Hello readers!

If you're having trouble understanding how the text messages are formatted, please let me know and I'll try it a different way! :D If you need it, here's a little cheat sheet of the acronyms I use in this chapter and last:

OMW - On my way

ETA - Estimated time of arrival

BRT - be right there

Special thanks to my new friend Angel Commando for some of the ideas in this chapter. :) Your feedback was a lot of help! And of course I will always have a thanks to Citrine for looking over my chapters! You're both life savers!

This chapter is updated as of 11/13/2015

~ Crayola


Chapter Three

The Warning Signs

My phone buzzed around midnight, waking me up. I hadn't meant to fall asleep waiting for my mom to go to bed, but I hadn't been able to keep my eyes open. A glance at the clock on my nightstand informed me I had only been asleep for five or six minutes.

Rubbing my eyes, I pulled the comforter over my head to hide the light. I squinted as the backlit screen assaulted my eyes, and it took a few seconds for them to adjust. Somehow I was able to make out the words through the glare.

Where r u? Did u chicken out?

It was from Michelle. I lowered the blanket and checked the sliver under my door.

Everything was dark, but it had been only minutes ago the lights were on and Mom was watching television. I chewed on my lip and covered myself again to reply.

One sec Mom just went to bed. Need a couple more minutes

I set my phone on my chest and waited for it to buzz—ten seconds. I let it sit for a few more seconds while I listened for anything suspect going on downstairs or in the hall. Atlas shuffled around in his kennel, but there was no other signs of life outside my room.

Convinced I was safe, I picked up my phone and checked the text.

Well hurry! I'm parked at the end of ur block

Alright brt

To be safe, I waited another five minutes before crawling out of bed. I had picked out my clothes before bed, aiming for anything warm and dark. In the end I'd settled on my heavy, dark green winter jacket and a dark pair of jeans. The jeans alone weren't warm, so I put on a pair of long underwear used for our camping trips. It took an extra minute or two to dress in silence, and I slipped on my heavy hiking books. Tip-toeing to the door, I listened for sound.

Nothing. So far so good.

However, when I cracked my door open, the hinges whined in protest and I winced, ceasing all movement. After a brief pause to make sure no was coming to investigate, I closed the door behind me and strafed to the bathroom.

The light from the streetlamp outside shone inside the bathroom and I moved with confidence throughout the bathroom without the need to flip the switch. I shut myself inside and shuffled to the window, making sure to keep my footfalls light in my otherwise heavy shoes.

Inside the pocket to my jacket, my phone buzzed and I swore under my breath.

? ? ?

My friend was devoid any trace of patience. Sneaking out of the house was a skill in and of itself, taking time and perseverance. . .it was an art that shouldn't be rushed. I shook my head and jabbed at the keys on my phone.

Hold on sneaking out now

Rolling my eyes, I shoved the cell in my pocket with the intent to ignore it. I had a plan to execute and couldn't let anything distract me. Leaving out of my bedroom window would have been a straight two-story drop, but not from the bathroom. A section of the roof jutted out in front of it at an angle, giving me a shorter distance to the ground. The doors were a no-go, as well: Atlas would never let me leave that way without making a fuss.

It took a few moments for me to unscrew the screen, and I popped it out after some struggle. I wasn't able to catch it before it fell out and I clenched my eyes shut when it thumped against the roof. Everything was still for a moment, and then I scrambled to escape.

Please let no one have heard that.

I climbed out of the small window, using the toilet to boost me up. It was too small to offer any comfort, and I ended up worming head-first onto the roof. My jacket snagged on a splinter during the task, but I was able to free it with a bit of dexterity and flexibility.

If anyone was watching, I no doubt looked ridiculous.

There was no way I could screw the screen back into its slot from where I stood. Instead, I set it against the glass once I'd closed the window. Satisfied it looked convincing enough, I crouched low and moved to the edge of the roof.

