The Altering (Coywolf Series Book 1)

by Abby Tyson

  "You want lotto?"

  "No. Gas, please." Although Savi had never seen Yejoon's mother work the register, her finger's flew across it faster than Yejoon's ever did. "What happened?" Savi asked, nodding at the police.

  "Robbed!" she hissed. "Demons! Lift me too high. Poor Yejoon!"

  Savi's heart sank. "Was it two girls and a guy? One of the girls was albino?"

  Confusion furrowed the woman's dark brow.

  "White skin, white hair?" Savi specified.

  The woman's eyes went wide, then narrowed with suspicion. "You know?"

  Savi shook her head. "They robbed the coffee shop I work at too."

  "What's that?"

  The police officers had come back over to the counter. Yejoon stepped behind it and put an arm around his mom's shoulders. They were all staring at Savi.

  "You said something about a previous robbery by these three?" one of the officers said.

  "I work at the Beanie Beanie, a coffee shop in Egremont. I think the same three who robbed this store robbed the Beanie Beanie today."

  "What's your name?"

  "Savannah Claudie."

  The same officer jotted her name in his notepad. "You filed a report?"

  "My boss did."

  "What's your number?"

  He nodded as he wrote down her phone number, then put his notepad in his front pocket. "We'll check it out." Handing Yejoon a card, the officer said, "Call us if you remember anything else. We'll notify you as needed."

  Savi started to follow the police officers out the door when Yejoon called her name. She turned back, holding the door open.

  He looked at her sadly and said, in flawless English, "I accidentally gave the robbers your picture."

  Savi's heart clenched, but she tried not to let her disappointment show. She waved him off, shaking her head. "Don't worry about that now. I'm glad you guys are safe. But thanks, for letting me know."

  They waved goodbye, and Savi went back to her car. The police cruisers left, and as she pumped her gas, Savi got the feeling she was being watched. She hummed as the numbers ticked by, considering stopping before her tank was full just so she could leave. Instead, she very casually admired the overgrown bushes by the dumpster, checked to make sure nothing was dragging from the bottom of her car, and peered closely at the cars parked across the street, just to make sure none of them had left their lights on.

  When the gas pump clicked off Savi didn't even wait to decline her receipt. She jumped into her car, rolled up the window, locked the door, and sped away.

  Chapter Seven

  Savi sat in her parked car in front of the campsite. She stared at the hollow before her, shaded from the late afternoon sun by the surrounding trees, heard the sweet sounds of families and friends in nearby sites enjoying the last days of summer, and swore to herself. Loudly.

  What was she doing here? If she'd given herself a chance, she could have thought of a hundred better ways to escape being trapped in the house with Dave. Now she had to set up the tent all by herself, not to mention keep herself occupied for the next two days. She hadn't even had the presence of mind to grab a book.

  With a groan she reached over and grabbed her backpack, only to discover the Emily Dickinson book she'd forgotten underneath. She dropped her bag on the floor in front of the seat, thinking she'd read a few poems before committing to manual labor. As the bag fell, a clink of glass reminded her of something else she'd forgotten.

  Savi stared at her passenger's seat as if she could see through it. Then she dug out a cup from her camping bin and went around back to her cooler to fill the cup halfway with cranberry juice and ice. Keeping the slim brown bag well below the windows, she filled her cup the rest of the way with coconut rum. Tucking the bottle carefully back under her seat, she took a sip, sighing deeply with satisfaction.

  Maybe this weekend wouldn't be so bad after all.

  Ten poems and half a cup later, she was fighting with the pile of nylon and poles that was her tent when someone called out to her.

  "Heya kid! Need a hand?"

  A stocky man stood just outside her campsite, his arm around the shoulders of a girl with jet black hair who was maybe seven or eight years old. It took Savi a moment to place him, and when she did, it took her another few seconds to remember his name.

  "Baxter?"

  "Ha! I thought that was you," he said, walking over. He wore one of his many Red Sox t-shirts, but jean shorts replaced his usual gym shorts. "We were walking by and I saw your car and said, 'I know that car.' Didn't I say that?" He turned back to the little girl, who had remained on the dirt road that connected the campsites. She was watching them but didn't acknowledge his question.

