 
### Burnt Mountain,

The Monster Within

### by

### Cheryl Campbell

Smashwords Edition

Published by Cheryl Campbell at Smashwords

Copyright 2013 Cheryl Campbell

Second Edition Copyright 2017 Cheryl Campbell

Other Smashwords titles by Cheryl Campbell:

Burnt Mountain One in the Chamber – vol 2

Burnt Mountain Do and Die – vol 3

Burnt Mountain Rhyllia – vol 4

Burnt Mountain When Heroes Fall – vol 5

The characters, events, and location of Dublin, Maine and portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book.

Smashwords Edition License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

For Helen, Jed, Faith, and Michaela

### Table of Contents

Copyright

Dedication

Beginning

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Sample: Burnt Mountain, One in the Chamber

### 1

With a sigh, Emma Kaiser shoved her hands deep into the pockets of her jeans and stared down at the murky water at the base of the rocky cliff below. She shook her head, wondering how and why she allowed herself to get dragged into her sister's insane plan.

Jody deposited her backpack on the browned grass. She straightened the waist of her shorts before rubbing her palms against her chilled, bare legs. "Stop stalling, Em. Strip."

With a slight frown, Emma glanced at her sister and delayed another moment. She wore shorts beneath her jeans, but the cold pond would give her a breathtaking jolt when she went in, regardless of what she wore.

Maine's abundant supply of boulders ranging in size from baseballs to SUVs dotted the area around Kings Mountain. Emma's feet stood on a massive slab of stone that exceeded the size of a vehicle. Trees and brush grew between the wider boulder seams, and Jeremy climbed the nearest, large tree overlooking the area of rock where Emma and Jody waited.

Colin removed a coiled length of rope from Jody's daypack. He walked to the base of the tree and tossed one end up to Jeremy. Landing on rocks beneath the water's surface by jumping straight from the top of the rock's ledge was a potential hazard, so while Emma wished she'd stayed home, the young men discussed which tree limb to tie the rope. They could then swing out into the pond away from any threats.

"November in Maine. The water will be bloody cold," Emma muttered while still eying the pond.

Jody snorted a laugh. "You've been away from home too long. You've gone soft."

Emma had to agree with her sister on both counts. Jody gave her a playful shove with her elbow, and Emma smiled.

Jody stepped closer to the ledge where the rock's edge ended. There was a 12-foot drop to the pond below. Her face twisted into a frown. "Is it just me or is the water rather, um, dark?"

Emma shook her head. "It's not you. The next time the three of you come up with an idea to twirl your finger over a map and pick a random place to swim in the early weeks of winter, make sure I'm not in the country."

"I know you prefer living in England, but I'm glad you're home."

"I was glad to be home until I saw this pond."

"You still haven't changed out of your jeans. Backing out on the dare?"

Emma considered her options. Warm, dry, and going back on her word to join the swim, or shivering, wet, and part of the pre-snow, icy jump into the pond. "You think I'll let my little sister mock me for the rest of my life? No, I'm not backing out."

Jody shrugged. "Could be worse. Jeremy's finger could have landed on a place much farther away than Kings Mountain."

"This will be a miserable walk home once we're wet."

Colin and Jeremy finished their debate on where to tie the rope, and Jeremy's lanky frame slid along a thick tree limb while he held one end of the rope.

"Jeremy likes you, Em."

"No. He likes _you,_ but he'd never make a move to break you and Colin up. So I'm his second choice, unfortunately for me."

"He's nice."

Emma pinched her lips into a thin line and shook her head.

"Not your type though."

"No."

"You're not saying that because you're in college and we're still in high school, are you?"

Emma flinched to think she'd insulted her sister. "What? Of course not, Jody."

Her sister grinned.

Emma shook her head with a frown. "You're such a brat."

Jody's smile widened. "You're an easy target."

"Ladies! Once I am out of this tree, I will show you a back flip like you've never seen before," Jeremy said. He straddled the tree limb with long legs and big feet while his hands worked to finish tying off the rope.

Colin directed Jeremy from the base of the tree. "Don't use so many loops. Leave the rope long so we can use it to climb back up."

Jeremy nodded and re-worked his knot.

"It'll probably be a belly flop like we've never seen," Colin said with a laugh. He left the base of the tree to join the sisters standing near the ledge.

Jody leaned in close to her sister and whispered: "Jeremy's trying to impress you."

"Shut it," Emma hissed.

Jody giggled and knelt to remove her sneakers.

"Keep them on," Colin said.

Jody paused unlacing her sneakers. "I can't swim wearing shoes."

"If there are sticks or rocks on the bottom, you'll wish you'd left them on," Emma said.

"Hike home in soggy shoes?"

The Kaiser sisters shared many personality traits, and stubbornness was at the top of the list. Emma shrugged. "Your choice."

Jody sighed and rolled her eyes while she re-tied her shoe-laces.

Colin glanced at Emma and grinned.

"You're an ass," Jody said to Colin.

"I'd tell you to file a complaint, but the office is closed today," he said and chuckled.

Jeremy tossed the remaining length of rope to Colin and began sliding back down the limb toward the trunk. "I'll go first."

Jody snatched the rope from Colin's hand with a laugh and darted past him. She squealed as she swung out high over the water, her feet kicking before she released the rope and dropped. After the splash, Jody's head came up, and she spit dirty water from her mouth and wiped her hands over her face. "Ugh, it's gross. And cold." A violent shiver shook her body.

Emma's moment of surprise at her sister's brazen leap to be first in the water was replaced by sympathy. She winced at the sight of her sister and the dark streaks of water running down her face. "I thought it was just the shadows that made the water look so muddy," Emma said.

Jeremy remained in the tree. "Me too. I don't want to swim in _that._ "

Colin outstretched his arm to grasp the upper portion of the rope. "Jody, grab on. I'll pull you in."

Jody struggled against the extra drag her shoes created in the water as she began her slow strokes toward the rope, and Emma wished she hadn't convinced Jody to leave them on. Emma's brow creased when a swirl developed in the pond's water, creating a whorl of current that pulled Jody toward it.

"What is that?" Jeremy asked from his perch.

Emma moved closer to Colin and looked to him for an answer.

Colin shook his head and shrugged.

Emma paced at the top of the cliff. "Swim faster."

Jody's eyes widened and she slapped at the water and kicked harder to escape the current.

Colin leaned forward with his feet teetering on the cliff's edge to shift the rope another inch closer to Jody. "Stop panicking and swim, Jody."

Jeremy's arms and legs clung to his limb, his face pale with terror. He shrieked: "What is that?"

Panic overcame Jody, and her arms flailed against the current as it pulled her body closer to the swirling water, which had turned into a three-foot-wide funnel. Emma took a few steps back, readying to leap from the rocky ledge to help her sister. Colin jumped first and reached Jody. With one arm around Jody, he reached for the rope with his free hand. The pair spun in the swirl of water for a second before disappearing into the funnel.

The ground trembled beneath her feet, but Emma dismissed the tremor as her own fear. "Jeremy, get help!"

He continued to cling to the tree, not moving.

"NOW!"

Jeremy flinched with her shout, nodded clumsily, and began moving down the limb.

Emma jumped.

Though her leap cleared the agitated water, the funnel pulled her in and sucked her down as quickly as it had Colin and Jody.

Jeremy dug his fingernails into the bark when the ground shook again. Once the vibration stopped, he waited for his friends to reappear. The rope was pulled taut from the limb down into the center of the funnel, but his friends didn't emerge. Stricken with fear and certain his friends had just drowned, swallowed by some monster in the water, he didn't notice his bladder had released.

He was certain whatever beast had consumed his friends would attack him next. Jeremy scrambled to leave the tree. In his panic he fell, but landed in the dirt. Once his feet were beneath him, his only thought was to flee.

### 2

Fourteen years later:

Rio Kaiser stirred a moment before maneuvering her body half out of her bed. With her legs dangling, she rubbed her face with one hand and patted the dog next to her with the other. Toby remained stretched out and undisturbed by her movements. Rio yawned and slid off the bed. Her steps steadied as she approached the small mound of clothes on the floor. She plucked out her jeans, bypassed the smelly socks, and pulled out the tee shirt closest to the top of the heap. After a quick sniff of the shirt, she dropped it back to the pile. Rio yanked open drawers in her dresser and pulled clean socks from one and a folded tee from another before heading down the hall to the toilet.

She stopped at her mother's open bedroom door and peeked in. They were both early risers, and today her mother was already awake and out of her room. Rio noted the knot of a sheet and blanket that rested in the center of her mother's bed.

_Second time this week,_ Rio thought. Her mother wouldn't talk to her about the horrible dreams that plagued her at night despite Rio's persistent requests. _There must be a way to help her._

After finishing her duties in the bathroom, Rio emerged dressed, teeth clean, and hair mostly brushed. She stopped by her room to deposit her pajamas on her unmade bed, loaded the half-filled basket with the rest of her dirty clothes, and dragged the basket down two flights of stairs to the basement. Upon re-emerging from the basement, she called for the dog. Her hiking boots and old Boston Red Sox hooded sweatshirt were in a lump on the floor by the back door where she left them the day before. She sat on the floor and pulled on her boots.

"Mom, my dirty clothes are by the washer," Rio said as she laced her boots. She was answered with silence and shrugged. They often missed each other in the mornings during the summer. She stood and slipped the sweatshirt on.

Toby's feet thundered down the stairs, and when he arrived, Rio tossed the Boxer a treat that disappeared in one swallow. She found her mother's note in the usual place on the counter where they communicated with each other in passing.

Out for a run. -Mom

Rio wasn't surprised by the message. Her mother left the house early to run, especially when jolted from her sleep by a nightmare. Rio flipped the paper and wrote her own message.

In the woods. R

With only the two of them in the house, signing the notes was pointless, but it was a long-standing habit neither of them abandoned. Rio gulped down her bowl of cereal as she moved through the kitchen with Toby following in her wake, eating the pieces she spilled. She chewed her final spoonful of breakfast and smiled up at the calendar hanging on the wall. Her thirteenth birthday was in a few weeks. Her mother had something planned, though Rio still hadn't been able to pry the details from her. Given her mother's frequent complaints about Rio's continued use of the battered hoodie, she was certain to get a new sweatshirt out of the deal. Other than that, Rio didn't know what other surprises might be coming.

"Ready?" Rio asked the dog.

Toby spun in a tight circle with excitement before racing to the back door.

She deposited her bowl on the counter and left the house with the dog. She moved past the pair of horses grazing in the field toward one of the many paths she'd created in the woods surrounding the rural home.

Rio's mind contained a map of the trails and how far to venture from the house. Today she planned to add to her area of explored territory by finding a new spot to visit. Once deep in the forest, she turned and headed in the general direction of Burnt Mountain. She still had chores to do at home, so she couldn't make the full hike today without bringing food and water. By intentionally leaving the house without anything to eat or drink, Rio couldn't wander off too far or stay gone too long before returning home.

Rio quickened her hiking pace to a trot and started up the long, sloping hill, following her trail around the larger boulders partially buried in the ground. She opted to scramble over a few of the smaller ones instead of going around them. Toby zigzagged his way through the trees with his snout in the air when it wasn't against the ground.

As she approached the top, the steepness caused her to use her hands for extra balance to finish the climb. Rio was out of breath when she reached the crest and collapsed on the ground to rest. She rolled to her back and placed her hand on her chest, feeling its quick rise and fall. With her other hand, she passed her fingers over the dead leaves and other material on the forest floor while her breathing slowed.

Toby bounded by, panting and tongue lolling, and Rio smiled. The Boxer was the goofiest and happiest dog she'd ever met. Once her breathing slowed, she sat up and called for the dog. Toby arrived in an instant and sat with her. She scratched the side of his neck and received a broad, wet tongue across her cheek.

### 3

Emma pushed her plate aside and picked a piece of dog hair from the cuff of her pressed white blouse.

"Done with work today?" Shelley Mellgren asked.

Emma nodded and took a drink of her water.

"Me too. I have a few more errands to finish today before I head home."

"I'll have some more hours to work once I get home, but I'll do them after Rio's gone to bed."

"It's great you can do your computer geekery on your own time and mostly from home."

"It is," Emma said with a nod. She straightened the front of her tightly tucked shirt and smoothed her black dress pants that matched her black shoes and socks. Emma's neatness was a stark contrast to Shell's blue hair, metal-band tee shirt, mangled jeans with a wide black leather belt and many-buckled boots that made her look like she'd just walked away from a rock concert.

"This has been nice. I'm glad we were able to meet today, Shell."

"Yeah."

Emma tapped her finger on the table. Shell's response was polite, but her frown and creased brow indicated an unspoken problem. "What's wrong?" Emma asked.

"Your sleeping issues are getting worse, yes?"

Emma tightened her jaw and leaned back in her chair. Years of friendship meant Shell always noticed when Emma struggled with something in her life. It also meant she couldn't lie to her friend. With a sigh, Emma gave her answer. "Yes."

"Does Rio know?"

Emma nodded. "Like you, I'm sure she's figured it out."

"You can't hide that level of fatigue, Em."

"Obviously not." Emma's tone was sharper than intended.

"Tell her what happened to you and Jody."

"And we were having such a lovely lunch together, Shell."

"Stop trying to change the subject."

After a moment of squirming in her chair and stalling a bit longer by taking a sip of water, and another, Emma frowned at her friend. Shell raised one eyebrow, still waiting for a response. Emma took a deep breath and passed the palm of her hand over the back of her neck, remembering she'd made the same movement this morning at her bathroom sink after waking from her horrible dream. She swallowed hard and forced her hands to her lap.

"I sometimes feel like I'm losing touch with reality," Emma said, casting her eyes down at the table. "I wake up sweat-soaked, shaking, can't catch my breath, and I'm certain my heart will explode. By the time I make it to the bathroom, I can do nothing but cling to the sink and wait for the trembling to pass! The dream is always so vivid. Jody's sobs echo in my mind like she's next to me again. I still have pain where her fingers dug into my arm when I forced her to leave Colin. Why can't the past stay there?" An involuntary shiver rippled through her body.

Shell waved off the approaching waiter.

"Jody and I escaped, but to what end? My sister left her family and died a few years later." Emma pushed the lower part of her sleeve up to reveal the inside of her right forearm. She turned her arm toward Shell. "I know it sounds crazy, but this scar feels as hot as the day I was burned. The place beneath the mountain, the things that happened there, the things we saw that killed Colin, and the fire that followed us out of that living hell and torched Kings Mountain, none of it was natural. I still don't comprehend how you can believe such a story and not think me mad."

"I can't say I understand everything you told me about what happened to you, but you're my friend and I believe you. Nate appreciates you telling us what happened to Colin."

"I had so many questions when I learned Jody had died. I figured Nate deserved to know what happened to his brother even if it was unbelievable." Emma pulled her napkin from the table to her lap and twisted the fabric into a knot.

"Em."

Emma kept her head down until her friend said her name a second time.

"Why is the nightmare happening so often now?" Shell asked.

Emma shook her head.

"You need to talk to Rio."

"She wouldn't believe me."

"I did."

"You're different."

"Do you still consider going back to Kings?"

"Sometimes. I say I'll go back, and I believe myself. Right up until the point that it's time to veer off the trail, I turn and go the other way." Emma gave the napkin a vicious twist, annoyed at her weakness.

"I'll go with you."

"No, Shell."

"Take Rio to the mountain. Show her."

"Too dangerous."

"Take some precautions in case something goes wrong. You're smart, Em. Figure it out. Rio will understand if you give her a chance. You need another ally in this besides me. Your daughter lives in your house with you and can help."

Emma sighed again.

"At least think about it, Em."

"I will."

"And _please,_ for the sake of mercy, stop torturing that napkin!"

A small laugh escaped Emma's mouth, and she placed the knotted cloth on the table again.

"Think about what I said."

"I will, Shell. I promise."

"Thank you. With that settled, are you ready to start dating again?"

Emma groaned and leaned her head back in exasperation. "No!"

"What about Fish?"

"Bryan Fisher?" Emma asked and looked at her friend again. "No."

"Fish likes you."

"Fish likes anything with two X chromosomes."

"True, but he's still a good guy. You divorced a long time ago. Nothing wrong with seeing someone."

Emma fiddled with the end of her braid at her shoulder.

"You're stalling again."

"I'm not dating your brother." Emma dropped her hand to the table hard enough to rattle the plates. She refused to look at the patrons turning in her direction.

"Jeez, you're testy today. The band is playing tomorrow night. You and Rio should come out."

Emma appreciated the conversation shift, and the tension between her shoulders eased a little. "Rio adores your band."

"I know she does!"

"We'll be there."

"Perfect. I gotta run." Shell waved her hand at the table and plates. "You got this?"

"Yeah."

Shell hopped out of her chair with a grin and gave Emma a quick hug. "Thanks. Next one is on me. See you tomorrow."

"Yep. Tell Nate hello for me."

"Will do. I'll tell Fish you're coming," Shell said and with a laugh, she was gone.

Emma shook her head with a small smile. Of course Shell would tell Fish; he was their drummer.

### 4

"She's dead."

"She's not dead."

"Since she's dead, can we keep the dog?"

The voices disturbed Rio's sleep and she stirred. She opened her eyes, startled by the upside-down, unfamiliar face of a boy hovering over her. Rio flipped to her belly and shuffled her hands and feet across the ground to scramble away from the stranger.

"You OK?" the boy asked.

"So you're not dead. I like your dog," the girl said.

Rio took a moment to clear her mind and calm herself after standing. Her heart's thundering inside her chest slowed as she regained some of her wits. A teenage girl and boy she'd never seen before watched her.

The boy tilted his head and continued to watch Rio. "Are you OK? I mean, Colby's non-stop whining during our hike up this hill didn't wake you."

Rio blinked several times. "Uh."

"Are you homeless and sleep in the forest often?" the girl asked.

Rio's mouth moved, but she didn't answer. She was still trying to remember when she'd fallen asleep.

The boy rolled his eyes. "Colb, don't be so rude. I'm Sebas."

"Sea bass?" Given his odd name, Rio's brow crinkled.

"Sebastian. I'm Colby."

Rio stared at them. Colby had a few more freckles than Sebastian, but they had the same features and hair color. Their accent was similar to her mother's. Her brain started working again as did her mouth. "Siblings?"

Colby nodded. "Twins."

"My name is Rio, and the useless guard dog is Toby."

"I like him." Colby rubbed the seventy-pound dog's wide head while he sat next to her foot. His tongue lolled and with the attention his short tail wiggled with the rest of his body.

Rio brushed the leaves and dirt from her jeans.

"We didn't mean to startle you," Sebastian said.

"Sorry I freaked out for a bit. You're not from around here."

Sebastian's eyes wandered up the trunks of the tall trees around them. "Accent give us away?"

"That and I've never seen you before."

"We live in England. Birmingham. We arrived in Maine yesterday and decided to do a bit of exploring today," Colby said.

"Here for the summer or a few days?" Rio asked.

"For the summer. Except—" Sebastian said, his words trailing off as his eyes traveled back to meet Rio's.

She waited for him to continue, but he remained silent.

His sister finished his sentence. "We're hopelessly lost and have no idea where we are or how to get back to the house where we're staying."

"Ah." Rio couldn't contain her chuckle.

"Go ahead. Laugh. It's funny as long as you're not the one lost," Sebastian said.

"Peter Cole's home. Know where it is?" Colby asked.

Rio nodded.

"I said the house is that way," Sebastian said and pointed. "Colb says it's that way." He moved his arm.

"Wow. Um, you're both wrong. Since you're not finding you're way back on your own, I'll bring you to my house first then take you back to Mr. Cole's. His house isn't far from us." Rio had potential new friends near her own age and living nearby for the entire summer. She tried to keep her excitement concealed.

"Us? You and the dog?" Colby asked.

"And my mom," Rio said and started down the slope. "You're the renters he found while he and Mrs. Cole are in Florida?"

"Yeah. It's a nice house and close to the pond for swimming, but Dad didn't realize how far out in the country he was bringing us," Sebastian said.

Rio smiled, though the siblings walked behind her and couldn't see her face. "Willy wags."

"Huh?" Colby asked.

"It's Maine slang. Rural areas are called the willy wags or willy wacks. I've heard people say both."

"The middle of nowhere," Colby said.

Rio nodded and slowed her pace to walk with the twins instead of in front of them. "Exactly. Dublin, Maine is a perfect example of a town in the middle of nowhere."

"Shouldn't the summertime be warmer?" Sebastian asked with a frown. He rubbed his palms over his bare forearms.

"We're in the woods, so it's always cooler. You can have my hoodie if you're that cold."

Sebastian shook his head. "I'm not freezing yet, but thanks for the offer."

"The temperatures will go up as we get closer to July and August. Buy a day pack, and always carry an extra layer with you for weather changes. In your case, you should carry food, water, and a compass."

"A compass won't help. I'll get lost even if I have a map. How long until we reach your house? I'm starved," Colby said.

Sebastian sighed and shook his head at his sister. "She's helping us not be lost. Don't beg for food too."

Rio grinned.

Colby didn't embarrass easily and spoke what was on her mind regardless of what her brother deemed polite or not. She slipped twice on the way down the hill, landing on her rump and sliding. Both times she was back on her feet in an instant without wiping the dirt from her palms or trousers. She didn't care about staying clean or worrying about smudges on her clothes or face.

Sebastian kept his head up, always watching the surrounding area. The one time he had slipped, he brushed the dirt from his clothes before continuing. The twins bantered with each other during the walk to Rio's home, but their comments never escalated to arguing.

Rio grew up as an only child, so the persistent chatter between the Sebastian and Colby intrigued her. She asked them questions as they walked and decided she liked her new friends. They were several months older than she was and would turn fourteen the coming winter. She wondered what it would be like to have siblings. Once home, Rio and Sebastian led the kitchen raid to find something to eat while Colby gulped two glasses full of water from the sink's tap before joining them.

"Where's your Mum?" Sebastian asked.

Rio glanced at the newest note on the counter.

Bangor. Will be back after lunch. -Mom

"She works some days at home and some in Bangor."

The trio ate their sandwiches while loitering around the kitchen counter. They opted for a rest in the living room and flopped on the couch.

Colby examined the room and the rest of the lower part of the home. "This is an old house. You don't mind staying here alone?"

"Toby is here with me. It gets creepy when the wind blows hard and the house creeks. Old farm houses make a lot of noise."

"Is it haunted?" Colby asked.

Rio laughed and shook her head.

"What's upstairs?"

"Bedrooms, Mom's office, the attic."

"What's in the attic?"

"Colb, stop," Sebastian said before turning to Rio. "You must tell her to shut up when you've had enough. She starts asking questions and won't stop."

Rio didn't mind Colby's curiosity. "Boxes and stuff according to Mom. I don't go up there much." Truth was she never went to the attic.

Colby brightened with another idea. "Got a basement? Dead bodies buried down there?"

Sebastian intervened when Rio didn't. "Colby!"

"This house is great. It's huge. Surely there's something cool to find," Colby said.

"Mr. Cole, the man's house you're staying in, is nice. His wife is a little weird sometimes though. She says the woods around Dublin are haunted, and a long time ago, there were these big spiders that Mr. Cole and some others in the community had to kill. I think she just made up that story to try to scare me."

"Spiders? How big?" Sebastian asked.

"I don't know," Rio said with a shrug. "Bigger than Toby, per Mrs. Cole." She noticed Sebastian's eyes fixed on Toby as the dog rested in his bed on the living room floor.

"That's a big spider," he said with a mutter.

"Sebas is afraid of spiders," Colby said.

"I am not."

"Good! Let's find their webs," Colby said before leaping from the couch and bounding up the stairs.

Sebastian called after his sister several times and then chased her upstairs.

Toby's head lifted from his bed with the twins' rapid departure from the room, and he turned his brown eyes to Rio.

Two sets of feet thumped on the floor above. Colby's laughter and Sebastian's shouts at his sister to stay out of the attic echoed through the house. "At least it won't be as bad as being up there alone, right?"

Toby tilted his head.

"C'mon."

### 5

With the hunt for spiders concluded, Rio sat with her new friends around a box of old photographs. Some were of the farm house years ago, with a man standing near the house or next to farm equipment and crops.

"I think the man is my grandfather," Rio said.

Sebastian passed another photo to Rio. "Here he is again."