My heart thudding against my ribs as if to free itself. Every sound I made seemed amplified as I lowered myself to the roof, dangling by my hands.

Hurry, someone's going to hear.

There was a gap of a few feet below me, but I was confident I'd I could stick the landing. I counted to three, then dropped and hit the ground with minor discomfort and a slight ache in my ankles. Ignoring the pain, I jogged around the house and exited my backyard through the gate. Inside, Atlas was making chuffing noises, threatening to give me away. Once away from the back door, though, he ceased.

Hugging the wall of my house, I kept my body low and invisible. I jogged across the neighbor's yards until I felt I was far enough away too walk on the sidewalk.

Once my house was out of sight, I was walking on air and elated. I'd done it. I jogged the distance to Michelle's car and slid into the back seat, expecting an occupied front seat. To avoid further noise, I was careful when closing the door.

However, Michelle and I were alone.

"Where's Jake?" I asked as she pulled away from the corner.

"He and his friends went earlier for reconnaissance or something dumb. He's been live texting me since, like, eleven," she scoffed. As if on cue, her phone lit up where it sat in her cup holder. She ignored it. "Am I picking up Jess or is she gonna stay home?"

I crawled into the front seat, then buckled up. "Last I heard she was still coming."

"Text her and let her know we're on our way, then."

Nodding, I pulled my phone free from my coat pocket and relayed the message. It took a few moments for Jess to reply, but she was still on board.

"She says you can pull up right to her house. Her parents aren't home."

Michelle huffed. "Lucky. I had to pretend to go to bed super early and then wait for them to go. Still didn't take as long as yours did!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." I sighed. "I had to climb out a window."

"Your room?"

"No, the bathroom. On the second floor." I puffed out my chest and smirked.

Even in the dark I could tell she was rolling her eyes. When she spoke, though, she couldn't hide her awe—no matter how hard she tried to play it off. "Managed not to kill yourself at least."

"It was either that or risk Atlas waking up the whole house."

We pulled up in front of Jess' house and I texted to let her know. Michelle checked her own messages while we waited, and two minutes later Jess was sat in the back seat. We spent a moment greeting each other before Michelle drove us toward the park.

Curiosity—or concern—had been eating me the entire ride to her house. When I could contain it no longer, I turned to ask, "Why aren't your parents at home?"

"Dad left a note," she said, not taking her eyes from the window. "Didn't say much, though. Just that they'd be gone until real late. Or early, depending on how you look at it. They're usually out late but never at this time of the night."

"Are you worried?"

"Not really," she lied, unable to look me in the face. "They go to all the town meetings, so that's where they could be. Sometimes they run longer than normal. I don't think they have a reason to go to the park when they work at the stables."

"Oh, well that's a relief. My parents never go to those stupid things. Do they ever make you go with them?"

She shrugged but said nothing. I couldn't tell if it was because she was worried or didn't want to talk to me. I grimaced and settled back into my seat without saying more. I knew she didn't want to be on this trip, but I was making an effort to keep her spirits up. The least she could do was talk to me.

Or she could have just not come.

Halfway to our stop, Michelle was stricken with a bout of energy. She wiggled in her seat and squealed, "This is so exciting! I can't believe we're actually doing this."

"Me either," Jess muttered behind me. I wasn't sure if I was meant to hear, so I ignored it.

Michelle motioned to the case sitting on the seat next to Jess. "I brought my mom's camera so we can record video with good quality and take so many pictures! We can put them up later on the internet and be so famous!"

Jess added, "If we don't get caught."

"Well," Michelle hummed, "We'll need a good attitude about it and we'll be fine. Don't bring us down with your negativity."

I shot her a look and scolded her with a sharp, "Be nice!"

She shook her head and said, "I am! I was just teasing, god."

Unconvinced, I turned in my seat to encourage Jess with a smile, but her attention was out the window. I sat back and glowered at the glove compartment. Fine, I'd change the subject, instead. "What has Jake been saying in his texts?"

