Voracious - Alice Henderson [31]
Suzanne patted her on the shoulder. “Now just calm down. We’ll work this out.”
Steve returned to his seat and said softly and reassuringly, “I’ve known Mike Zuwalski for four years, and I know his voice. It was definitely him on the radio.”
“No! Listen!” Madeline pleaded, shrugging off Suzanne’s hand. “The creature, this thing that killed him, it can appear just like him! I thought it was really the ranger, too, but it wasn’t. Don’t you see?”
Suzanne frowned at Madeline, then stuck her chin out in puzzlement. “What exactly did you see?” She pulled out a notebook and readied to jot down notes.
Madeline took a breath. “I went into the ranger’s station. I talked to the ranger there, Mike, or so I thought. He went into a back room to investigate a strange thumping noise. I went to the bathroom, and when I entered, Mike’s body was hanging from a rafter, and this thing was eating him.”
“Why do you say, ‘Or so I thought’? ” Suzanne pressed, making a note.
“Because the ranger in the bathroom had been dead for some time. The creature eating him was wearing his uniform. It had changed to look like the ranger.”
Suzanne stared at her, then stopped taking notes. “Did you have anyone look at her head wound?” the officer asked Steve, suddenly speaking as if Madeline wasn’t in the room at all.
“No, not yet …”
“I think we need to call Bill out stat.”
“I’ll phone him now,” the naturalist said, and rose from the chair.
“How did you get hurt?” Suzanne asked.
“I was caught in that flash flood, but look, that’s really not the important issue here.”
“Looks like she got hit pretty bad,” Steve put in.
“No!” Madeline practically yelled. “It’s not my head! That thing’s still out there!”
“Now, honey,” the officer said, her tone gentle. “Why don’t you just sit there on the couch and wait for our medical technician? Would you like a cup of tea or a bite to eat?”
Madeline threw up her hands in frustration. “I can’t believe this!” But even as she said it, she knew how crazy her story sounded, especially to people who hadn’t seen the thing, didn’t know what it was capable of.
“We’ll get this all straightened out,” the naturalist said kindly.
Madeline shook her head in disbelief. “You’ve got to send someone up there! No—send a bunch of people up there. Armed people. And ask that thing pretending to be your friend Mike a lot of personal questions. I guarantee you it won’t be able to answer them.”
“We’ll do that tomorrow,” Suzanne told her. “But first we need to get you better.”
“Tomorrow I’ll go myself,” the naturalist offered.
Madeline couldn’t tell if he meant it or not. “Don’t go alone,” she told him. She was so exhausted, and it felt like someone had jabbed a shish kebab skewer directly through her temple. She sighed, wanting the pain to ease. Bringing her fingers to her head, she massaged gently. She had done her part. She had reported the murder. Now she had to protect herself. And if the rangers weren’t going to help her, if the thing came back, she would just have to face it alone. Or hopefully with Noah, she thought, suddenly wondering where he was, if he’d found a place to stay. Preferably a place with five bolts on the door and no rafters.
“I’m going to call Bill now,” the naturalist said. Suzanne nodded, and he left the room.
“Do you have a place to stay tonight, honey?” asked the officer.
Madeline nodded. “My friend Noah is finding a place. He should be back any minute.” She sighed. “Did anyone else get caught in the flash flood?”
The ranger’s mouth fell into a grim, gray line. “Three that we know of, aside from you.” She paused. “They, uh … they didn’t make it.”
Madeline’s eyes widened as she thought of the freezing water robbing muscles of strength, filling lungs, tossing bodies into jagged rocks and lethal branches.
“But, everything’s going to be all right for you,” Suzanne added quickly, seeing her response. “You’ll see.”
But her reassurance felt hollow and empty, and despite the rangers around her, symbols of law and safety, Madeline had never felt so alone and scared in her life.
After