Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 119746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 599(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
He’s right. Hank was paranoid and spooked the entire journey.
“Well, I’m having a good time now. What does the boss say?” Hank looks to me expectantly.
I study him carefully, still uneasy despite the lack of physical evidence that anything’s wrong. But I can’t justify my suspicions, not without sounding as crazy as I just acted.
“I think we should continue to Benson Hut,” Aubrey says, breaking her silence. She meets my eyes across the room, a clear message in her gaze: we need to keep going.
“The lady wants to go on,” Hank says with a shrug. “And she’s the one paying the bills, right boss? What’s the verdict?”
All eyes turn to me, waiting for my decision. The practical choice would be to return to the ranch now that Hank is alright, get everyone to safety, come back better prepared if Aubrey still insists on continuing the search. But Aubrey’s right—we need answers. Need to understand what happened to Lainey and Adam three years ago. She’s the reason we’re all here.
“We’ll continue to Benson Hut,” I decide, ignoring Red’s muttered curse. “It’s a day’s ride. We can make it before dark if we leave soon, set up safely inside for the night. Re-evaluate our options in the morning.”
“You can’t be serious,” Red protests.
“Actually, I think Jensen’s right,” Cole interrupts, surprising us all. “Weather’s good. Trail should be passable with the fresh snow. And now that Hank’s back…why not push on?”
Red looks between Cole and Hank, disbelief evident on his face. “Have you both lost your minds? We should be heading back to civilization, not deeper into these godforsaken mountains.”
“Mountain lion,” Hank repeats with certainty. “Must’ve dragged a deer off into the woods. That’s the only explanation there is. It’s just nature, boy. Nothing to worry about.”
I’m not convinced, but without evidence to the contrary, I have to accept his explanation.
For now.
“It’s settled then,” I say with finality. “Red, you’re free to go back to the ranch, but the rest of us, we pack up and head out in twenty minutes. Eli, help me check the horses and Angus. The rest of you get the gear together.”
As the group disperses to their tasks, Eli follows me outside to the lean-to. Once we’re alone, he speaks in a low, urgent tone.
“You don’t believe that outhouse story any more than I do.”
I shake my head, watching the cabin through the lean-to’s open door. “No. We checked there. Multiple times. And that blood was fresh, Eli.”
“So what’s going on? How is he completely unharmed?”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “And maybe he is telling the truth. But I’d feel foolish if I weren’t a little paranoid. Keep an eye on him today. Don’t let him be alone with anyone if you can help it.”
“You think he’s…become one of them?” Eli asks carefully.
The possibility makes my gut twist. I’ve heard the stories passed down through my family’s generations, about how the hunger can spread, how those taken by it can appear normal until the moment they turn. But I’ve never seen it happen, never witnessed a transformation firsthand. Only dealt with them in their final, feral state.
“I don’t know what to think,” I say honestly, with a heavy sigh that makes Jeopardy glance at me sideways. “He looks the same. Acts pretty much the same. But I can’t shake the feeling something happened to him out there.”
“Something bad,” Eli agrees grimly. “Then again, we don’t know how things are transmitted, do we? Maybe they don’t even need to be bitten for it to spread. Maybe Hank just ate something wrong. Hell, he might not even know.”
Shit. Didn’t even think of that. Guess I’ve seen too many zombie movies.
But the blood seems like too much of a coincidence.
“Like I said,” I say to him, “we’ll need to watch him close, just in case.”
The horses are restless in the lean-to, snorting and shifting nervously. Jeopardy, usually calm in all conditions, pins his ears back when I reach for his bridle.
“They sense something’s wrong,” Eli murmurs, calming his own mount with gentle words and a firm hand. “So there’s that.”
“Or they’re just on edge from the storm and Hank going missing,” I suggest, trying to convince myself as much as Eli. “Picking up on our own energy. Let’s just focus on getting to Benson Hut safely. One step at a time.”
We finish preparing the horses in silence, each lost in our own thoughts. By the time we lead them to the cabin, the others have packed the gear and are waiting on the porch. Hank seems cheerful, even eager to get going—as if nothing unusual had happened at all. Must be nice.
Red and Cole are still giving me strange looks, no doubt wondering about my bizarre demand to see Hank’s bare chest. Can’t blame them. It was an odd move, driven by suspicion and the lingering dread from last night’s search.