“I’m not doing it.”
“You are.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“No, I’m not!”
The first voice belonged to a young girl. I was sure of that before I saw her face. I made out the distinctive sound of a foot stomp before straightening my shoulders and jerking to a standing position, my head popping above a bush.
On the other side of the ragged foliage stood a woman and a girl who looked about twelve or thirteen. The woman, a blonde who looked young, but with a wary countenance that made me think she’d seen a lot in this world … and she wasn’t overly happy with any of it.
She wore cargo pants and leather sandals, the sort that you can hike in for short walks. Her eyes were so blue they were almost unnatural, although a hint of mischief lurked in their depths, making her seem approachable.
The young girl was something else entirely. Unlike her mother – and I was certain they were mother and daughter because the blonde went from irritated to protective in the blink of an eye when she saw me – the girl boasted shiny black hair and matching eyes. She was slim, narrow at the hips and shoulders, but I could tell she was a handful simply from the look on her face.
“Who are you?” The question was out of the girl’s mouth before I had a chance to realize how weird I looked crouching behind a bush. The mother probably thought I was some sort of freak, perhaps even that her daughter was in danger. The arm extended in front of the child told me the mother was ready to put up a fight if necessary.
“I’m so sorry.” I held up my hands. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
“I’m not frightened.” The mother spoke evenly, keeping her arm in place as she looked me up and down. “What are you doing out here?”
“I’m with friends.” I gestured over my shoulder even though my group wasn’t within sight. “They’re not far.”
“Uh-huh.” The woman didn’t look convinced. “You know two people disappeared from these woods, right? Most people believe something bad happened to them.”
“I know. I’m with a group investigating the disappearances.”
“You are?”
I nodded and extended my hand, even though it seemed a lame gesture in the middle of the woods. “I’m Charlotte Rhodes. Er, Charlie. Everyone calls me Charlie. I’m with The Legacy Foundation.”
The woman slowly took my hand and shook it, her eyes never leaving my face. For a brief moment I was convinced she’d somehow managed to hop inside my head. I felt a niggling pressure that didn’t belong there, and then it was gone almost before I had time to register it.
“I’m Zoe Lake-Winters,” she said after a beat, lowering the hand she held in front of the girl. “This is Sami.”
“I’m Sami Winters.” The girl puffed out her chest. “I don’t have the same last name as my mother. I think that’s because the world is trying to tell me that I don’t belong with her.”
I thought it was an odd thing to say and was going to point out exactly that but then I realized the girl was simply trying to agitate her mother. From the looks of it, I had to believe it was a regular occurrence. Zoe’s eyes filled with enough fire that I inadvertently took a step back.
“You don’t belong with me, huh?” Zoe basically turned her back on me as she focused on the kid. “Fine. Why don’t you head home then? You don’t need me to get there.”
Sami balked. “I didn’t say that. I just said … well, you know what I said. I didn’t mean it the way you think I meant it.”
“Uh-huh.”
“It’s true!” Sami’s eyes flashed. “I don’t see why you have to be so sensitive all the time. Not everything I say is meant as an insult to you.”
“Everything you say is meant as an insult to me,” Zoe countered, running a hand through her long flaxen hair. “You’re my penance from the universe. I was a rotten kid so I got you as part of that whole karma thing. I’m still trying to figure out what I did that was so bad to deserve you.”
“Oh, whatever.” Sami rolled her eyes as she folded her arms over her chest. “You’re a pill. That’s what Grandma says, and I believe it. You’re a total pill, and I’m sick of hearing you complain. I thought you said we were going for ice cream. That’s the only reason I agreed to come out here with you.”
“We are going for ice cream.” Zoe’s eyes returned to me,” just as soon as I’m finished talking to our new friend, I’ll be ready to go.”
If I didn’t know better, I’d think Zoe meant the statement in such a way that she’d been out in the woods specifically looking for me. That was ridiculous, though. Why would she possibly want to meet me?