"He told me where to ditch the car, but now he's telling me it doesn't matter?"

"What doesn't matter?"

Michelle stole a glance to the cup holder then picked up her phone. She turned on the screen and said, "Yeah, he says he hasn't seen anyone patrolling so far. No soldiers or anything."

"Really? Are you serious?"

She shrugged. "Yeah. I thought it was weird, too."

Jess spoke up then. "Just because he can't see them doesn't mean they're not there, though. It's dark and they have like. . .camouflage outfits."

"That's true."

After an annoyed huff Michelle said, "Well that's just what he said! I'm not there, I don't know what's going on."

Her phone clattered into the cup holder, punctuating the tension in the air. I sighed and wished they would get along with each other. "The guy mentioned they'd be setting up a perimeter or something, didn't they? He should have seen some unless they skirted around them too wide," I said.

"I still think they're hidden," Jess muttered.

"No," I mused. "Why would they hide? They'd put up cones and shit so people know where to avoid. I mean, unless they already finished their work and left."

"Left where? Someone would have seen them go and we would have called this off."

Jess nodded. "I'm with Michelle. They couldn't have left unnoticed."

"Yeah I guess so." It was the closest thing to behaving they had done all night. I would take what they would give me.

We came to the conclusion to play it safe, anyway. Michelle pulled off into an empty lot and parked the car in a dark corner. Her Neon wouldn't exactly blend in with its silver paint job, but it would work. "We'll hoof it from here and meet up with them in the woods."

All three of us climbed from the vehicle, unconcerned about being spotted—Estes Park was a day time destination. At night, especially in late fall and winter, it was too cold to do anything outside of town once the sun set, not to mention passed midnight—and scurried toward the tree line where we would be under cover.

"Do you know the way?" I asked Michelle.

She waved her hand and nodded. "Yeah, sure. He sent me step by step pictures and a walkthrough on how to walk into the park." Her sarcasm could cut if she tried hard enough, and I rolled my eyes at her.

"You sure we can just . . . walk in?" Jess whispered.

She checked her phone once more then nodded. "He's going to meet us a little ways ahead and lead us around a few patrolling cops. I guess Victor was almost caught."

"See? Oh my god, this is so stupid," Jess whimpered, clutching the hem of my jacket.

I let her cling and motioned toward Michelle. "You got your camera?"

"Yup, let's go." She didn't wait for any more complaints, and I proud of her for leaving Jess alone this time. We followed after her, jogging deep into the trees.

*:・゚✧

During the day, the Rocky Mountain National Park was beautiful. This time of the year, when the leaves were changing color, it was at its best. Orange and yellow leaves against the white aspen trunks . . . it was a thing of art. Autumn was our busiest tourist season, bringing people from all over to see the leaves change.

At night, though, they were all the same color. A macabre filter of black against black.

Walking through the darkened trees was reaching uncanny proportions. Every rustle of the trees set my nerves on edge and lit the fuse to my fight or flight response.

It was terrifying. It was creepy.

It was thrilling.

The closest I had ever gotten to thrills of this caliber was during Halloween. Even if I couldn't convince my friends to come with me, Mom and Kristie would accompany me to a haunted house. It was the same adrenaline spike that drew me to roller coasters.

Maybe the situation wasn't quite the same, but I had no other comparisons. There were real threats here; losing our way, officers or soldiers catching us, and maybe even danger. If I sat and thought about what we were doing, my logical side said it was a bad idea. The thrill-seeking side didn't care. The heightened senses and tingling in my body was too tempting.

The three of us waited behind an autumn-kissed bushed for Jake to meet us. The ticket booths were several yards, hidden in the thicket. I didn't know how long we'd been waiting, but it seemed like forever. We could see the flashing lights of patrol cars between the branches.

If we hadn't been looking for them, we never would have spotted them.

"This is a terrible idea, guys," Jess whispered in our ears. It was the third time in the span of three minutes. "We're gonna get caught."

