AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Possums don’t eat people, right?” I ask.
“Nope. He’ll be fine.”
“Will the possum be okay?” Clover asks. “We can’t let him hurt an animal.”
“Dell’s an idiot and a criminal,” I say. “But he’s not violent, and he’s too afraid of the possum to hurt it. He doesn’t even have a real gun.”
Behind us, leaves crunch. We turn with our lights to see the possum hightailing it away from the cave as fast as it can go.
“If it had seen Dell as a real threat,” Dani says, “it would have played dead.”
“Should we go back in the cave?”
Dell must not have realized the possum left, because he’s still screaming.
“If we go back in there,” Dani says. “You’re liable to offer to help him get back on his feet, and I won’t let you do that. We’ll have to find another campsite for the night.”
“Let’s go before he comes out and starts whining about how no one appreciates him,” Clover says.
I don’t have a good argument, and I’m in no hurry to go back into a cave that’s home to possums and probably other critters. I slide under Clover’s other arm and the three of us head out into the dark.
We’re ten steps from the cave when something comes crashing through the forest.
I freeze. It’s happening.
I knew there were monsters out here and now they’re coming for us.
I might pee a little.
Light bobs toward us and then shines in our faces.
“Are you alright?” A woman asks.
“Who are you?” My voice trembles and I grip Clover’s arm so tightly she hisses in pain.
“A member of Jaxon Hayes’ security team. We’ve been following Dell, but lost his trail about an hour ago. We made a call not to follow you three into the woods today, but to stick with Dell.”
“It was the right call,” another woman says, as she joins our group, panting slightly. “What’s he screaming about?”
“A possum.” My chest is warming at the realization that Jaxon might have left me, but he left behind protection.
He still cares. At least a little.
“The suspect is in no imminent danger?”
“No. The possum’s already gone.”
“One of us should stay here to make sure he leaves the forest,” the first agent says.
“You should arrest him,” Dani says. “He waved a gun at us.”
“A fake gun.” As angry as I am at Dell right now, I don’t want to see him stuck in jail for years for something he didn’t do or shot by security agents who think he’s got a real gun.
Clover grips my shoulder hard, digging her nails in. “A gun is a gun.”
“Our orders are to escort the sisters to safety,” the second agent says in a tone weary enough to suggest this isn’t the first disagreement she’s had with the first agent. “It appears one of you is injured?”
“I sprained my ankle, but I can walk if we aren’t going far.”