Sami flicked her disdainful eyes to me. “Okay. If you’re sure. But I want sprinkles on my ice cream.”
Zoe made a face. “Do I ever not get you sprinkles? I mean … seriously. When do I withhold sprinkles?”
“You haven’t yet, but you could.”
“I’m going to actually do it if you don’t shut your mouth,” Zoe grumbled, shaking her head as she held my gaze. “So, you’re with a group investigating the disappearance of those campers. What kind of group?”
“It’s called The Legacy Foundation. We’re part of a paranormal think tank. We investigate unexplained phenomena.” I got that right off the brochure and didn’t realize how ridiculous it sounded until I said it out loud. “I mean … we look for things that can’t be explained.”
“I see.” Zoe didn’t appear puzzled by my fumbling words. If anything, she was preternaturally calm. I couldn’t rationalize that given the fact that we were standing in the middle of the woods, miles from civilization as far as I could tell, and she didn’t seem all that surprised to see me. Sure, I jolted her when I popped out of the bush, but other than that she appeared to find our meeting normal. “And what do you think is abnormal about this case?”
I wasn’t sure how to answer. “The Savages – that’s their names – were camping out here and disappeared. Their campsite looks as if an animal barreled through, ripped things apart and then dragged them off.”
Zoe’s eyes lit with keen interest. “You’ve seen the campsite.”
“Yes.”
“And what kind of animal do you think attacked? I mean … was it a bear? We have bears in this area.”
“I doubt it was a bear.” Zoe’s attitude was striking, but that didn’t stop me from discussing the case with her. I couldn’t fathom why, but it seemed somehow natural to tell her what she wanted to know. “I can’t say I’ve seen a lot of bear attacks, but that campsite looked as if it had been systematically destroyed.”
“What do you mean by that?”
I held my hands palms up and shrugged. “I mean the tent was shredded. It looked like claw marks.”
“A bear could’ve done that.”
“A bear standing on two legs could’ve done that,” I conceded. “But why that way? I’ve never heard of a bear going after humans unless food was scarce or its cubs were threatened. This was a very obvious attack.”
“Hmm.” Zoe absently smoothed Sami’s hair as she considered the statement. “Do you know anything about the couple who disappeared?”
For the first time since she started asking questions I realized the entire situation was surreal. “Wait … what are you guys doing in the middle of the woods?”
Surprise momentarily flashed through Zoe’s eyes, but she shuttered it quickly. I had no idea what part of the question knocked her off course, but her answer was smooth and easy. “We live close to here.”
“You live on a land preserve that was recently opened to campers?”
Zoe shook her head. “We live in a house about a mile that way.” She pointed for emphasis. “We’re outside the preserve. My husband’s father has a position with the group that owns the preserve, so we’re not entirely separate from it.”
“Oh.” Her explanation caught me off guard. “So … um … you really live out in the middle of nowhere?”
Zoe chuckled. “Our house is just off
the highway. We can get to town in less than ten minutes. It’s not that bad.”
“That’s easy for you to say,” Sami groused. “You’re not alienated from all your school friends and forced to listen to Dad’s awful singing voice when he drives me to town or to sleepovers.”
Zoe snorted. “Your father has a lovely singing voice. I like it when he raps.”
“You’re only saying that because you guys are disgusting and gooey with one another. I think it’s gross.”
“You’ll live.” Zoe patted the top of Sami’s head, an action that clearly irritated the child, who jerked away from her mother and glared. I’d known Zoe for exactly five minutes and I could tell that was exactly the reaction she was going for. “As for what we’re doing out here, we heard about the disappearances and wanted to take a look around.”
“You wanted to look around a potential murder scene?” That didn’t make much sense to me. “That seems … fun.”
Zoe merely shrugged. “Curiosity is something I’ve never been able to overcome. It’s not something I can shake. I simply wanted to see the campsite everyone in town is talking about.”