"Not if you keep quiet, dammit Jess just shhhh!" Michelle hissed.

I sighed and shook my head. Everyone was on edge and the two of them were fighting way more than often, leaving me to mend the rift. It was often that way, making me wonder why we were all friends still—was it old times' sake? We had been friends since elementary, after all.

High school was supposed to be when big changes happened. Maybe we were all holding on to our old memories in an attempt to keep the group together.

Or maybe I was reading too much into a stressful situation.

"Guys," I murmured, "Keep your voices low. Jake will be here soon."

Michelle nodded and shifted anxiously where she crouched. "Yes, okay, that's what I've been trying to say."

Another five minutes passed before we spotted Jake's familiar form. He doubled back, giving us a wide berth, then scuttled up behind us. He took Michelle's hand when she offered it and grinned at us. "Sup guys."

"Babe what took you? We've been waiting ages."

He dipped his head. "Sorry, we had to go way deep to keep off the radar. There are only a couple cops out there, but we wanted to make sure we were outside their patrol radius."

"Okay, so what's the plan?" I asked.

"Alright," Jake murmured, pulling Michelle back with him. Jess and I followed. "We'll fly dark for now, and we have to go real wide, okay? Follow me, though. It's just a bit of extra walking."

We agreed and Jake led us onward, avoiding any clearings and sticking to the shadows. The flashing sirens disappeared behind us, and there was a moment where I was certain the cops could hear my pulse.

None of us dared speak the entire time, the only sound the muffled crunch of leaves under our boots. The hike lasted fifteen agonizing moments until we crested the hill. Whispers echoed toward us and we approached with caution.

"Is that them?" I asked under my breath.

"Yeah," Jake responded. "Let's go."

He led us down the other side of the hill and pulled a flashlight. At our approach, several other lights flicked in our direction and the tension was palpable.

"Just us," Jake called. Everyone sighed a collective breath of relief.

"Scared us half to death, man," Tyler jittered, clapping Jake on the back. "Glad you finally made it, though. We were about to leave without you."

I looked around at the others and motioned toward them. "Who are all these people?"

Several other students were gathered around, shivering and talking. Half of them I didn't know, and the other half I recognized in face only. People from my classes, but not friends or acquaintances. I thought they were speaking a bit too loud, but maybe that just meant we were far enough away. Jake glanced back at the others and shrugged. "We ended up telling a few more friends what we were doing. They brought some of their own friends. Safety in numbers, right?"

"I don't think that applies when you're trying to be sneaky," Jess pointed out.

Michelle draped her arms around Jake and shrugged. "It'll be fine! We already dodged the cops and you guys haven't seen any soldiers, right?"

"Not hide nor hair," someone assured us.

A boy I recognized from my math class indicated toward the trees. I think he was the Victor Jess had mentioned earlier. "I think we should start that way. There was some police tape wrapped around the trees."

"It was torn though," Rick, from Jake's group, said.

"Torn?" I repeated.

Jake waved his flashlight and called to the others. "Alright, this should be everyone, right? Let's get going before people start realizing we're gone."

"Shouldn't someone stay behind if someone else shows up?"

"Yeah, okay," Jake said. "Who wants to volunteer to stay behind by themselves and wait for stragglers to show up?"

When no one spoke up, he chuckled. "Yeah, I didn't think so."

"You snooze you lose," Michelle agreed.

With that, we moved as one into the woods. Like Victor said, we walked past the police tape tied around a few tree trunks. Michelle snapped a picture of the dangling yellow strips as they twitched in the breeze. I stopped to pick up one of the ends, examining the tattered material.

"Don't fall behind!" Michelle hissed at me from ahead.

I dropped the tape and jogged to catch up. "Coming, sorry."

*:・゚✧

"Anyone know where we're going?" I asked, my arms wrapped around myself. "How deep this thing is supposed to be?"