A man, woman, and two girls stood together in front of the farm house.

"Did they do this pose each year for Christmas cards?" Colby asked while holding a different photograph.

Rio took the picture from Colby's hands and sighed. The two girls in the photo Colby found were much older than the girls in the one Sebastian had pulled from the box. Rio turned the photo of the older girls so Sebastian could see it too. "I've seen this picture before."

"Who are they?" Sebastian asked.

"My grandparents and mothers," Rio said.

The twins shared a glance before Colby spoke. "Mothers?"

"This one," Rio said and pointed. "Jody. She's my mother." Rio moved her finger. "This one is my aunt. Her name is Emma. Mom died when I was young, and Aunt Emma adopted me."

"How young?" Colby asked.

Sebastian groaned. "Don't start, Colb."

Colby sighed and her shoulders sagged. "Aw, but I have a thousand questions."

Sebastian shook his head. "You always do."

Toby's bark startled Rio from her thoughts. The dog disappeared out of the room, his rapid footsteps carried him down the stairs, and he barked again. The stairs creaked as someone ascended them. Toby rushed back upstairs ahead of the person coming up the stairs.

Rio tucked the picture she'd taken from Colby into the kangaroo pocket of her sweatshirt. "Mom's home. Put these things away."

"Are we in trouble?" Colby asked. Toby bounded into the room, and she spread her hands out on the floor to gather the scattered photographs before the dog stepped on them.

"No, but don't bend them." Rio helped the twins return most of the pictures to the box. She glanced up at her mother leaning against the door frame. "Hi, Mom. We're cleaning everything up."

Rio's mother smiled and stepped into the room. She lifted one of the pictures from the floor. "Did you bring home guests or strays?"

Rio paused her cleanup efforts. "A bit of both. Colby and Sebas are staying at Mr. Cole's for the summer."

"We got a bit lost in the forest," Sebastian said.

"It happens. I'm Emma. Nice to meet both of you."

"You're a Brit?" Colby asked.

Sebastian frowned, and Rio snorted a laugh. Colby's interrogation had resumed.

"You have a good ear to pick up on my diluted accent. My father was a Maine farmer, and my mother was from England. I was born in Maine, but my family spent a decent bit of time between the States and the UK."

"Where?"

"In Keele when I was in college and for a few years after."

"Why did you leave England?" Colby asked.

Her mother's smile faded, and Rio intervened. "Hey, I forgot to do the rest of my chores. Do you guys want to help me finish them quicker so we can find something else to do before you have to go?"

"Add the messy kitchen to your list, Rio," Emma said.

"We'll clean the kitchen," Sebastian said. He grabbed Colby's wrist and pulled her along behind him as they left the attic to head downstairs. He muttered something to his twin that Rio couldn't hear.

"Mom, Colb doesn't mean to pry. She's just full of questions," Rio said and put the last few pictures back in the box.

"I'm not upset, if that's what you mean." Emma took a last look at the picture in her hand before placing it on the top of the other photos in the box.

Rio removed the one from her pocket and handed it to her mother. "I haven't seen this one in a long time."

Her mother drew in a shaky breath and nodded. "We took this when I was visiting from England."

"This is the one Mom had when she told me I had an aunt. Mom's copy was battered and creased, but it's the same image."

Emma tightened her jaw.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to drag this stuff up again."

"This picture is special. You should keep it in your room instead of in a box in the attic," Emma said as she passed the photo back to Rio.

"Really?"

"Put it in your room before heading downstairs. I'll buy a frame for it."

Rio gave her mother a hug. The sound of a breaking plate echoed through the house, and Rio's mother laughed.

"Make sure neither of them have hurt themselves. I'll put the box away and be down after I change clothes," Emma said.

"Thanks, Mom."

Rio left the attic with Toby, darted down the hall to drop off her picture in her room, and resumed her sprint to join her friends and stop their growing argument about the broken plate.

Emma picked up the photo she'd placed on the top of the others in the box. The picture she told Rio to keep was the one the family had taken for Emma's twentieth birthday and only days before she and Jody discovered the horrible secret beneath Kings Mountain. The image in Emma's hand was of the sisters, with Emma's arm draped over Jody's shoulder as they both smiled for the photographer. She didn't remember having the photo taken, but the image brought back memories of happier times when she and Jody were young and close. She slipped the picture into her pocket and folded the flaps of the box closed before moving it back to its place among other boxes in the attic.

### 6

"My name is Rio Kaiser, and if you want to see your children again, you'll let them stay for dinner," Rio said into the phone and struggled to contain her snorts of laughter. The man on the other end of the phone spoke, and Rio's laugh erupted.

"What did he say?" Colby asked.

"He said I can keep you but I'll live to regret it."

"Dad!" Colby snatched the phone from Rio's hand.

"Nice way to introduce yourself to your friends' father," Emma said.

"He thought it was funny."

Colby's side of the conversation continued. "We may have been a little lost, but Rio found us. Well, we found her first, but she got us back to civilization, more or less. We're still in the middle of nowhere."

"Willy wags!" Sebastian said from the living room, where he was tossing a ball for Toby.

"Can we stay? Really?" Colby asked her father.

Emma spoke up. "Your parents are welcome to come too, Colby."

"It's just Dad," Colby said. She returned her attention to the phone. "Emma says you can come over too. Yes, I'm sure. Will you come? Great! Uh, no, I told you, I don't know where we are." Colby passed the phone to Rio's mother. "He needs directions."

Emma took the phone but addressed Rio first. "Finish with the horses and feed Toby before more games."

With a nod Rio headed for the back door with the twins, and Emma introduced herself to her new summer neighbor.

Ethan Riley arrived a short time later, and Rio and the twins whisked him away for a quick tour of the house then outside to the barn. Though he was overdressed in khaki trousers and a green shirt that matched his eyes, Rio insisted he meet the horses.

When the Kaiser home had visitors, it was most often that Rio saw Aunt Shell and Uncle Nate at their dinner table. She smiled at having new friends, especially ones her own age, sitting at the table with her. After they ate, Rio and the twins returned to the living room and their video game's race cars. Once she had them entrenched in a race against each other, Rio wandered into the kitchen. She pretended to busy herself with refilling her glass of water, but she also listened to her mother's conversation with Ethan.

He spoke of his work and brother and nephew in Birmingham, England, and her mother told him of her studies and time in Keele. Rio noticed her mother skipped the parts about getting the phone call that her sister was dying in and of learning she was an aunt upon her arrival at the Kansas hospital.

Rio dared a peek around the corner to the room where her mother and Ethan sat in conversation at the table. The pair sipped the wine he'd brought when he arrived for dinner to claim his lost children. The twins had an unmistakable resemblance to him, much like Rio did with Emma.

Her mother was barefoot and wore shorts and a plaid, buttoned shirt. Rio always thought she looked like she belonged in an L. L. Bean catalog. The blue fabric in the shirt matched her mother's dark, blue eyes. Rio noted that her mother smiled, was engaged in her discussions with Ethan, and seemed relaxed in her conversation with him instead of fidgeting or otherwise distracted.

He talked of growing up in Scotland, and Rio watched as her mother's smile faded to something sadder. Rio emerged from her corner to intervene like she had done earlier when Colby's questions changed her mother's mood. She intended to interrupt whatever sad memory now seemed to cloud her mother's mind.

"Emma, is something wrong?" Ethan asked.

She blinked and returned her attention to him. "No. I'm sorry for being rude."

Rio, now visible to her mother, turned and busied her hands with Toby's treat jar on the counter while pretending to ignore the adults.

"I apologize if I said something to upset you."

"You didn't. I appreciate your stories from your home. I was just thinking it had been so long since I have been there. I miss England," Emma said before taking another sip of wine.

"When did you move back to the States?"

Rio was the reason her mother left England. She lingered at the counter with her hand in the dog's treat jar, ready to disrupt their conversation.

Emma sighed. "Seven years ago." Her brow crinkled for a moment, and she sat up straighter in her chair. "The last time we were overseas, the circumstances were, um, unpleasant. It's time I took Rio back for a more enjoyable trip."

"Given how she is getting along with my forest-wandering, home-invading, plate-breaking children, I'm sure they'd love to see her when you come."

Emma smiled and nodded before draining her wine glass. She waved off Ethan's attempt to refill it for her. She looked at her watch and frowned. "Rio and I were supposed to see our friends' band tonight. I completely forgot, and I can't drive after that wine."

"I'm sorry you're missing the performance," Ethan said.

Emma waved him off. "I'll call Shell later. She'll understand."

Rio grinned, stuffed a treat for Toby in her pocket, and slipped back into the kitchen. She loved Aunt Shell's band, but Rio had new friends over tonight! By the time she returned to the living room, Colby had given up on the game against her brother.

"I can't beat him. You're up."

Toby had sprawled across Colby's lap, so her friend was content with the snoring Boxer over the electronic distraction.

Rio traded the game controller for the dog cookie she pulled from her pocket. "Give this to him when he wakes up. Sebas, move over and prepare to be annihilated."

"Ha!" he said, though his eyes never left the television screen, where his car slid sideways around the racetrack turns.

Rio nodded with approval; Sebastian was good.

### 7

A month had passed since the Kaiser and Riley families had met. Rio, Colby, and Sebastian spent a majority of their days and evenings together exploring the surrounding woods, hiking, swimming, and riding horses. They joined Rio in karate classes taught by her Uncle Nate, and did whatever else they could dream up.

During the week, while the trio left for whatever they planned for the day, Ethan worked from Emma's dinner table to use her Internet connection or take advantage of the hill she lived on to make calls. Pete Cole's home was in a valley and surrounded by trees. Cellular service was spotty to nonexistent in many areas between the Cole and Kaiser homes except on Emma and Rio's hill. He worked downstairs editing articles for his brother's magazine and website while Emma worked in her upstairs office. She used three computer monitors, whiteboards mounted on the walls, and markers to draw diagrams and write code to sort out the more complex pieces of a program she was hired to test. They tried sharing her workspace, but the frequent squeaking noises of the markers against the white boards drove Ethan to the dining room to work.

On Emma's days off, she and Rio took the Rileys for outings to visit different parts of the state and introduced them to camping. The Rileys met Nate and Shelley Mellgren through karate classes, and Rio turned the twins into followers of Aunt Shell's band.

The Kaiser and Riley families spent the weekend together in Massachusetts for Rio's birthday taking in a US national team soccer game in Foxboro. The next day they went to the Museum of Science in Boston, followed by a Red Sox baseball game. They returned home the following evening exhausted.

That night, Emma trudged up the steps and stopped at Rio's room. "I thought you'd be asleep by now."

Toby grunted in disapproval when Rio yawned and stretched as she sat up in bed. "Not yet."

"You napped a lot on the ride home."

"Yeah. I didn't try to stay awake since you seemed to be doing fine driving with Ethan keeping you company."

"Yep, he's a good friend."

"Only a friend?"

"Yes."

"What if he was more than that?"

"Friend. That's all."

Rio sighed and relented pleading a case on Ethan's behalf. She'd noticed the way he looked at her mother and made her laugh. _In time,_ Rio thought.

Emma sat on the bed next to Rio. "Did you have fun in Boston?"

"I had a wonderful time," she said and hugged her mother. "How did you keep the entire weekend's plans for my birthday a secret?"

"It wasn't easy."

"I promise I'll take care of my new hoodie." Rio's brightly colored red-and-blue Red Sox hooded sweatshirt hung neatly in her closet, for now.

"Good."

"Thank you for my new compass."

"I'll never know why you needed one since you seem to have a GPS chip in your head, but you're welcome. One more surprise." Emma pulled a piece of paper from her pocket.

"Another one?" Rio asked, her eyebrows going up. Her mother handed her the paper, and Rio unfolded it. "Passport application?"

Emma smiled and pushed hair away from Rio's face. "This is a copy of the paperwork we'll send in to get you a new passport since your old one expired."

Rio's mouth hung open as she continued to stare at the form in her hands.

"We're going to England for Christmas."

"England. Really?" Rio asked.

"Yes."

"To where you used to live?"

"Yes."

"The Rileys know?"

"Ethan does, sort of. He and I discussed it briefly a while back. I don't know if he mentioned it to Colby or Sebastian."

"Can I tell them? We'll visit them when we go, right?"

"Yes, you can tell them. We'll visit if they're up to it. They might be visiting family elsewhere, Rio."

"But if they are home?"

"If they're OK with us dropping by, we can visit."

Rio bounced on her bed, which made Toby groan.

"Go to sleep before you irritate the dog more," Emma said with a chuckle. She kissed Rio on the top of the head and stood.

"Wait. Before you go to bed, will you please tell me why you don't sleep well? You had another bad dream one night in the hotel this weekend."

"Oh. Please don't ever touch me when I'm having a bad dream. I might lash out, and I would hate to hurt you."

"You don't want me to try to wake you?"

"No. Never. I'd be devastated if I accidentally hurt you over a nightmare."

"OK. I won't. What's in these dreams?"

Emma stalled, considering her options.

"Mom, c'mon."

Maybe she'd avoided talking to her daughter long enough. "I'll be back in a minute," Emma said. She went to her office, shuffled through a drawer, and returned to Rio's room with a map. After sitting on the bed next to Rio, she spread the map across both their laps. "You spend a lot of time wandering the area. Ever been here?" Emma asked and pointed to an area northeast of their home, deep in the woods.

Rio shook her head. "I've gone in that direction before, but I never made it all the way. The map is wrong. It says Kings Mountain, but it's Burnt Mountain."

"Burnt Mountain is the name the locals gave it after the area burned."

"When?"

"Around fourteen years ago."

"Have you been to Burnt Mountain?"

Emma nodded.

"Were you there when it burned?"

Emma's jaw tightened, and she nodded again.

"Burnt Mountain is part of your nightmares?"

"Yes," Emma said and sighed.

"Why do I have to drag crap out of you one question at a time?" With a deep frown on her face, Rio gathered up the map and began refolding it.

Emma placed her hand on Rio's. "Please be patient. I promise I will tell you everything."

"When, Mom?"

"Soon. It'll be easier to show you some things rather than explain them," Emma said, taking the map. She finished folding it and stood. "Be patient a little longer, please. Enjoy your time with the twins while they're here, and we'll sort out Burnt Mountain later."

"OK."

"Goodnight," Emma said, turning to leave her daughter's room.

"I love you, Mom."

"I love you too," Emma said and turned off Rio's light.

The end of summer approached and would arrive too soon. There was enough technology to keep Rio in touch with the twins, but it wouldn't be the same as the trio running amok together. Emma sighed with the thought. She'd gotten used to having the Rileys around and would also miss them when they returned home to England. She promised to do everything she could to make sure the teens continued to have a great summer. Emma didn't know her daughter's summer break was on a collision course with her tortured past.

### 8

Emma woke with a start the next morning and wasn't sure why. She'd slept well for a change. Though still tired, she rolled out of bed and dressed. She checked in on Rio's room and wasn't surprised to find it empty. The girl was always an early riser; however, Toby delighted in sleeping in her vacant bed. She started down the stairs and heard the dog's paws hit the floor and speed up to catch her.

Once in the kitchen, Emma found Rio's note.

Off to see Colb and Sebas. R

Emma didn't have enough coffee grounds to make a cup, and she groaned. She rummaged through cabinets for more and found none. With another pass through the cabinets, she failed to find tea either. Ethan had gotten her hooked on coffee, and now she was out. She leaned against the counter and rubbed her palms against her face, but it didn't help her feel more awake. With a sigh she righted herself and grabbed her keys, money, and phone. Toby bounded for the door and rushed out as soon as she opened it wide enough for him to squeeze through.

He jumped into the truck, taking his place in the front passenger seat, and Emma climbed in. She drove slowly on the long dirt road from her house. Only the rare lost soul ever drove the full length of the rural road in search of a place to turn around, but Emma still used caution for any deer, moose, turkeys, or other wildlife that could be standing in the road or emerge from the woods to cross and disappear again on the other side.

Emma glanced at Toby and smiled when he pointed his snout out the open window on his side and sniffed deeply. She returned her attention to the road as she steered the truck around a bend that would take them down a hill to a sharp turn at the bottom. She slowed further and leaned forward, examining the disturbed gravel and soft dirt. In the spring turtles deposited eggs in the softer substrate by the road, but their egg-laying season ended weeks ago.

She followed the turn, and a chill shook her body to see a person lying in the road covered by a blanket and a bicycle in the ditch. Emma hit the brakes, bringing the truck to a skidding halt on the gravel. She abandoned the truck and rushed to her daughter where she lay on her side and not moving.

Emma slid to a stop on her bare knees and leaned over her daughter. Her hands trembled as she reached for Rio and touched her shoulder. "Rio," she said with a waver in her voice. Part of her mind screamed that Rio was dead and another part screamed to remain calm. She moved her hand to Rio's neck and sighed to feel her daughter's pulse against her fingertips. Emma pulled in a deep, shaky breath and released it with a controlled exhale, forcing her mind to work instead of being paralyzed with fear. She removed the blanket covering Rio and stopped to stare at the fabric in her hand.

"What?" Emma's face creased with a deep frown of confusion. She decided to sort out the blanket mystery later and set it aside.

Rio moaned and shifted on the ground, but Emma used her hands to keep her daughter still. "Don't move, Rio." Emma took another deep breath to steady her thoughts. She'd had some training as an EMT years ago, but she never finished the program. Her eyes focused on the blood on Rio's face, distracting her from everything else.

"Hospital. OK. I need to get you to the hospital, but I can't move you."

Toby paced near Rio and whined, but Emma couldn't comfort the dog yet. She pulled her phone from her pocket and swore. She didn't have enough signal to make a call without it dropping, assuming the call went through at all.

"Bloody rural Maine. Text! A text will go."

Emma worked to send a message to Nate, a former Army medic and volunteer fireman for Dublin. Her hands shook so it was nearly impossible to type a coherent message.

"Mom?" Rio mumbled.

"I'm here. Don't move, honey. Lie still," Emma said as she fought to keep her attention on the phone for a moment longer. She sent the message, and the reply came seconds later. She sent a few more quick messages before setting the phone aside to focus on her daughter.

"Uncle Nate is coming with help and an ambulance."

Emma unbuckled the chin strap of Rio's helmet but left the helmet on her. She was careful to not move Rio's neck while trying to assess her daughter's injuries.

Rio had several nasty-looking but minor cuts and scrapes to the exposed skin on her face and arms, and a deeper cut on her chin. A wound on her forehead, obscured by the edge of the helmet, left trails of blood from the helmet to her ear. Rio's palms and knees were deeply scraped where she'd undoubtedly tried to catch herself during the fall. The dark bruising on her daughter's left forearm along with a couple of odd-looking bumps indicated a likely break in one or both bones.

Emma swallowed hard when dizziness swarmed her mind and nausea quickly followed. She tried to slow her breathing and wished Nate and the others would arrive. She lifted the blanket again, and the coarse wool fabric scraped against the palm of her hand. Large boot prints were imprinted in the soft dirt leading away from Rio and toward the thick brush. For a moment Emma worried she was being watched by the blanket's owner though she saw no one.

It seemed like hours had passed since she'd left the house in search of coffee. In the distance, tires crunched on gravel road, and in minutes a truck arrived. Nate and another man jumped out. Relief flooded her body and tears flowed. They peppered Emma with questions about the accident and Rio's condition. Emma answered them with what she knew or guessed to be true.

The ambulance arrived, and Emma moved aside, taking the blanket with her, for the paramedics to fasten a hard, cervical collar around Rio's neck and strap her to a long, stiff backboard to further protect her spine before loading her into the back of the ambulance.

"I'll drive you to the hospital," Nate said as he touched Emma's elbow. "The medics will take care of her and have more room to work if you ride with me."

Emma nodded and wiped away tears, feeling what little control she managed to keep starting to slip away. "I might be sick."

"You're doing fine." Nate guided her back to her truck. He walked with her to the passenger side of the truck and pulled the tattered blanket from her white-knuckled grasp.

"That was draped over Rio when I found her," Emma said, staring at the fabric.

"This isn't yours?" Nate asked.

Emma shook her head.

"Who?"

She shook her head again.

"C'mon, Toby," Nate said.

The dog arrived and leapt into the truck. Nate's brow creased with concern, and Emma climbed into the truck after the dog. She shared Nate's worries about the blanket, but she had more important things on her mind. Nate's eyes passed over the ground as he moved around the vehicle to the driver's side.

"Did I imagine the boot prints in the dirt?" Emma asked.

Nate joined Emma in the truck and tightened his jaw before putting the vehicle in gear.

"Nate?"

"No, Em. You didn't imagine them."

### 9

Emma remembered almost nothing from the ride with Nate to the hospital. Now pacing in Rio's assigned room in the Emergency Department, she tried to remain patient. Rio had gone back for more X-rays again, and Emma was alone in the empty room. Rio's earlier CAT scan was normal, but the doctor still diagnosed Rio with a mild concussion, since his patient was drowsy and speaking mostly nonsense when she tried to converse. The last injury to check was the suspected broken arm, which was deemed non-life threatening and thus placed at the bottom of the list of things to investigate after her spine and internal organs were confirmed to be free of damage.

Emma stood to the side while they wheeled Rio's stretcher into the room. Rio continued to sleep. Blood seeped through the temporary bandages on her daughter's face, and Emma resumed pacing until Nate returned.

He held two cups of coffee and passed one to her. "When all the adrenaline wears off, you'll be glad you have some caffeine on board."

Emma nodded and held her cup with both hands. She started to take a sip and paused, staring at the remaining cup he held. "You don't drink coffee."

"Shell's here. My friend that arrived on the scene with me, he took Toby back to my house. Shell brought him home to your house and called Fish to dog-sit and look after the horses. I asked her to pack overnight things for you since I figured the doctor would admit Rio. She stopped outside to call the Rileys; I thought that would be OK. Which reminds me—" Nate pulled Emma's phone from his pocket.

She took the phone, remembering she'd left it in the dirt beside Rio when the ambulance arrived. "Thank you for being so organized through all this. I didn't even think about calling Ethan." Emma rubbed her forehead to ease the headache forming above her eyes. She passed her hand through her hair and sighed. No amount of coffee could deter the fatigue taking over her body.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, Em. You've had a rough morning."

Emma nodded while staring into her coffee. Her head came up when Shell entered the room. She hugged her friend while balancing the coffee away to keep from spilling the hot liquid on either of them. She resisted the urge to crumble, though tears still burned her eyes. "Thank you for everything. You have a wonderful husband."

"Yes, I do," Shell said, taking her cup of coffee from him. "Rio's rugged like her mother. Hang in there. You can fall apart later."

Emma smiled at her friend and wiped at her nose with the back of her hand.

"Mom?"

Emma moved to stand next to Rio's bed. "I'm here."

"I'm sorry, Mom."

"For what?"

"I wrecked my bike."

"It's fine, Rio. Don't worry about the bike. Was someone else there when you fell?" Emma asked with a glance at Nate. He and Shell also moved closer to Rio.

"He had kind eyes," Rio said with a sleepy smile.

"Who?"

"The angel man." Rio closed her eyes.

"Who is that?" Emma asked but Rio was asleep again.

The nurse arrived pushing a cart loaded with supplies in one hand and pulling a second cart with her other hand. The doctor followed the nurse into the room. "Her arm is broken, so we'll splint it and stitch up her chin before she gets admitted."

Emma paled and leaned against the wall. She couldn't handle watching the doctor stick a needle in Rio's flesh and pull a thread through her skin. The thought alone made her knees weaken.

"Nate, hang out here while I take Em to find a chair and some food. You haven't eaten today have you?" Shell asked.

Shell didn't wait for Emma's answer before she led Emma from the room.

"Uh." Emma shook her head. She couldn't remember if she'd eaten or not. She slowed to glance back at Rio, but Shell continued to herd her down the hall. "Someone got to Rio today before I did."

"I heard."

"I want to know who it was. If he attacked her, I'll kill him. Angel or not."

"He covered her with a blanket, so I doubt he attacked her."

"Oh. You're probably right." Emma shook her head, confused at her own behavior. Her remarks about killing someone were unusual. "I'm losing my mind."

"Not yet."

"Shell, we live in the sticks. Who would be wandering around out there anyway?"

