Chapter Thirty

August 8th

Amelia and I shared the one bed.

Her alarm went off at 3:00AM. “Airport?” I muttered.

“Yes.” She slipped into the bathroom first.

Groaning, I rolled to sit up and stretched until several vertebrae popped. The old mattress had a lump in my low back most of the night. Stood and folded to grab my toes.

Ahhh…

With her in the bathroom, I started coffee in the kitchen, a full pot. Splashed water on my eyes. The bathroom door opened and I hurried in to pee.

Amelia turned all the lights on. 3:00 was too dang early for it, but this was the job.

Dressed, her caffeinated, and out the door.

There was only one bridge for miles, so north toward town, over, then west to the airport.

It could barely be called an airport. There was no tower. Three small hangars.

Tiny for tiny planes.

I spotted a light in the sky heading this way. Heard the faint whirring of a motor. “Hope it’s a good pilot. Got maybe 3000 feet of runway before hitting the trees.”

“They’ll make it,” Amelia said.

Soon, a small passenger plane touched down. It slowed to an idle then turned to the parking tie downs before coming to a stop and powering down.

The side door opened. I walked over. “Five?”

“Fancy meeting you here.”

“Who else ya got in there?”

Lev was next out, awkwardly unfolding his tall frame. Followed by Fifteen.

“Oh, hell.”

“Is that Seven? Hours in that tin can just became worth it.”

Lev slapped the kid’s arm, then gave me a friendly hug. “Tell me you have duct tape,” he said for only me to hear. I laughed.

The last passenger got out and my stomach did that funny flop it did every time I saw him. “Hey, kid.”

“Agent Thirteen.”

“Gentlemen, if you would make your way to the vehicle. No need to call attention to ourselves at this hour,” Amelia said, pointing to the SUV.

They each carried a duffel and a weapons case—except no case for Fifteen. He hadn’t graduated, yet. Then why would he be on a werewolf hunt?

Thirteen fell into step with me. “Nervous?”

“About what? Catching a wolf can’t be harder than killing vampires.”

“You’d be surprised.”

“Why is a trainee here? He wasn’t close to ready when Five, Lev, and I graduated.”

“You don’t like Fifteen.”

“I don’t trust him. He’s reckless.”

“Well, he’s not your problem—he’s mine.”

He picked up his pace to get to the car with the boys.

How we were fitting all their crap in it, I didn’t know.

“It’s freezing,” Five said.

Lev inhaled and smiled. “I’ve missed clean air.”

They’d arrived in t-shirts and jeans. Amelia directed the loading of gear and humans while I got in the drivers’ seat. When she got in next to me, I started the engine. Thank goodness this was a beast of a truck. It never complained about the sudden extra weight.

“Blast the heater!” Fifteen yelled.

“Ignore him.”

That was my plan as long as his stupid face was in my vicinity.

It was a very short drive back to the Sportsmen’s Cabin. Thankfully, the hour registered to the boys and they silently moved themselves and their luggage onto the deck.

“Gentlemen, the sofa folds out into a bed and the rest of you will have to take the floor. Work out who is where amongst yourselves,” Amelia said before unlocking the door.

“Ooo, TV.”

Thirteen slapped the back of Fifteen’s head. “You’re here to work.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Seniority, boys—I get the sofa bed and you are on the floor.” They groaned. Thirteen grinned. Brought back memories. “Full moon starts tonight. We have today to do recon.”

Amelia unrolled a large map she found in the bedroom closet. She’d marked it with the spots the ranger shared on the smaller map given to her yesterday. “These are all the recent reports of odd footprints, wolf howls, and strange fur caught on bushes.”

“That’s a whole lotta wilderness,” Five said.

“In all directions,” Lev added.

“Yes, but all the wolf activity is west of town,” I pointed out.

“Think the river is the territorial line?” Thirteen asked me.

“Makes sense. Werewolves are animals. The human consciousness is suppressed, so it’s going to act like any other predator.”

He smiled approvingly at me and I felt warm at making him proud. “Any place we can rent ATVs or something? A lot of miles to cover on foot.”

“Worth askin’. Folks were friendly when I had dinner last night.”

“Alright. Let’s all grab some shut-ass until a more respectable hour, then put boots to ground,” Thirteen ordered.

