Chapter 64

I was excited about trying to find the intruder. But Ashley decided we should go home and call the police. We were headed back when something caught my eye. I saw a flash of white, then nothing. I slowed and pointed my ATV into the darkness.

Nothing.

A few minutes later we were back in the barn. We couldn’t find anything missing, but Ashley went to the freezer. Mom had stocked it the day before. Now it was empty.

“That’s it,” I said. “Call the police.”

“Wait,” Ashley said. “If this is Danny, he must be scared out of his mind. He’s just trying to survive.”

“The guy is wanted by the police!”

“But I don’t think he attacked those girls. And no one’s going to believe him. They’ll believe—” Ashley stopped and her eyes widened.

I turned to see Sam, his hands on his hips. “What’s going on?” he said.

Ashley gushed the story.

Sam ran upstairs to his office, taking the steps three at a time. We found him rummaging through a closet. He pulled a weird-looking telescope from a box and went to the back window.

“What’s that?” I said.

“Night-vision scope.”

Where did he get that?

He stared into the distance, then handed the scope to Ashley. He pointed at the rocks and she gasped.

“What?” I said.

She passed me the scope, and I aimed it out the window. I couldn’t keep my hands steady at first. Then Sam pulled my left hand farther out on the scope, and it was easier.

I could see like it was almost day, with a strange green tint to everything. A man walked across a ridge on the rocks.

Sam picked up the phone.

“Wait,” Ashley said. “I need to tell you something before you call the police.”

I still had the scope pointed at the guy. He was holding his arms out. Then suddenly they flew over his head. He lost his balance and fell out of sight.