"Em, stop thinking so hard about this. You're exhausted and haven't eaten. You're one tick away from incoherent babbling."

They arrived at the cafeteria, and Emma sagged in her chair. She realized she still carried the cup of coffee and sipped it while Shell got their food. She ate half her sandwich and felt a meager bit of energy return.

"When we go back, will you go first? If they're stitching Rio's chin and I walk in, I'll pass out. I know I will."

Shell chuckled. "Yes, I'll go first."

"Thank you. I couldn't do any of this without you and Nate."

"You and Rio are family, Em. You don't have to do everything on your own."

"I'm trying, Shell. I'm glad you're here."

"Me too."

"If I do still pass out, try not to laugh too hard," Emma said with a small smile.

"You're a tough woman until it comes to blood."

Emma would see a lot more blood in the coming days.

### 10

Ethan and the twins walked down one of the hospital's long halls toward Rio's room. "If she's resting, we'll leave and come back later." They stopped abruptly when Rio rounded the corner, causing Ethan to re-balance the two large cups of coffee he held.

Her left arm was splinted and in a sling. She smiled to see them despite the mix of Band-Aids and small bandages on her forehead, face, and body. The light-blue hospital gown draped to her knees, and she wore matching light-blue pants haphazardly rolled up to accommodate her stature. Hospital-issue red, nonskid socks covered her feet.

"You're up. Are you supposed to be up?" Ethan asked.

Other than the bandages, sling, scrapes, stitches, and a slight limp, Rio's eyes remained bright. "The nurse said it was OK for me to walk around. I might get my cast this afternoon, and they let me pick the color. I want a green one."

Rio's nurse emerged from another room and greeted them.

"She can be up so soon?" Ethan asked the nurse.

Rio frowned and looked up at him. "You think I _lied?_ "

"Well, no, but, it's just, I'm shocked to see you, is all."

"She's doing fine and can be up. I suspect you are in search of more food since you inhaled your breakfast," the nurse said.

Rio nodded.

"Where's Emma?" Ethan asked.

"Sleeping," Rio said.

Ethan frowned. "Does she know you left your room?"

"She was sleeping when I left."

"Oh. Great. You'll cause her a panic if she wakes and you're not there," Ethan said with a sigh. "Sebas, Colb, go with Rio to get food but come right back. I'll check on Emma." He passed one of the coffees to the nurse then fished money from his pocket.

Sebastian grinned at the wad of cash now in his hand.

"Why does he always carry the money?" Colby asked.

"Because you'll spend it all," Sebastian said.

Colby scowled at her brother. "No I won't."

Ethan's glare ended the argument.

The nurse handed him back the coffee and addressed Rio: "Remember, light food, toast or a muffin only. No bacon. No eggs. If you keep that down, I'll get you something more to eat later."

"Toast? That's it?" Rio asked.

"Your other option is more Jell-O." The nurse's tone was flat; Rio wasn't her first teenage patient.

"Toast sounds great. Let's go," Rio said to the twins. "Oh, Ethan, if Mom's still sleeping, don't mess with her."

"Got your hands full with those three," the nurse said, chuckling as she walked away.

Ethan shook his head and continued to Rio's room. He was greeted by darkness and silence when he entered. Emma's form was curled in a chair next to Rio's empty bed. She muttered in her sleep, and Ethan placed the cups of coffee on a small table. He fumbled for the light switch in the bathroom, careful to turn it on and ease the door open to let more light into the room. Emma squirmed in the chair and mumbled things he didn't understand. He stood a few more moments, watching her and unsure what to do. She needed sleep after the previous day's events, but her current dream was less than peaceful.

He tried whispering her name, but she didn't wake. Ethan moved closer and frowned to see the beads of sweat on her face. Her chest heaved with quickened breaths, and her face tightened into a grimace. She twisted her upper body in the chair, breathing harder, and remained asleep.

He touched her shoulder. "Emma."

She winced in her sleep and flinched away from his hand. Emma whimpered, trapped inside her nightmare. "Jody."

Ethan shook her shoulder. "Emma, wake up. You're—" All air rushed from his lungs when she twisted violently and drove her elbow into his gut. He released her and stumbled away until his back met the wall. He dropped to his knees with a cough and clutched his middle.

The noise woke her, and Emma sprang out of the chair. She trembled in the darkness, and she yelped with surprise when Ethan coughed and wheezed from behind her. "Ethan?" she asked with a shaky voice.

Ethan looked up at her and struggled to catch his breath. Only now did Rio's warning make sense.

The door to the hospital room opened, pouring in light, and Emma shielded her eyes. The full lights came on in the room, and she winced.

Nate strode into the room. "What happened? I hadn't reached the door yet when I heard you cry out. Why is he on the floor?"

Ethan grunted and with effort, stood again.

Emma started to approach Ethan but stopped. She glanced around the room. "Where's Rio?"

"We found her and the twins in the cafeteria. Shell's with them, and Rio is fine. What happened here?" Nate asked again.

"She was having a bad dream, and I tried to wake her," Ethan said with a strained voice. He rubbed his hand over the sore spot on his middle where Emma's elbow struck him.

" _You_ grabbed my shoulder? I'm so sorry, Ethan. I'm sorry. This dream keeps coming back, and, I'm sorry," Emma said. She stared at the floor, embarrassed and refusing to look at him.

"The Kings Mountain dream?" Nate asked.

Emma nodded and turned to Ethan. "I'm so sorry."

Ethan didn't understand what Nate meant about the mountain, but Emma's nightmare obviously continued to terrorize her even after waking from it. "I'll be fine, Emma. I didn't expect your reaction or I wouldn't have startled you." He gave her a small smile. "Clearly you have picked up some self-defense stuff from watching Nate teach Rio's karate classes."

"Yeah, I guess. Can we not mention this to the kids?" Emma asked.

The men nodded and busied themselves with straightening the room. Shell soon arrived, with the teens leading the way into the room.

Emma smiled and hugged her daughter.

Ethan overheard their conversation despite Rio's lowered voice.

"Mom, you OK?"

"Yeah."

"Don't give me that crap. You're sweaty and pale. Nightmare?"

Emma nodded.

"Did he try to wake you?" Rio asked and cut her eyes in Ethan's direction.

"I did. She keeps apologizing, but it was my fault," Ethan said.

"I told you not to mess with her."

"I know. I said it was my fault."

"What did you do?" Rio asked her mother.

Ethan changed the subject. "Emma, I brought you some coffee."

Shell embraced both Emma and Rio. "Em, I brought you some food from home. Your street urchin already ate, so there's more for you."

Ethan had only met Emma a month ago, so he never expected to know everything about her in such a short time. Ethan understood now that her off-handed remarks of not sleeping well some nights were likely blatant understatements. He wasn't angry at her for attacking him, but he wondered what other secrets she held inside. He had noticed her mood shift with certain subjects, but he dismissed them as unimportant. He wouldn't make that mistake again.

### 11

Before the nurse let Rio leave the hospital, she repeatedly warned the teen and her mother of the dangers of sticking objects inside the cast. Now, almost three weeks later, Rio's sling was off, but the cast made her skin itch. Her mother caught her sticking a pencil inside the cast to scratch her arm, and Rio was grounded. Her penalty was she couldn't visit Colby and Sebastian for three days, and they weren't allowed to come to her house. To Rio, this was the worst torture ever. The day after her punishment was over, Rio woke early and paced in the kitchen, waiting for her mother to get up.

When her mother did arrive downstairs, Rio pushed a full cup of hot coffee across the counter to her.

"Thanks." Emma took the mug with both hands. "This is obviously a bribe. What do you want?"

"My three days are up. May I go in the woods for the day? Look, it's healing fine." Rio rapped the cast against the counter. "This doesn't hurt." She continued to bounce it on the ceramic tile.

Emma winced with the early morning noise. " _Please_ stop banging that thing on the counter!"

Rio lowered her arm. Being stuck in the house made them both edgy. The doctor had released Rio to do more activities, and the fiberglass cast would come off in a few more weeks. It couldn't come off soon enough for her.

Emma gave Rio permission with a wave of her hand, and Rio bolted from the kitchen.

"But please try to keep it at least remotely clean. You're in the cast a bit longer. I don't want junk getting stuck in there and marinating," Emma said, though Rio was half out the back door.

"I'll keep it clean." The door slammed shut behind Rio on her last word.

Rio jumped, clearing the steps, and raced to meet the twins. By the time she arrived, sweat dripped down her face, and she needed a few minutes to slow her breathing. She knocked on the door, and while she waited, she pulled at the edge of the cast to create space and blew into it. The cooler air eased, but didn't eliminate, the annoying itching of her skin trapped inside its prison.

Ethan opened the door. "Released from solitary confinement?"

Rio walked through. "Yes, finally!"

Two sets of feet stampeded down the stairs inside the home and arrived in the living room. Rio smiled to see her friends again.

"Mom said I could explore the woods for the day. Wanna go?"

"Can we?" Sebastian asked his father.

"Be back by five," Ethan said.

After a quick scramble through the house to find a day pack, the teens worked in unison to toss bottles of water and apples into the pack.

"I have a new place for us to go," Rio said.

"Where?" Colby asked.

"I'll show you."

"Bye, Dad," Sebastian said.

Ethan replied, but Rio and the twins were already out the door.

Rio led her friends away from the house then increased her pace to a jog.

After several minutes of jogging through the woods, Colby slowed to a walk. "Why are we running?"

"Because where I'm taking you will take us a while to get there, and we have to be back by five. We need to hurry." Rio stopped and pulled a folded map and a compass from her pocket. She unfolded the map, did a quick scan, checked her compass, and folded the map again. After stuffing both back into her pocket, she changed directions slightly and resumed her quick pace. The twins followed but were less enthusiastic about the speed Rio expected them to travel.

Sebastian checked his watch—they had several hours before they needed to be home. "Where are we going?"

"Burnt Mountain," Rio said.

The twins shared a glance.

"That's far away," Colby said.

"We have time," Rio said.

Colby frowned, but she and Sebastian stayed with their friend despite Rio's relentless pace. When Rio eventually stopped, Colby flopped to her back and tried to catch her breath.

Sebastian sat on a rock and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. He wiped sweat from his face before righting to remove his pack. He rummaged inside the pack and tossed a bottle of water to his sister. He prepared to toss one to Rio, but she was preoccupied with scouring the area. He took a long drink of water from the bottle and removed an apple. He took a large bite and spoke while he chewed. "Want some?" he asked Colby.

"No. I want to stop running," Colby said, sitting up to drink her water. "How many miles did we cover?"

"Uh, a couple," Rio said.

"Liar," Sebastian said.

Rio ignored her thirst and studied her map. She looked up long enough to check the area, and then her head went back down again. Burnt Mountain didn't appear to be anything special. She and the twins had hiked halfway up the slope, and she still didn't find anything scary enough to haunt her mother's sleep.

"What are you looking for?" Colby asked.

Rio grumbled and stuffed the map back in her pocket. She blew air into the cast through the opening at her palm. The padding inside the cast already stank of old sweat, and Rio suspected she could happily chew through the fiberglass mesh if it meant the itching would stop. She started up the remaining portion of the mountain. "This place burned fourteen years ago, though I don't know why. Stay here if you want to take a break. I'm going the rest of the way up."

She reached the top and found a murky pond around 12 feet below at the base of a rocky cliff. The pond was irregularly shaped, and the surface spanned five or six acres. Rio still didn't see anything special about the mountain. She searched the ground for a small stick to insert into her cast but ended her hunt when she heard the twins approaching. Rio examined the fiberglass mesh and frowned. She needed to factor in time to go home and clean the filth off her cast to prevent getting grounded again.

"Find whatever you're looking for?" Colby asked.

"No," Rio said with a sigh.

"Want any water or an apple?" Sebastian asked Rio, gesturing to the pack on his back.

She shook her head in response.

Colby stepped to the edge of the slab of granite and watched the sunlight reflect off the pond below. "I'm hot, sweaty, and gross but not enough to swim in that."

Sebastian joined his sister and raised an eyebrow. "Yeesh."

"This is still a great place to build a house," Colby said.

Sebastian stared at his twin. "You did notice the water, right?"

"Other than the funky pond, look at the view." Colby waved her arms. "It's great!"

Rio was intrigued by Colby's sudden rambling. "Who's living in this house?"

"We will when our parents are married."

"What?" Sebastian and Rio asked in unison.

Colby slumped her shoulders as though she was tired of having to explain everything to imbeciles. "Our parents. Married," she said slowly. "We could live together and not have to leave at the end of the summer. Which if you haven't noticed will be over soon, so we need them to start dating each other."

Rio frowned, still processing everything Colby planned for the families.

"Rio, your mum is great and single. Dad deserves someone nice. Our mother was a loser and bailed on us when we were only a few months old. Why is this so difficult to comprehend?" Colby asked, directing the question to her brother.

"They've known each other like two months, and you're marrying them off?" Sebastian asked.

Rio shook her head. "It's not that simple, Colb. Mom was married before and things ended badly. Messy divorce and all that stuff."

"Forget it," Colby said with a grumble. She kicked a stone off the top of the cliff and into the pond. Expecting to hear it _plop_ into the water, Colby frowned and leaned forward when she instead heard it _sucked_ into the water. "Whoa."

Rio and Sebastian joined her and looked over the edge. The funnel of water ended its rapid swirl, leaving the surface of the pond smooth again. The ground seemed to shiver beneath their feet, and the trio looked at each other.

"Did I just imagine the water moving and ground shaking?" Rio asked.

Sebastian shook his head and nudged his sister. "Do it again."

Colby scanned the ground and picked up a larger rock. She held it out beyond the edge and dropped it. Just before the rock struck the water, a funnel formed and sucked the rock down as it had before. The water swirled another few seconds before returning to a smooth surface again. "That's the coolest thing I've ever seen."

The ground trembled again.

"I don't like the little earthquakes though. Let's go," Rio said, backing away from the cliff's edge.

Sebastian moved with her, but Colby's curiosity kept her staring at the pond below.

"Colb, we're leaving. Now!" Sebastian said.

Colby scooted more dirt and pebbles off the granite ledge with her foot, and laughed when the funnel re-formed to devour the debris. She turned with a grin to face Sebastian and Rio. "This is insane."

"It is. Come away from the edge so we can go home," Sebastian said.

"Fine." Colby shifted her feet to leave the top of the cliff, but her foot slipped on the rocks shaken loose from the tremors. With a yelp, she slipped. Sebastian leapt for his sister, sliding on his belly. He grabbed a handful of her shirt, but the loose rocks made him skid toward the edge.

Rio lunged forward and wrapped her fingers around the shoulder strap of Sebastian's pack. She prevented them from sliding more, but the dirt that trickled down created another funnel plus an earthquake. Her casted left arm had a weaker grip, so she pulled harder on Sebastian's pack with her right hand and swung her left out to grab at anything to keep them from falling. She managed to wedge her fingertips into a fissure on the ledge's surface.

Colby's body hung over the ledge. She tried to push herself back up with her feet, but her boots sent more rocks into the funnel.

"Stop kicking stuff loose!" Sebastian said when the ground shook again.

Colby's eyes filled with tears. "Pull me up!"

Rio's fingers that were dug into the crack in the ledge cramped, and she lost her hold. Her palm raked through the dirt and along the rough granite slab, and she and her friends fell into the funnel below.

### 12

The unforgiving, blinking cursor on Emma's computer screen continued to flash at her. She was hired to find weaknesses in computer code and fix them. She'd found a significant security breach in the program she tested but had only figured out how to fix part of the code's issue. Frustrated, she pushed her chair away from the desk, spun the chair around, and stared at her scribbled notes on the white board on the wall. With no new ideas, Emma stomped out of the room and headed downstairs, followed by the dog.

Ethan worked at the dining room table, and his head came up when she arrived in the kitchen.

"Hungry?" Emma asked while rummaging through cabinets, slamming some of the doors.

"Yes." Ethan joined her in the kitchen and flinched when she banged the utensil drawer closed. "Problem?"

"I'm stuck on this program and don't know how to fix it."

"Taking a break seems like a good idea, unless you start ripping the cabinet doors off."

Emma laughed, but opened and closed drawers and doors more gently than before. "Sorry. Just a bit frustrated."

"I noticed."

Toby found a tennis ball and carried it back to his dog bed in the corner of the kitchen. He sprawled on his bed and chewed on the ball while Emma searched for food.

"Sandwiches work for you? Seems I need to make a store run," Emma said. He nodded and she slid the loaf of bread on a cutting board toward him and passed him a knife.

Ethan began slicing the bread while he changed topics. "Any new information on the blanket you found covering Rio?"

Emma shook her head. "Nate's asked around, but it's a lost cause at this point." She stared into the refrigerator, wishing she had something other than peanut butter and honey for their sandwiches.

"At the hospital when Rio broke her arm, I was talking with Nate at one point. He mentioned you had handled the situation with finding Rio on the road rather well. He said you hadn't forgotten your training."

Emma snorted at his comment. "Nate apparently forgot I was a babbling mess when he arrived."

"What training?"

"I had a wild idea when I finished college to become a paramedic. Seemed like a decent idea at the time." Emma removed the lids off the peanut butter and honey jars and waited for Ethan to finish slicing the bread.

"What happened?"

"I went through all the initial EMT coursework fine," she said with a wave of her hand. "Things went well until it came time for field work. The first major call I went on was a car wreck. No mangled bodies or anything, just a decent crash. Some minor broken bones, some lacerations, not a big deal. I managed to keep myself pulled together to help transport the two passengers to the hospital with the medic I was shadowing, reported off to the emergency nurses, left the trauma bays, and promptly got sick in the hall and passed out."

Ethan winced. "Really? That's not too bad for a first time though, is it?"

"Things got worse from there. I woke, and the emergency room doctor helped me sit up. I got sick _on_ her and passed out _again_."

Ethan laughed then suppressed it. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh."

Emma chuckled with him and waved off his apology. "It's funny now. I tried to stick with the coursework, but I got weak in the knees thinking about that wreck. I couldn't do any additional field training and seeing blood was not an option. There was no point continuing, so I dropped out."

He brought his chuckling under control with much effort. "I don't mean to laugh."

"The nurses and doctors had many laughs at my expense, so I don't mind. I heard it was even reenacted at the hospital's holiday party that same year."

"Ouch."

"Doesn't matter. It was a long time ago." Emma filled two glasses with tap water from the sink to add to their lunch. She equated the three teens practically living in her house to a swarm of locusts that devoured anything in sight.

She and Ethan finished prepping their sandwiches and stood in the kitchen to eat. Emma leaned against the sink and took a bite. After so much sitting and staring at the computer, she was happy to stand for a while.

"How broken is this program you're testing?"

Emma rolled her eyes as she chewed.

"That bad, huh?"

"Yeah. Did the kids go to the pond behind Pete's house today? It's hot today; good for a swim," Emma said, considering bailing on fixing the code and getting out of the house.

After he swallowed a bite of his own sandwich, Ethan spoke. "No. Rio said she was taking them someplace new."

"Oh." Emma took another bite. Her chewing slowed and a deep frown developed on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"Where did they go exactly?"

"I don't know. She didn't say. Why?"

Emma was silent for a moment. "I told Rio I would take her to a new place and showed it to her on a map. I'm wondering if she took Sebas and Colb there on her own."

"That's a bad thing?"

Emma answered with a grunt and placed her sandwich on the counter. Her hand stopped mid-reach for her water when the liquid inside moved before she touched the glass. Toby's preoccupation with tearing the fuzz off the tennis ball ceased, and Emma stared at the dog. "Did you feel that?"

"Um, are you talking to me or the dog?"

"You," Emma said, her eyes still on Toby.

"Feel what?"

Another tremor made the water in her glass move, and the dog's head tilted as he looked at the kitchen floor. Emma muttered a string of curses as she left the kitchen.

"Emma, feel what?"

"I know where the kids are. We have to go _now._ "

Ethan scrambled to follow her. "Where? Emma!"

### 13

Rio expected to hear a splash, but instead the deafening water rushed around her head and body. Once in the funnel, she lost her hold on Sebastian's pack. Separated and terrified, Rio pinched her eyes closed and tried to swim, but the water continued to pull her down. Panicked, she screamed and clawed at the water, releasing what little breath she had left. The violent rushing of water stopped, and her body struck something before she bounced and collided with a hard surface. Her cast crashed against the hard object, and her arm throbbed with pain after the impact. She drew air instead of water into her lungs.

Though still confused, she rolled to her side and opened her eyes. She blinked several times and recognized her friends, the ones she'd landed on before hitting the ground. Rio didn't move while she tried to figure out what had happened. With no answers, she sat up and cradled her throbbing arm with her hand while water dripped from her hair and clothes, creating a puddle.

The twins groaned and untangled themselves from each other and sat up. The stunned trio didn't speak as the disturbed water above their heads smoothed like it had on the surface after swallowing Colby's rocks. A tremor shook the ground beneath them, and they scrambled to their feet. Though she wasn't cold, Rio held her cast close to her body and shivered. The sounds of water dripping from their clothes echoed inside the cave, and the drops formed rivulets along the surface of the hard, black slab of rock serving as the cave floor.

Enough light filtered through the water ceiling that Rio glanced at her body and groaned. The black mud that covered the twins also clung to Rio's clothes and skin. She wondered if this funnel and place beneath the mountain was what her mother intended to show her. Rio shook her head. "Can't be."

"What?" Sebastian asked.

"Uh, this can't be real. Can it?" Rio asked.

Sebastian shook his head and paced within the small area of light from the water overhead. The rest of the cave was too dark to see anything outside of the weakly illuminated region.

"We were on land, fell through the water tornado, and are back on land again. We just pulled an Alice in Wonderland," Colby said, then grinned.

Sebastian continued his rapid pacing. "No. No! This isn't happening."

His mind struggled to comprehend the facts as much as Rio's. There had to be a logical explanation for everything, but Rio didn't have any answers.

"Why doesn't the water fill this cave or whatever it is? How does it stay up there like it's part of the ceiling?" Colby asked.

Rio shook her head and wished she experienced something other than pain in her arm and confusion in her head.

Colby was the only person enjoying their predicament until she noticed her clothes. She picked at her soaked and mud-caked shirt. "Oh, we're goners. Dad's gonna kill us, and your mum will certainly kill you. We're filthy. I mean, I'm normally filthy, but this?" Colby examined the long streaks of dark mud on her arms and sighed. "Rio, your cast isn't green anymore."

"I know!" Rio didn't want to dwell on the prospect of another term of confinement that would likely extend into adulthood. "We have bigger problems than dirty clothes and my muddy cast." Her throbbing forearm still ached, and Rio continued to cradle it with her other arm.

Sebastian's frantic pacing stopped and his attention turned to Rio. "Did you re-break it?"

"It'll be OK," Rio said through the pain. The idea that she'd snapped the bones in her forearm again made her nauseated. "We need to leave. What do you have in your pack?"

Sebastian removed his pack and rifled through the pockets to pull everything out. Rio and the twins knelt to help him dig through the pack. They removed two whole apples, an apple core, an empty bottle of water, a half-full bottle of water, one full bottle of water, a half a pack of gum, two crushed granola bars, one light jacket, a tiny flashlight, and a soaked and non-functioning cell phone.

Rio groaned and passed her hand through her hair. "We can't call for help. How much time until five?"

"Uh." Sebastian frowned and flicked a glob of mud from his watch. "It's not working. This thing is supposed to be waterproof."

"Must have broken in the fall," Colby said.

They put everything back in Sebastian's pack, and Rio took her turn pacing.

"In a few hours, we'll have missed the time your Dad told us to be back. He'll contact Mom, and we'll still be missing. They'll get angry with us, but they won't know we're in trouble until we don't turn up before dark," Rio said.

Colby shrugged. "So we just wait until they come find us."

Rio pinched her lips into a thin line.

Sebastian groaned. "No one knows we're here."

Rio shook her head and buried her face in her hands. She winced and pulled her hands away from her face when the smell of the cast reached her nose. "We need to find a way out on our own."

"We can't swim out, but maybe we can climb," Sebastian said.

"How?" Rio asked.

Sebastian's face brightened with an idea. "When we were in the funnel, my hand brushed against something hard, like rocks. Maybe the rock cliff we slipped off extends all the way down to this opening."

"The water spins too fast to hold on to anything," Rio said.