Fine by me. As long as I got Amelia’s side of the bed.

Took a while for the house to go quiet. These old thin cabin walls disguised little of their treks to the bathroom or bickering in the living room.

Amelia didn’t come in before I drifted off.

I woke up confused.

Strange beds had been part of my life for two years, but it still took my brain a couple seconds before it remembered where it was in the morning.

I smelled food. Glanced at my watch—9:00. Wow.

Didn’t expect to pass out for six hours.

With all the boys out there, I needed clothes. A tank top with no bra and boy shorts was not appropriate, especially with that letch Fifteen nearby. Yeah, everyone knows teen boys are horny, but he didn’t have to be obnoxious about it.

I hoped Thirteen kept him on a tight leash.

But Lev was the only person I found in the living room. “Where is everyone?”

“Errands. Hey.” He stood at the stove. “Thanks for the pizza.” That wasn’t what he was cooking now, though.

“You’re welcome.” In the kitchen, I saw he had a pot of oatmeal.

I opened the fridge for milk.

“Figured it wasn’t Miss Thornhill.”

I laughed. “No…she’s all health food, all the time.” Which was a small part of why I still ate sugar cereals around her. “You want eggs?”

“Uh, sure.”

“We’ll need protein today.” The Agency stocked us with protein powders so all we needed was water and a cup for sustenance anywhere in the world, but give me real food. I grabbed six eggs, butter, and found a pan. “How was the floor?”

The cabin had blue carpet that matched the blue sofa.

“Not so bad. I used to fall asleep in front of my grandparents’ TV all the time, so I’m used to it. Fif whined until Five threatened to freeze all his underwear.”

Ha. “Not sure how much tough love The Agency will get out of Thirteen. He was always a fair teacher and preferred to focus on learning rather than discipline. I can think of other candidates way better suited to scaring Fifteen straight.”

Eggs scrambled, I poured them into the hot pan.

Lev scraped his oatmeal into a disposable bowl. “I know we’re desperate for warm bodies, but we don’t have to be this desperate.”

I laughed. “Sorry he’s such a drag. This trip could’ve been fun.”

“Yeah, class of ’06 together again.” He sat to eat. “This is beautiful country. I’m looking forward to exploring it. I grew up fly fishing, but probably won’t have time.”

“Unless we use fresh fish to bait the wolf.”

His features perked up. “I like how you think, Seven.”

“I mean, the river’s just…right there.” Eggs fluffy, I divided them into two portions on paper plates and slid one to him. “Salt? Pepper?”

“You seasoned enough. I watched.”

I tasted the eggs. Tiny bit more salt, and perfect.

The door opened. Amelia. “You’re awake. Finally.”

I sighed.

“Thirteen went to the ranger station to try to convince them to use the helicopter for scouting. The boys are searching for an ATV or truck to borrow.”

She couldn’t complain about my scrambled eggs.

“What did you do this morning?” I asked.

“Talk to the town clergy.”

No better place for local scuttlebutt. Christians shouldn’t gossip but were usually the worst about it under the guise of lookin’ out for their brethren. Moira and Pastor Ken never allowed it in the youth group back home.

“Anyone shamin’ their neighbors for comin’ home naked at sunrise?”

“Unfortunately, no.” She poured coffee. “But there was a man who made an odd confession to the local priest about a month ago. The priest had never seen him before and not seen him since.”

“What was the confession?” Lev asked.

“The man said he had lost time and was afraid of what he was doing during that loss. He asked if God would forgive him for things done, no matter how awful, if he couldn’t remember doing them and hadn’t sinned deliberately.”

“That poor man,” I said. “Where did he come from?”

Amelia shrugged. “People are spread out in this wilderness and might only come into Happy Camp a couple times a year. He could be anywhere.”

“Except for the signs west of town that are all within a day’s hike.”

“That’s right,” Lev said. “He has to be close.”

“Wolves cover many miles of territory,” Amelia argued. “The werewolf can’t be much different.”

“But wolves have all day and all night to travel throughout the year, Amelia. A werewolf has three nights a month to hunt and protect territory, and none of this terrain is flat, taking more energy. We find a good spot not far from town to set up bait, we’re going to lure him in. Did you let Thirteen know what you learned?”

“I came back here.”

I bit back the sigh and went for my phone.