Now it was my turn to be skeptical. “From what I understand, a lot of people believe it’s an animal attack … or something worse. Doesn’t that frighten you?”
“Not particularly. I’ve never met an animal I couldn’t take. There are no sharks here, so I think I’m good.”
“But what about the other stuff?” I persisted. “Some people claim there’s something called the Dog Man living in these parts. Local legend has it that the Dog Man attacks people and kills them. Aren’t you afraid of that?”
Sami opened her mouth to answer, but Zoe quieted her with a quelling look before shaking her head. The child’s reaction was enough to make me suspicious, so I decided to do a little probing of my own.
“I’ve learned throughout the years that legends aren’t always naturally occurring,” Zoe explained, making a face as I poked inside her brain. “Some legends are created to scare people. I’ll never be afraid of those legends.”
“I see.” There was some sort of barrier in her head. I’d never come across anything like it before, and I was fascinated as I tried to break through, practically desperate to see what was on the other side. “That sounds … um … logical.”
“What is it you’re trying to do?” Zoe challenged, causing me to jolt.
“I’m not trying to do anything.” I was surprised she called me on my actions and yet that didn’t stop me from probing. “I’m just standing here.”
“No, you’re doing more than that. In fact … .” Zoe’s eyes widened to saucer-like proportions when I finally managed to break a hole in the wall. Then, even though I had no idea how it happened, our minds joined in what can only be described as a powerful flash.
I saw a thousand things in an instant, although I could make sense of none of them.
I saw Zoe when she was younger, standing next to an unbearably attractive man. They were clearly flirting.
I saw me as a child, crying because I’d accidentally discovered information about my teacher that I wasn’t supposed to know, and I was certain it would give me nightmares.
I saw Zoe fighting … something … in the woods. She looked determined. Then she was afraid until the man from the first vision barreled into the scene and attacked another man, all the while screaming her name as he fought to protect her.
I saw myself hiding from the other kids in high school.
I saw Zoe crying as she walked away from the dark-haired man. He looked wrecked, but let her go.
Then things started hitting me even faster.
Me shopping for a prom dress, Zoe’s hands glowing blue as she tried to save the same man from all her visions, me fighting off a would-be mugger in an alley, her unleashing a mountain of power on what looked to be witches, me reading minds, her healing people, me causing a branch to fall from a tree and hit what very well could’ve been Bigfoot, her unleashing holy hell on an army of what looked to be gigantic wolves.
On and on and on. Then, finally, one vision almost knocked me to the ground. Zoe on the ground, perhaps dying. Sami crying as the man who shared her coloring and facial features howled – yes, howled – into the night sky.
It was replaced by a vision of me fighting Zach in the abandoned Texas town as I tried to make sure Millie and Chris were spared a terrible fate. The vision of my powers threw me so hard that I managed to slap up a weak barrier and take a shuddering breath as I turned away from Zoe. For her part, the woman looked just as shaken.
“What the heck was that?” Sami asked, her eyes wide.
That was a very good question. I wasn’t sure how to answer.
Zoe opened her mouth to say something, but whatever it was died on her lips as Jack appeared out of nowhere.
“There you are!” He stormed to my side and grabbed my arm, ignoring my shaking shoulders as I forced myself to regain some semblance of calm. “You scared the crap out of me, Charlie! What were you thinking?”
“I … .”
“It’s my fault,” Zoe volunteered, taking me by surprise with her poise as she stared down Jack. “She heard my daughter and me tromping through the woods and came to help. She thought we might be in trouble. Don’t blame her.”
Jack furrowed his brow. “I … um … and you are?”
“Zoe Lake-Winters.” Zoe extended her hand.
“Okay. Nice to meet you.” Jack shook her hand, his eyes keen as he slid his free hand up and down my back. “You’re shaking, Charlie. What happened?”
“Nothing happened.” I sounded calm, normal even. I had no idea how I managed it, but somehow I pushed through the panic threatening to swamp me. “We were just talking and I thought I saw a bee. I don’t like bees.”