Jake answered first. "No one knows. Maybe we should spread out."

"Splitting up is a stupid idea. Haven't you seen any horror movie?" his friend Tyler snorted.

"Not split up," Jake snapped. "Spread out. Like in a search party."

Michelle clung to Jake's arm and nodded. "Yeah! We'll cover more ground and still be within shouting distance of each other, right?"

"Um, probably seeing distance," Jake amended. "Everyone got a light?"

Those who carried flashlights waved them around. Those without pulled out their phones and warmed up the flashlight feature.

"Is this good enough?" I asked, waving my phone.

"Yeah, sure."

Our band of teenagers expanded outward, forming smaller groups or single parties. Jess opted to remain at my side, and I was glad for the company. There wasn't much to talk about as we searched, and our crunching footsteps punctuated the silence. The light of my phone guided us through the night. Every few minutes, Michelle would take a picture of something inane.

"Can we take a break?" Jess panted. I wasn't sure how far we had walked, but it had been well past an hour since we'd begun the search.

"I'll ask." I turned from her and shouted to the others. "Hey guys, five minute break?"

The hike was nothing compared to conditioning practices, but we had a diverse group of people. Not everyone would be in the same shape I was. So, it wasn't a surprise when mutters and groans of agreement rippled through everyone. Soon enough we grouped up again.

"Anyone bring some water?" someone called.

A few people presented bottles of water to pass around and I grimaced at my own oversight. At least some people had been thinking. I chalked it up to poor planning and nerves on my part.

Michelle sat with Jake and his friends, so I sat with Jess. . .though everyone was within speaking distance of one another. Michelle shot to her feet as soon as she sat and arched her back with a squeal. All eyes turned toward her as she brushed something from her butt before performing the "ants in my pants" dance.

"Babe what's up?" Jake asked, gripping her arm.

"I sat in something wet and nasty!" she wailed.

I made my way to her, sweeping my light over the log she'd sat atop. "What could you have sat in? Melted ice or something?"

"I don't know!" she whined, brushing her pants off. "I sat on some—stupid slug or something? I don't know it's slimy and nasty! Ew, ew, get it off me!" She dropped to the floor and wiped her hands on a patch of green weeds.

Jake joined her to try and help, but I just giggled. "Ew don't sit on slugs, man . . . ."

Jess looked confused. "Are there even slugs out here? I mean . . . isn't it a bit cold?" she asked, kneeling by the log and beckoning to me.

"How would I know, Jess?" Marie snapped, rubbing her palms against the side of her pants.

We left the irritated Michelle to her whimpering and I crouched next to Jess. I wanted to see this mysterious slug myself, but all we found was a puddle of something opaque and viscous. I reached out to touch it and Jess shuddered next to me.

"The hell is this?" I whispered more to myself than to anyone.

It was slimy and felt disgusting. I didn't know what it was, but I knew that I wanted it off so I shook my hand before wiping it off on my jacket. "Nasty ass. . .slime shit," I muttered.

"Why'd you touch it?" Jess snickered.

"I don't know, maybe because I'm actually two years old and learn by touching stuff," I berated myself, sighing.

She shook her head and took a bottle full of water, offered to her by one of the boys. We passed it on to the next person after Jess and I had our share. Then, we took a seat far away from the slime to enjoy the rest of our break. Our cold, cold break. I wanted to return to hiking so I could start warming up through exercise again.

"How much further do you think this thing is?" Jess asked over the sound of the others.

"Who knows, but it sure is getting colder. It might even snow if we're out here any longer," I surmised. I peered at the dark through the tree tops, and saw nothing but inky black.

She rubbed at her sore legs and chewed on her lip. "Will we be able to find our way back?"

Shrugging, I said, "I'm sure we will. Someone here has to have a working GPS. Even if we do get lost someone will be able to lead us back to town." A shadow flit across the corner of my eye and I snapped my head that way to look, but there was nothing.

