Chapter 32 | EAVESDROPPING AND FRESH TRACKS

Matthias.

You've got to be kidding me.

Well, I guess it was only inevitable I'd run into him some time.

When we make eye contact, he smiles, gesturing to me. "So, he didn't kill you, eh?"

I purse my lips, wondering if he meant for that to be funny while I recall what Vaughn said.

And, so, because it's just the three of us in the room, I decide that I'll bring it up point-blank.

"So, I heard you're into dog fights, eh?"

His torso freezes, his arms and shoulders slowly drooping down, coming into a defensive stance, and I hear Nina make an almost startled noise from behind me.

"...That sociopath told you about that one night, huh?" He says. "Well, listen, that was a mistake. I've changed, and I regret what I did."

"Why do you call him that?"

"Because he's a total recluse. Shoots arrows at people. Creepily silent, not to mention. Total psycho."

I don't waste much time with my reply, seeing as how trusty ol' sarcasm never fails to come through for me. "Ah, yes. You're right. Vaughn is a total psycho. How dare he want to get away from the village filled with girls who stalk him and guys who attack him and his dog with broken beer bottles?"

He scoffs, rolling his eyes. "You've known him for what, a week now? Why are you defending him? You can't possibly know his character at all."

Well, he's got me there. Guess it's time to switch back to talking about him being an animal abuser. "My original goal wasn't to defend him at all. I just wanted to talk to you about you attacking him and his poor dog."

He rolls his eyes again, "I said I regret what I did, alright? Now I'm done talking to you about it."

Watching him walk past me and to the other side of the bar, I figure I should be on my way now. I mean, it is 12:16 already. Plus, Nina needs to take Matthias's order. And, I don't really want to be near him.

Besides, I'll be back soon. Nina can answer my question then.

Standing up, I struggle to scoop up the two duffle bags, slinging one strap around each shoulder. "Well, I should be going now."

Nina nods, standing up also. "But I thought you wanted me to answer your question?"

"Well, if you have time," I say. "Otherwise it's fine."

She nods, walking us over to the door and away from Matthias, who she tells me 'can wait.'

"The last day I saw your uncle, I was in Rachel's room, straightening up. He comes in, looking panicked. Tells me he has to show me something on his camera. But then we're interrupted by Henry coming into the tavern and yelling that Rachel's missing. I run out, he follows, and we all go outside. I..." She trails off, lost in her own thoughts.

I stay silent, waiting for her to continue on her own. I'm not going to push her to open up, as I know how difficult that day must have been for her.

"I forgot all about your uncle at the time, I was just so worried about Rachel. I went off to Luna's to look for her, and the next thing I knew, I was hearing that John disappeared. Henry was with John for a short amount of time, then."

"I...have a question."

She nods.

"You said you went off to Luna's? Why? I thought you hated Luna?"

Nina shifts, "Before that day, I didn't. Luna was..."

I raise an eyebrow, waiting.

"Luna was with Rachel, babysitting her. She was supposed to be watching her, and she failed to do so. She lost my niece."

I breathe in deeply, finally realizing why Nina hates Luna so much.

She blames her for her niece's disappearance.

But why does Luna hate Nina? If anything, she should be remorseful.

"Wow...well, thank you for telling me."

She nods, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Of course. Stay safe. "

I smile tightly. "I'll try. Thank you for everything you've done, Nina."

She smiles too, but it doesn't reach her eyes. "See you next month."

A few minutes later and I'm nearing the trail, shoulders already sore and exhausted from the weight pulling down on them.

I think I'm gonna die. There's absolutely no way I'll be able to make it. I mean, three more hours of this? There's no way I can do it.

I struggle to wave goodbye to random people I've met and talked to this past week, getting farther and farther away from them and their homes.

However, as I reach the trail, I become aware of familiar voices talking.

I slow down as I near the corner, knowing that I shouldn't eavesdrop but knowingly doing it anyway.

"Henry, why don't you tell her this yourself?"

"I'm sure she'd trust you more than me, Vaughn."

"Not necessarily. John's the one who described you to be like his brother-in-law."

They're talking about me? Why are they talking about me?