  "Is that your daughter?" asked Savi.

  "You got it." Speaking to his daughter, he said, "Nissa, come over and meet... uh..." He gave Savi a questioning look.

  "Savannah."

  With a grin Baxter put out his hand. Savi noted with surprise that he was about an inch shorter than her. She'd only ever seen him while seated in her car.

  "Nissa, come over and meet Savannah." His daughter remained where she was. "Kids," he said with a shrug.

  "What are you doing here?" The question came out sharper than Savi had intended, but Baxter didn't seem to notice.

  "We got a spot on the other side, but we like to walk around and say hi, be good neighbors and all."

  Savi looked at Nissa, still rooted to the same spot she'd been in since Savi first saw them.

  "Well I do," Baxter laughed. He turned his eyes on the deflated tent. "What do we have here?"

  "I've never set it up alone before." Realizing that she sounded rather pathetic, she added, "My best friend Hettie was supposed to accompany me, but something came up at the last minute."

  Baxter nodded. "It is what it is. Why waste a good long weekend though, right? Ya got the site all weekend?" He picked up a pole and a corner of the pile of green nylon fabric.

  "Yeah," she said, absentmindedly picking up her cup and taking a swig.

  "Grab that," Baxter said, pointing to a part of the tent opposite him.

  Savi held it up by the loop. "This?"

  "Yeah. Stick the long pole through that. I think they meet in the middle at the top."

  Under Baxter's guidance, they were able to construct Savi's tent within about twenty minutes. Baxter was gregarious and quick to laugh as always, and Savi soon found herself laughing along with him when the poles proved particularly fussy. Nissa moved to stand in the shade, but didn't help.

  As they stood back to admire their work, Savi said, "You're a tent virtuoso."

  "That good?"

  Smiling, Savi nodded. "Yes."

  Baxter bowed. "You know this is kissmet, right?"

  "Kismet?"

  "Yeah, running into you here. That group I was telling you about, they meet near here in just a few hours. You wanna come check it out?"

  Savi's senses were starting to dull from the rum, but she was nowhere near drunk enough to agree to go to some isolated location, no matter how affable Baxter was.

  "I think I'll remain here and enjoy the fruits of our labor," she said. "Thanks though."

  "I'm tellin' ya," he said, his face serious. "If you're looking for answers, if you're lookin' for a reason to breathe, this is the place to go."

  "What's the group called?"

  "The Alters," Baxter said with pride. "We alter the world from bad to good."

  Savi took another drink. "Bad, good -- those are nebulous terms."

  At his confused stare, she added, "Imprecise. Vague. They mean different things to different people."

  He laughed. "I never heard someone use so many big words as you. Mama Marcia will love you. You gotta come."

  While Baxter was clearly passionate about this group, and Savi's suspicions about his motives were dwindling, she still wasn't comfortable taking their superficial relationship any further. She also bristled at the fact that this man who scarcely knew her thought she needed some
sort of intervention.

  "I appreciate the offer." She gestured to her car. "But I've still got a lot of unpacking to do, and I really want to watch the sunset."

  Baxter gave his daughter a comical look of defeat. Nissa didn't smile, but she did walk over to Savi, take her hand, and gaze up at her.

  "Please?" she asked, her voice high and sweet.

  Looking down at Nissa's wide eyes and soft cheeks, Savi wasn't sure what to say. Her only exposure to children was her Aunt Odette's kids. At two and four, their requests usually started sweet and innocent like Nissa's, but if they didn't like the answer they threw outrageous fits. Nissa was a lot older than her cousins, but Savi had seen plenty of kids Nissa's age doing the same thing at the Beanie Beanie when they didn't get a doughnut.

  Savi looked to Baxter for help, but he just laughed.

  "She doesn't do that with everybody," he said. "I guess she likes you."

  Sounds like something you'd say about a dog, Savi thought. But when she saw Nissa's eyes start to well up, she knew she had to say something.