"Alright let's get back at it! We've got more ground to cover," one of the guys shouted as he stretched to his feet. In the darkness it was hard to make out faces.

"How far do we need to go?"

"Shouldn't we give up and go back?"

"No way! Let's go!"

It was Michelle who spoke up next, clinging to Jake's arm. Most everyone was shivering. "I mean we're not keeping anyone here, if you want to go back go ahead and go back!"

Though some did consider it, no one was keen on leaving the pack. We spread out into the search line again and began the hike. Some conversations whispered on the wind, but Jess and I remained quiet. She was holding on to my jacket, as if afraid to lose me, and I didn't mind. This way, I didn't lose her, either.

"What are we even looking for?" One of the other girls shouted after a few minutes.

No one had an answer until ten minutes later. Victor waved his flashlight in an erratic spotlight and shouted to us. "Over here! I found a fence!"

Our group came together and gathered around the wire fence. We couldn't tell what it was for until I turned my phone's light onto the trees. They were limp and hanging, leaves littering the ground in varying shades. Smaller trees had toppled to rest against the forest floor, roots upturned. Some trunks had snapped clean in half. The destruction only seemed to worsen further into the woods.

"There are some tire tracks over here, leading into. . .that," one of the other girls said, crouching on the ground.

"What do you think caused it?" Tyler asked.

"Whatever crashed here, obviously," Michelle scoffed. Her camera flash blinded us all for a second or two. "Let's follow it."

"You think the wires are electric?" Victor asked.

"Touch it and find out."

"I'm not touching it, you touch it."

The boys argued for a while about who was going to touch the fence. I stood back and examined the tree line some more: whatever crashed there had to have been big. A chill chased tremors down my spine and something dark flit past the edges of my light. My heart skipped a beat.

Jess seemed to have noticed it as well: she pressed against my back and stared into the woods.

All at once the hair on the back of my neck to stood on end. I whipped my light around to illuminate the woods; nothing there was nothing but trees and bushes. Jess clutched at my jacket and I didn't pull away.

"Nichole, what was that?" she whispered.

"I don't know, maybe a deer or something." I didn't know who I was trying to convince more. Someone was watching us, that was certain. We weren't the only ones feeling the heebie jeebies. Those not caught up in the argument were looking around the woods.

We didn't have time to be arguing.

"Alright I'll do it!" I growled, marching up to the fence and grabbing the wire.

"Nichole!" Jess whined, running to my side.

Nothing happened, though. There was no spark, no course of electricity through my body. I released the wire and turned to the group, arms up. "See? Let's go."

Jake grinned and nudged my shoulder with his fist. "When'd you grow a pair?"

My cheeks flushed and I hoped it was hidden by the cold. "Shut the hell up, man."

He snickered and attached himself to Michelle before leading the pack again. I fell into step next to Jess and rubbed my arm. Despite the bravado, my hands were trembling. I didn't want to think about what would have happened if . . . .

The unsettling feeling weighed on top of the entire group. No one spoke once we were in that broken trail of trees. We weren't sure how far the crash site stretched, but there was no end in sight. This time we didn't bother spreading out, instead keeping to a tight ball. Every whistle of wind through the leaves made us jump, ever snap of a twig pushed my senses into overdrive.

Michelle, however, was making good use of her camera.

I kept seeing shadows move, but when I shined my light, there was never anything there.

"Shhh, guys . . . up ahead. Get down," Jake's harsh voice whispered. He was already crouched, so like a single entity, the rest of us ducked down and shut off our lights.

We shuffled forward together until we were practically on our bellies, crawling. There was a slight incline, and at the top was the dark shape of a vehicle. Jake motioned for us to stay put, pried his arm from Michelle's grip, then army-crawled through the broken twigs. At the top of the hill, he crouched behind the car and disappeared around it.

No one dared move. We waited what seemed like ages until he returned, his flashlight on. "There's no one here," he called, his voice shaking.

