It was several days later when we left the ranch and began the trip home. The drive to the airport was long, but once on the plane, I fell asleep and didn’t wake until we had landed safely back at Logan. Sarah met us at the terminal, and the three of us rode back to Andover with Sam and I giving an account of the last few days. Sarah listened and when we were through, cleared her throat hesitantly.

“I don’t think we should tell Tim,” she said quietly.

“What?” I asked. “What brought this on?”

“I dunno,” she said. “I mean, the last few weeks, he’s seemed a little off, but I attributed that to having to work overtime. The other night when he came home, I was doing a load of wash, and I pulled a brochure out of his pocket. It was for Mystery Seekers and when I asked him what it was about, he said that the same guy from before had come in, and they had fallen to talking. Turns out that it was our friend Jarrett. It’s like he knew that Tim was somehow connected to us, and was staking him out for some reason. Anyway, he invited Tim to go to a meeting, and Tim seems kind of interested.”

We sat and digested the information for a few minutes, trying to understand how to dissuade Tim from following the path he had seemingly chosen for himself. Sarah seemed crushed. The person she loved the most had now become one of the people we had the most to worry about.

“Are we still all having dinner tonight?” I asked.

“That was our plan, yes,” said Sarah.

“Well, maybe we can talk some sense into him,” I said cheerfully.

“I hope so,” said Sarah glumly as she pulled onto I-93 North. “Otherwise, I don’t know what I’ll do.”

Sam and I arrived at Tim and Sarah’s at 7:00 that night, pretty much right on time. We had gotten home and unpacked fairly quickly. Sam had called his mother to let her know the latest development, and then we had driven over to Jo’s field to do some riding practice. Sam had been unusually jumpy on the ride to Jo’s and had made several turns and detours before finally pulling into the back field. When we got there, we ended up not even taking the tack out of the back of the car, but instead just walked around the field talking for a while. Several times, Sam had looked over towards the road, but I saw no one and nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Finally, an hour later, we packed ourselves back into the car and went home.

At Sarah and Tim’s, we went into the living room and sat chatting for a while, trying to act as normal as possible. Dinner was to be a roast, and Sarah went out several times to check on it and the other dishes that were cooking. Tim seemed normal and talked about interesting customers at his bank for a while before asking us about our trip. Sam enthusiastically told him about the fun he and his cousins had had, and how much he had enjoyed torturing me with his large family for several days. Tim almost snorted his soda at one point when Sam fictionalized some of the hazing they had done to Teddy, making it sound more like older cousins tormenting younger ones than herd members celebrating the changing of one of the younger members.

Dinner seemed almost normal and it wasn’t until dessert that Tim brought up the new group that he was looking into joining.

“So they seem very serious,” said Tim, playing with his coffee spoon. “From what Jarrett has told me, their founder, Mark, was out hunting with his brother when one of them shot what they thought was bear. The hit wasn’t fatal, and the bear turned on them and charged. The other brother took a shot, hitting it squarely in the chest, and dropping the animal down out of sight behind a dead tree. When the brothers reached the animal, they found instead a dead, naked man lying in the snow. Mark’s brother panicked, and called the police before either of them could think about what had happened. The brother took the blame for the kill – he was very distraught over what had happened – and Mark was left with a mystery on his hands. He became pretty focused on proving that it had been a bear that they had seen, not a man when they shot it, and eventually he formed Mystery Seekers to try to winnow out the truth. He has gathered some pretty interesting evidence, but his main goal is to find another one of these creatures to bring in as proof that his brother, who is still in jail and will be for about five more years, was not guilty for intentionally shooting a man.”

“Where would that leave the person he brought in?” I asked. “Isn’t it kind of hard on them? After all, they have rights too.”

“Well, Jarrett says that they don’t. He said that they are just beasts with human intelligence, but lacking morals,” Tim said. “Else why would the bear attack him?”

Sam stared at Tim incredulously.

