| |
Abby’s first kill was a Sumatran rhino. She told herself that the rhino would have died either way. She wasn’t the only poacher on the market, after all. Only a few dozen such rhinos existed, in populations too small to even provide enough genetic diversity to save the species. At the time, she relished in the hunt, desperate to prove herself and intent on sating the rage in her veins. After the rhino, it became even easier. Just a job. The rage had dissipated into a simmer, and she racked up kills fast enough to earn some renown among those in the know about such things.
It wasn’t until she started working for her current, secretive employer that things got really interesting, though. She’d never met him, but he clearly had a penchant for the truly exotic. So far, that had meant hunting and killing animals no one even knew existed. Some of them survived in modern folk tales and rumor, and still others had only been discussed by technology-starved locals whose stories had never ventured out of their small villages. Abby had no idea how her employer caught wind of these fantastical creatures, and the organization wasn’t too fond of questions.
Perhaps she’d always meant to pursue this path. Perhaps she’d always meant to learn how to hunt and kill large, dangerous animals. It certainly seemed like it now that she was back here. Back to where she almost lost her will to live, and veered from any kind of normal or decent path, never to return. But maybe she could. Maybe if she did this one thing, her soul would find solace and she could escape this life. She didn’t really have much use for all the money, so it sat safely in a foreign bank account, ready to provide for a retirement when she’d finally exorcised her demons.
The last demon was surely the devil itself.
So lost in thought, she didn’t think about the branches scraping at her boots, or that her flashlight barely provided visibility through the shadow-soaked forest. She wanted to push on. To finish. To finally be done. But this Macy girl had slowed them down and making it to the lake in the dark seemed increasingly unlikely.
“Hey, Abby. We should probably call it a night soon.”
Abby nodded into the darkness. “Agreed. We just need to find some flat ground. Somewhere to set up.”
They walked in silence for a few more minutes before they found a suitable location. Tight, but big enough for the two tents. Beatty lowered the girl to the ground, and Abby went to work on the tents, with Beatty jumping in shortly thereafter.
“How are the sleeping arrangements gonna work?” Beatty asked as they worked.
Abby didn’t think this girl would be brave enough to try to escape, especially in the darkness without a flashlight. By the time Macy could possibly make it to the parking lot—assuming she could find her way—she’d have no car or van to retreat to. She’d have to walk miles to the nearest gas station, or flag someone down on the small park road. Seemed unlikely.
Still, better safe than sorry.
“I’ll keep her in my tent, perv.”
“That’s not—”
“It’s a joke.”
Abby just needed time. She needed to find the other interlopers, round them up and keep them out of her way until she found the devil. Assuming she could. It had eluded detection for years, obviously. But she’d never failed a contract yet, and she certainly didn’t intend to fail this particular one.
She didn’t have a plan. She didn’t know how she would keep Macy and her “team” out of the way without them going to authorities before Abby skipped town.
“All right. Let’s get some shut-eye,” she said to Beatty. Then to Macy: “Come on. Time for bed.”
“I’m not going to sleep,” Macy said plainly.
“You wanna stay out here and keep watch, then?”
Macy didn’t answer, but there could only be one answer to that question. Even without the devil, Macy would still have to contend with bears, at the very least. Possibly cougars. And then the bees and wasps. Even a large deer could cause enough trouble if put in the wrong situation. The pine-filled woods of southwestern Washington did not provide the most hospitable place for sleeping out in the open.
Beatty made a move to help Macy back to her feet, but she leaned on her bound hands and pushed herself up. She shot a glare at him, sharp enough to elicit a subtle grin.
“This one’s stubborn.”
Unamused, Abby held open the door of the tent and motioned inside. “After you.”
Macy crouched and duck walked inside. Abby followed, zipping up the tent behind her. The quarters were tight. They were almost in each other’s lap, but they’d have to make the best of it. Abby unzipped her sleeping bag into one big blanket.
“Here. We’ll lay on the ground. Use this is as a blanket. It gets cold here at night.”
“I’m not sharing a blanket with you,” Macy said.
Stubborn indeed.
“Suit yourself.” Abby rolled to her side, facing away from Macy and pulled the sleeping bag over herself. She left enough that Macy could get under if she changed her mind. And she certainly would.
What a mess this was turning out to be. It was supposed to be get in, get out, get paid, retire. Maybe. If she could stomach giving up this life. Her mind wandered, trying to paint the picture of how she’d live when she wasn’t living in hotels, helicopters, and tents. The scenes came in murky and amorphous as sleep started fraying her thoughts. Her heart fluttered when the shape of a man appeared in a nondescript kitchen.
Ben?
She moved closer.
Not Ben. Beatty.
Her heart sped up. She couldn’t pull out of sleep enough to know if it was real, or only in the dream. Emotion replaced logic. Sorrow filled her.
Ben was dead.
Killed by the devil.
And she’d let it happen.
