Voracious - Alice Henderson [82]
Their food had gone cold.
After they ate, and after much debate in the parking lot, Steve went back to his cabin, and Noah and Madeline returned to their own. Noah had tried to convince Steve not to get involved, though the ranger was already in it to some extent, as he had to write up a report about his car. “The other rangers seemed to think it was a grizzly,” he had explained. “They’ve been known to take a gunshot and keep moving.”
“What do you think?” Noah had asked, keeping mum about the true nature of the creature.
Steve had shaken his head. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, it’s no damn grizzly. It’s something otherworldly. And something lethal.”
Noah had nodded, and Madeline and he said no more. Steve said some armed rangers were doing sweeps of the area to see what they could turn up.
Back at their cabin in Apgar, Madeline went through the ritual of checking windows and doors about six times. She was still hungry, even after their cold, slimy omelets, which were definitely not “great” as Noah had claimed before. Neither had eaten much of theirs, deciding to pick up something else on the way home.
Noah had gotten them sandwiches at the little camp store. Madeline believed hers was tuna salad but wasn’t entirely convinced. Noah’s, on the other hand, was clearly ham, or possibly turkey. They munched on the flabby white bread, which was soaked with a white, tangy, unnamed sandwich dressing, and chewed at the wilted lettuce bits. It wasn’t the best meal she’d ever had, but it was at least better than the grease-laden omelet.
Already the bruises on Noah’s face had faded, and she could only see them because she knew where to look. The cuts on his neck and stomach had completely closed, and the gash on his leg was nothing more than the faintest red line.
“Your healing powers are amazing.”
He nodded. “One of the benefits.” He grimaced at the food. “This isn’t very satisfying. What a bad night for food. Nothing seems to taste very good.” After a moment, his face brightened. “Say! What if we rob one of those metal bear lockers that campers are required to put their food in?”
She stared at him in wonder, sandwich wilting in her hand, the tuna dripping onto the table, looking for an easy route back to the sea.
“Hey, it’s dark. We could be sneaky! There are probably hot dogs, Cheetos, you name it!”
She raised an eyebrow. “Do you really want to be awakened by little Billy wailing at six in the morning because someone with clearly sketchy morality has absconded his Cheetos?”
Noah frowned, harrumphed, then bit into his soggy sandwich. “I guess not,” he mumbled.
She chewed on hers awhile longer, finished it, and licked her fingers. “Well, I’m ready for those Cheetos now.”
Noah stared back at her.
“Well?” She crossed her legs and looked at him impatiently.
“No, no,” Noah said, waving a dismissive hand at her. “I’m a reformed man now. Can’t stoop to having ‘sketchy morality. ’ ”
“Me and my big mouth.” She looked down at her hands. “And I was already looking forward to Day-Glo orange fingers.”
He looked away, chin up, a superior gleam in his eye. “As attractive as that sounds, you will not be able to corrupt me.”
“Shoot.”
He looked at her then, closely and intensely, his smile fading completely. “It’s amazing you can be high-spirited in such serious danger.”
She gave a slight shrug. “Sometimes you have to be or you’d go crazy. At this point, I guess I’m too exhausted to be terrified.”
He nodded. “I know what you mean.” He smiled again. “Thanks. I haven’t laughed in a long time.”
She nodded. “Me, neither. What an intense couple of days this has been.”
“I’ll say.”
She regarded him with interest. “This must be normal for you, living your life on the run, always in danger.”
He looked away, out of the window. “I suppose I am on the move a lot. But I kind of like the danger.”
She laughed. “Are you kidding? I’m so stressed out I keep catching myself clenching my teeth. You actually like this?”
He looked back at her, eyes glittering. “A little bit,” he admitted. “Though I don