chapter two

For the third morning in a row, I dangled my legs off the edge of Kim's bed and scribbled down as much information as I could in my new and detestably emptier notebook.

Adlets.

The word had been on the tip of my tongue since the morning I broke down my tent. I had written about them in my journal about six months ago, in a late-night research session at around three in the morning. The majority of theories I had scribbled down in my notebook were a result of that late-night, sleep-deprived internet searching.

Even now, my eyes were weighed down by the bags under them. I hadn't gotten much sleep, as every time I closed my eyes, I saw the snarled lip of the monstrous wolf and the shrill laugh that echoed in my ears. I imagined the teeth puncturing my brother's neck while that laugh echoed off the trees. Lately, I had been surviving off of coffee instead of sleep.

The Adlet were a part of Inuit mythology—bloodthirsty creatures that were the result of a union between an Inuit woman and a giant dog. Her children were a horrifying combination of a giant, wild dog, and the strong arms of a man. These hybrid creatures were said to roam around the Canadian tundra, feasting on villagers.

I thought of the Adlet when I thought of the wolf that stood across from me. There was something so unnatural about it, something so unnerving. Primarily, it was too large, and secondarily, there was something different about the look in its eyes when it stared me down. It left me with chills.

And when the sound of laughter played in my ears once more, I wrote the word mother? on the top of the page.

I became convinced there was something inhuman about the way the deaths in this town went about two months after Bear disappeared. When three other men died in the same week from bear attacks, and the bare human footprint was just brushed under the rug and forgotten about with no follow up, I knew there was something wrong. No one seemed to piece any of this together, and no one seemed to notice that people kept dying from bear attacks, despite there never seeming to be any bears in the area.

"What are you writing?" Kim asked from her spot on the couch, scrolling through her phone without looking up at me.

"Homework," I lied coolly, tapping my pencil on the page.

Kim roller over on her stomach and raised an eyebrow at me. "It's spring break?"

"Yeah, and I have homework. Beckett has us doing a fifteen-page essay and I have nothing," I answered.

After a moment, Kim rolled back onto her back and returned to her phone. Kim was nice in the way that she never pressed anything too hard. "I think Beckett has it out for your class. He assigned us five pages."

I snorted. "Kim, I'm in AP. You're in college prep."

"Fuck off," she mumbled.

Even though our friendship was rooted in a need to lie to our parents, we were still close. We were, essentially, each other's only friends. We both preferred to keep to ourselves, Kim because she was unbearably shy and flushed in the cheeks whenever she talked to someone new, and me because I just wasn't interested in the people around me.

We worked well together.

When Bear died, I had nightmares. During the day, I couldn't bring myself to cry. The whole time I just felt numb. But when the sun set and I tried to close my eyes to sleep, I kept seeing my brother walk into the forest and walk out as a decayed and fading corpse. I would scream and cry and sob, and Kim started to stay over. She would sleep in my bed with me and hug me tightly until my screams subsided, while my parents lied in bed, comatose.

Kim and I used to spend almost every day together. Until Jared.

And I wasn't bitter, I couldn't be. Because I knew that Kim had spent almost her entire high school career crushing on him, and when he finally paid her attention, she was ecstatic, texting me twenty times in a row to tell me that her dream had come true, and her dream guy had finally asked her out.

Still, I wished he shared sometimes.

"So have your boyfriend and his little mob been playing Dungeons and Dragons for the past three days? I think this is the longest I've seen him go without you."

She didn't move from her spot on the couch. "I mean, I guess. Jared said he'd probably come over soon."

I groaned, and rolled off the couch. "I'm gonna go home, then. I don't wanna be here to witness the reunion." I picked up my bag from the ground and gave Kim a bright smile. "Text me?"

"I will. I have nothing else to do, since my essay's only five pages."

I rolled my eyes. "Love you," I called to her.

"Love you too," she said back as I closed the door behind me.

I pushed around the food on my plate. It was mushy and brown and smelled like rotted vegetables. "Mom, what is this?" I asked, pushing a wilted brussel sprout around my plate.

She frowned. "Chicken pot pie with fresh vegetables."

My dad and I exchanged a look. "These are fresh?" he asked.