  Bracing herself for the worst, Savi said, "I'll be here tomorrow night. Maybe then. Okay?"

  Nissa's only reaction was to abruptly let go of Savi's hand and walk back to where she'd been standing in the shade.

  "Okay, okay. Can't blame a guy for trying. We'll swing by tomorrow then and see if we can change your mind." Baxter tipped an imaginary hat toward Savi and walked back to the main road. "See ya."

  "Bye." Savi waved with one hand and finished her drink with the other. Then she went back to her car and pulled out the camping bin, cooler, and her backpack, dragging everything to the middle of the campsite and then getting herself settled in. After eating a sandwich and reading for a bit, she grabbed her lantern and a bottle of water, and headed toward the lake.

  Last summer, she and Hettie had gone camping almost every weekend, and they’d found a secluded spot on top of a huge, flat boulder to watch the sunset on the reservoir. Whether it was simply the fond memories associated with it, or the serenity of the setting, something about lying on the soft blanket of velvet moss, high above the shimmering lake, set Savi at peace. Despite the fact that she hadn’t been there in a year, and even though the site they had used all last summer had been taken this weekend, she was sure she’d be able to find it again.

  The trees thickened around her as she took a trail off the main path. She stopped for a second and took the cap off her water, but every time she brought the bottle to her lips she started giggling. Her eyes were on a dead branch dangling from a pine tree. The pine needles on the branch had turned from green to orange, which reminded her of Hettie, and the rum in her system made that hilarious. Finally she was able to quell her laughter long enough to take a drink so she could keep moving.

  A cool breeze blew down the shaded path, and Savi wished she'd changed into jeans, or at least grabbed a long sleeve shirt to throw over her tank top. She was still probably closer to her campsite than the lake, but a glance at the dimming sky kept her moving forward.

  Had she even packed a long sleeve? Savi hated packing. She always ended up bringing way too many tops, but forgetting something essential like pajamas or deodorant. Hettie was the opposite, always packing way more clothing than necessary, but clothes that fit Hettie's skinny frame didn't help Savi out much.

  A rustling off the path caught Savi's attention. She peered into the thick greenery, hoping to catch a glimpse of the bunny or bird responsible for the sound, but she couldn't see anything except leaves. As she continued down the trail her foot snagged on something and she stumbled to her knees. There was nothing on the path behind her that she could have tripped on, and a small voice told her that she drank too much rum too fast. Savi gulped down more water and kept walking, her thoughts drifting back to Hettie.

  Savi heard another noise in the woods, but she ignored it, focused on her anger at being abandoned for a guy. Even when someone stepped onto the path in front of her, it took a few seconds for Savi to notice. Her brain was too muddy for what she was seeing to make sense. She was only able to get one word out of her mouth before a ripping sound cut her off.

  "Baxter?" she said, her lips feeling bulkier than usual.

  He was suddenly very close to her. She started to speak again, but discovered that her lips were sewn together. Before she could bring her hand to her mouth to investigate, they, too, were trapped behind her.

  "I tried to do this the easy way, Savannah," Baxter said.

  It was only then that Savi's stifled mind grasped what was happening. But before she could do more than look at Baxter with wide-eyed fright, everything went dark. The ground beneath her disappeared as a surprisingly clean-smelling sack, slightly thicker than a pillowcase, was placed over her head and sealed along her shoulders with velcro.

  Savi tried to run, but another set of hands that she hadn't noticed before held her firmly by the arms from behind. She tried to scream, but the doubly muffled sound didn't carry.

  "Nissa's back in my car," Baxter said, not talking to her. Savi heard the metal squeak of her lantern handle. "I'll take this back and meet you at the barn."

  Instead of answering, the person jerked on Savi's arm. She stumbled, leaves and branches scraping against her bare arms and legs, as her unseen captor led her into the woods.