"Sebas is strong. If anyone can climb out, he can," Colby said.

Rio noticed Sebastian's frown. "What?"

"I don't know where we are or how to get back," Sebastian said.

"I'll show you." Rio pulled the map from her pocket, and black mud transferred from her fingers to the paper despite her efforts to keep the map clean. After being soaked, the folded edges tore, and the map ended up in several pieces. Rio gathered up the pieces and shoved them back into her pocket. She removed the compass and frowned. Like Sebastian's watch, the compass no longer worked. She put it back in her pocket.

"You have to be the one to go for help, Rio," Colby said.

They devised a quick plan of action. Colby put Sebastian's pack on her own back, and Rio sat on Sebastian's shoulders. He stood, wobbled, then regained his balance with Rio sitting on him. She touched the water ceiling with her fingertips, and the cool water swirled at her touch but didn't make a vortex.

"Move to the right," Rio said. After Sebastian shifted his feet, she extended her arms and used her hands to feel around the opening they'd fallen through. "There are rocks around the edge. I think I can get enough of a grip to hang on until I get my feet up to help me climb."

"How long can you hold your breath?" Colby asked.

"I guess we'll find out," Rio said. She relied mostly on her right hand for the best grip and used her weaker, left hand to feel around for the next hold. "No funnel yet, so that's good. Sebas, once I have a good grip, I'll start to pull myself up. You'll push from below to get me as high as you can."

"Got it," he said.

"I'll tap with my foot when I'm ready for you to push."

Sebastian nodded. "Yep."

Rio took several deep breaths, drawing in a final large breath and holding it. She bumped her foot against his hand as she pulled with her arms. Sebastian helped lift her body from his shoulders, and Rio closed her eyes as her head entered the water. She moved her left fingers along the rocks, and with a final push from below, Sebastian's hands left her boots as she climbed into the water column. She wedged the right toe of her boot into a small space between the jagged rocks. Rio worked her hands and feet as she climbed a few inches higher. Water swirled around her, slowly at first, then faster. The tornadic water stripped her off the rock wall and dumped her back into the cave.

She landed hard and cried out when her cast struck the rock slab again. The ground shuddered beneath her, but Rio didn't care.

Sebastian knelt beside her and placed his hand on her shoulder. "It was worth trying. Are you OK?"

Rio half-nodded and rolled to her rump.

"The ground shakes every time something comes through that funnel," Colby said.

Rio had recognized the trend too but didn't reply. She blinked back tears and tried not to panic. The throb in her arm worsened, as did the nausea. She and the twins were lost, and no one knew where to find them.

### 14

After he followed her out of the kitchen, Emma stormed outside to the barn. Since leaving the house, she'd only barked orders at Ethan and given him no answers to any of his questions. In the two months of knowing her, he had never seen her so irritable or heard her swear so often. She tossed two large, and full, backpacks down to him from the loft before summoning the horses in from the paddock. With expert efficiency she saddled the horses and passed one of the bridles to Ethan.

"Emma, please tell me what's wrong."

Instead of answering she slipped the bridle in her hands on the horse's head. She snatched the bridle from Ethan's idle hands and passed him the reins of the first horse. "Put the blue pack on, get on Otter, and take the path like you're headed home. I'll catch up."

He watched her for a moment, but she had nothing else to say as she inserted the second bridle's bit into Briga's mouth.

Ethan lifted the blue pack with a grunt. "What's in here?"

Answered with more silence, he shook his head and led Otter out of the barn. "She's lost her mind," he said to the horse. Out of balance with the pack strapped to his back, Ethan made it into the saddle on his second try. He hadn't ridden too far down Emma's long, dirt drive before she and her horse trotted past him. She wore a green pack, the same size as his, but she had a flat, black case lashed to the outside of her pack that he didn't notice before.

"What is that?"

"Keep up!" she said without turning in the saddle to look at him.

"She's gone mad. Chase the angry, insane woman on horseback. Brilliant idea." With a grumble, he urged his horse into a jarring trot. His focus shifted to maintaining his balance to stay on the horse, and he lost track of time and distance. Emma only slowed long enough to let the horses recover from the quickened pace before she sped up again.

She sent her horse forward up a long, sloping hill. She disappeared from Ethan's view when she topped the hill and started down the other side. The jostling gallop of his own horse made his legs ache. He leaned forward for more balance as his mount started up the hillside. By the time he reached the top, he eased the reins back and slowed the animal to a walk. Emma stood on the ground at the base of the hill by a stream and unfastened straps to remove her saddle. When he reached the bottom of the hill, she'd already removed Briga's bridle and turned the horse toward home. Once Ethan arrived, she took one of Otter's reins though he remained on the horse's back.

Emma began unfastening the bridle's buckles. "Hop off."

Ethan did as instructed, and he wobbled when his feet struck the ground. He rubbed his sore thighs. "How far did we ride?"

She didn't answer him, and his frustration grew. "What's in this pack? It's quite heavy." He stretched his back and fussed with the straps across his shoulders.

"Gear." Emma pushed Ethan aside with her shoulder to reach the saddle's girth strap to unfasten it. She pulled the saddle off the horse and left it on the ground.

"These packs were full and in the barn. You took a whole two seconds to grab them in the loft."

"I told Rio I would bring her here, and I had already packed for it." Emma worked while she spoke and removed Otter's bridle before starting the horse on the path to go back up the hill.

"Here? Where is here, and what kind of gear does 'here' require?"

She didn't answer him and instead adjusted the straps to the pack on her back.

"We rode them way out to wherever we are and you're sending them home?" Ethan asked, watching his horse leave.

Emma dropped the bridle on the ground next to the saddle. She continued past Ethan without stopping. "They've made this trip to the stream many times. They know the way back."

"Which means we're walking the rest of the way to where?"

"I'll explain things more when we get to the mountain. Keep up." Emma walked across a few rocks in the stream before stepping into the knee-deep flowing water to reach the other side.

"Mountain? You turn me into a pack mule with whatever crap is in this two-ton pack on my back, and now I'm to follow you to a bloody mountain?"

Emma broke into a jog to ascend the slope on the other side of the water. She wasn't waiting for him. "Stubborn woman," he said with a growl. His foot slipped off the first rock he tried to stand on. He shook his head with disgust and waded the rest of the way through the water.

Emma stopped part-way up the hill and glared at him. "You coming today?"

He snarled at her and started up the hill at a jog though his boots squished with each step. She turned her back to him again to resume her ascent, and he finally recognized the case strapped to her pack. "Are you carrying a _gun?_ "

"Rifle, yes," she said over her shoulder without slowing.

"Why do you need a gun?"

She didn't answer, and he sprinted to catch up.

### 15

Sebastian resumed pacing. "What now?"

Colby's wide eyes stared at Rio. "No one knows we're here."

"You can rest a little before trying to climb out again," Sebastian said to Rio.

Rio shook her head. "I can't climb or swim out."

"What do we do?" Colby asked.

Rio closed her eyes and drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. The twins' endless questions annoyed her. She didn't have any more answers than they did. She needed to keep herself and the twins from panicking.

She also needed to do something other than sit in the mud and sulk about their predicament. She stood and turned in a full circle, examining what she could see in the dark cave below the water ceiling. "Sebas, pull that little flashlight out."

Colby turned her back to him so he could access the pack. He removed the three-inch-long flashlight and re-zipped the pouch. Sebastian passed the item to Rio, and she pressed the button to turn it on.

The small light illuminated the cave, and Rio appreciated the added visibility. "There's a tunnel. Hopefully it comes out somewhere on the side of the mountain, and we can go home."

The twins answered her with shrugs, and they moved into the passage. The musty smell of the cave was minor compared to the odor in the tunnel. Rio wrinkled her nose against it, but the tunnel still stank. She passed her hand along the tunnel wall, which had turned from dirt to stone. The walls narrowed as they neared an area of gray light. Rio turned her body sideways to pass through the constriction.

"I don't like these close quarters," Colby said.

Colby's hand gripped a wad of the back of Rio's shirt, and Rio slowed to allow Colby time to move behind her and past the narrowing. "I think we're almost out," Rio said, though she wasn't certain. Sebastian followed his sister, and Rio turned the light off when she reached the mouth of the tunnel.

They were still on part of Burnt Mountain, but the scenery was different. The sky was overcast with dark, gray clouds that passed abnormally fast overhead. Many trees were snapped in half or toppled over, long dead and charred. Other trees stood like black, jagged teeth jutting up from the ground. What little grass existed was brown with small blades of scattered green as though it was still trying to recover from whatever devastation had been through the area.

Only a few scrawny, living trees poked up from the darkened ground. Rio flinched when large, black birds that had blended with the trees took flight above them. The birds were unlike any she'd seen before and had long, gangly wings like a bat. The half-bat-half-bird creatures didn't make a sound, and the area was eerily silent.

Rio's gaping mouth worked again. "This doesn't make sense. It looks like Burnt Mountain, but it's not."

"Are you sure this is the same mountain?" Sebastian asked.

Rio shrugged. "Uh, maybe?"

"Can you get us home from here?" Colby picked up a charred piece of wood. With a light squeeze, the wood crumbled in her palm.

"Maybe. I don't know. Is home even still there? Look at this place," Rio said with a wave of her arms. "It looks like it's been hit by every possible disaster plus a dragon or two."

"The clouds are strange. They zip by though there's no wind. Why?" Sebastian asked.

"What kind of fire would have to hit these trees to make them so crispy? A dragon would be cool. Rio, do you think there are dragons?" Colby asked.

"I don't know!" Rio tightened her hands into fists and forced herself to calm. "None of us have any answers. Can the two of you just shut up for two seconds and let me think. Please?"

The twins stared back at her, silent and surprised at her outburst.

"Let's make sure we're still on Burnt Mountain." Rio fished her compass from her back pocket, held it flat in her palm, and turned in a circle.

Colby walked to a piece of twisted rock stuck in the ground. "This is weird," she said as she passed her hand over the gnarled stone.

Rio shook the device and tried again. She hoped there was something inside the water cave that made the compass fail to work before, but the device was broken. "The needle isn't moving at all."

"Drowning it probably didn't help," Colby said.

Rio sighed and let Colby's remark slide. She watched her friend for a moment. Colby left the twisted rock and casually moved to stand beside her brother who still stared at the clouds overhead. Rio's brow creased with her friend's odd behavior until Rio spotted the thick-legged spider moving up the back of Sebastian's shirt. Without a word, Colby extended her hand and flicked the spider away before Sebastian noticed. She turned and grinned at Rio. When Rio opened her mouth to speak, Colby shook her head and placed her finger against her lips.

Rio put the compass back in her pocket and looked up the slope. "If we're still on the mountain, when we go uphill we'll reach the ledge overlooking the pond. If we—what is that noise?" Rio tilted her head as the rustling of leaves grew louder. Her eyes widened when the leaves coming down the slope toward them moved, making the entire mountainside appear to crawl. Winged insects burst from beneath the leaves, and the loud hum of the insects' flight unnerved Rio. Insects like this didn't exist in Maine.

The gray sky blackened and a clap of thunder erupted from the clouds. Lightning struck one of the upright tree remnants nearby, and it exploded. Colby cringed and covered her head with her arms.

Rio took Colby's arm and pushed her back toward the tunnel opening, but Sebastian blocked their path. His feet were planted, and he wouldn't move.

"Go in before we are struck by lightning!" Rio ducked when another bolt struck, closer this time, sending more ash, burning wood, and splintered bits of tree everywhere. She glanced around Sebastian's unmoving form and shuddered. Hundreds of palm-sized black spiders poured over and around the tunnel opening. She grabbed the back of his shirt and hauled on the pack on Colby's back with her other hand to make them move. "Run!"

Colby bolted, but Sebastian remained frozen. Rio shoved her shoulder into his side, almost knocking him over.

He stared back at her, his face pale with terror. "Did you see?"

"Yeah, I did." Rio turned his body away from the spiders and gave him a shove. "Follow your sister."

His long legs carried him down the hill, and Rio cowered as another bolt of lightning struck so close that the force of the tree exploding knocked her down. Disoriented for a moment and blinded by fresh pain in her casted arm, Rio staggered when she regained her feet. She stumbled with her first few steps before her balance returned, and she sprinted down the slope toward the twins. She didn't know where she was going or care as long as they escaped the sudden lightning storm and spiders.

### 16

Colby stumbled and almost fell before she reached a rock to sit and breathe. Sebastian lay on his back on the ground, his chest heaving for air, and Rio sank to her knees, clutching her side and wincing with pain. She drew in breaths so deep her chest hurt.

"Everyone ... still in one ... piece?" Colby asked between gasps.

Sebastian answered with a grunt, and Rio nodded.

They remained silent for several minutes while they rested. Rio watched the area behind them to see if more lightning, thunder, or spiders followed. Nothing else came after them, so she assumed they were safe. Aside from being soaked in a water funnel, ambushed by a host of spiders, chased by a terrible storm, and frightened, they were OK. For now.

Sebastian sat up and passed a trembling hand over his face.

Rio went to him and patted his shoulder before sitting next to him. "You weren't kidding about being afraid of spiders."

He shivered and shook his head. "I've never seen anything like that before. It was worse than a nightmare."

"If it makes you feel any better, they scared the crap out of me too," Rio said. Sebastian's mention of a nightmare reminded Rio of why she'd gone to Burnt Mountain today. She wondered if her mother had been through the water funnel herself. If so, her mother had survived and made it home. That meant there was a chance Rio could go home too.

Colby slid off her rock and sat on the other side of her brother. Colby pulled her knees close and wrapped her arms around her legs though she continued to tremble. "I want to go home. We need to go home now."

Though they were all terrified, Rio knew she needed to remain calm. "Colb, take the half a bottle of water out of the pack and pass it around."

"Apples too?" Colby asked as she shrugged out of the pack.

"No, save those and the remaining bottle of water." Rio removed the pieces of the map from her pocket and wished she taken a little more care with them before.

"Rationing? Now? You said you could get us home," Sebastian said.

"I can," Rio said. _I think,_ she thought. "In case we have any other mishaps or delays, we should save what we have left."

Sebastian took a sip of water from the bottle after Colby had her drink. He passed the bottle to Rio, and she resisted the urge to gulp the rest. After her sip Rio gave the bottle back and returned her attention to her mangled map.

"I think we're in this area." Rio pointed to a piece of the map. "I'm not sure though. The trees here are less fried. I can climb one for a better look, but I'm not keen on getting zapped by lightning or—" When Sebastian's eyes widened, she ended her sentence before mentioning spiders. "Let's go." Rio gathered her map, and led them through the forest at a sustainable pace rather than the wild flight they'd done earlier.

An hour later they stopped again. Rio shuffled the pieces of map until she found what she wanted. She turned in a circle, glancing at her surroundings and back down at the map.

"What's wrong? Are we lost?" Sebastian asked.

Rio frowned at the map in her hands. "No."

"If the human compass is lost, we're screwed," Colby said.

"I'm not lost. The pond we passed this morning, there," Rio said and pointed. The pond was now nothing more than a dried-up puddle of muck and dead reeds.

"There is no pond," Colby said.

Rio nodded.

"So the pond with frogs in it this morning is gone now? That fast? This is crazy!" Sebastian said.

"I know!" Despite her efforts at patience, Rio's voice was still sharp.

The trees were thicker and healthier looking where she'd stopped, if dull, limp tree limbs were considered healthy. Rio didn't know why everything appeared dead or dying. The plant life that _was_ living seemed to be barely alive. She still couldn't explain the charred area at the tunnel opening or the events that occurred when they were there.

She forced her racing mind to calm somewhat. Her decision to go to Burnt Mountain without her mother put Rio and her friends in this predicament. She would bring them home and take the blame for her poor choice. She just needed to find home first.

Heavy footfalls crunched over leaf litter and downed branches from trees on the other side of the dried-up pond. Rio motioned to the twins, and the trio backed away from the area to find a place to hide. Rio risked looking away from the approaching sound and realized they didn't have many options for hiding behind something.

"Shrubs," Colby said with a whisper and pointed.

They needed to sprint a hundred yards to reach the brush, making their own noise, but they had no choice. Rio motioned for the twins to go, and she followed. She hated how much racket they made in their dash to reach the brush and slide to a stop to crouch behind their meager cover.

Two animals emerged from the trees on the far end of the dried pond. They had large, powerful bodies with short, muscular limbs. Their bodies hunched forward, and their faces were flat with a slightly protruding snout. They walked on their hind limbs, and one of the creatures lifted its head to sniff the air. Their fur-covered bodies were adorned with pieces of leather like breastplates and some straps. They didn't carry weapons in their clawed hands, but Rio thought she spotted one of the straps shift like something was attached to the it as one of the creatures moved. The animal not sniffing the air dropped to all four limbs and sniffed the ground as it moved around the dried pond.

"They're getting closer," Colby said.

"Quiet," Rio said.

"Maybe they're friendly," Sebastian said.

"Are you serious?" Colby asked.

"Shut it," Rio said with a growl, ending the growing argument between the siblings.

Rio's moment of anger was replaced with dread. The two creatures arrived at the spot where Rio and the twins had stopped to look at the pond. The creatures made noises, communicating with each other, and both circled the area on all fours, sniffing the ground. Rio noticed the crossbows strapped to their backs and wished for a better place to hide. One of the creatures righted and made a loud call that was answered by another creature in the distance.

"They can smell us." Rio turned and realized Colby was no longer tucked behind her brother. "Where did she go?"

Sebastian turned and his sister was gone. He started to call out, then stopped when Rio squeezed his arm. Sebastian yanked his arm from her grip. "Where is she?"

"I don't know." Rio returned her attention to the creatures now making their way up toward the brush. "Colby must have bolted, and we need to go too," Rio said. When answered with silence, she turned and Sebastian was already gone.

The landscape behind her showed nothing but more of the ragged land they'd walked for the last hour. An ear-piercing howl echoed through the trees and Rio turned. The creatures galloped on all fours toward the brush she hid behind. The ground vibrated with the impact of their thundering run. Rio stumbled back from the shrubs and regained her feet. She turned to run and collided with a giant pile of brush and fell. She tried to scream, but the brush covered her mouth before dragging her beneath the ground.

### 17

After reaching the granite ledge, Emma paused to catch her breath. She'd raced up the final few hundred yards of the slope, and now that she was near the pond, her fear threatened to make her run away. Her hands shook, and with a curse, she released the final buckle to slip the pack from her back. She paced on the slab of rock, her eyes never leaving the ground as she examined the myriad of boot prints, scrapes, and marks in what little dirt and leaf litter covered the ledge. She was careful not to get too close to the edge of the cliff. Ethan arrived behind her at some point, and she flinched when he spoke.

"Emma, what's wrong?"

Her eyes flicked up from the ground to glance at him. "The kids were here."

"Where are they now? Should I call for them?"

His tone's sharpness grew with each question, and Emma knew she needed to show him the portal instead of trying to explain it. The hair on her neck prickled when she noticed four sets of boot prints instead of three. She tilted her head to stare at a different kind of mark in the finer silt leading from the top of the cliff to the drop-off. Her stomach turned when she recognized the impression in the dust. The crosshatched indentations and drag marks were from Rio's fiberglass cast followed by a smeared hand print. Emma closed her eyes.

"Emma!"

She flinched again and turned to face Ethan. "Don't call for them. They won't be able to answer."

"Meaning?"

"Remove your pack and do not get near the edge overlooking the pond."

He hesitated a moment before unbuckling his pack's straps.

As soon as he had it off, Emma tore into one of the side pouches. She thrust a long length of rope into his hands. "Unwind the rope, and don't tangle it. Can you do that and listen without asking questions?"

Ethan nodded.

"There is a portal of sorts inside the pond," Emma held up her finger to stop Ethan's forming question. "Listen." Emma knelt beside her pack and removed the black case lashed to it. She continued speaking while she worked. "Judging by the scrape marks in the dirt, the kids fell in. The tremors you didn't notice, they happen when something or someone passes through the portal. Fourteen years ago I came here with my sister and two other friends. We discovered the portal by accident. Jody, Colin, and I went in. Jody and I came out."

"Colin?"

"Jody's boyfriend and Nate's brother."

"He's still in there? Wherever _there_ is?"

"He died."

Ethan frowned with confusion. "In the portal?"

"No. He died in the place on the other side of the portal."

"And the friend that didn't go in?"

"Jeremy died some weeks later in a car accident. You suck at listening. No more questions! Beyond the water funnel, the portal, is a cave with breathable air that somehow doesn't fill with the water from the pond. So the kids haven't drowned, and with any luck they're still in the cave and didn't leave." _Unless the fire that followed us out is still burning,_ she thought. Emma shook her head to avoid thinking about the fire and what would have happened to Rio if the fire continued to burn when she passed through the portal.

Emma clicked open the case's latches, raised the lid, and removed the rifle with a shoulder strap attached.

Ethan unwound the last part of the rope. "And if they did leave the cave?"

"That's why I have the rifle."

"So the twins and Rio are in danger?"

Emma removed a small box of ammunition from another side pouch on her pack. "Yes," she said as she opened the box without looking at him. The brass tops of the small shells were lined in neat rows. She poured a few shells in her hand and deposited them inside her jeans pocket.

"Loose ammo in your pocket? Is that a good idea?"

"It'll have to do," Emma said. She removed a single shell from the box and placed it on the ground before closing and returning the box to her pack.

"I'm hoping your weaponry is more of an overreaction to whatever is causing the panic, but what kind of danger are we talking about that requires a gun?"

Emma sighed and resisted the urge to shout at him for asking another question.

Ethan left the rope to stand next to her where she still knelt on the ground. "Do you have any idea how insane this sounds?"

"Of course I do!" Emma took a deep breath to calm her anger and fear. She pulled the rifle's bolt back, slipped the shell into place, and pushed the bolt forward. She flipped the rifle's safety on and left the weapon on the ground. Emma took one end of the rope that Ethan unwound and tied it around the base of a large, immovable rock. She carried the remaining length of rope to the ledge. She shuddered to look out over the murky pond and left the rope on the ground to return to her pack.

She pulled her phone from her pocket, turned it off, and deposited it into a small plastic bag she'd pulled from another pocket on her pack. "Turn your phone off." Emma held the bag open for him.

"Shouldn't we call for help? The police or something?" Ethan asked, though he turned his phone off as instructed.

"You don't believe what I'm telling you, so why would the police?"

Ethan shrugged.

"I sent Shell a text before we left. She hadn't responded before we hit the dead zone. I can't call anyone else now. There isn't a signal out here," Emma said. Once Ethan placed his phone in the bag, she zipped it closed and stuffed it into her pack.

"What can Shell do?"

"Hopefully we won't need her, but if we do, she'll need to bring a miracle with her. Put your pack back on."

Emma turned at the sound of leaves crunching. A stranger in ragged clothes approached them. She snatched the rifle from the ground and stood.

### 18

The stranger slowed his approached and raised his hands. Emma kept the rifle low but within view. She wouldn't aim it at anyone or anything unless she intended to pull the trigger. She moved her thumb to the safety, ready to flip it off. The man spoke, but she didn't understand him. Ethan shifted to stand next to her, and she appreciated his presence.

"What language is that?" Emma asked Ethan.

"German."

The man continued to speak to them though they didn't reply.

"Uh, he says this is a bad plan to go in the water."

"What?" Emma's question was a combination of surprise that Ethan could understand the stranger and that the man knew her intentions.

"He said he wasn't fast enough to help her this time."

Emma slipped the rifle's strap over her shoulder so the weapon rested against her back. She shook her head and held her palm up to the stranger. He stopped speaking. She and the stranger watched each other for a moment. The man had long, bushy, gray hair that matched his unkempt beard. He wore tattered, thick clothing that was too big for his frame and hung from his shoulders and hips.

Finally things seemed to make more sense, and the stranger's presence and Ethan's translation explained why Emma saw a fourth pair of boot prints in the dirt. "He's the one that left the wool blanket when Rio fell from her bike."

The stranger nodded. "Rio."

Emma turned to Ethan. "Ask him if he's the one that found Rio on the road. I need to be sure."

"Emma, I haven't spoken German in years. I'm not certain I even understood him correctly."

Emma waited, and Ethan relented with a sigh. He spoke in short phrases, sometimes pausing to recall and say the right word. The stranger nodded.