“Uh-huh.” Jack didn’t look convinced as his eyes bounced between us. “And you just ran into each other?”
“We came to see the campsite,” Zoe explained. “There are a lot of rumors flying around about the disappearances. We wanted to see if the scene was as bad as everyone said.”
“Her father-in-law works for the company that owns the land,” I volunteered.
“Oh.” Jack’s unfriendly demeanor lessened. “I don’t see why you would take your daughter to see that, but … well, it’s none of my business.”
“No, it’s definitely not,” Zoe agreed, briefly locking gazes with me. “Either way, we should be going. We have a lot to do … .”
“Ice cream,” Sami interjected excitedly.
“Ice cream,” Zoe conceded. “We won’t get in your way. I hope you find those people. I hate to think of them being lost and confused out here. If you need anything, our house is that way.” Zoe pointed for emphasis as she focused on me. “I hope to see you around again. It was nice talking to you.”
I wanted to repeat the words back to her – or at least some variation – but she was already walking in the opposite direction. Jack’s eyes were dark when I glanced at him, suspicion evident.
“What?” I felt as if he was trying to peer into my soul.
“Nothing,” Jack said after a beat, his expression unreadable. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m fine. I just hate bees.”
“Well, we should get back. The others are probably looking for us. They might send out a search party if we’re not careful.”
“Yeah, we don’t want that.”
“Definitely not.”
6
Six
I was shaky after my encounter with Zoe Lake-Winters and her mouthy kid. In truth, it took everything I had to focus on Jack’s back as he led the way to the campsite. If he hadn’t found me I was doubtful that I could’ve remembered how to get back, genuinely feared I would’ve roamed the woods endlessly until I either fell down and died or the werewolf got me.
Jack cast the occasional glance over his shoulder to make sure I still followed, but otherwise remained silent. That lasted only a few minutes, until he either
got fed up with my slow pace or figured we were far enough from Zoe that she wouldn’t overhear us.
“What just happened?” Jack grabbed the front of my shirt and held me still as I struggled to put my thoughts in order.
“What?” I was confused. Keeping my mind in the game was more difficult than I’d imagined. I had no idea what Zoe Lake-Winters was … but she was something. That something was clearly more powerful than me. I had no idea what to make of it. “What did you say?”
“Charlie, what is the matter with you?” Instead of anger I saw worry on Jack’s features as he let go of my shirt and cupped my chin, his eyes searching my face. “You look like death.”
The simple statement caught me off guard and I did my best to focus on the here and now rather than the lifetime of memories I saw in Zoe’s head. “I’m fine. I just … freaked out a bit. I’m sorry.”
“Freaked out about what?”
It was time to lie. I wasn’t keen on it, but Millie finding out my secret was vastly different from Jack doing the same. He would turn me over for experimentation in a heartbeat. He might not have been a believer at heart, but he was loyal to the company. That meant he would turn on me if necessary. I couldn’t risk it.
“I didn’t mean to get turned around.”
Jack’s eyes momentarily darkened. I couldn’t decide if it was because he knew I was lying or he was upset that I’d wandered off. Both options worried me. Finally, Jack merely shook his head and briefly pressed his hand to my forehead.
“You shouldn’t have wandered off, but it’s my fault because I wasn’t watching you.”
I felt like myself enough to wrinkle my nose. “You think it’s your job to watch me?”
Jack nodded without hesitation. “Oh, and then some.” His lips curved as he pulled back his hand. “You don’t have a fever.”
“Why would I have a fever?”
Jack shrugged, noncommittal. “I’ve been worried ever since you were hurt in Texas. One of the things the doctor warned me to look for right after he released you was fever.”
Something occurred to me, and it wasn’t an altogether friendly feeling. “Because you think I’m crazy. I said I saw the Chupacabra and you think I’m nuts.”
The Werewolf Whoops Page 5