Now I have to eavesdrop, and I won't feel guilty about it at all.

"I just...I have a really good feeling Richard is behind this. He and John were always arguing. You can't let her be alone with him, Vaughn. Don't trust him."

Henry on the whole Richard thing again? Seriously? Is he just trying to find someone to blame or what?

"I won't."

"You can't let the same thing that happened to John happen to his niece."

What? You mean like get "eaten by wolves"? Get murdered by Richard whose only seemingly obvious mistake is his son?

"That's why I'm here right now, Henry."

Oh? Thoughtful?

"Good, good."

Okay?

I'm confused, and that's why I want to keep listening. However, when I hear snow crunching under boots, I decide to nonchalantly make my entrance.

I casually turn the corner, officially entering the trail, and I see the ones to whom the voices belong to.

Henry, who looks a bit stressed, and... "What are you doing here?" I ask Vaughn, acting as if I didn't know he was here.

They both turn to me, and without another word, nod goodbye to each other. Henry pats me on the back as he walks past me, heading back to town.

And then it's just my uncle's friend, who I've been reminded that I know basically nothing about, and me, standing there with a confused look on my face.

He doesn't say anything. Instead, he just holds out a hand, motioning for me to hand over one of the duffle bags. So, as any sane person would, I don't hesitate to immediately give him the heaviest one. "Thanks!"

He nods, turning to start walking back in the direction of the cabin. So, I follow after him, coming up to walk side by side with him.

And I'm still confused about all of this. But, before I can ask anything, though, I hear: "What took so long?"

Immediately, I reply with a quick, "Whaddya mean?"

Silence.

Shocking.

After a few moments, I ask, "How's Moose?"

"Fine," he answers. "Did you learn anything?"

I think back to the conversations I had. "Not too much. Just that most of the people assume he disappeared the same way they assume Nina's niece went missing."

He nods, "Wolves."

"But, they both went missing on the same day. How can people just assume wolves are responsible for two disappearances on the same day?"

And Rachel disappeared from Luna's...where is that, exactly? The store, or her home? I don't know where Luna lives, but if it was the store...then that's pretty far from where John disappeared.

I hate myself for thinking up relevant questions after I lose the chance to ask people them.

"They want to believe that, so they do."

"My uncle wanted to talk to Nina about something before he disappeared. He wanted to show her something on his camera. I guess he looked panicked."

"What?"

"Yeah, so whatever happened, I'm guessing it had something to do with Nina?"

"I didn't know this."

I frown, "Henry didn't tell you?"

I didn't mean for it to, but I guess my question does come out kind of snarky. Oops.

Vaughn glances at me, "Maybe Henry didn't know."

He did. But instead, I just say: "Maybe."

There's silence for a few moments, and then: "I saw wolf tracks on the way here this morning."

I turn my head slightly to the right to look at him, an unsettling feeling rising in me at the news.

"Fresh tracks?" I ask, hoping he won't say yes.

"Yes," he says.

Of course.

I look at the usual rifle he has with him. "Well, at least you have a gun."

"No. That won't matter."

My face scrunches slightly in confusion. "Whaddayou mean it won't matter?"

"If it's the same pack, which it is, there's at least nine wolves."

"And how many bullets does your rifle hold?"

"Enough," he answers. "But I'm not going to kill off the majority of a whole wolf pack, Mikaere."

"Even though they might literally be responsible for a child's disappearance here?" I frown. "What happens if we come across them, then?"

"Whatever we do, we have to avoid getting stuck in a tree. Especially if it's a sparsely wooded area."

"Avoid getting treed in a spot where tree-travel isn't possible, got it," I say, and he glances to the side at me. "But...if you won't shoot at them, and we can't outrun them, and we have to avoid getting treed by them, what are we supposed to do, exactly?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't shoot at the wolves. I'd try to scare them off," Vaughn replies, and I sense the 'but...' behind his words.

"But...?"

"But I doubt it would work. It didn't the last time."

"The last time?" I question.

"Yes. Last winter. I was bringing back a deer when they started tracking me."

"What'd you do?"