"He says he was with her when she fell."

"Thank him for me," Emma said.

Ethan relayed the message.

"You were here when Rio and the twins went in the water?" Emma pointed to the area where the slab of rock ended and the drop-off began to the pond below. She resisted the desire to pace while waiting for Ethan to relay her question and the man to reply.

"He says he was gathering berries when he heard their voices. By the time he arrived he was too far away to stop their fall."

Emma cursed under her breath. The stranger told the truth. There was a clearing on the north side of Burnt Mountain where wild blueberries grew. He'd been so close to keeping the teens out of the other world. Her thoughts stopped when he spoke again.

Ethan replied and the stranger's brow crinkled.

The man pointed at Ethan and then Emma. " _Verheiratet?"_

"Uh, no. No, not the right word. Um." Ethan tapped his fingers against his forehead, searching for the correct word.

"What?" Emma asked.

Ethan muttered through some German vocabulary words before speaking louder. " _Verstehe._ That's the one I wanted."

"What's the other one mean?"

"Married. I accidentally told him we were married."

Emma swore. "We don't have time for this, Ethan."

"I'm doing my best!" Ethan exchanged a few more phrases with the stranger and frowned when he translated again. "He says the world below is too dangerous, and we shouldn't go."

"We're getting Rio and the twins back," Emma said and turned to leave the stranger. She stopped when she realized the man spoke more than a warning. "Wait. How does he know there is another world beyond the water? How does he know it's dangerous?" Emma directed her questions at Ethan before turning to the stranger. "You've been there."

The man nodded and took a step back.

Emma stepped forward. "So you understand at least a little English. What's your name?"

The man hesitated before answering. "Georg."

"Georg, can you help us get them back?"

He shook his head and took a few more steps back, muttering.

"He says danger. Death. Man-eating things ... Emma, my children are in a place with things that _eat_ people?" Ethan asked, grasping her by the upper arm.

Emma pulled her arm from his grip. "Hence the gun. Georg, please help us."

The stranger spoke again. Ethan continued to glare at Emma, so she nudged him and pointed to Georg. "What did he say?"

The men exchanged more conversation, and Georg turned away from them.

"He's leaving. Why?" Emma asked.

"He said there is more than one way in and more than one way out. The other exit he knows would require months of travel that none of us would survive."

"Fine," Emma said with a growl. She removed the rifle's strap from her shoulder to place the weapon on the ground. She put her pack on and fastened the buckles while Ethan picked up his pack. She placed the rifle's strap over her head and shoulder so she wouldn't lose the weapon in the water. Ethan arrived and she motioned for him to sit. Emma sat on the granite slab and swung her legs over the edge. She picked up the rope and took a deep breath.

"I'll drop this into the water, a funnel will form around it, and there will be a small earthquake," Emma said. His shrug told her he still didn't believe her. Emma tossed the coil of rope. After landing on the top of the lake, the rope swirled in a lazy arc as it soaked up water and began to sink. The pond's surface rippled and formed a funnel, taking the length of the rope deep into the pond. The ground trembled and the rope snapped taut with the pull from the open portal. Ethan cursed and moved to leave the ledge where he and Emma sat. She put her hand on his arm to keep him with her.

She waited another moment and her hope of seeing the teens climbing up the rope vanished. She wished she'd never mentioned Burnt Mountain to Rio. "They left the cave or they would be climbing out by now."

"So we go in?"

Emma nodded. "At least the fire is out since the rope didn't burn."

"What fire?"

"Uh, that will take too long to explain. We'll climb down the rope several feet. Take a breath before dropping into the water. The funnel will suck us the rest of the way in, though it'll spin us around in the process. We won't drown, and we'll land inside a cave where we can breathe. I promise."

Ethan swallowed hard and nodded. Emma wished she didn't have to expose him to the horrors of this other world, but she needed help to find Rio and the twins. Once they were through the portal, she planned to explain the other problems they'd face upon leaving the cave. She took a deep, shuddering breath before gripping the rope and swinging her body off the edge. She started her slide down and glanced up when Ethan joined her. She would have smiled with relief to have him with her, but she was taking him into a world of living nightmares.

Her feet were only inches above the funnel when she stopped. "Take a deep breath, and we let go on three." Emma didn't give him time to argue or stall. "One, two." She grabbed a handful of the bottom of his trouser leg. "Three," she said and released the rope.

He made a noise as he lost his grip, and Emma retained her hold on him, though the violent funnel thrashed them about. She kept the rifle tucked between her arm and her pack. Ethan tried to swim, but Emma held his leg and didn't fight the swirling water. They dropped into the cave, and Ethan landed on top of her.

### 19

Rio squirmed as soon as the brush man removed his hand from her mouth. "Let me go," she said, and he dropped her in the dirt. She couldn't see much inside the pit and flinched when her hand landed on someone's leg.

"It's just me," Colby said, touching Rio's arm.

Rio squinted in the darkness, and was relieved to find Sebastian with them. "You can't—" she said.

"Quiet!" the man said with a harsh whisper. He lifted a length of slender wood with a sharpened tip that had leaned against the dirt wall. "How many?"

"Two," Sebastian said.

"Three, at least. We saw two and heard one more," Colby said.

"Not a sound," the man said.

Rio waited and listened with the others in the cramped pit. She couldn't tell if the musty smell was from the dirt, the man, or both. Her eyes adjusted to the dim light, and she saw that Colby and Sebastian seemed as afraid as she was. The three teens huddled a little closer. The person that saved them from the creatures wasn't what she considered friendly, so Rio didn't know if she and her friends were safe.

Dirt trickled down on them as the heavy-footed creatures stomped around the area near them. After several minutes, the creatures didn't find the hatch, gave up their search, and left. The man, covered in a weave of brush and leaves, turned his attention back to his captives and stared at them in silence.

Rio opened her mouth to ask a question but closed it when the man motioned for her to remain quiet. He pulled the hood off his brush suit, but his eyes remained hidden by long hair and his face obscured by a full beard. He waited beneath the hatch with the spear still in his hand. Enough time passed for Rio's feet to go numb from sitting, and moisture from the dirt soaked into her jeans.

More time passed before the man's shoulders relaxed. "When we leave, stay behind me and do exactly as I say."

"How do we know you won't hurt us," Colby asked.

"You don't." He pushed the hatch open a crack and waited. No attack came so he opened it the rest of the way and leapt from the pit. He motioned for the teens to follow. The twins clambered out next, but Rio needed another moment for the intense sensation of pins and needles in her feet to lessen before she could walk.

"Hurry," he said.

"I'm trying," Rio said with a growl. "My feet went numb." She limped as she moved forward, and the man reached for her. Rio took his hand, and he pulled her out of the pit with little more than a grunt of effort. She wobbled when her tingling feet touched the ground, and the man lowered the hatch without a sound. He worked to cover the hatch with leaves before leaving the area.

"Do we follow him?" Sebastian asked.

"I don't want to stay in case those animals come back," Rio said.

"Agreed," Colby said.

They had to walk at a quicker than normal pace to keep up with the man's long strides. After leading them deeper into areas with more trees and brush, he stopped for a moment to survey the area. By the time they caught up to him, he was off again. They followed him for a while before he slowed and gave them his attention.

"Is the way out through the pond still open? Did you come down on a rope or anything?" he asked.

"No. We fell in by accident. How do you know about that place?" Rio asked.

"How do you think I got here?" he asked.

Given the bulk of wild hair around his face, Rio couldn't tell if the man frowned at her or not. She assumed by his tone that he did. "Who are you?"

The man snorted in response and left the teens. "We need to move. Stay with me and don't fall behind."

"Wait. We're going that way to my house. My mom is there," Rio said and pointed south.

He stopped, turned, and stomped back to Rio, towering over her. "Your house isn't there and neither is your mother. Those things you saw coming to capture you are though. If you go to where you think your house is, you're dead. Got it?" He didn't wait for her reply. " _Don't_ fall behind," he said and left them again.

"What do we do?" Colby asked.

"He's leaving us," Sebastian said.

Rio didn't want to deal with the creatures again, so she shrugged and jogged to catch up to the man. The twins joined, and the trio continued to follow the man and try to keep up with his pace.

### 20

Emma rolled Ethan off her and slipped the rifle off her shoulder to place it on the cave floor. Water dripped from her saturated body and drops echoed when they struck the cave floor. She paused to pass her hand over the swirled pattern of the hard, black material covering what used to be a dirt floor. She'd sworn she'd never come back to this place, and memories of Jody and Colin threatened to overwhelm her ability to think. Emma needed to keep moving. She pulled her pack off to remove some of the contents while Ethan stood with his mouth agape, shifting his wide-eyed gaze between the cave to the water ceiling.

"The water doesn't fall through the opening." Ethan shuddered and touched the rope as it dangled from the water ceiling. The funnel continued to churn, causing the rope to swirl in a mesmerizing circle. The ground trembled for a few seconds, and he froze. "Earthquake again."

"Yep," Emma said.

She pulled the items she wanted from her pack and zipped the pack closed again. She fastened a sheathed knife to her belt and passed a second one to Ethan. "Clip it to your pants or stick it in your pocket, I don't care which. Just keep it on you." Emma pulled the headlamp strap over her head and turned it on.

She checked the rifle, and it seemed fine after the dousing in the pond. Soaking it wasn't ideal, but the small, .22 caliber rifle was tough.

"Ethan," she said, when he hadn't moved or done anything with the knife other than hold it in his hand.

"It's real. Everything you said about the funnel and this place," he said.

Emma tightened her jaw. "There's more," she said, refusing to meet his eyes and instead busied herself with putting her pack back on.

"Like what?" He stepped closer to her and tilted his head to clear water from his ear. His shoes squished as he shifted his weight to wring excess water from the bottom of his shirt.

Emma picked up the rifle and slipped it back over her shoulder. "What things do Colby and Sebastian fear?"

"Uh, I don't know. Sebas doesn't like spiders."

"What else?"

Ethan thought for a moment and shook his head. "That's it for him. Colby doesn't like thunderstorms, mostly the thunder. Rumbling storms are fine, but the hard claps of thunder are what she hates. Why?"

Emma turned her head to illuminate the passage. "That way is a tunnel which will take us out of here. Once clear of the exit, fears come to life."

"They come to life? That isn't possible."

"Any less possible than passing through a water portal to a place that doesn't fill with water?" When he didn't answer, she continued. "Rio fears lightning. The twins and Rio likely saw everything they fear when they left the cave and entered the other, um, world."

"Spiders, thunder, and lightning don't sound so bad."

"Trust me, they are. What do you fear?"

"Nothing. Clowns are creepy, but I don't fear them."

"This place will exploit your fears. If you've got any kind of phobia, I need to know."

Ethan shook his head. "Nothing. What do you fear?"

"Wind."

"Wind?"

"Yes, Ethan. Wind."

"You fear wind, and you live in Maine?"

"Put the knife in your pocket or on your belt. We're leaving through the tunnel. It'll narrow up ahead, but we can still pass through." Emma slipped the rifle off her shoulder to hold it in front of her with the muzzle down and her thumb on the safety. She turned the headlamp off.

"I can't see a thing. Why turn it off?" Ethan asked.

"I don't want the light announcing we're in here to anything we might meet in the tunnel."

"Any—? Any _thing?"_

"I'll turn it back on if we get in trouble."

"It'll be a little late then."

He did have a point; she couldn't shoot in the dark. With a muttered curse, Emma turned the headlamp back on. She appreciated the silence and lack of questions from Ethan as they moved out of the cave and into the tunnel. Emma tried to forget Jody's echoing screams, but she shivered anyway. The liquid fire that had followed Emma and her sister into the cave many years ago had cooled and turned the cave floor into a hard, black surface. The fire had erupted from the skies and followed the sisters when they retreated into the cave after losing Colin. Emma shuddered again.

"You OK?" Ethan asked.

Emma didn't answer and continued walking. They passed through the narrowing and stood near the opening.

"Are we staying here now?"

Emma turned the headlamp off, removed it from her head, and slipped the device into her pocket. She sidled along the wall the last few steps to the opening and peeked out. "If any fears crop up, we'll need to run to escape them," Emma said.

"Why not just duck back into the tunnel?"

Though she and Jody escaped the flames by using their rope swing to leave, the fire consumed the rope behind them. The flames were unnatural and burned despite the water. That fire was why Kings Mountain was now called Burnt Mountain. "We'll be trapped, so we can't just hide in the cave and wait for things to pass. We might be able to climb out using the rope, but we'll still have to come back through the funnel for the children. Understand?"

Ethan shook his head, and Emma couldn't blame him.

"The first time I was here, Jody, Colin, and I started exploring. A freak storm arrived bringing lightning, severe wind, and coyotes or some other animal yipping in the distance."

"You said your fear was the wind."

"Yeah. The lightning was Jody's and the animals I assume were Colin's. I never got the chance to ask him. The wind brought down a lot of debris so we bolted."

"What happened after that? Where did you go?"

"Ethan, I can't explain everything to you now. We don't have time. I need you to do whatever I ask, please."

Ethan shrugged and nodded. "Everything looks so scorched. Why?"

"Jody."

"Her lightning did this?"

Emma tightened her jaw and didn't answer his question. "C'mon. We need to do a quick look around to figure out which way they went. The wind will pick up soon."

She surveyed the ground as she moved and picked up a fragment of smoldering wood. Jody's fire left the area charred, but the piece of wood in Emma's hand was still warm from a more recent fire. Emma's head came up when Ethan shouted.

"Sebas!"

"No! No, no, no. Shh! There are other creatures here we want to avoid," Emma said, keeping her voice low.

"The man-eating ones? I don't see anything else around here, Emma."

"I see plenty. Keep your voice down. Lightning hit this area several times. Some of the wood from the splintered trees is still smoldering. And this could be one of the stragglers from Sebastian's spiders," Emma said and flicked the golf ball-sized arachnid from the top of her boot.

"That spider could just live here. We're still in the forest. Granted it's one where the trees are a bit crispy, but still," Ethan said with a shrug.

Emma turned at a new, rustling sound. Rivulets of water flowed beneath the leaves and pooled around their feet. The water never did this before. She and Ethan were still wet and dripping from their trip through the funnel, but this was water from another source. Leaves near the top of the slope whipped into the air, and Emma groaned.

"What's wrong?"

"My wind is coming. I don't know what this water is though." Emma flexed her knee to lift one of her boots from the ever-growing puddle.

The clouds overhead darkened and swirled above them, and water now seeped up from the ground all around their feet. Several streams formed and merged to run down the slope, taking already downed trees and dead leaves with them.

"What's with the clouds and water?" Ethan shuffled his feet to avoid the water, but the puddles merged, following his movements.

"We have to go, Ethan. My fear of wind is of tornadoes in particular."

"Tornadoes? A tornado is _not_ the same thing as wind, Emma. That's a bloody big fact to omit!"

"So? What's with the freakin' water?"

"That could be, uh ..." Ethan said.

"What?" Emma's question was more of a demand.

"I was terrified in that funnel. I may have a new fear of drowning."

Emma swore. "Run!"

### 21

The long-legged man's jog made Rio's pace more like a run. Already tired and developing a cramp in her side, Rio tried to focus on breathing. Sebastian managed to get his pack open on Colby's back and remove the almost empty bottle of water. By the time they finished sipping from it while running and sloshing some of the contents out, the bottle was empty.

Rio dragged her hand across her chin to wipe the spilled water off and kept her feet moving. The man slowed to scan the area, and by the time they caught up, he was off again. Sebastian groaned and stuffed the empty bottle into the pack. Colby resumed her jog, and Sebastian trotted beside her while he zipped the pack closed again.

"I'm starving," Colby said.

"Me too," Sebastian said.

Rio only wanted to rest. The jarring motion of endless running after the brush man made her arm ache more. Her stomach grumbled with hunger, and Rio again turned her attention to controlling her breaths.

"We'll stop soon, right?" Colby asked.

"Yeah, sure," Sebastian said.

Rio doubted they would have a chance to rest until the man skidded to a halt. He crouched behind nearby rocks and waved at the teens to move behind him. They followed his silent instructions, and Rio struggled to control her ragged breathing. She wondered if whatever they hid from could hear her thunderous heartbeat pounding in her chest and ears. Rio shifted her body to look around the man's form, and saw a creature like they'd seen before prowling a nearby hill.

"How many?" she mouthed to the man when he turned back to push her body behind his again.

He held up one finger in reply.

"Run?" she asked without making a sound, and he shook his head. He stank of dirt, sweat, and something similar to a wet dog. She struggled to keep her nose from crinkling. They waited until the creature moved on. Rio had enough time to calm her heart rate before the man led them away from the rocks. They hiked along a ridge that Rio recognized as a stream from home except this area had deep gouges carved into the banks along what was large enough to be a river. The other difference was the wide and deep riverbed contained no water.

"Where are we?" Rio asked.

"Not in Maine," the man said.

"We have to be in Maine," Rio said, but the man didn't answer.

He brought them to a stop along the ridge, and Rio looked out over the cliff. The dizzying height caused her to step back. The man knelt, then swung his lower body over the cliff's edge to begin climbing down.

"What are you doing?" Colby asked.

The man continued his descent. "Don't fall behind."

The twins and Rio stared at each other with open mouths.

Rio raised her filthy cast. "He can't be serious. How do I climb with this thing?"

"He's crazy," Colby said.

Sebastian refused to follow the man. "No way. We can't follow him. We'll die."

Something howled in the distance that jarred them from their combined complaints.

"They have grunting bear-things _and_ wolves?" Colby asked.

"We're gonna die," Sebastian said. He urged his sister to go first, and with a deep frown, Colby sat on the ground, turned her body, and started down the cliff.

"Your turn," Sebastian said to Rio.

She shook her head. "I'll be much slower with this cast. Plus you can catch me if I fall." Rio half-smiled at her own joke though her stomach was in a knot. Once Sebastian started his descent, Rio sat. She shifted her legs out over the ledge and took a deep breath. She'd spent many hours climbing on rocks when out hiking, but her invincible attitude on those days failed to encourage her today. _"Plant three, move one. Easy. Except the cast is more like plant two and a half, move one. Ugh. You're over-thinking this, Rio."_

She repeated the "Plant three, move one" phrase her mother taught her years ago when they hiked a mountain in Acadia National Park. Rio used the reminder to make sure she had two feet and one hand planted before moving her other hand or had both hands and one foot secure before moving her other foot. With no ropes or harness to stop her fall, and since the cast limited her gripping ability, Rio used extra caution during her climb.

Without looking down at the riverbed, she kept her attention on where to put her feet and hands. She'd lost sight of the man and Colby. She glimpsed the top of Sebastian's head and whispered an apology to him when her foot slipped and sent a shower of pebbles down on him. She didn't know how far she needed to go, so she paused to find Sebastian again.

He was gone. Rio shifted her body to look down at the dried river. She didn't see a body in the ravine and wondered where the twins were. Her casted hand slipped from the rock she gripped, and her body swung away from the cliff face. She scrambled to pull herself back toward the rocks, but her body carried her farther away.

A hand shot out from a crack in the rocks, and she yelped with surprise. The man yanked her through the opening and dropped her on the cave floor.

"No time for sightseeing," he said with a growl before leaving her.

Rio rolled to her rump and trembled. The fall would have killed her had the man not caught her. The opening to the cave was much larger than a crack. The jagged rocks were at an angle, so the opening appeared smaller from the outside. She was glad to be off the cliff and scooted closer to the twins.

Colby examined her sore and bleeding hands while Sebastian rubbed at one of his eyes to remove an irritating piece of grit.

Rio checked her palms and noticed a few new, shallow scrapes. "How bad are your hands?" she asked Colby.

"Scraped but nothing terrible."

"Sorry about raking dirt down on you," Rio said to Sebastian.

"As long as you didn't do it on purpose," he said with a small smile. "I think I got the last of the dirt out now." He wiped his hand across his reddened right eye a final time before dropping his hands to his lap.

Rio took a moment to inspect where she and the twins had landed. The man had created a home out of his somewhat spacious hole in the cliff. He'd created a bench of sorts with stacked stones and a plank of rough-hewn wood. Other scavenged pieces of wood and logs created a rugged table. Pieces of dried plants tied with woven grasses and reeds hung from small sticks wedged into areas of dirt in the ceiling. Pieces of meat also dangled from the ceiling, and Rio cringed to imagine what the meat was in a former life.

The man moved around his home and removed his brush suit, exposing the skin on his upper body. He placed the suit on the ground near a small pile of hides. His leather trousers were battered and torn at the knees. She glanced at her friends after noticing dense scarring on the man's right arm and chest.

Seemingly oblivious to his visitors, he unfastened a hide belt from his waist and removed each chipped-stone knife. He placed the knives on the ground near his brush suit and arranged them in a straight line. Satisfied with their alignment, he moved to the table and picked up two stones. He struck them together over a small pile of dried and ground grasses. The man blew on the smoldering fire until it caught and a flame danced within the ball of grasses. He moved the small fire to a stone bowl where the flame burned brighter. He added more leafy material and few small pieces of wood.

He returned to the hides on the ground and pulled an animal-hide tunic over his head. Rio didn't want to stare, but her eyes remained fixed on the long scars on his back that disappeared when he pulled the crude shirt over them. Her eyes moved to his hairy face when he turned to face them.

"What are you doing over there?" he asked and motioned for them to sit on the bench by the table.

### 22

The lone creature sniffed the air, pausing to draw in a deep breath. New scents lingered in the air today that weren't present before. Clan elders spoke of other lands, ripe with meat and new prey. They spoke of two-legged creatures called humans, but Ilnin had never seen those lands or prey. He never believed their stories until he saw and smelled a human for the first time many seasons ago.

That day he discovered three of them, two females and a male.

Their thin, weak, mostly hairless forms repulsed him, but their scents were intoxicating. Thinking of them caused thick beads of saliva to form in his mouth and drip from his ragged rows of sharp teeth. He'd caught one of the females by the foot and almost had her flesh in his mouth when the male attacked. Ilnin retaliated by slashing the man with his claws and biting him. He still remembered the taste of the man's blood as he passed his black tongue over his teeth. After his attack, the weather turned to something Ilnin had never seen prior to or since that day. Fire rained from the skies above and scorched the land with flames that burned for many days after it began. He gained new scars from the burns he received during the event. The females disappeared, seemingly burned in the flowing fire that followed them into a dead-end tunnel.

The man, though wounded and also burned in the fire, lived. Ilnin's Tuars captured him, but the imprisonment was short-lived. The rival Tuar clan in the region attacked Ilnin's stronghold, and the man escaped. Ilnin hunted for him almost every day since.

The human had learned to conceal his scent and remained in the area. Ilnin didn't understand why the man didn't flee to another region, but the Tuar leader also didn't care. The man's foolishness in remaining would eventually get him captured. Weeks might pass before Ilnin picked up his prey's scent, which confirmed the man still lived. When any of his clansmen inexplicably disappeared, Ilnin always suspected the man killed them.

The only time Ilnin didn't search for his prey was when he led his Tuars to attack the enemy. His desire to consume human flesh was equaled by his need to eliminate any rival. Only the strongest Tuar was allowed to lead. He'd conquered his competitors for title of clan leader in battles to the death. He held his title longer than any other before him, and he continued to mercilessly kill any that opposed his rule.

Today Ilnin hunted for the man again. Always ignoring the dangers of hunting alone, he preferred to search for the man without assistance. Despite previous failures to capture the man, Ilnin deemed his time for success near. A sudden storm today caused him to lose valuable hunting time, but the weather also brought new smells to Ilnin's snout. More humans were in his territory, and he would find them. His clansmen had orders to bring any human caught back to their compound. With any luck, Ilnin would be consuming human flesh in the days to come.

A second bout of turbulent weather developed in the distance, and Ilnin opted to end his search today. He sniffed deeply once more, losing the new scents to the sudden and increasing winds. Such weather could escalate without warning. With a growl he retreated from the storm to return home. At nightfall the wolves prowled, and Tuars became the hunted.

### 23

Emma pulled on Ethan's arm to make him move. Their feet sloshed through the deepening water until they reached the end of where it pooled. On drier land they moved faster, but the wind whipped leaves and tree fragments into the air. Water poured down the slope after them.

"Drowning. You said you didn't have any fears." Emma gave him a sideways glance.