"Oh hush, the both of you," my mom pouted down at her plate while my dad and I laughed. Gently teasing my mom was a pastime Dad and I had for years. It was funny to watch her cheeks heat up and her face squirm as she tried to hide her smile. We've been a little bit gentler in the past year. "It's not that bad."

"They're pretty bad, dear."

"Yeah, Mom, this is like," I waved a soggy brussel sprout around on my fork, "pretty bad. Like I don't know how it gets much worse than this."

"Well, I'd better learn to cook, because the Ateara's are coming over for dinner on Friday."

The laughter died in my throat. "What? Mom are you serious?"

"They're family, honey."

"Are we sure? Do we have any proof of that, or is that just something we've always said?"

Quil Ateara, one of the Quiluete dropouts, was my "cousin." Or at least, I called him my cousin, and my family invited his family over for holidays and random dinners. I think our mom's were just good friends, and that made it so they had to sit through all of our family functions. Quil and I didn't not get along; there wasn't any conflict, but we definitely didn't' prefer each other's company. Dinners were always silent. He got along better with Bear.

Quil used to spend a lot of time with my mom in the wake of Bear's death. He would call her almost daily and visit her and bring her gifts from his own mother. He joined the cult recently, and when he did, it all stopped, and my mother was left wondering where he went and why he stopped the calls.

My dad patted my back. "Family's what you make it, honey, and the Ateara's are our family."

I groaned.

I fiddled with the corner of the freshly printed paper I held on my lap. It was eight in the morning and I could feel the bags under my eyes, weighing down my face. Normally, at eight in the morning on spring break, I would be lying in my bed, undisturbed for another three hours. But I had spent almost my entire bank account on an item that was now missing, and that left me a little short on cash.

This was the third job I applied to, and thus, so far, no luck.

There was a little bookstore on the border of the Quiluete Reservation and the neighboring town of Forks that was trapped between a liquor store and a convenience store that also sold liquor. It was small and crowded; the new books were mixed with worn down books with yellowed pages that people donated. It smelled like aged paper and stale coffee.

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, waiting anxiously for someone to come out and tell me that they didn't even need to interview me, that I could just have the job, and I would get my paycheck by the end of the week. Out of all the jobs I could get, this would be the best: quiet, dark, time for me to do my homework and refill my new journal with the old and new information I gathered.

The longer I stood in front of the counter, waiting for someone to show, the more my mind wandered, drifting away to that spot in the woods. I marked it down on a map of the area, scribbling down an 'x' and then circling it eight times over with a thick red marker. I don't know why, it's not like I'd ever forget it.

"Ms. Cree?" I whipped my head around at the sound of my name, turning to the older woman that had appeared behind the counter. "Are you ready?"

I nodded, giving her my best, I am a kind and warm person smile. "Yes. It's nice to meet you." I put my hand out in front of her, prepared to show her how impressive my handshake was.

But she waved my hand off. "Do you have any work experience?" she asked, not looking me in the eye.

"Umm," I pulled my resume out and placed it in front of her, "I've never had a job before, but I have a lot of extracurricular activities from school, and I also made honor-"

She cut my off by raising her hand, and she looked up at me with an exasperated expression. "I'm not looking for a kid with no experience. I appreciate you coming out here today, but I don't want to waste my time teaching someone how to work. Have a good day," she said, pushing my resume back at me.

I stared at her, mouth slightly agape, but she still paid no mind to me. Wordlessly, I turned and walked out of the store. When I stepped out onto the pavement, I looked back at the 'Help Wanted' sign that hung in the window.

What was I supposed to do now?

Feeling defeated, I made my way back to my car. I had to park two blocks away for this stupid interview that I didn't even get to have. I guess blowing three job interviews was just one thing I could add to things that went wrong in the past week.

When I reached my car, I paused with my hand on the door handle. I looked up at the gray sky, watching the dark clouds bunch together. "Can you throw me a bone?" I asked to the sky, hoping that there was someone or something up there that would hear my plea.

Feeling ignored by the universe, I got into my car, the feeling of defeat that I first felt last Friday never once wavering. I got in the car, and I drove to the only place I could think to go.