  Chapter Eight

  Savi tried to measure the time she spent walking by mentally reciting Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven," the first poem she'd ever memorized. Back in middle school she'd practiced in front of the mirror, timing herself, so she knew it took about eight minutes. Unfortunately, her mind was still fuzzy from the rum, and that poem had stopped being one of her favorites a few years ago, so she probably wouldn't even remember it sober. She was also pretty distracted by the stuffiness under the black sack on her head. The velcro was rubbing her neck raw, she was itchy from streaming sweat, and the hairs sticking to her face and neck were driving her crazy. When she got hung up on "...Night's Plutonian shore" for the fourth time, she gave up.

  When the continuous assault of branches and leaves finally ceased, Savi guessed she'd been walking for an additional hour after her final Raven recitation attempt. Her buzz had worn off from all the exercise and her head was starting to throb. She heard grass beneath her feet, and then a door opened in front of her. She banged her elbow on the doorframe as she was pulled through onto a cement floor.

  "Bax said to expect you. Back, against the wall." The booming voice of the man who spoke was nearby, but too far to be the person holding her. Savi started to back up, but her captor held her still. "Not you," the voice said with a mean chuckle.

  A clinking of metal, and a door rolled open in front of her. She was shoved forward and lost her balance, but a pair of hands caught her before she fell. The door closed behind her as the same hands undid the velcro and lifted the sack off of her head. Savi shut her eyes against the light. The cool air, refreshing on her wet skin, smelled like hay.

  "Are you okay?" someone in front of her asked.

  Opening her eyes a sliver, she saw a guy around her age standing in front of her, but she was quickly distracted by the same metallic click behind her. A man was pulling a key out of the padlock that chained their door closed. With his shaved head, mutton chops, and leather vest, he looked like he would be more at home in a biker gang than an old barn. Crouching down, he disappeared behind the wooden rolling door, then popped back up with a half-empty bag of sliced bread. He pushed the bread through the bars that ran along the top of the door, letting it fall onto the hay-covered floor on their side.

  "Make yourselves comfortable," he said as he walked away. "We've got at least an hour."

  Waiting beside the door that led outside was a man whose tall body and dark gray beard were equally wiry. Despite appearing much older than the biker man, Savi had no trouble believing that this was the owner of the unrelenting grip that had imprisoned her during her forest trudge.

  The light turned off and the door closed behind them. The
guy who had caught her started pulling at the tape from her hands.

  Savi wrenched her arms away and stepped back, bumping into the stall door. The air that had been welcome moments before now made her shiver as all the sweat on her face evaporated.

  "I'm not going to hurt you," he said, speaking slowly. "I'm just taking the tape off. Can I do that?"

  Savi resented being spoken to as if she were a frightened animal, but then she realized she was acting like one. She nodded, holding out her hands.

  He tugged at the tape. "See?" he said with a smile. "Nothing to be afraid of. I'm Marley. That's my brother Ren." He nodded at another guy she hadn't noticed before, looking out the only window in the stall. Both of them wore black and gray camouflage outfits.

  The sensation of having her hands free was heavenly but brief when she discovered how achy her shoulders were from being in the same position for so long.

  "Are you okay?" Marley asked again as she winced at the pain. He watched expectantly as Savi delicately removed the tape from her mouth.

  After she stretched her lips, she looked straight at Marley and, more harshly than she intended, said, "Do I look okay? What kind of a question is that? Of course I'm not okay."

  Ren let out a breath of laughter but didn't turn away from the window. Marley stepped away from her, taken aback. Savi felt a little guilty taking her anger and terror out on him, but not enough to apologize.

  She took out her ponytail and peeled the hair off her face before redoing it. Then she turned back to the door and saw a bottle of water leaning against the wall just inside the door. Although she didn't trust the source, she didn't need her pasty mouth to know she was dehydrated. She took a cautionary sip, and then drank about half of the bottle. Pressing her still pulsing forehead against the cool metal bars on the door, Savi surveyed her surroundings.

  The stall they were in took up the entire back third of the small barn. The door through which their captors had exited was cut out of a large wooden rolling door that comprised half of the entire wall opposite their stall. Other than an antique tractor sitting in the middle of the concrete floor, the space was empty.