"Drowning shot to the top of the list when I got sucked into that vortex. You held on to me, so I couldn't swim out. So yeah, drowning!"

Emma dared a look behind and stumbled. Ethan caught her pack and jerked her upright again. She regained her balance, and they continued their haphazard flight through what was left of the charred, wooded area. Shards of remnant tree stumps protruded from the ground. A fall on one of them would be lethal, and Ethan had kept her from landing on one.

The water increased in volume, creating a deafening roar behind them as the flood pursued them. More debris lifted into the air with the violent winds, and they shielded their faces against the flying objects with their arms.

"This way," Emma said, altering her course.

Ethan was slow to respond but caught up to her with long strides.

Emma forced her mind to focus on their escape rather than the noise of the wind and water. They continued their escape, panting with the prolonged sprint, but if either of them slowed, they would be caught by the tornado, flash flood, or both. Emma led Ethan to the edge of a cliff overlooking a deep gorge. Emma knew of only one chance to escape the storm, and she hoped they wouldn't fall to their deaths in the process.

"See the narrowing over the ravine ahead? We're jumping from there to the other side," Emma said, shouting over the storm's noise. He answered her, but she didn't understand what he said. She flicked her eyes in his direction, and he was focused on the nearing area where they needed to leap.

They jumped at the same time and passed over the gorge. Ethan landed hard, slamming his knees and hands on the slab of granite. Emma's fell short, and her feet failed to reach the other side. Her arms and chest struck the rocks with her lower body dangling over the cliff's edge. The rifle skittered along the ledge when it slipped from her hand. She clawed at the granite for anything to grip and scrambled with her feet to gain any kind of footing to push herself up.

"Ethan!"

He lunged across the slab and caught Emma's hand, stopping her fall to the jagged rocks below. The rush of water that followed them burst over the opposite cliff and filled the crevasse with a thunderous waterfall. The resulting spray of water was whipped into the air by the tornado still bearing down on them.

Ethan pulled her from the cliff's edge and back to her feet.

"That way," Emma said and waved her hand in the general direction they needed to go. After fearing she would fall to her death, her legs refused to regain their strength. Ethan kept her upright, and she grabbed the rifle as he led her away from the ravine toward an area with dirt and grass-covered boulders. She appreciated his help, and used the rifle to indicate where to go. "There. Get in," she said when they neared a hole between two boulders. She shoved him in and crammed herself in behind him.

They pushed deeper into the opening and waited. The tornado's deafening roar passed over the area, filling the hole with dust. Emma and Ethan huddled closer, covering their faces while gasping for air and coughing.

The winds decreased as the tornado moved on, and Emma trembled and clung to Ethan until the wind stopped. The dust settled, and Emma wiped debris from her face with a shaky hand.

"Are we still alive?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Ethan blinked to clear his vision and spit debris from his mouth.

Emma coughed, and each attempt to wipe dirt from her face resulted in more smears. Between the water and dust, she was coated in a mixed layer of mud, leaves, and bits of black tree parts.

"How did you know about the narrowing where we could jump and this place?"

"Last time I was here, I was lucky enough to make it across the ravine and find this hole. I made the jump fine before though."

"Did you have a giant pack attached to you then?"

Emma smiled a little at his question, given his prior complaints about the packs. "No," she said and met his eyes. "You saved my life at least twice in an hour. Thank you."

"I think we're even."

"Ethan, the longer we're here, the worse things will be."

"We'll sort it out as we go. How do we find the kids?"

They wouldn't find them by continuing to hide in the hole. Emma backed out of the cleft, and Ethan followed. She started to dust herself off then decided it was a futile exercise.

"Rio will try to head for the house, so we'll go in that direction too. I need more gear from the packs before we head out," Emma said.

Ethan lingered just inside the opening between the two boulders.

Emma noticed her friend's delay. "Ethan, the land isn't sensitive here like near the portal. Your fear is flowing in the bottom of the crevasse, and my tornado is off destroying another part of the area or dissipated. It's safe to come out."

Ethan hesitated another moment before exiting. "You speak as if this place feels things."

"It does. How do you explain our worst fears coming alive simultaneously? There's something about this place, this world, like it knows things. It feels." Emma wiped mud off the rifle, slid the bolt open, and removed the shell. She blew air into the slide before replacing the shell and sliding the bolt closed again. "I don't know how else to explain it."

She left the shelter area and returned to the edge of the cliff. A small trickle of water dripped from the opposite side of the cliff, no longer a rushing waterfall. She slipped the rifle's strap over her shoulder and gazed down into the gorge that almost swallowed her. The rocks below were still wet, but the water that had filled the riverbed below was gone.

She glanced away from the crevasse when Ethan's wet and filth-covered pack landed on the ground. Her eyes returned to the gorge.

"Let me guess. We need to be on the other side, yes?" he asked.

She nodded though she still stared at the riverbed. As she turned to speak to him, she gasped. Two creatures had soundlessly captured Ethan and held him with powerful, clawed hands. One of the creature's had a hand over Ethan's mouth, and the man's eyes were widened with fear. He struggled against their grip, but he couldn't break free.

A third creature removed a crossbow from its back and pointed it at Emma. She refused to run. She whipped the rifle from her shoulder and flipped the safety off as she raised her weapon. Her boot slid on the small rocks at the cliff's edge when she stepped forward with the rifle, and the creature fired. Her body shifted with the slip, and she cried out when fiery pain erupted in her side. She tried to straighten to shoot the creature, but the weight of her pack pulled her off balance and over the cliff.

Ethan thrashed against his captors as he watched her fall into the ravine. He managed to free himself and lunge toward the spot where she disappeared. Powerful hands trapped him again, pinning him to the ground. He called for Emma, but she didn't reply. The creature that fired on her approached the edge, looked into the ravine, then returned to Ethan. He said something Ethan didn't understand, and the creature grinned, revealing gnarled rows of sharp teeth. His captors dragged Ethan with them despite his continued struggling and shouts for Emma.

### 24

Rio and the twins squeezed together on the small bench by the makeshift table. They leaned back when the man approached, towering over them.

"The, uh, dried meat and stuff hanging from your ceiling, do you eat that?" Colby asked.

The man stared down at her. "Yes."

"What kind of meat is it?" Colby asked.

"You don't want to know."

"Are you going to eat us?" Sebastian asked.

"Nah. Too scrawny." He untied a piece of meat from one of the braided grasses. He gnawed off a bite and used the remaining strip of meat as a pointer. "What do you have in your pack? Do you have food and water?"

"A little," Rio said.

Colby shrugged out of the pack, and she and Rio worked together to empty the contents. Rio placed the map and compass from her pocket on the table.

"Eat the food and drink the water. We'll get more water tomorrow." The man took another bite of his meat and moved to the cave's entrance.

Rio abandoned the pack to join him. Winds howled through the gorge, and a flood created a torrent of rapids in the previously dried riverbed. "Whoa."

Minutes later the worst of the flooding diminished as did the wind. "No rain," the man said. He shifted his body and bumped into Rio. He scowled and left her.

Rio followed in his wake. "Wait. What's wrong?"

He ignored her questions, shoved the last of the meat into his mouth, and lifted Sebastian's phone from the table.

"I doubt it will work since it was drenched," Sebastian said.

The man grunted and tossed the phone back to the table. He picked up Rio's compass.

"It doesn't work," Rio said.

He tapped the compass with a finger while he chewed, and he stared at the wall instead of looking at the device in his hand.

Rio wouldn't give up. "What's wrong?"

"No one knows you're here?" he asked.

"No," Rio said.

"No one followed you?"

"No. We, I, didn't tell anyone where we were going today. Why?"

The man continued to stand and stare at the wall while tapping the compass. "That's the second time today the weather has been weird."

"Do you think someone else is here?" Rio asked. Colby passed her an apple, and Rio's stomach grumbled.

"Doesn't matter. He's on his own for the night. Those creatures you saw aren't the only things that hunt people."

Rio took a large and noisy bite from her apple, and the man turned. His eyes followed the piece of fruit in her hand. She pushed the food into her cheek to speak. "You want it?" she asked, holding it out.

He dropped the compass to the table and cupped his hands around the apple. He brought the fruit to his nose, sniffed, and took a bite. He closed his eyes as he chewed.

"I don't think he's giving it back," Colby said. She gave Rio the last bite of her granola bar, and Sebastian broke a piece from his own bar to give to her too.

The man sat on his stack of pelts and ate the fruit until only the stem and seeds remained, which he kept in his palm.

"We only have one apple left and my funky-looking apple core from earlier today. Think he wants those?" Sebastian asked Rio and Colby with a whisper.

"Eat the other apple between the three of you. Save both the cores. We may be able to plant the seeds," the man said.

Rio wasn't sure how he heard Sebastian's hushed question, but she opted to not ask.

"How long have you been here?" Colby asked.

The man shrugged. "A long time."

"How did you know where to find us?" Colby asked.

"I didn't. I was out hunting when you showed up, making a tremendous amount of noise. I slipped into my pit, and you almost stepped on it when you hid by the brush. You'll need to learn to move more quietly now."

Rio frowned. "We're not staying here. We'll go home tomorrow."

"I used to think that too. _Tomorrow_ will be the day I find my way out of this hell, but I'm still here," the man said with a wave of his hand.

"What's your name?" Rio asked.

He remained silent for a moment before speaking. "Colin."

"Thank you for getting us away from those creatures, Colin. This is Colby and Sebas. I'm Rio."

"You mentioned your mother earlier. Are you siblings?"

"No. The twins are visiting from England with their father for summer break," Rio said.

"Do you live at the old Leeds' farm?" Colin asked.

Rio shook her head. "I don't know of a farm by that name. Did you used to live here? I mean there, before you were here? Ugh. None of that came out right."

"Where were you when you found the way to this place?" Colin asked.

"Burnt Mountain," Sebastian said.

Colin shook his head. "What town?"

"Dublin," Colby said.

Colin sat up straighter. "You _were_ talking about the Leeds' farm."

"I don't know that farm," Rio said. The confusion of this place and speaking to the man irritated her. "We were on Burnt Mountain and fell into a pond that made a funnel and sucked us in. Then there was a little earthquake, but it didn't last long."

"Kings Mountain," Colin said.

"Yes, it used to be called Kings before it burned. The locals call it Burnt Mountain now," Rio said.

"Where you live is an old farm house that was built by Andrew Leeds. He worked that land until he sold it to the Kaisers," Colin said.

Rio hadn't expected the history lesson on the house where she lived. "Oh."

Colin's attention seemed focused on his apple seeds again.

The twins and Rio ate the remaining apple. Rio's thoughts wandered to her mother, and she wished she hadn't been so obnoxious this morning, banging the cast on the counter then tearing out of the house. She wanted to go home.

After several minutes of silence, Colin spoke again. "After you passed through the pond's portal, what did you see when you came out of the tunnel? What fears manifested?"

"Fears manif—wait. Is _that_ what happened? Our fears came to _life?_ " Rio asked.

"Real gem of a place, ain't it? What greeted you?"

"Spiders," Sebastian said and shivered. "Tons of them."

"Lots of thunder and lightning," Colby said.

"Lightning. Who's fear was that?" Colin asked.

"Mine," Rio said. "Colby's was the thunder."

"Interesting. Learn to control your fears. There are other places here that are just as sensitive as the site you came through. If you get near those spots, you'll see your fears again if you don't overcome them. You may not be blessed with beginner's luck next time."

"So if we can control our fears, we can go back to that place and not create spiders and a storm?" Rio asked.

"Yes," Colin said.

"So you've mastered yours?" Rio asked.

"More or less," Colin said with a shrug.

"What fears do you or did you see when you're near those places?" Sebastian asked.

"Get some sleep," Colin said. He gave them each a pelt from his pile and left them to sit near the cave's entrance.

Rio wrinkled her nose at the smell of the hide, but it was warm and soft. She wrapped it around her and lay on the floor next to the twins. Colby's breathing soon changed to long, deep breaths of sound sleep. Sebastian squirmed a few times before drifting off too. Rio watched the man's shadow, wishing he would tell them more about this place that looked like Maine but still seemed so far from home. Rio refused to live here; she would go home. She thought of another question she wanted to ask him, but her limbs were too tired and heavy to go to him. She decided the question could wait and closed her eyes. She didn't know her question was the key to leaving this world.

### 25

During the fall, Emma had scrambled to grab anything to prevent her death. In the process she dropped the rifle, hit her head on a rock, fell some more, struck her left side against a jagged stone, and hit her head a second time when she landed on another ledge. With the final blow, unconsciousness consumed her. When Emma later stirred, her head throbbed. She opened her eyes, and her right eye was obscured with blood. She wiped at it with her hand and groaned, as the pounding in her head worsened with the slightest movement. She shifted her body, and the weight of the pack reminded her that she was still attached to it. Her feet and legs worked, but her left arm didn't move. It was pinned at an awkward angle between her body and the narrow piece of rock she'd landed on. The rifle was also beneath her body, poking into her flank, and her left side burned.

The pain helped clear her mind, and she worked her left arm free. Emma rested a moment after the motion to wait for the worst of the thumping sensation in her head to ease. The creatures had Ethan. She'd lost her footing, and the slip turned her body, which was the reason the bolt's tip sliced her side instead of impaling her. Emma pushed her body upright and leaned against the cliff wall behind her. She didn't have much room to move on the rocky outcrop that stopped her fall. She picked at her torn, bloodstained shirt, lifting it to check her side. The tank top beneath the shirt was tucked into her jeans and stuck to her skin. She bit her lip and winced as she pulled the fabric free.

A ragged, dark laceration just above her belt still oozed blood. The dark bruising around the area was tender to touch, and ached with each breath. Emma leaned her head back against the top of the pack and sighed. Her eyes wandered up at least ten feet of the rock face above, full of jaggedness she didn't want to climb.

"Can't drop the pack," she said with a mutter.

It contained too many supplies she needed, one of them being the first aid kit. She also needed the extra ammunition in the side pouch to go after Ethan. She couldn't help him or herself until she got off the cliff. She slipped the rifle strap over her shoulder and tried to think of a way to escape her current predicament. She decided the climb would be easier without the extra weight. Emma planned to use her last length of rope to tie to the pack, throw the other end of the rope up to the top of the cliff, leave the pack on her piece of rock, climb up, then haul the gear up.

"Worst plan ever."

There were lots of ways her plan could go wrong, but it was the only idea she had. Emma tried to swallow, and her throat ached with dryness. She reached behind her to remove a water bottle from the side of the pack, and the narrow rock beneath her shifted, releasing a shower of pebbles and dirt.

She swore and twisted her body to cling to the rock face. The ledge she sat on fell away, bouncing off lower parts of the cliff before crashing to the bottom of the deep ravine. She found a place for her feet and clung to the side of the rock wall. She would have found the image of her resembling a love-struck starfish laughable under different circumstances.

With no other options, she began the slow, painful climb.

After reaching the top and scrambling away from the edge, Emma rolled to her side and gasped for air. Her arms and legs burned, and the throbbing headache had no mercy. Her hands trembled with spasms in her bloodied fingers and palms. She wanted to sleep or at least lie still for a while, but she forced herself upright. She spotted Ethan's pack on the ground without a body beside it. The creatures didn't kill him and leave his corpse, but the marks in the dirt showed they dragged him away.

_Or they did kill him and took his body_ , Emma thought and then dismissed the depressing idea. She needed to believe he was still alive.

Wincing and cursing under her breath, Emma turned her upper body and removed her pack. She dropped it on the ground with the rifle and knelt. She drank deeply from her water bottle first, shoved a handful of granola in her mouth, and chewed while she continued digging. She removed a zippered pouch and pulled contents from it. She squeezed a line of antibiotic ointment out of tube on the top of a gauze pad and lifted her shirt with her other hand. She stuck the haphazard dressing to the wound then removed a roll of tape from her first aid pouch. Emma used her teeth to tear off pieces of tape that she placed on the gauze and her skin.

"Good enough."

After re-stowing the first aid kit, she mentally went through the list of items in both packs on the ground. Unwilling to part with anything, she lashed Ethan's pack on top of hers to form a T. She slid her arms into the straps and picked up the rifle. She remained on her knees for another moment, thinking, but no alternative ideas came to her mind.

"This is gonna suck."

Emma planted the rifle's stock against the ground and used the weapon to help her stand with the added weight on her back. Once standing she waited until the headache and pain in her side eased again. She wouldn't be fast while carrying the extra gear, but she had plenty of supplies she might need once she found Ethan or the children.

What light was left in the day began to fade. Emma wanted to find Rio and the twins first, but she didn't know where they might be. She could at least try to follow the scrapes in the dirt to Ethan. With her decision made, she followed Ethan's trail.

### 26

Colin had long ago lost track of how many nights he sat in the opening to his shelter shortly after discovering it and moving in. The crack in the side of the ravine was difficult to access, which made it the perfect place to spend time safe from dangerous creatures and sheltered from this world's storms. "Home," he said with a mutter.

His memories had faded, and he could only recall some of his brother's features. Colin hadn't seen his own reflection since arriving in this world. For a while he remembered Jody's face, but time eroded her image too.

His attention turned to the sleeping teens. Seeing Rio brought back a flood of memories. Jody and Emma bore a strong resemblance to each other, and Rio was certainly a Kaiser too. He always wondered if he would recognize Emma or Jody if he ever saw them again. Rio's presence answered that question. He wanted more information about Dublin from Rio, but part of him dreaded the answers.

So much time has passed, I don't know which friends or family might still be alive or dead.

Colin's attention returned to the dark night, and he gazed down into the ravine's blackness. If he had to keep three young teens alive in this world, he had more pressing things to worry about than what was happening in Dublin's small community. His head turned with the sound of a gasp, and he saw Rio sit up. He still sometimes dreamed of being home, and upon wakening, he found himself still stuck in this world. Those were the dreams he hated the most.

She added a few twigs to the small fire first before approaching him. He didn't speak when she arrived and sat beside him. She shivered in the cold air and rubbed her bare arms to warm them.

After several minutes of silence, she spoke. "Where did that flood come from?"

"Someone else may be here."

"Mom knows Burnt Mountain, but she doesn't know that's where we hiked today. We fell into the pond by accident. Colb slipped, Sebas caught her, but he started sliding too. I grabbed Sebas and had them until I lost my grip, and we went in."

"This place has a way of sucking you into it whether you want to enter or not."

Rio's brow crinkled and she turned her eyes to him. "What does that mean?"

Colin shook his head and didn't answer. He looked at her black and muddied cast's tattered edges. "The cast?"

"Wiped out on my bike a few weeks ago."

"How did you come to live at the farm bought by the Kaisers?"

"A great-uncle I met only once before he died gave it to Mom."

He couldn't contain his curiosity any longer. "What's your mother's name?"

"Emma."

"Kaiser?" Colin asked, and Rio nodded.

Colin shifted his seat and scratched at his bushy beard. Rio was Emma's daughter and Jody's niece. Thoughts of the sisters made him smile, but he resisted asking about Jody. "You're frowning. What's wrong?"

"Mom. I'm worried about her."

" _Her?_ I'm thinking she's the one worrying since you didn't make it home today."

"Something seems off. I can't explain it. I mean, I realize I'm in danger here, and if I ever make it back home, I'll be grounded for eternity, but I'm more worried about Mom. I feel like she's in trouble. Right before I woke up I had a dream that she was sick and bleeding."

"Good thing it was just a dream," Colin said, unable to think of anything else to tell her. If by some chance Emma did return to this world and was sick or injured, her odds of surviving one night were minimal. Tomorrow he planned to do some searching and go back to the portal if necessary. Rio asked him something he didn't hear, since he was lost in his thoughts. "Huh?"

"What are the black bird-looking things? They have wings that are too long for their bodies, almost like bat wings."

"I've never seen one up close, but they tend to hang around. They don't seem to cause any trouble though."

"Do you eat them? Is that bird meat you have tied to the ceiling?"

"No."

She gasped and scooted closer to him. Rio pointed across the ravine. "What's that?"

"Good eyes," he said. "Our wolves are the size of small horses, and they can be quite nasty."

"Horse-sized wolves?"

"Smaller than a horse. Pony is more like it. They're fast, powerful, and some have terrible temperaments."

"What about the other animals that look like bears?"

"Wolves will eat them given the chance. They call themselves Tuars."

"They _speak?"_

"Yep. I've been able to learn a little of their language. There are two clans here. One has light fur, the other is dark. They're always fighting with each other, though the darker clan is often outnumbered."

"How did you learn their language?"

"Sneaking around, hiding, and trying to not get captured again."

"Again?"

Colin frowned. "Ever run out of questions, kid?"

Rio shook her head.

"Great. Try to go back to sleep," he said, dismissing her company for the night.

"Will you sleep?"

"Yes, later. Go to bed."

"Thanks for helping us," Rio said before standing. She shivered again and returned to the fire. She warmed her hands for a minute, removed her boots, then settled down beside her friends.

He watched her for a moment before returning his gaze to the area around the ravine. The only sound from within the cave was the crackling of the fire as it reduced the small sticks to feathery ash.

### 27

Unsure how far she'd gone or for how long, Emma stopped. She removed the headlamp from her pocket and risked turning it on. She passed the beam over the ground and blinked back tears of fatigue, frustration, and defeat. Ethan's drag marks disappeared long ago. Emma dropped to her knees, and removed the packs from her back. She let them fall and placed the rifle on the ground. Her side burned and had started bleeding again. She didn't know where she was, where she was going, or what she was going to do. Panic played at the edge of her mind, threatening her resolve to keep going. She needed rest and decided to sleep for only an hour or so before continuing her search. Emma shifted her body to lie on the ground when she heard a shout of pain.

She flicked the light off and stuffed it back into her pocket. Emma picked up the rifle and crept through the darkness toward the shout. She neared a hill and scurried up the slope. Once near the top, she crawled to the crest. On the other side of the hill, a small fire illuminated three beasts surrounding Ethan. The two that had attacked her and Ethan near the ravine picked up another friend at some point. Two of the creatures argued while a third, the one that had tried to kill her, held a knife. Her friend's captor dragged the blade across Ethan's thigh, making another slice into his flesh and causing him to cry out again.

Emma cursed the creature's existence and shouldered her weapon. She flicked the safety off with her thumb and fired. The bullet struck the animal in the back of the leg and it howled, whirling around to find its attacker. She swore under her breath for her shoddy accuracy. Her aim would have to be a lot better. The creature fired its crossbow, but the bolt went well wide of her position.

Grateful the small rifle only made a small _crack_ when fired, Emma grinned. If she could stay hidden and obscure the muzzle flash, she might be able to kill the trio without being discovered.

The other two creatures scrambled to arm themselves and scanned the area, searching for something to kill. Emma shifted the rifle in her shaking hands and let out a long, slow breath before squeezing the trigger. Her second shot struck Ethan's torturer in the chest. The animal released a gurgled roar but still didn't go down. Black blood spilled from the wound, and Emma reloaded and aimed again. Her third shot ripped a hole through her enemy's neck, and it fell, moving no more. She was aiming for the center of its chest, but the throat would do.

She needed to kill the other two with one shot to the head or neck, neither being easy targets with trembling hands. A crossbow bolt passed over her position, much closer this time, so she scrambled along the ground to find a new place. She stopped behind a ragged stump of a tree and dropped to one knee. She tried to calm her mind, willing her hands to be steady. Emma raised the rifle to her shoulder and exhaled as she squeezed the trigger. Her second target fell with the lethal shot. The remaining creature was quick to locate her position, and a bolt struck the side of the tree stump. After the closeness and accuracy of the attack, she swore and stumbled back down the hill.

She moved 75 yards around the base then climbed back up to peek over the ridge. She flattened her body against the ground and lifted her head only high enough to see down the other side, where Ethan struggled against the bindings holding his hands and feet. He squirmed on the ground toward his knife in the dirt. His face bore marks that the creatures had used him for a punching bag.

The remaining creature was gone, and she refused to believe it simply ran away. She decided to find a new place to hide and search for her target. She slid back down the slope a few inches and rolled to her feet. A heavy foot stomped into the ground beside her. She glimpsed the crossbow pointed at her head and swung her arm up. The weapon released and the bolt pierced the ground next to her, creating a puff of dust and dead leaves. Without enough room to bring her rifle up, Emma scrambled backwards up the hill. The creature's hand clamped over her throat. Its long fingers squeezed her airway closed, and its sharp claws encircled the back of her neck. It swatted the weapon out of her hand and kept her pinned to the ground.

