AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Too tired to be afraid, Jenna let the fire of fever consume her.
*
Side by side, Connor and Cain trudged through the woodland with rifles over their shoulders and Luna sniffing through the undergrowth. Backpacks in place, they looked like hikers out for a midnight ramble in the snow.
Flashlights in hand, they found it much easier to walk under the cover of the trees, even as the canopies overhead blocked out the moon’s natural light. But making faster time without the hindrance of drifts to wade through was more important than complaining about the lack of light.
They’d been walking for hours, searching for the truck they’d heard fire up, but so far they’d heard and seen nothing else. No paths other than those made by deer and other wildlife. No drives or even logging tracks that showed signs of recent use.
“We could be in the wrong place, Connor. We haven’t heard a damn thing other than a fucking owl.” Cain’s flashlight swung in a circle, scanning the trees. “Not to mention I think we’re lost in this goddamn snow globe.”
Connor shook his head and continued to plod on. His legs ached, his back strained from the weight of his pack, but he wasn’t turning back now. Instinct told him they were closer than Cain believed. “She’s here, Cain. Something tells me she’s here, and we’re getting close.”
“Something tangible, or something fanciful? Because, bro, there ain’t nobody out here but us.” Cain’s hand clapped down on Connor’s shoulder. “Another ninety minutes and the sun’s gonna rise. We can come back, bring reinforcements, search the entire place from top to toein daylight.”
“You head back if you want,” Connor told him, and shrugged off the supporting hand. If he didn’t keep moving, he would just sit on the cold ground and go to sleep. Bad,badidea. “Catch up with me when you have those reinforcements.”
“Connor, you haven’t eaten since before Jenna was taken. I haven’t seen you touch the damn flask in your pack, which means you’re dehydrating the further we go. I’m a big fucker but I ain’t strong enough to haul your passed-out ass back to the road.”
“Not going to pass out. I know my limits, Cain.”
“I don’t think you do, not now. Jenna’s the only thing you can think of, and it’ll get you both killed. This isn’t a hike through the woods to find a tourist with a sprained fucking ankle. Sire isn’t likely to be welcoming us with open arms, and he won’t hand over Jenna without a fight. You ain’t fit to fight a gopher, Con.”
“Don’t need to fight; just need one clean shot.” Connor paused as Luna sniffed the ground and went on the alert. He watched the dog circle madly, the laps extending bit by bit as she hunted for whatever scent had caught her attention. “What’s she found?”
Cain stopped in mid-lecture and frowned, shining his light over the rough ground. “Unless Jenna got away again, there shouldn’t be a scent trail fresh enough for Luna to pick up on. It’s been months since she was last in the area—if this is where she escaped from last time.”
Luna’s nose led her to the trunk of a broad-trunked tree, standing on her hind legs to reach a certain spot. She pressed her nose into the cracks and crevices in the bark, then sat and signaled her find with a long whine.
Connor nearly tripped over his feet in his haste to get to her and he dropped to one knee beside her, torch aimed on the spot Luna focused on. The stain was old, barely noticeable to the naked eye, but it was there.
He imagined Jenna as he’d originally seen her, pulled her wounds to mind and stroked his fingers over the mark in the wood. The longest and deepest of her four whip wounds, he thought. She’d stopped to catch her breath, leaned against the tree. Blood seeped through the shitty shirt she’d worn and left a clear indicator of her presence.
Small miracles. Small but fucking mighty.
“She came this way the first time.” Fatigue forgotten, Connor looked around with determined eyes. “Which fucking way did she come from then?”
“Connor, for God’s sake, don’t get your hopes up.”
“Don’t stand in my way, Cain. That’s her blood. It’s old, but it’s hers.”
“How the fuck can you tell that? Luna’s good but she’s not a freaking blood tech. You have nothing to match that mark with Jenna, let alone confirm it’s blood.” Cain tried to reason with him. “Could be deer blood. Could be something Luna’s just taken a fancy to.”
Connor slipped his rifle off his shoulder, checked the safety. From here on out, he’d be ready and willing to fire on anyone who resembled the description Jenna had given him of Sire. “Luna’s trained for this, Cain. We put her on Jenna’s trail, and she found something. I’m not dismissing it because you don’t think it’s feasible.”
“I don’t doubt the dog’s training, Connor,” Cain said with no small amount of exasperation as he brought his gloved hands to his mouth and blew into them. “But it’s been weeks. Even if it is Jenna’s blood, there’s nothing for Luna to actuallyfollow.”
Logically, Connor knew that. But he had faith in Luna, and he’d spent fucking hours praying to higher powers for a sign. If this wasn’t a sign, he didn’t know what else to do. “Do me a favor, Cain?”
“Anything, Con, you know that.”
“Go home.” As his brother sputtered a protest, Connor lifted his hand to silence him. “Go back to the truck, go home. Get more supplies, kick Zeke up the ass and bring those reinforcements. Police, FBI, whoever the fuck will come. Sarah was right. I should have brought more back-up to start with. You and me, we just aren’t enough.”
“Can’t just leave you out here, Con. It’s fucking freezing, I don’t have a clue where we are or how I’m gonna find you again. I’d prefer not to have to defrost your frozen ass come spring.”
Connor rolled his eyes and shrugged out of his pack. Digging through, he found the one item he hadn’t actually expected he’d need. He pulled out the flare gun. “I have three canisters. I’ll let the first one off at…” he checked his watch, calculated the time it should take Cain to get back to town, do what he had to do, and come back. “Nine a.m. The second one at eleven. The last one at noon, if you haven’t found me by then.”
Cain huffed out a breath that sounded more like a growl as it curled around him like dragon smoke. “For fuck’s sake, can’t believe I’m agreeing to this insanity. Fine, fine. I’ll head back, but you sure as fuck better make sure you don’t get yourself killed, Connor.”
