Page 4
Candace snorts. “How is it barbaric? They're just animals. It's not barbaric when we put leashes on our dogs, or when we put animals in zoos.”
I decide not to let myself get derailed about her misunderstanding of zoos.
"They're not dogs. They're people." I didn’t even know I felt that way until it comes out of my mouth. But whatever happened between me and that creature last night, he definitely was not an animal. There was too much understanding behind his eyes.
Candace tips her head to the side. “I didn’t realize you were the leading expert, Grace.” She says my name like it’s an offensive word.
“I’m not—”
She ignores me. "They're monsters. They can't control themselves. If we don’t take care of the problem, what happens when they outnumber us someday?”
My mouth falls open. “Problem? They’re not going to outnumber us. Most people in this town have never even seen one. You’re acting like they’re running rampant.”
She raises an eyebrow. “And you’re acting like you know they’re real.”
Her words shut me up. I can’t let on to anyone that something happened last night, that I saw one of them. If they don’t believe me, they’ll say I’m crazy. And if they do believe me, they might go looking for the creature. What if he’s still there, injured in the woods?
“Alright, class,” Professor Watts says, “let’s get back on track. Minotaurs!”
3
After what Candace said, I decide not to wait to hear from Zach. As soon as class is over, I make sure no one is around and then I sneak behind Clark Hall and go straight for the woods. It takes me a second to find the spot again. It’s hard when everything looks so much different in the daytime than it did in the dark.
I stand in the middle of the woods and look out toward Zach’s neighborhood. I think this is right where I was. I remember the view I had of Zach’s front door. I turn back to where I found the creature. This is where he was, I’m sure of it. I step up to the big tree he was slumped against. There, on the forest floor, is a patch of dried blood amongst the leaves.
I walk around the tree, looking for him. I travel up and down a quarter mile, but there’s no sign of him. When I go back to the tree, I realize there’s a blood trail. My eyes follow it out of the forest. Feeling a little queasy, I start to walk beside the trail. Once I’m out of the forest, the blood starts to dry up, most likely baked in the hot Idaho sun.
But I have a feeling I know right where it leads.
I head straight for Zach’s house. I don’t even bother to knock. He must be home because the back door is unlocked.
“Zach!” I shout into the empty house.
I hear a commotion somewhere past the kitchen and head that way.
“Zach! Where are you?”
“Grace?” I hear him say, his voice muffled. I follow it through the mud room and to the open basement. I’ve never seen the basement door open. As far I know, Zach and his parents never go down there.
I walk over to it and look down the long wooden staircase into the depths of the house. “Zach?”
Zach appears at the bottom of the steps. “Hey, babe. What are you going here?”
“What happened to him?”
Even at this distance, I can see Zach’s eyes narrow. “Him?”
Shit. I shouldn’t have said that.
“The creature. The…” I swallow, the word traveling up like bile in my throat. “…treufel.”
If anything, I think this might have confused him more, but he doesn’t comment on it. I’ve never heard anyone use that term before today, so I doubt he has either. “You don’t need to worry about it, Grace. Just go back to campus.”
His words make my skin crawl. He’s trying to get rid of me, which means…
I rush down the stairs.
“Grace,” he says, trying to stop me even as I shove past him. "Grace! Don't go over there!"