“Maybe because one of them shot him?” Sam said, heatedly. “I know animals. A real bear will normally run away from gunfire, especially after being shot, but not always. Maybe it was simply outraged at being used for target practice and decided to go after his assailants.”

Tim looked at Sam whose eyes had dilated and who was sitting forward to emphasize his point.

“Look, Sam, I’m not trying to provoke a fight, but if they are real, they are not animals. They are worse than animals. Yes, a real bear would have probably run away, but the very aggressiveness of this attack proves that these beings are dangerous.”

“If they do exist, just because one attacked someone shooting at him doesn’t prove that he was inherently dangerous,” I said, putting my fork down with a clatter. “I mean, seriously, if someone shot you, wouldn’t you retaliate?”

Tim looked at me and sighed. “This whole discussion is probably moot. If these beings have gotten wind of the organization looking for them, I’m sure they have cleared out by now or made arrangements to hide from hunters. Jarrett will be hard-pressed to find hard evidence anyway. It just seems so unlikely that these creatures could even exist. Maybe he is making it up. I don’t know.”

“Tim,” said Sam, relaxing a little and sitting back, “we aren’t trying to attack you. We’ve met Jarrett, and he seemed really sketchy. He asked us a lot of questions while we were out riding and even spied on us. He is seriously an obsessed man who will do anything to free his brother. I get what he’s after, but I think he’s going about it the wrong way. Chasing after mythical beings isn’t the way to do it. His brother shot a man. Creating a fable about people who can turn into animals to save his brother seems like kind of a radical sort of thing to do, but from what I have seen, he isn’t the sanest individual. Maybe he has other motives for doing this.”

Tim nodded half to himself, and the dinner conversation turned to other topics. Sarah and I glanced at each other with frank relief, and the evening became a lot more bearable after that. Things seemed almost like normal and when Sam and I went home, we felt almost relaxed for the first time in days.

Everything was quiet for the nest few weeks. Sarah reported that Tim seemed less interested in the group than he had been, and Sam and I were comfortable enough to get some riding in over at Jo’s a couple of times. Sam seemed to be adjusting to the idea of wearing tack as well, and my rides became more pleasurable as time wore on. We also found a property that seemed promising in the neighboring town of Tewksbury that offered about ten acres of private trails in town land abutting the house and small barn. It was expensive, but also exactly what we needed.

One Sunday afternoon, a few weeks after the fateful dinner party, the phone rang. It was Susan and she asked rather abruptly for Sam, dispersing with her usual courtesies. I handed him the phone and listened to the usual short responses he made when speaking to his mother. His face grew pale, and he listened silently for a few moments longer before exchanging farewells and setting the phone down.

He turned to look at me and for the first time since we originally found out about him, he seemed truly frightened.

“One of them almost caught Matt,” said Sam. “His change came upon him suddenly, and he had to make a run for it when they came after him. They had been following him, though we don’t know why. He’s a sharp kid. It was his first change, which freaks most of us out a little, and he had the presence of mind to try to get someplace safe. He realized that he was being pursued when two cars tried to block his path. He managed to swerve and get around them, but it took him a while to get to a hiding place long enough to shake them. Once they were truly gone, he booked it home and hid in the stable until Meredith found him. She talked him back into his human form, and then he told them about what had happened. It is only a matter of time before they show up at the stable. Meredith is taking the boys to the ranch for safe keeping until further notice.”

“What do we do?” I asked. “If they know about Meredith, they will connect her to you, won’t they?”

Sam paced around the couch, looking at the floor while he walked, deep in thought.

“We don’t know how much they know,” said Sam. “But we need to. Call Sarah. Let’s see if we can enlist Tim’s help somehow.”

“You want to tell him?” I asked, aghast.

“Maybe. I don’t know. My mother thinks I need to go home immediately, but I am not good with running away.” Sam sighed deeply and looked out of the window at the back yard. “I want to trust Tim. We need someone who could get us warning. We’ve known him for years, Laura. I want to trust him.”

