that I was going to the right.
Asher and I split, but we stayed within earshot of each other. We made sure to listen carefully for clicks, a part of the training Brandon enforced. We didn’t use it around others, but when it was just the four of us, it was our way of communicating.
I scanned the ground, walking carefully. I took in the way the trees swayed, and my feet sounded against the snow. It wasn’t cold today, but there was a bite in the air. Maybe it was because I wasn’t moving around enough.
The snow crunched under my weight as I moved, and there were no footprints in the snow. Nothing large at least. There were tracks of animals, like a rabbit or a deer, that had roamed by. But there were no large tracks of a hybrid.
I clicked my tongue twice while continuing to walk. I heard two back in response. I made a mental note of anything that had changed since the last time Asher and I had been out. I paused as I spotted something blowing in the wind on a bush. I walked closer, realizing it was fabric. I ripped it free, taking in the material. I looked down, taking in fresh footsteps, the size of a human. My stomach dipped.
I looked back, seeing they came from the town, and they were going out into the woods. There were two sets, and it felt like something was being dragged with them. Possibly a person.