It was a warm day for the middle of March. Though the sun still hid behind a seemingly permanent overcast, there air was warm enough for me to abandon my jacket and settle for sweater. I liked to watch the waves crash against the shore, and the sound of it made me feel calm, more in tune with the world around me.

I pondered the possibilities of the Adlets; whether or not they were real, if they could've made their way down from central Canada

Whooping laughter pulled me from my thoughts, and I looked over at the cliffs that lined the ocean, just down the shore. I wasn't surprised to see the six Quiluete dropouts standing above the drop, pushing and shoving each other towards the edge. They had done this before; when they inducted a new member into their little cult, they all shoved each other off the cliff. At first, it made my head spin, but now, it was just another strange thing everyone turned a blind eye to.

I watched as Seth Clearwater ran towards the edge of the cliff and then halted. He didn't look like someone whose dad just died, and he definitely didn't look like a freshman in high school. Even from this distance I could see the definition in his arms and the muscles on his chest.

It was unnatural.

Seth teetered on the edge, before Jared rushed up and gave him a strong shove in the back, and Seth went tumbling into the ocean below him.

"Asshole," I said out loud, narrowing my eyes at the older boy.

And, I know its impossible, but Jared turned his head toward me, looking straight in my direction, as if he could hear me. And I thought of the Adlets.

The presence of the dropout gang made me feel as if my space had been invaded, and that I was no longer here alone. After a few moments of refusing to look back at the cliff, I stood and headed back towards my car.

I tossed my backpack into the backseat of my car, and when I slammed my door shut, I heard voices approaching. "Dude, just drop it." I recognized the voice of Embry Call, the fourth one to join the cult. He was in my grade, sat in front of me in algebra, and never once looked my way.

He followed behind Jared, who was marching towards my car with a purpose. I kept my eyes fixated on him.

"No," he shot back at Embry before turning his attention completely towards me.

The locking of our eyes made one thing very clear to me: we were going to have an altercation.

There was a fire in Jared's eyes when he looked at me, like he was waiting for this moment and now he finally had the perfect opportunity. "I want you to stay away from Kim," he commanded, voice loud, even over the wind.

"What are you, her dad?" I shot back, leaning against the door of my car.

I had no reason to dislike Jared. Like the majority of the people that lived on the reservation, I never really bothered to get to know him. From what Kim told me, he was nice to her, treated her like a goddess and practically worshipped the ground she walked on. At least, that was what she told me.

From my perspective, right here and now, he was a possessive asshole.

His jaw locked at my words. "Kim doesn't need people like you using her and treating her like shit. I'm not gonna stand by and let her be friends with someone who lies to her."

My stomach knotted at his words, because even though I did technically lie to Kim, there was no way she would've know, and even less of a possibility of Jared knowing. I narrowed my eyes at him. "What are you even talking about?"

Jared snarled at me like a fucking dog. "You know exactly what I'm talking about. I don't care what you do, but don't drag Kim into it by feeding her bullshit."

I cocked an eyebrow, gawking at the audacity of the kid in front of me. "Dude, I don't care what you're going on about, but honestly, it's not your fucking business."

There was a trembling that started in his hands as she spoke. "Kim is my business. And I don't want you around her anymore."

"Fuck off, dude. You don't own her."

Jared glared me down while Embry wedged himself between the two of us, back to me with his hand on Jared's shoulder. "Jared, just walk away dude," Embry pleaded of his older counterpart.

With an annoyed grunt, Jared complied. He turned on his heel and stomped away from me. I stared at his retreating form, wondering if his annoyance matched my own.

"You know you really shouldn't egg him on."

At the sound of Embry's voice, I flicked my eyes away from Jared and turned my attention towards Embry.

But instead of meeting my gaze, Embry's eyes remained trained on the gravel parking lot, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his cargo shorts. "Yeah, well maybe he shouldn't act like such an asshole."

With that note, I slipped into my car and slammed the door shut, leaving Embry Call on the edge of the parking lot.

On the Thursday night of spring break, I sat in my bed and stared at the wall. My phone was in my left hand, and my new journal in my right. I could only manage to switch between two thoughts.

