The Alpha In The Pines

hard. The scream hadn't stopped echoing yet when they bolted through the trees, blind to everything but instin

d of sound that didn't belong in the animal ki

not even in the fire. There was something primal about

stop until L

Ava stumbled against a pine and doubled over. Her breath wheezed

ight was gone. Her hands were shakin

rasped. "

"That wasn't a bear.

top twitching. "We need to get bac

d around, the way t

rocks. No campfire lig

slow circle.

ha

care us off. It s

e was talking like a crazy person-but she coul

king. Slower thi

had stopp

ex muttered, half to herself. "N

rst track in a pa

Larger than

a strange asymmetry that suggested something had w

beside it. Le

ispered, "was watchi

aid n

the edge o

ss was

g the direction

d the

e moonlight. The tires were fine. The windows intact. But the passenger

g between the branches-a tangle of black fur sn

idn't

to life, loud and unnatural in the stilln

silence. Not

f rev

g had le

e and too dry. Ava stared out the window, one hand still clutching the c

said anything

too far. When Lex finally spoke, it was in a

lieve m

used on her own reflection in the side mirror.

said. "I b

a narrow driveway behind her trailer

imes and a collection of half-dead succulen

idn't

he silence that followed w

u o

us," Ava said softl

ovebox, pulled out a bottle of rubbing alco

osed behind them. The air was dry and smelled

ts, just a desk lamp in the corner.

ket and stared at the

d cha

ht to a sickly gray-purple. The skin around it was inflamed, pulsi

examine it. Ava flinched. She did

"It wasn't li

N

d it was

lie

d lit a cigarette with trembling hands. "You th

s make the

slowly. "P

in sile

eed help. Someone wh

She tapped ash into an emp

ked up.

ger. Lives up past the

d to nail crosses to trees and shout

's th

really going to t

the mug. "If anyone knows w