The creature could have killed her in an instant, but it opted to torment her instead. Its black eyes glowed yellow, and Emma kicked and struggled more. These were the eyes that haunted her dreams. Her lungs burned, and Emma's efforts to claw and pry at the creature's hand were useless. She reached for the knife clipped to her belt, but the creature trapped her hand between its knee and the ground. In her final seconds of flailing, her other hand brushed against the end of the crossbow bolt stuck in the ground. She jerked the bolt free, flipped the pointed end upright, and thrust it upward. The creature's grip loosened when it howled with pain.

Emma gasped for air and yanked the bolt free of her attacker's chest. She scrambled to escape the creature, but wounded and angered, it lunged for her again. She stabbed the bolt into the creature's neck as they fell down the other side of the hill, tumbling to the bottom. She sprawled face down when she finally came to a stop, and the creature lay next to her with black blood draining from its neck and chest, soaking the dirt.

"Emma!"

She flinched upon hearing her name, and she resisted losing consciousness. The warmth of the fire tempted her to keep her eyes closed. Hands, smaller than those of the creatures, grabbed her arms, and Emma allowed Ethan to help her sit up. He greeted her with a crushing embrace, and she cried out in pain. She pushed him away and grimaced. With a groan, she held her hand to the wound on her side.

"Sorry. I'm sorry. You look awful," he said.

Her eyes scanned his face, and she frowned. His lip had stopped bleeding, but the scrapes on his face and cut beneath his swollen left eye bled as did the cuts to his thigh. "You're not winning any beauty contests either." She gave him a weak smile, glad he was alive.

"Probably not. I saw you fall, Emma."

"I landed on some rocks that stopped me from going all the way down. We need the gear. The rifle is at the top of the hill I just rolled down. The packs are that way," she said and pointed.

"Wait here. I'll find them."

She shook her head and winced when the familiar pounding headache returned in full. She touched the tender lump on her head, and her fingers became sticky with blood. Her struggle with the creature left her feeling worse than before, which she didn't think was possible. "I'll go with you. I know exactly where they are."

She appreciated Ethan helping her stand and his arm while she regained her balance. He still had his knife, and she pulled the headlamp from her pocket. They left together, using each other for support and unaware of the poison taking over their bodies.

### 28

After much convincing, Ethan talked Emma into staying near the fire to rest for the night. Though she seemed immune to the cold, Ethan was freezing. They were both wounded, and Emma's injuries worsened. Blood, old and new, discolored the side of her shirt and her jeans. The cut buried somewhere in her hair continued to seep blood, and her apparent concussion plagued her with an unrelenting headache. With her now resting near the fire, he limped around their gathered gear, wondering how they would manage the packs and the weapons scavenged from the dead creatures. They had three crossbows neither of them knew how to use, several bolts for each weapon, and three large-bladed knives. He also counted his recovered knife, along with Emma's rifle and her knife. They had a decent weapons stash, except they were both injured, exhausted, lost, and didn't know where to find the kids.

Noises mixed with howls filled the night, and Emma stood with her rifle.

"What's that?" Ethan asked.

"I'm sure we don't want to know."

The howls neared, and the pair shifted closer to the fire. Emma moved the rifle to her shoulder but kept the muzzle down since she didn't have a target. A group of wolf-like animals emerged from the shadows. Ethan's eyes widened when one stalked closer, and the animal's size matched that of a small horse. The wolves circled them, creating an eerie fog as they panted. One of the wolves walked toward the fire, sniffed deeply near them, and growled when Emma shifted to raise the rifle. Without a sound Ethan rested his hand on her arm and shook his head when she glanced at him. Emma lowered the rifle, and the wolf moved on. It took one of the dead creatures by the leg with its powerful jaw and dragged it away. The other wolves moved around them, taking the other two dead creatures in their mouths, and disappeared back into the shadows.

Ethan continued to stare into the darkness after the wolves were gone.

Emma turned to face him. "How did you know?"

"It wrinkled its nose when it smelled us. Toby did that once when he was looking for a handout, and I offered him a piece of celery."

"Celery. You gambled our lives on Toby's response to _celery?"_

"Keep your voice down. We're fine."

She scowled at him with a string of muttered curses and left him to gather wood for the fire. Ethan picked up a few more sticks and added them to her pile. She growled and wiped her soot-smeared hands across her jeans. He'd seen her frustrated before, but she was more than irritable now. She was a simmering cauldron of rage, and he didn't sit until she did. He eased himself to the ground and used his hands to finish positioning his injured leg so his thigh burned a little less. Emma's mood softened, and after removing her first aid kid from her pack, she approached.

He let her work in silence and didn't try to engage her in conversation for fear of igniting her temper again. She opened the tears in his jeans to better access the wounds. Emma cleaned her hands before moistening a gauze pad with an antiseptic and dabbing it to the wounds on his face. He winced when the medication burned, but he didn't complain. Emma turned her attention to his thigh and doused a new piece of gauze with the antiseptic.

"This is gonna hurt," she said.

"Yep." He took a deep breath and pinched his lips together.

She wiped the gauze across his leg, and he closed his eyes. He worked to control his breathing and tried not to move though she scrubbed the wound in a way that made him wonder if she intended to cause him so much discomfort. After cleaning the lacerations across his thigh, she placed a wad of gauze over the cuts and wrapped his leg with an elastic bandage.

"Thanks," he said, but she only responded with a nod and sat again.

She fumbled with the dressing on her side and hissed with pain at the lightest touch.

"Let me help you." Ethan reached for the edge of her shirt, and she pushed him away. Angered, he grabbed her by the wrist. "What's wrong with you?"

"Let go," she said with a growl.

While still holding her wrist, he touched her cheek with the back of his other hand. "You have a fever, Emma. It's bloody freezing out here, and your skin is on fire."

She twisted her wrist, and he released her.

"I'll be fine."

"You're not well. Please let me help you."

She finally relented and rested her back on the ground.

Once she closed her eyes and appeared comfortable, Ethan moved the lower part of her outer shirt away from her side. He used his finger tip and thumb to peel the inner shirt from her skin. After a quick glance to ensure he wasn't hurting her, he picked at the haphazardly applied tape around the crumpled and blood-soaked gauze. The tape resisted pulling free, and she flinched. Her piercing glare made him pause. "Sorry. I'm being as gentle as I can. Promise."

She closed her eyes again, and he sighed with relief that she didn't lash out at him. As an extra precaution given her mood, he took a moment to locate the rifle. It was just beyond her immediate reach, so he decided he was safe if he unintentionally sent her into a rage. He resumed removing the old bandage and risked talking to her while he worked.

"When did you become a sniper?"

"Sniper," she said with a laugh and winced with the movement. "You have no idea how lucky those shots were. A few years ago, Rio and I went to an outdoor camp during the summer. They had a hunting safety course and shooting for one of the activities. She hated it; I didn't. I use soup cans for targets, but I'm far from being an expert."

"How does a small weapon like that kill these creatures?"

"The .22 cartridge is small, but it breaks apart inside the body."

"Internal shrapnel."

"Yeah. It creates a lot of damage for its size."

Ethan glanced at the rifle. "For a hobby, your accuracy is still impressive. Larger caliber would be nice."

"You're complaining now?"

"No, not at all. Larger caliber would pack more of a punch."

"And make more noise. The .22 got the job done, in case you forgot."

"It did, I mean, forget it." He gave up on the conversation. She was injured, feverish, and in a cross mood. Arguing with her wouldn't solve anything. He sighed after getting her bandage off. Inflammation and redness surrounded the cut into her skin. Her injury had an odd smell, and the drainage was a mix of blood and a brownish liquid he'd never seen before.

"What?" she asked, opening her eyes again.

"It's infected, but how can it be this bad? The wound is only a few hours old. Any chance you have antibiotics stashed somewhere in one of the packs?"

She shook her head in response and closed her eyes again.

"I'll clean it as best I can and re-dress it. By the way, why do you always wear two shirts like this?"

"Outer shirt is a layer. Inner shirt is another layer that stays tucked in to help keep the ticks out."

"Keep the ticks out of what?"

"Out of your pants! They like to attach to the skin in places like sock and waist lines. Tucked shirt keeps them off your waist."

"Oh. Other than the violent weather, creatures, and wolves here, you're worried about ticks too?"

She answered him with another glare.

"Forget I asked. When I'm done with the new dressing, I want to use your last elastic wrap to keep everything tight since you're still bleeding," he said. When she didn't answer, he went back to work. She was asleep before he fed the last piece of the wrap under her body and around her waist. He cleaned her skin around the bruise and laceration on the side of her head, but her long hair made the process difficult. He gently moved strands of her hair to get a better look at the cut while dreading she'd wake and strike him. He smeared some antibiotic ointment over the area, hoping he covered the open wound.

Her rocky landing off the cliff had not been kind to her body. He found an emergency blanket in her kit and draped it over her while he scooted closer to the fire. He rummaged in the packs to see what else was crammed into them. Based on the redness and drainage emerging from the laceration on her side, Emma would become deathly ill soon. He could not find the children without her help.

She slept for a while then mumbled in her sleep. Risking another attack from her like the last time he touched her when she dreamed, Ethan placed his hand on her forehead. Her muttering ceased, and she returned to a more restful sleep. Her skin was still hot beneath his palm, and he wished he'd given her some ibuprofen from her kit before she fell asleep. He refused to wake her now to take the medication. He removed his hand from her head and swallowed some of the painkiller for himself, hoping it would help ease the pain in his leg. He shifted his rump closer to the fire, added a few sticks, and tried to stay awake.

### 29

Rio woke with a start and sat up. "Mom!"

Sebastian startled awake too. He was on his feet in an instant and blinking to clear his vision. "What's wrong?" He spun around, not noticing any threats. He rubbed at his eyes before staring at Rio. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head and frowned. "I don't know," she said with a growl and began pulling her boots on. She finished lacing them and stood. Something in her mind remained troubled, uneasy. She couldn't explain the worry she felt for her mother. Maybe it was guilt. Her dreams didn't make sense, but Rio was convinced her mother was in danger.

"Where's Colb?" Sebastian asked.

Rio shrugged. "Where's Colin?"

They found Colby just beyond the cave opening. She stood on a wedge of rock with her head turned up toward the top of the cliff.

"What are you doing?" Sebastian asked.

"Watching for Colin. He climbed up a while ago," Colby said and glanced at her brother. "What's wrong with you? You're pale and all panicked-looking."

"We woke up and you were both gone," Sebastian said.

"Because you slept forever, and he was tired of waiting. He bailed and made me stay here," Colby said.

Rio shivered. "It's still early and cold. At least I think it's early."

"Yeah, I don't know what time it is around here. I'm hungry. Think he'll mind if we eat some of his dried meat?" Colby asked.

Rio glanced at Sebastian and shook her head. She wouldn't touch any of Colin's things unless he told her she could.

Colin's voice from above ended their conversation. He leaned over the cliff's edge to speak to them. "Hey! Get your butts up here and bring your pack. Empty water bottles too."

His head disappeared, and the teens rushed back to the interior of the cave. Rio reached the pack first and held it open while the twins tossed the empty bottles to her.

"This too?" Sebastian asked, holding up his windbreaker.

Rio shrugged. "Throw it all in except the leftover apple bits." She put her non-working compass in the sack too and zipped it closed after the last item went in. The climb up seemed easier than yesterday's descent. The rocks were still just as ragged and sharp, but she could at least see where she was going and what to grab and where to place her feet. "Plant three, move one," Rio said to herself.

She reached the top and Colin pulled her the rest of the way up. She waited while he helped the twins after her.

"Great. Everyone survived the trip." Colin's eyes followed Rio's gaze to the other side of the ravine where she'd seen the wolves during the night. "They're not out during the day."

"Who isn't out?" Colby asked.

"Wolves," Rio said.

Before Colby could ask more questions, Colin spoke again. "Gather round." He dropped to one knee and picked up a stick. "Time for a geography lesson." He scratched marks in the dirt and instructed them on the layout of where they were in relation to the water cave with the funnel and Rio's house, which in this land was the encampment for the light-furred clan of Tuars. With more drawn lines he showed them his hideouts, underground bunkers like the one he'd snatched them into the day before, relatively safe caves to use in an emergency, and areas to avoid, such as known wolf dens and camps for the other clan of creatures.

Colin stabbed the stick into the ground in a few places within his dirt-drawn map. "These spots are other sensitive areas to avoid. Like the water cave, a couple have an odd rock sticking in the ground, almost like a marker."

"Yeah, there was a twisted piece of rock by the water cave," Colby said.

"Yep. Avoid those places. Got it?"

The twins and Rio nodded.

"There isn't much to eat here, few things that you can hunt or fish. The two clans of creatures will eat each other. The light-colored ones tend to torture prey before eating it. The ones with dark fur don't delay," Colin said.

"Cannibalism?" Sebastian asked.

"Yep. The dark brown ones never stick around in one place for long. The ones I've seen are more like scouting parties and stay on the move. I suspect they have a main camp, but I've never found it. I've only seen the darker ones gather in any sort of number when going to battle. They can usually win the skirmishes, but once the bulk of the lighter clan's army shows up, they bail. Stay away from them. You learned yesterday that they have a keen sense of smell. If you see one or a group, find a place to hide, and stay there until they're long gone. Understand?"

The teens nodded. Since he'd escaped, Rio figured Colin had been captured by the light-colored ones. She still wanted more information about his capture, but Colin continued his lecture without allowing much time for their questions. He told them of the region's weather patterns including when it rained and how to gather water. After spending a while with his lecture and quizzing them, he dropped the stick and stood.

"Good. You might just keep yourselves alive for another day," he said.

"That's not funny," Colby said.

Colin turned and picked up a few weapons and tools from the ground. "I wasn't joking. Now for hunting. I'm not feeding you, so you need to learn." He handed them each a short spear.

"What exactly are we hunting?" Sebastian asked, eying the weapon in his hand.

"Whatever we can find. Rodents are the easiest to hunt. You can't be picky here. While we're out I'll show you which plants you can eat. That list is much shorter than the ones you can't eat."

Colby's eyes widened. "Rats? You're going to teach us how to hunt rats?"

"Think of them more like squirrels," Colin said.

"You're not helping. Why aren't we going back to the water cave to find a way out?" Colby asked. Rio nodded with her friend's question; she, too, wanted to go home.

Colin sighed and shook his head. "I thought about going back today, but if there was a way to escape back through the portal, believe me, I've already tried it. You didn't leave a rope, so we don't need to go back. I need to teach you how to survive first."

"How do you know all of this?" Rio asked.

Colin groaned at yet another question. "Trial and error. Mostly error and quite a bit of luck."

Colby's eyes turned skyward to the gray clouds zipping by overhead, the same way they did yesterday. "Do the clouds always look like that? Gray and whipping past without much wind? Where's the sun?"

"It always looks like that except when it gets darker at night and when it rains. I've never seen a sun or moon here. You'll have to learn the landscape to navigate here. No stars or anything to use as an aid," Colin said.

The siblings shared a nervous glance, and Rio frowned, understanding their anxiety.

"What?" Colin asked.

"The twins can get lost even if they have a map and a compass," Rio said.

"Rio's the one with a GPS chip in her head," Colby said.

"What's a GPS chip?" Colin asked.

"How long have you been here?" Sebastian asked.

"Long time," Colin said.

"How did you escape when captured by the creatures?" Rio asked.

Colin marched into the trees, leaving them. "That's not part of today's lesson. Don't fall behind."

### 30

For a moment Emma thought she was home with the flu. Her entire body ached, and her attempt to roll to her side stopped short when pain stabbed through her. The pain reminded her of where she'd spent the night. She watched the abnormal clouds in the sky whip past for a few minutes before deciding she needed to get up. Her throat was dry, and after a few tries to find the least painful way to move, she managed to sit up. She dragged her pack closer to her and frowned to find her water bottle empty. Emma dug into a different side pocket and removed a full bottle. She drank several gulps before taking a moment to rest.

Her joints complained with each movement, and a simple task of drinking water drained more energy than necessary. She should have been hungry, but Emma opted for the water instead. Ethan slept on the ground next to her, and she nudged his shoulder. He stirred, but still didn't wake. She nudged him harder. "Ethan, wake up."

Though disoriented and stiff, he sat up and rubbed his face with his palms. "Something wrong?"

"Nice job keeping watch." Emma noted her mood had not improved with sleep.

"I don't recall you waking up to relieve me," he said, spitting the words at her.

He scratched at the stubble on his chin, and Emma offered him a package of dried fruit from her pack as a peace offering. She didn't understand her foul temperament, but she couldn't control the constant anger filling her mind. Even the clothes touching her skin were a source of irritation. Emma dismissed her mood as the result of lack of sleep, but a part of her knew something else was wrong with her body.

After eating several pieces of the fruit, Ethan passed the bag back to her. "Want some?"

Emma shook her head.

"You ate?"

Emma stowed the bag back in her pack and couldn't remember the last time she ate. "Not hungry." She was still thirsty, however. After drinking what was left in her bottle, she frowned at the lingering metallic taste in her mouth.

Ethan drank from his water bottle and sighed. "After you fell asleep last night, I dug through the packs to see what all you put in them. Are you sure we need to be lugging all this crap around?"

"Never know what we might need."

"Antibiotics would be good."

"I don't have any!" She immediately regretted her outburst. Emma used her arm to support her injured side and waited for the worst of the pain to pass.

"I want to check your dressing again to see if the infection is worse." Ethan's tone remained soft as he ignored her persistent anger.

Emma sighed. "No. Gawking at it won't make it better. We need to find the kids and leave today."

"Agreed."

He moved awkwardly due to his injured leg, but Ethan managed to stand and put away the emergency blankets and other items he'd used during the night. Emma stowed her gear while still seated. She required Ethan's help to stand. He held her by the arm until her balance returned.

"You still have a fever, Emma."

"The fever can wait. We need to find the kids. They have no supplies, and there are deadly things that live here."

"We'll find them. I just don't want to kill you in the process."

"You won't."

Ethan shook his head and sighed. "You're an obstinate one. At least take some ibuprofen from your kit."

When she didn't argue, Ethan removed the pills from her first aid kit and passed them to her along with his water bottle. "You should eat something with that medicine."

Though he was right, Emma shook her head. She was asking for problems by taking the medication without eating, but given how she felt, food would never stay down.

"Has anyone ever told you how stubborn you are?"

"Once or twice." Emma managed a small smile.

"As long as you're aware. I'll carry the packs. You take the rifle."

She didn't argue and slipped the rifle's strap over her shoulder. She doubted she could carry one of the packs. She waited as he lashed the packs together including the weapons they'd scavenged from the creatures. She would have strapped the gear together differently, but she remained silent. He groaned as he lifted the weighty packs to his shoulders. He took a few test steps, wincing with each one.

"Ready?" he asked.

Emma nodded and strode forward a few steps before stopping. Nausea and dizziness consumed her, and black spots in her vision grew until everything darkened.

"Emma?"

Her face was even more pale than before, and her knees buckled. Ethan caught her as she rocked forward and vomited the water and ibuprofen on the ground. After emptying her stomach, she hung limp in his arms and didn't move. He shifted her body to see her face, and he cursed under his breath as he lowered her the rest of the way to the ground. He placed his fingers on the side of her neck and whispered thanks when he felt her pulse. "Emma?"

Her breathing was shallow, and she didn't respond to his attempts to rouse her. He lifted the edge of her torn and bloodied shirt and winced. He didn't need to remove the bandage from her side to see the red streaks that now extended well beyond the dressing edges.

He had nothing to battle her severe infection. If he left Emma to find the kids, she would die. If he left this world to get Emma to a hospital, the kids would be on their own until he could return. He needed Emma's help to find them. Ethan cursed his limited options and tried to think of another plan, unaware that the poison that was killing Emma was swimming through his body too.

### 31

Though only a few hours had passed, Rio swore an entire day had already gone by. She was tired and starving. With Colin's help, she and the twins found and ate a mouthful of bitter-tasting leafy material that made their thirst worse. The cool morning had faded and turned hot. They were sweaty and managed to add a little more filth to what they'd accumulated on their clothes the day before.

Rio didn't dare sniff her cast, and blowing air into the opening at her palm no longer worked to curb the itching. A few more hours of the inability to scratch the inside of the stinking cast and Rio was certain she could chew the thing off with her teeth. The more she tried to ignore the fiberglass prison on her arm, the more it itched.

"Doesn't look like a good day for finding meat," Colin said in an offhanded manner that annoyed Rio. He grinned in response to her scowl and reached into a hide pouch tied at his hip. "Here." He handed them all thick slices of a tuber.

Rio turned the object, which might have been a carrot or potato in a former life, over in her hand. She sniffed the piece of root and took a bite. She grimaced and shivered at the bitterness that filled her mouth.

"Don't spit it out. That might be the only food you get today," Colin said.

Rio tucked the bite into her cheek, refusing to chew it more. "You _eat_ this?"

"Yep. They're wicked bitter, but they'll keep you alive. They're also plentiful if you know where to dig for them. Plus they seem to have a shelf life of a couple hundred years." He laughed at his joke. "Harvest them when you can and always keep a few extras on you in case you are stuck hiding or waiting out the weather."

Rio frowned and resumed chewing the rubbery tuber. Colin grinned while she resisted the urge to gag, and she wanted to punch him.

Colby took a bite, frowned, and chewed without speaking.

Sebastian swallowed his bite mostly whole and put the rest in his pocket. "I'll have to be a bit hungrier than now before I can eat that."

Rio agreed and put the rest of her piece of the root in her pocket. She watched with interest as Colby finished eating her food.

Colby shuddered with her final swallow. "That was gross."

Colin nodded with approval. "I'm impressed, Colby. I didn't eat for three days before I could choke down a piece of the bitter root. C'mon. Let's see what else we can find."

Rio followed him, glad for short breaks when he stopped, though her irritation grew with his persistent quips about starving to death. Between the itching cast and the grumbling in her stomach, Rio's mood worsened. With no other food to be found or hunted, Rio's patience dissolved. "Can we skip to how to find water?"

"Sure," Colin said, leaving them with his long strides. "Don't fall behind."

Rio scowled at the man's back. "I think I hate him."

The twins chuckled at her remark, but they trudged along behind Colin too.

An hour later they stood at the base of a valley. The steep cliffs near Colin's cave had gradually diminished miles downstream where Rio and the twins now roamed the riverbed. Rocks jutted up everywhere in the mud. Rio scanned the opposite riverbank, relieved to find it free of both wolf and Tuar. The dark water marks and erosion on the banks were still fresh from yesterday's sudden flood.

She followed Colin, noting his creased brow as he scanned the valley.

"The mud is from the flash flood yesterday?" Rio asked.

Colin grunted in response and continued examining what was left of the muddy riverbed.

"Hey, I found a puddle," Sebastian said. He stabbed the blunt end of his spear into the mud, squatted, and cupped his hands in the standing water. "It's not muddy, so it's drinkable, right?"

Colin jogged to Sebastian. "Don't drink it."

Sebastian paused with water dripping through his cupped hands.

Colin scooped water into one of his hands and brought it to his nose. "Smell that?"

Sebastian sniffed the liquid in his hands. "No."

"Exactly. If it doesn't smell like anything, it's OK to drink." Colin took a sip from the water in his palm.

Sebastian gulped at the water in his hands, and Rio and Colby rushed to join them.

"Unless it's wolf pee," Colin said.

Sebastian sputtered water from his lips, and Colin laughed. He slapped Sebastian on the back and laughed louder. "Just kidding."

Rio grinned when Sebastian glared at Colin. She had a new ally in hating Colin's jokes.

The puddle didn't last long with four people drinking from it, but the water was enough to ease their extreme thirst. After the small pool was gone, Rio realized she should have put some water in one of the bottles for later.

After their drink, Rio and the twins found a rock to sit on and rest. Rio pulled her boot free from the thick mud but let it return to the muck when Colin spoke again.

"Any liquid here that has even the faintest odor, don't drink it. I don't care how thirsty you are. Got it?" he asked and was answered with nodding heads.