"I left the deer behind for them to take so that they'd quit following me."

"And did it work?"

"No."

"Oh. What happened?"

"They ignored the deer, kept after me. I fired a couple of shots into the air, but it didn't do anything permanent. I ended up having to climb a tree when they got too close, but they were so relentless...they stayed under the tree for hours."

"What made them finally go away?"

"A deer passed through."

"But they weren't interested in the one you left behind for them?"

"One was already dead. The other wasn't."

I think about it for a second, gulping. "So...what you're saying is, the wolves don't necessarily hunt because they're hungry? They-"

"-mainly hunt for sport, yes."

"Well, that's...scary," I comment. "But you only figured this out last winter? You've been here for longer than that."

"They've gotten progressively worse."

Deciding to do something he'd do, I don't say anything back. And so he doesn't say anything, either.

We keep walking until it's time to move to tree-travel, and then back to the ground again.

An hour's passed by, at least, and still, neither of us has said a word. Vaughn usually only talks if it's in reply to a question I have, but maybe, if I refuse to say a word, he'll speak up first?

I know it's stupid of me to do this. But, this long walk is dreadfully dull, and I need to find some way to pass the time.

Granted, I could just ask more questions, but then I'd feel like I'm annoying him.

And, I don't want to annoy him, necessarily.

Since I won't be saying a word, I wonder how long it will take for him to say somet-

"Stop."

I instantly stop walking and glance up quickly, momentarily scared that he read my expression and somehow, someway, knew what dumb thing I was planning.

However, when his eyebrows knit together and he crouches down to the ground, staring at something, I realize how dumb I was for worrying.

But, that thought only stays in my mind for so long, because then, I opt to stoop down and see what Vaughn's examining.

And, immediately, my eyes widen.

So these are wolf tracks, huh?

They're big. Even more significant than Moose's tracks.

But when I see the fresh crimson streaks against the white terrain, I realize why Vaughn looks a bit worried.

He stands up swiftly, swinging his rifle around to hold it as he scans the area around us.

Slowly, I stand up, too. Looking up at the lack of climbable trees around us, I feel an anxious pit form in my stomach. "Vaughn...?"

"Just keep moving, Mikaere," he says calmly.

How is he so calm right now?

Well, then again, I guess one of us should try to remain calm. I mean, I'm certainly not.

Still, I keep moving forward, fully alert. "Do you think they're close?"

He doesn't say anything. And, for some reason, that gives me an uneasy feeling. Does he know something? Does he know they're nearby?

"Where's your hatchet?" He asks.

Oh, no. This isn't good at all.

I look at him, "What's that gonna do? You expect me to just go and hack them all to death, all Johanna Mason style?"

He looks at me, looking very serious. But then again, when doesn't he? "Mikaere?" He says.

"Yeah?"

"Get your hatchet."

I sigh silently, sliding my bag around so I can grab the hatchet from it while simultaneously continuing walking.

Once I have it, I move the bag back around and hold the hatchet firmly in my right hand, even though it'd be pretty much useless against a wolf pack.

And then, I realize something: I'm wearing my heavy winter clothes, including the snow pants.

Crap.

I really hope I don't have to run because then I'd definitely be dead. And, dying by wolf attack would prove Vaughn to be right, and I definitely don't want that. Therefore, I can't die. Simple as that.

We walk swiftly for a few more minutes, the forest around us getting slightly denser. A few of the trees here and there even look climbable. They aren't very tall, though.

Vaughn scans the treeline quickly, looking all around us, seeming on edge. Well, more so than usual. I look around us, too, but I don't see anything except trees and snow.

Then, Vaughn looks straight ahead, but his gaze is pointed like he's focused on and examining a fixed location.

"What are you looking at?" I ask, confused, and slightly worried that he sees a wolf or something.

"Look up--do you see that tallest tree there?"

Oh, good. No wolf.

I do as he says, seeing a pretty tall red pine tree. "Yeah, what about it?"

"I use it as a marker for traveling to town and back. It has a lot of sturdy limbs."

"Okay...?" I say, not really getting why he's telling me this.

"When I tell you to, I want you to run to it and start climbing."