Voracious - Alice Henderson [20]
She lay and watched the trees for so long she lost track of time. The crevice was dark and reassuring, her own safe little cavern, and after an hour of tense watching, she began to relax and rest a little. The dry fleece and polypropylene undershirt felt warm and soft.
Madeline awoke with a start when an owl called out.
A predawn glow filled the crevice, and she realized with amazement that she’d actually fallen asleep. Light spilled into her world. Dawn had never looked so good to her before. She felt overjoyed and relieved that it had finally come.
It was day, and she could find someone to help her.
Carefully she crept out of the crevice, scanning the clearing and trees for any sign of the creature or Noah. She studied the trees. She felt alone, not like she was being watched …
Being watched.
Yesterday, on the mountain, just before the water hit, she’d had the feeling of being watched …
Could it have been the creature, even then, readying to attack her?
Madeline shuddered and pushed off the image. Since acquiring her ability, she’d dealt with the unknown, lived with a talent no one else possessed in her small town. But this was something new. In the back of her mind, she’d always known that her psychic ability could be just another part of the brain that most did not use. But the creature—she thought of its round disk eyes, the mouth full of teeth, the shadowlike skin—was beyond even her expanded scope of what the mundane world held within its ordinary grasp. From here out was unexplored territory. She’d hoped to come to the backcountry to clear her mind, decide how to fit her unusual gift into the usual world. But instead, the world itself had grown unusual, deeper, revealing more of its supernatural secrets. It was far stranger, far more frightening and inexplicable than she’d thought.
She brought a hand to her bandage, not letting the feelings overwhelm her. She had to concentrate on the present, find out exactly where she was and how far it was to the ranger station.
Quickly she unzipped the pack and looked inside. The map lay right on top, and she pulled it out
Noah drinking a morning cup of coffee.
Later, afraid, the thing close behind.
Madeline forced the images away and studied the map. After guessing how long she’d walked the night before, and what kind of time she’d made in the darkness, she figured it was another hour to the ranger station.
Not bad at all.
Stuffing the map back into the pack, she noticed the water bottle. Taking several long pulls on it, she gazed up at the deep blue morning sky, golden clouds set afire in the east. Her head throbbed as she tilted it up, the bandaged gash on her head feeling twice its actual size. She replaced the bottle and stood up. Hoisting the pack onto her back, she buckled it as she began to walk, all the while watching the trees and rocks for any sign of movement. Soon she was back on the trail, rushing toward the backcountry station.
Gratefully Madeline stepped onto the wooden porch of the backcountry ranger station and opened the door. A young ranger sitting behind a beat-up counter looked up as she entered. He was in his early twenties, with straight, dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. She approached the desk, which stood on one side of a small room with a couple of shelves holding books and maps. The ranger stared at her.
“What can I help you with?” he asked. He put down the paper he had been reading. His features were angular and his skin dark, his coloration reminding her of a Romanian friend she’d had in high school. His name tag read Michael Zuwalski.
“Something …” She reached the desk, trailed off, trying to catch her breath.
“Yes?” He arched one eyebrow expectantly.
“Something attacked me and my friend in the backcountry.”
“A grizzly?” The ranger grew alarmed.
“No, nothing like that,” she said quickly, then paused. “Look,” she went on firmly, “I don’t know what it was.”
“It was probably a grizzly. Sometimes