Sharing glances, we stood and joined Jake on top of the hill, flashlights coming to life. I didn't bother with mine. The hill sloped downward, and all the trucks from earlier that morning were there.

Everything was quiet. There was no wind, no sounds of wildlife. No soldiers. I swallowed the dry lump in my throat and held tight to Jess, who was trembling alongside me. Most of us stayed by the first car, but others wandered down. Though Jake left to explore, Michelle remained and lit the hillside with her camera.

I pulled away from Jess and put my hands on her shoulders. "Stay here, I want to look, too."

She nodded in jerky succession and I left her side to scale the incline. I kicked something after a few steps and leaned down to see what it was. My fingers brushed against the hard plastic of a rifle. I followed its contours until slime met met skin. I recoiled and jumped to my feet, skittering away from the gun until I tripped over a flashlight.

It, too, was covered in sludge.

"Um, guys," a boy I didn't recognize called, "there's blood over here."

Before I could come to investigate, someone started yelling from atop the hill. "Lin! Lin this isn't funny! Lin!"

Everyone turned to the voice in the back. Kylee, also from my math class, had her hands to her mouth and was turning this way and that. She turned toward our questioning gazes, eyes wide. "I don't know where Lin went! She was right here a second ago! She—she said she was going to look at something over there and—Lin! Lin where are you!" She was close to tears and gasping.

Muttering and concerned voices wound through the air. Michelle and I ran to her side to comfort her and Jess trailed after us, hovering a foot away. It wasn't long before she had her fingers in my jacket again. "Are you absolutely sure?"

Kylee sniffed and gestured behind us. "Yes! She was right there. I turned away to look inside this truck, and—for like two minutes. Where did she go? Where did she go?"

Several other people joined in shouting for Lin, meandering about the abandoned caravan. Every nerve in my body was on a hair trigger, the slightest sensation turning my skin to gooseflesh. We called for a minute or two, but I couldn't concentrate.

Victor had seen blood.

After a couple minutes, something answered.

The first time I thought it was an echo, so I ignored the awful feeling of dread it elicited. The second time, though, was louder. Closer. The sound was not an echo and a human's voice. It was a wail, dangerous and malicious. We all came to a halt and stared into the woods.

"Please tell me you all heard that," Michelle said.

Agreement worked its way across us.

"What was it?"

"It didn't sound like a bear or an elk."

"Maybe it was a coyote," Jess suggested, worrying her hands. She and I were arm in arm. "They make really weird noises."

Once more the sound trilled through the leaves and several of us jumped. Without a word we started moving again, giving up the search for Lin. Kylee was in tears, sniffling and whimpering. All us girls huddled together, the boys around us. Next to me, Kylee muttered nonsense.

"A coyote ate her. I didn't hear her scream. I shouldn't have let her. Can't believe it."

I tugged on her jacket sleeve. "It's okay. She didn't get eaten. We'll find her. Did you try calling her cell phone?"

She hiccupped and shook her head before pulling her phone from her pocket. We continued walking as she dialed the number, then put her phone to her ear. "It's ringing. I don't have very good signal out here so the call might drop—but it's ringing."

We waited, but it wasn't long before she groaned and put the phone away. "She won't answer."

Palpable tension permeated the air. Fear wafted sticky and hot from us. Every now and again someone would call for Lin, but she didn't answer. The screeches had stopped, as well, and we were almost ready to relax. Tyler wandered a few feet away to peer into the trees for Lin.

The tree above him ruffled and he turned his light toward it. "Lin?" he wondered.

His body jerked with a wet sound as a long, bladed thing pierced his shoulder. He had enough time to croak in pain before he was heaved into the tree like a paper doll. The branches creaked as something moved, leaping to the next tree, before all was still again.

Shocked silence blanketed the immediate area.

Something hissed next to us, shattering the moment. One of the boys called out a command, quashed by the screams and shouts that exploded from our group. As one, we turned tail and fled back down the mountain.