“Let me call Sarah,” I said, “and we’ll see what she has to say.”

A few minutes later, Sarah had been filled in and was on her way over. Tim was out for the afternoon, but she still felt better talking to us in person. Sam paced endlessly around the living room during the ten minutes it took for Sarah to drive over, and he seemed more horse-like than usual. By the time Sarah came through the door, he was even more agitated.

“I am not sure telling him is a good idea,” she said. “He hasn’t said much about the group, but I get the impression he hasn’t dropped them either. However, this is Tim we’re taking about. He is pretty rational. What do you want to do?”

“I think we need to tell him,” said Sam, quietly. He had stopped pacing but was still seeming on edge. “Where is he today?”

“Baseball game. Work invite. He asked me to go, but I’m not a huge baseball fan. If it had been basketball, it would have been a different story. The game will be over by 6:00. Do you want me to ask him to stop over on the way home?”

“This is a big step,” I said. “Are we sure he is good for this?”

We all looked at each other and slowly, one by one, nodded. Sarah sent Tim a text, and we discussed how best to plan our approach to the situation. Discussion followed by proof seemed to be the most logical way, and when Tim arrived, we were ready. Sitting him down on the couch, Sarah and I told him the whole story from beginning to end, leaving out only private things and the names of the other family members. When we were done, Tim looked at Sam with a stunned look.

“So this is all true?” he said. “Why did you try to convince me that it wasn’t real?”

“Because you were so dead set to believe that my people were not the same as humans. You seemed to have bought that old line about ‘they aren’t really people, so why give them the same rights’ that every majority totes out about minorities. Of course we have morals and ethics. My family acts pretty much the same as any human family. So do the other clans. If this bear was wounded, I can understand why he’d retaliate. You would too if you were shot at.”

“Well, I can’t deny that,” said Tim, running his hand through his hair. “So Jarrett isn’t crazy, just desperate. And of course, none of you can step forth to help him without risking your families.”

“And although it was a mistake, he still killed someone,” I said. “His brother did the right thing and will get out in a few years. Jarrett has just convinced himself otherwise and is going to hurt or destroy other people’s lives.”

Tim was silent for a long while, and Sam got up to resume his pacing, glancing at his friend repeatedly as if to gauge his reaction to the story. Tim sat, playing with the straw in his rum and coke, then finally looked up at Sam.

“We’ve been friends for years, Sam. I trust that you, of all people, would tell me the truth. Swear that these beings are no more dangerous that any human might be, and I will believe you.”

“I swear,” said Sam. “We retain our human minds when we change, just gain some other senses too. I would be careful not to make prolonged eye contact with some groups as that is seen as a challenge. Other than that, we are no different, aside from being able to become an animal at will. It isn’t a curse. It is something we are born into. Some are good, some are bad, just like human beings.”

“All right,” said Tim. “I believe you. What can I do to help?”

“How close are you with the group?” asked Sam.

“Not very,” said Tim. “I have kind of been staying away, though Jarrett calls me now and again. I can maybe go to a meeting or at least take his calls.”

“Just be careful,” said Sam. “Chances are, he knows about your connection to me. Don’t suddenly appear overeager. Let him convince you over the next few weeks. We don’t have a lot of time, but we should have that much.”

“Did you want Sam to show you?” Sarah asked, suddenly, but Tim shook his head.

“Plausible deniability,” he said. “If I never see you become a horse, I won’t have to lie. I’m just going to have to go on faith.”

Tim and Sarah stayed for supper and talk eventually drifted to other things. The baseball game had been a dud, apparently, and all his boss had talked about was how much he hated the pitcher. Sam nodded sympathetically, though he agreed on the pitcher’s inability to throw a ball. Eventually, Sarah and Tim headed home, and we were able to get to sleep.