The first thought was that I, and everyone else that lived on the rez, was in danger. There were monsters in the woods, and I had no idea how to present that information or who I should even present it to. I imagined walking up to the chief of police with my little notebook full of cryptids and conspiracies and him throwing it back in my face. And I knew it sounded crazy, and for a few moments I considered the possibility that I might be insane for thinking that a mythical race might be ravaging the coastline and responsible for the death of my brother.

It was a little far-fetched, I admit, but it was the strongest working theory I had.

There wasn't anything else I could think of to explain what I saw, because I knew for certain that that thing, whatever it was, was not a wolf.

I wondered if the six dropouts were part of some weird cult that worshipped the Adlets. And then I wondered if they made sacrifices to the Adlets. That thought made my gut drop.

And the second thought that bounced around in my head was that Jared Cameron was a possessive creep that acted more like a dad than a boyfriend, and I needed Kim to know that.

It wasn't necessarily that I wanted them to break up, partly because I knew how much it would kill Kim and I didn't really want to put my friend through that or even deal with the aftermath (there were only so many cheesy post-break up movies I could bear to stream). But at the very least, I needed him to shape the fuck up.

There wasn't much I was willing to tolerate.

Not when it came to Kim, at least. I wasn't about to stand by and let some jerk who didn't pay any attention to her put a leash on her and treat her like a misbehaving dog.

The thought of it actually made my blood boil. What a douche.

I wondered if worshipping Inuit bloodthirsty man-dogs made you into a dick.

But then I thought of Seth Clearwater, who was barely fifteen, laughing with his stupid little dimples and his happy-go-lucky attitude didn't seem to disappear post-cult induction.

Then I remembered Quil leaving my grieving mother to wait by the phone for his call.

And then I remembered Embry Call.

Embry Call had never talked to me before, but when Jared looked like he was going to rip my head off in his girlfriend's honor, he put himself between us. Embry Call didn't meet my glance and he didn't pay attention to me, and pre-cult I'm pretty sure he signed a condolence card the whole grade gave to me last year. He used to laugh loudly in the halls and push his buddies into lockers and let pretty girls braid his long hair. And then he cut it all off and dropped out of school and we all stopped hearing about him. I wondered why he pulled Jared away from me. I wondered why he didn't look at me.

I jumped when my phone started to ring, ripping me away from my thoughts. I answered it, knowing who it was already. "Hey, what's up?"

"Remy, holy shit I am so sorry about Jared," Kim gushed immediately, words rushed. "I don't know why he was acting like that but when Embry told me I swear to god I could've killed him. I'm really, really sorry, Remy."

Chuckling, I threw my notebook to the side and stood, stretching my limbs. "It's okay, Kim. It's not your fault your boyfriend's an asshole."

I walked around my small room while she spoke. "He's not always an asshole. Like, I'm totally shocked he would do something like this. Honestly, Remy, I'm so sorry he talked to you like that. He never will again, I promise."

"Uh-huh, I'm sure."

"No, I'm serious, Remy. And it probably makes me seem like an idiot too, for being with him when he's talking to you like that."

I sat on the dresser against my window, leaning against the pane and watching the trees. "It doesn't make you seem like an idiot, Kim. I know he doesn't talk to you like that."

"Well he shouldn't talk to my friends like that either, I mean seriously. But hey! I think we should all spend some time together. I mean, you're my best friend, and I don't want you and my boyfriend to be like, enemies."

While Kim was ranting about her boyfriend, I saw something move in the trees. It was bright, brighter than anything than anything I would expect to see outside of my house. I leaned forward, eyes narrowing.

And when I realized what I was, I screamed.

Well, more like yelped.

"And I swear I'll never-Remy, are you okay?" Kim asked as I watched the silver wolf retreat further back into the forest.

I gulped, mouth feeling dry. "Yeah, I'm okay. I just spilled some tea," I said, and momentarily amazed at how easy it was for me to lie to Kim. "Can I call you back later?"

"Yeah, of course. You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Love you."

"Love you," I heard her say before I threw my phone down on the bed, and rushed back towards the window.

I felt cold.

I had become a target, I was sure of it.

what are we thinking so far! what are the thoughts! the opinions! im very lonely in quarantine pls talk to me lol