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 looks at the gun and then at the damage to the outhouse and I can see the wheels turning, like I mishandled the pistol and it went off accidentally.
“I’m telling you,” I go on, firmer now. “I saw an eye looking through the side of the outhouse. So I shot.”
“An eye? Jesus, Aubrey that could have been anyone. You could have killed someone.”
“None of us have pale blue eyes! I knew what I was doing.”
He runs his hand over his jaw, staring at the damage. “We should get you inside.” He holds out his hand. “I’ll be taking back my gun now.”
I want to fuss and hang on to it, convince him that I know what I’m doing, but it is his gun after all.
I hand it over to him. “You’re not concerned about what I saw.”
“I’m concerned,” he says carefully, holding onto the pistol with one hand while grabbing my arm and hauling me back toward the cabin. “But I’d rather be concerned from inside the hut.”
We go past the horses, who don’t seem to be acting anymore spooked than normal, the tall, wide figure of Red and the thin, short one of Hank a little ways off, lit by the lantern in one of their hands.
Jensen takes me toward them. “You guys seen anything odd yet?”
Red glances at him over his shoulder. “Heard a gunshot. Was that you?”
I’m about to tell him what happened but Jensen says, “Yeah, thought I saw something.”
“Feeling a little hasty tonight,” Red comments.
“You could say that,” Jensen says. He frowns at Hank, who is just standing there, not moving, staring off into the darkness. “You good, Hank?”
Hank just nods subtly, lets out a low grunt.
“We’re good,” Red insists. “You don’t need to fuckin’ dote on us, McGraw.”
Jensen takes that in stride with a tip of his hat, snowflakes falling off it and we head back to the cabin.
“So,” Jensen says once we’ve stepped back in, locking the door. “Tell me what you saw.”
I stomp the snow off my boots like an ornery horse. “I told you. An eye looking in at me.”
“Uh huh,” he says, hanging up his coat. “And you said it was pale blue.”
“Yes. First I heard scraping sounds on the roof, then down the sides, like claws running down the wood. Then I saw whatever it was looking in. So I panicked, I guess. I shot it. Ran outside but there was nothing there. No blood, no marks, and I know I would have hit it.”
He’s giving me the look like I was shooting blindly with no aim. Fine, let him think that.
“I’ll go out and take another look,” he says with a sigh. “I don’t want—”
But before he can finish, he’s cut off by a scream that tears through the night.
21
AUBREY
The scream belongs to a man, high with terror and pain. Jensen is moving before I can react, unlocking and throwing open the door and rushing outside. I slip on my boots as Cole and Eli stumble down from the loft, hair mussed up, half-asleep and pulling on their coats.
The scene outside is chaos illuminated by the beams of our flashlights. Red is on his knees in the snow, clutching his right arm, blood pouring between his fingers. The horses are in a panic, several of them—including Duke, Red’s mount, and Angus—jumping over the rope and bolting from their makeshift corral disappearing into the darkness. Fear strikes me from all angles.
“What happened?” Jensen demands, dropping to his knees beside Red, his voice shrill. “Where’s Hank?”
“He—he attacked me,” Red gasps, face white with shock. “Fuckin’ bit me! Like an animal! He was like an animal!”
Jensen pulls Red’s hand away from his arm, revealing the torn fabric and the wound beneath. My stomach turns at the sight—chunks of flesh torn away, blood spurting from the wound with each beat of Red’s heart. It’s not a clean bite like from a wild animal. It’s ragged, messy, as if someone had torn at the flesh with dull teeth and brute force.
“Christ Almighty,” Cole whispers beside me, swaying slightly as if he might faint.
“Get him inside,” I order, training kicking in automatically. “Now.”
Jensen and Eli half-carry, half-drag Red toward the hut while I scan the surrounding darkness, searching for any sign of Hank. Nothing moves beyond the pool of light cast by our flashlights, but I can feel eyes watching from the shadows between trees. Fuck, I should have held on to that pistol.
“Hank!” I call, my voice echoing against the mountainside. No response comes but the whisper of wind through the pines.
“Aubrey, get inside!” Jensen says sharply from the doorway.
I back toward the hut, unwilling to turn my back on the darkness until I’m safely across the threshold. Jensen slams the door behind me, throwing the heavy metal bolt into place with a decisive clang.