Colin found some more water. When he squatted to fill his pouch, Rio left her rock to join him. She removed one of the empty water bottles from the pack and knelt to fill the bottle. She paused when he didn't move and appeared to stare at the puddle. His reflection in the water was blurred and shadowed by the overcast skies. His gaze moved away from the water when he realized Rio watched him, and he tied his pouch closed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he helped her fill her bottle.

"Tired. Hungry. Still thirsty."

"You didn't sleep well last night."

"I kept dreaming Mom was in trouble. This morning when I woke, I dreamed she collapsed."

"Still think she's in more trouble than you are?"

Rio nodded and replaced the cap on the full bottle.

"Is she with anyone in these dreams?"

"No, but if she is here, she's not alone. Aunt Shell or Ethan would be with her."

"Who are they?"

"Aunt Shell is Mom's best friend, and Ethan is the twins' father."

"Not your father?"

"My father is dead."

"Oh. If your mother is here and she's injured, rain is her only chance."

"Rain?"

"The rain here is special. It heals even the worst of injuries."

"Your scars."

Colin nodded. "The rain instantly healed those wounds."

"How?"

"I don't know. When it rains here, collect as much of it as you can. Never know when you'll need it to fix a broken arm," Colin said and tapped her cast.

Rio stood, stretched, and stared at the other side of the stream. She tilted her head, wondering why she wanted to explore the area more. The landscape wasn't much different than the other areas Colin showed them. "Can we go over there?"

Colin stood with her. "Why?"

Rio shrugged. "I think we should."

"You're an awfully strange kid, Rio." Colin waved his hand. "Lead the way."

"Me?"

"Let's hope your curiosity doesn't get us killed."

"I don't like your attitude, Colin."

"Feel free to file a complaint," he said with a snort. "Twins! Let's go. Bring your spears."

### 32

Ethan stopped again and lowered Emma to the ground. Due to the pain and infection in his leg, he couldn't bend his knee, so he deposited her on the ground more roughly than intended. He drew in ragged breaths, but he still felt like he couldn't bring in enough air. He removed the rifle strap from his shoulder and placed the weapon on the ground. He fought with the straps and finally got them loose enough to twist out of the pack and let the gear fall from his shoulders.

The day's heat drained his energy, and Emma still wouldn't wake up. After carrying her and the gear for a hundred yards, he'd abandoned the creatures' weapons to lighten the load. After another hundred yards, he dropped one of the packs. As the day progressed, he'd needed more frequent rests, and his limp had worsened. His thigh burned and sharp stabs of pain tore through his leg with each step. Sweat now poured from his face, and he was almost out of water. He shifted to sit on his hip to keep his injured leg extended while he rested.

After drinking a few gulps of water, Ethan poured some in his hand and spread it on Emma's face and arms. Her skin remained hot with fever, and the water evaporated within seconds. He sprinkled water on her clothes to keep them damp in a meager attempt to lower her body's temperature. The clothing stayed wet longer than her skin, but he didn't know how much longer she could survive the spreading infection.

He rested his palm on her forehead and sighed. Emma was an attractive woman and his friend. Though they'd spent much of the summer together through the teens' outings or him working from her dining room, Emma remained simply his friend. She'd declined his offer to take her to dinner, the same as she refused other men, including Shell's brother, Fish.

Ethan realized that last night when she dressed his wounds was the first time she showed any sign she might care for him. He'd thanked her for her care, but her foul temperament didn't encourage his efforts. He still wished he could do more for her. He believed she fell to her death yesterday, but now he watched her body fail more slowly. Her breaths remained shallow, and her pulse weakened. She needed a miracle, and Ethan was losing hope.

He removed his hand from her face. She was dying, and he couldn't stop it. He needed to figure out where he was and what to do next. He hoped his children and Rio were still alive. Ethan stood, picked up the rifle, and left Emma and the pack behind.

***

Colin walked beside Rio with the twins following. "We're getting into Tuar territory out here. Do you want to keep going?"

Rio nodded.

"Wait here, and I'll go ahead. I'll whistle when it's clear. If I don't whistle in five minutes, go back to the cave, and I'll meet back up with you when I can." Colin didn't wait for their answer or the question forming on Colby's lips before he left with his spear. His long legs carried him over a short hill and out of view within a minute.

Rio dropped her spear, sat on the ground, and picked at the brown grass. A shriek overhead brought her eyes up, and a few of the odd-looking black bat-bird hybrids left their perches for the sky. She didn't notice them blending in with the few trees nearby until they moved.

"Guys, I'm sorry I got you in this mess. Mom told me to wait to go to Burnt Mountain, and I didn't listen to her."

Sebastian shook his head with disgust. "I wish you had."

"I know," Rio said.

"Why didn't you wait?" Sebastian asked.

"I thought I could help her. She said the mountain had something to do with her nightmares, but she didn't say what it was."

"Oh, well, that's bloody great. She tells you the mountain gives her nightmares, and you go check it out. Why didn't you tell us this _before_ you dragged us here? This place _is_ the stuff of nightmares, Rio!" Sebastian said.

Colby stepped between her brother and Rio. "Back off, Sebas."

Rio stood and tried to stop the brewing fight between the twins. Sebastian had a right to yell at her, but she didn't want the siblings fighting over her poor decision. "I'm sorry, Sebas. I really am. We can't panic or start fighting."

"I'm not panicked, but this is your fault," Sebastian said. He reached around his sister for Rio, but Colby gave him a hard shove.

Sebastian growled at his sister and tightened his fists, but Colby didn't move. She returned her brother's glare, and the two prepared for a brawl.

A shout in the distance interrupted the fight.

"Uh, was that the sound that means everything is clear?" Colby asked.

"That wasn't a whistle," Sebastian said.

Rio picked up her spear and started up the hill to follow the noise.

"I realize I suck at directions, but that's not the way back to Colin's cave," Colby said, though Rio didn't slow her pace.

The twins shrugged and followed their friend.

### 33

Colin froze when he spotted the body on the ground. He kept his spear ready though he saw no one or no creature around. He approached with caution, circling around the pack and empty water bottle on the ground. He knelt and touched the side of the woman's pale face. "Em."

Smudged boot prints in the dirt were too large to belong to her. He moved his fingers to her neck and frowned. Her pulse was fast and weak. Fever burned her body, and blood seeped from a wound on her side. He pulled her shirt away from the bandage and groaned. The infection would kill her soon, and he was unable to help her.

A twig snapped, and Colin's head came up. He spun with his spear up. The man cursed and fussed with the rifle he'd pointed at Colin, but the weapon didn't fire. The man fought to move the rifle's bolt, but it didn't budge. With a curse the man charged at Colin while screaming: "Move away from her!"

Colin rushed toward the limping man, grabbing the rifle before the man could swing it down on his head. Both men crashed to the ground with the spear and rifle skittering across the ground away from them. The attacker rolled and stood, so Colin swung his leg up and kicked the man's bandaged thigh. The man howled with pain and collapsed. Colin leapt on top of him, but he grunted when the man's knee collided with his ribs and forced air from his lungs.

A knife blade sliced through Colin's upper arm, and he clamped his hands over the man's wrist. With a violent twist, the knife fell from the man's hand. Colin moved to pin the attacker, but he received a vicious uppercut instead, with Colin's head snapping back with the blow. The men scrambled to their feet, with Colin shaking his head to clear the fuzziness from the strike. They charged each other again, but the fight stopped when the twins rushed between them.

"Dad!" Sebastian and Colby said as they sprinted to their father.

Rio gasped and dropped to her knees beside her mother. "Mom?"

Colin wiped blood from his lip. He walked toward the rifle, and the other man tried to dislodge his children to reach the weapon first.

"Dad! Dad, it's OK. He's helping us," Sebastian said, tugging on his father's arm.

"He attacked me. He's dangerous."

"You must be Ethan," Colin said.

Ethan nodded, brow furrowed.

Colin picked up the rifle and slid the bolt open.

"It's jammed," Ethan said.

"It's not jammed. You had the safety on." Colin slid the bolt closed, thankful for Ethan's incompetence with the weapon.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were one of those things," Ethan said.

Colin ignored the man and went to Rio. Tears poured down the girl's face, and Colin placed the rifle on the ground.

"She won't wake up," Rio said.

"How did she get this wound?" Colin asked, directing the question to Ethan.

"A creature shot at her with a crossbow and nicked her side yesterday. She fell off a cliff, and the other creatures took me with them. She landed on a rock partway down, which kept her from falling to her death. She climbed out, found me, and killed the creatures. Last night the wound was worse and the fever started. This morning she passed out."

"Not quite 24 hours," Colin said with a mutter.

"Is she going to die?" Rio asked.

"Without treatment, yes," Colin said. "Honestly, I'm surprised she's still alive. The creatures dip their weapons in poison. A fully embedded poison-tipped arrow is death within hours, assuming no instant death from the arrowhead itself. Even a graze is eventual death, but not before the victim goes into a rage, killing anything in reach. At least that's what I've seen happen in the creatures. This is all before succumbing to the fever and infection."

"That explains the mood change. She was, um, cross last night," Ethan said.

"Cross? If that's all she was then you are a lucky man, and she's tougher than those creatures."

"Dad, what happened to your leg?" Colby asked.

Ethan frowned when he answered. "They cut on me last night for entertainment."

Sebastian touched his father's arm. "So the poison is in you too?"

Ethan nodded.

"You're already feeling the symptoms?" Colin asked, and Ethan nodded again.

A sob caught in Colby's throat. "Dad."

Colin interrupted Colby's breakdown and questioned Ethan about the events of the night, learned of the additional pack, weapons, what they had left for supplies, and what had been abandoned.

"Can you carry Em a little longer?" Colin asked.

Ethan nodded, and Rio wiped at her tears.

"Wait. You _know_ her? Only her close friends call her Em instead of Emma. Why didn't you say something before?" Rio asked.

"I'll explain later if we survive the day," Colin said.

Rio nodded toward the bleeding cut across Colin's arm. "Are you poisoned too?"

"No. Ethan cut me with his blade, not with one belonging to the Tuars. I should be fine."

Rio shook her head. "Should be?"

Colin avoided her question. "Sebas, carry this pack. Rio, can you fire this thing?" He picked up the rifle, and when she nodded, he thrust it into her hands. "You're now security. Colby, take your father's knife and the extra spears and walk point with Rio to lead them back toward the cave. I'll catch up with you later."

"Where are you going?" Rio asked.

"To find the other pack and weapons. Hurry, and stay together," Colin said. To his annoyance, they hesitated. "Now!"

Colin left them, and Rio soon lost sight of him in the hilly terrain. His quickness had helped keep him alive in this place, and Rio wanted him to rejoin them soon. Sebastian helped his father lift Emma into his arms again, and Colby held the pack for her brother to slip his arms through the straps.

Rio collected her spear and passed it to Colby when she finished helping her brother.

"I'm sorry I yelled at both of you," Sebastian said.

"I shouldn't have shoved you, Sebas," Colby said.

Sebastian sighed. "I'm afraid of this place."

"We all are. Let's go. If Colin sees us loitering, he'll flip out," Rio said.

### 34

Ethan's pronounced limp worsened and his pace slowed the longer they hiked. Rio led the group across the riverbed to a slope they needed to climb that was long and steep. Ethan didn't hike too far up it before he needed to rest. Rio had everyone stop near one of the few living trees among the many dead ones. She helped him ease her mother back to the ground, and Ethan sat, leaning against the tree. Rio put the rifle on the ground and removed the windbreaker from the pack on her back to use as a pillow for her mother's head.

Sebastian offered his father some water, and Ethan's hands shook as he tried to remove the lid. He cursed with the effort, and Rio knelt beside him.

"I'll do it." Rio touched his hands to take the bottle from him. She resisted the urge to flinch when her fingers felt his hot skin. "It's OK. I'll do it," she said again, since he still gripped the bottle with both hands. He relented, and Rio remembered Colin's words about the infection. _Rage. Attacking. Killing. Succumbing to the fever and infection._

She refused to cry and focused on the water bottle. With the lid removed, she gave the bottle back to Ethan and pretended to be busy with her mother. Ethan drank half the liquid and used the other half to spread on Emma's face and arms. If he noticed the tremor in his hands, he ignored it.

Rio glanced at the twins, and given their slumped shoulders, they understood their father would soon be in the same state as Rio's mother, unconscious and dying. Rio picked up the rifle and turned toward the river.

"What's wrong?" Colby's asked.

Rio flipped the safety off with her thumb but kept the rifle low.

Sebastian moved to stand next to her. "Rio?"

Rio raised the rifle to her shoulder. "I think it's just Colin coming, but I'm not sure."

Colby's brow creased. "Huh? No one is there."

Colin emerged from the treeline some distance away, and Rio lowered the weapon.

"Uh, how did you know?" Colby asked.

Rio shrugged.

Colin sprinted down the short hill, and slogged through the mud in the riverbed. He cleared the mud, came up the slope to where they had stopped, and leaned forward with his hands on his knees to catch his breath.

Rio helped him remove the pack, and Sebastian offered him water.

Colin took a sip, gave the bottle back to Sebastian, and straightened. "This is it? You've only gotten this far?"

"I'd like to see you get farther with a wounded leg and carrying another person," Ethan said.

Colin didn't respond to Ethan's angry remark and instead spoke to Rio. "How is he doing?" he asked with a whisper.

"His hands are shaking, and his fever is wicked high," Rio said.

"We need rain," Colin said.

Rio remembered what Colin told her earlier about the rain healing injuries. "How do we get it?"

"I was hoping you'd have an idea," Colin said.

"Me?" she asked before lowering her voice again. "How am I supposed to fix this?"

"If there's anyone here who can, it's you. I understand this is a terrible burden to put on you, Rio. You're tuned into this place more than me, and I've been here for years. You dreamed your mother was injured, and she was. You wanted to explore the other side of the river, and we found Em. Just now you had that rifle ready to fire before you saw who or what was coming. How do we create rain?"

Rio tightened her jaw and shook her head. She glanced at her mother and winced. She'd give anything to talk to her again. To get rain, they'd need a storm. "Thunder."

Colin shook his head. "What?"

She finally remembered the question she wanted to ask Colin before about the water cave and fears coming to life. "The um, things, what did you call them? The special places like the water cave?"

Colin frowned with confusion. "Portal?"

"No. No! Where the fears come to life."

"Sensitive places?"

"Yes! Can you trick them? If your fears come alive there, can you pretend to be afraid of something and create that fear instead?"

"Uh, I don't know."

"Based on your map you drew this morning, we're not far from one of those sensitive spots."

"Are you sure about this, Rio?"

"Nope. I need Colby and Sebas to help." She shoved the rifle into his hands before leaving him to kneel by her mother again. She pushed hair from her mother's face. "I'll be right back, Mom. Don't, um ..." Rio said and swallowed against the fear squeezing her throat closed. "Wait for me."

Rio left her mother to join Ethan and the twins. "I need to borrow Colb and Sebas for a bit, but we'll be right back."

"Why?" Ethan's eyes darted between her and Colin.

"We know where to find something to help you and Mom."

"We do?" Colby asked, earning an elbow in the side from her brother.

Ethan shook his head. "No! I already lost them once. They're staying here."

"I need their help," Rio said.

"We'll come right back, Dad," Sebastian said.

"I forbid you to go." Ethan tried to stand but stumbled, clutching the wound on his leg as he sank back to the ground. "You're not leaving!"

Rio looked to Colin for assistance.

"I'll help him and your mother while you're gone," Colin said.

"If he starts going crazy, tie him up or something. Promise me you won't kill him," Rio said with a whisper.

"I won't kill him. Promise."

"Keep them both alive till we come back with the rain."

She left with the twins before there were more questions or protests from the twins' father. His crazed, bloodshot eyes coupled with his fever and worsening mood meant he'd either go insane or collapse soon. Rio didn't have time to explain or rationalize with the man, so she left. She still needed to sort out her plan to trick the sensitive area into thinking she was afraid of rain.

### 35

Ethan grumbled and used his hands to shift his rump to a more comfortable position. "I can't believe you let them run off like that. What are you doing?"

Colin finished setting all the empty water bottles away from the trees, upright without lids, and supported by rocks. For the smaller bottles, he used leaves to create a funnel to help catch any rain. Ethan's biting remarks had continued since the teens left, but Colin remembered his agreement with Rio. Tying and gagging Ethan was tempting. Colin sighed and returned to Emma. "The bottles are to catch rain water."

"Rain? When? Next year? This place is a wasteland."

"Don't kill him," Colin said with a whisper before speaking for Ethan to hear. "How long have you known her?"

"Since the start of the summer. I rented a place to bring the twins here for holiday, so, uh, a little more than two months, I think."

Colin recognized Ethan's symptoms of poor memory and disorientation. He'd seen the creatures become confused before they attacked. "You seeing her?"

"No."

Colin examined Emma's hands and noticed she didn't wear any rings. "She married?"

"No. She divorced a long time ago. Why so many questions?"

"Where is her sister, Jody?"

"What? You know Emma?"

Colin nodded. Ethan had already forgotten the short conversation Colin had with Rio about knowing her mother.

"Yesterday she told me about when she came here before." Ethan frowned, trying to remember more details. "Her friend died here. Cole. No that's the man I rented from for the summer. What was the friend's name?" Ethan tapped his fingers against the side of his head.

"Colin."

"Yes, that sounds right. You're Colin?"

"Yep. Did she say how long ago that was?"

"Um." Ethan pinched his eyes closed for a moment. "Uh, it's hard to think."

"Don't worry about it. Where's the rest of the ammunition?"

"She has a few loose shells in her right pocket and more in the green pack," Ethan said, pointing to Emma's pack. He examined his tremulous hand for a moment, before lowering it.

Colin reached into her pocket and removed the shells before digging through the green pack. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap. Everything hurts. Every joint and muscle. I swear my bones ache too."

Colin found the box of shells and placed them in his pouch. He zipped the pack closed and found Ethan watching him.

"What do you plan to do with the gun?" Ethan asked.

"Shoot any creatures if they show up."

"What about me?"

"I'm not shooting you."

"When I go crazy, you'll have to kill me."

"I'll find another way to deal with you if you lose your mind."

"Don't let me hurt Emma or the kids. Shoot me first, please."

"Look, I can't—"

"You have to. You can't let me hurt anyone," Ethan said.

Colin already promised Rio he wouldn't kill Ethan, now Ethan was begging him to do so. "I won't let you hurt anyone, OK?"

Glad that discussion was over, Colin returned his attention to Emma and knelt beside her. He stared at her face, amazed at how little her features had changed over time and how much she looked like Jody. His memories of the sisters had faded, but old images resurfaced of the young women.

His eyes turned to a widening, bright, red area forming on the lower portion of her shirt. He moved the fabric, and her wound bled freely. He placed both hands over the wound, pressing down to slow the bleeding. "Hurry, Rio."

Ethan slid his rump closer to Emma, and he put one hand on top of Colin's to add pressure and checked her pulse with his other hand. "I can barely feel it now."

Colin shook his head and pressed harder. He didn't want to be separated from his friend a second time. He had countless questions for Emma, but he wanted her alive more than he wanted answers.

"Why is she suddenly bleeding like this?" Ethan asked.

"She's dying."

### 36

After leaving Colin and Ethan, Rio and the twins jogged back down the slope and followed the riverbed. Rio explained to them the part of her plan she'd figured out thus far. "We're going to the closest sensitive spot to fake being afraid of rainstorms and trick the weather into following us back. The rain will fix my mom and your dad."

Sebastian slid to a stop. "No way! No more spiders."

His halt made Rio and Colby stop too.

"We can stop those bad things from coming to life. Sebas, you said before that you didn't want to live in Maine in the winter because you didn't want to freeze to death. Pretend you're afraid of the cold and don't think about spiders. Colby, you'll bring the thunderstorm, but don't run from it right away. We need the storm to develop more until it starts raining."

"You brought exploding lightning last time, Rio," Colby said.

"Yeah, I realize that. I'll try to be afraid of rain this time though."

"So Colb has the easy job. She just needs to be afraid of what she normally fears," Sebastian said.

"Yes," Rio said.

"We got chased by our fears last time," Sebastian said.

Rio bit her lower lip before answering. "Yeah, and we'll need to be chased this time too. It's the only way we can bring the storm back to Mom. We have to let it pursue us, and we can't outrun it this time."

Sebastian shook his head. "This is a horrible plan."

"You have a better idea?" Colby asked. At his silence she continued. "Neither do I. Sebas, either come with us and help or stay here and keep whining," she said and left with Rio.

"I wasn't whining," Sebastian said and followed.

Rio grinned at her friend. Colby knew how to make her brother do things he didn't want to do. The trio resumed their jog for a while before stopping again. Upon reaching the place near a twisted piece of black rock jutting up from the ground, Rio paused to catch her breath. Once she and the twins recovered, she took another deep breath.

Rio pointed. "There's the stone marker."

"It looks similar to the one outside the water cave," Colby said.

"We must be in the right place," Rio said.

Sebastian checked the area for spiders. "How close before stuff starts happening?"

"I don't know. We'll walk toward the rock until it starts," Rio said.

"So you're just sorting this out as you go?" Colby asked.

Rio shrugged. She was at least trying to do something to help her mother. If her haphazard plan failed, her mother would die either way, and Rio couldn't handle the thought of being alone.

"Let's go. Sebas, only think of the cold. Colb, thunderstorm, and I'm rain."

"Won't we make rain with the thunderstorm?" Sebastian asked.

"Maybe. We didn't last time. More rain might help my mom and your dad heal more quickly, right?" Rio said.

"Right," Sebastian said with a shrug.

Rio took another deep breath, readying herself for this task. _Trick a paranormal place with fake fears. What could go wrong?_ As the three teens walked together toward the marker, she shook the doubt from her mind and tried to concentrate only on rain.

### 37

Ilnin had risked the dangers of darkness and wolves to start his hunt early today. He crouched low and waited upon seeing his prey. The rodent-like animal's nose quivered as it sniffed the ground and air in search of its own food or any predators. Ilnin eased his powerful arm up and waited as his food wandered closer. He'd eaten two of the rodents earlier today, though it took several of them to make a decent meal. A deer provided a bounty of meat, but they were rarities in the region. Fresh meat was always scarce, so he took what he could find. He slashed his claws downward to spear his meal, and his head came up at the sound of a noise elsewhere in the area.

A short squeal erupted as Ilnin's meal scampered away. He glanced down with a growl to see his claws had only pierced leaves and dirt. He yanked his claws free from the ground. He stood and listened for the sound that had distracted him. He moved noiselessly through the ragged trees toward the unfamiliar sound.

He stopped halfway down a hill when he spotted three young humans in a shallow valley that was littered with boulders. He heard their voices. They fidgeted and moved with unsteady steps, appearing frightened. They were unarmed and made easy targets. With their size, they'd also make an excellent meal, but Ilnin hesitated to attack and instead observed them for a moment.

Two girls, one boy. The boy and one of the girls had similar facial features, and Ilnin decided they must be siblings. The other girl looked different. Saliva hung pendulous from Ilnin's mouth as he sniffed the air for their scents.

They approached a twisted piece of rock and stopped when thunder rumbled in the distance.

"Sebas, you're up. Move in closer and get the wind started. We need the storm to arrive here as quickly as possible," Ilnin heard the different girl say.

The boy's voice wavered when he replied. "OK." He shuffled his feet forward, his pace hesitant as he left the girls.

Ilnin watched them while creeping closer. The boy continued his departure for a few more moments before shouting with surprise when a large, black, many-legged creature clambered out from behind a boulder. The boy turned to run, but the girl leading them shouted.

"Sebas, stop! Forget the spider. Remember the wind."

"It's huge!" He continued to retreat away from the creature climbing down the boulder.

"Bring the wind. We'll deal with the spider later," the girl said.

The boy's body trembled when he stopped his feet, and he closed his eyes. His eyes sprang open when the many-legged creature landed on the ground and rushed toward him. He remained frozen, stricken with terror. A blast of icy wind tore through the trees so violently that Ilnin used his hand to shield his face from the turbulent debris whipped into the air. The wind struck the spider as it leapt to pounce on the boy. It flipped through the air before slamming into the ground on its back with legs twitching. The wind also buffeted the boy hard enough to drop him to the ground too.

The boy's sister cheered for him. "You did it. You made the wind, Sebas."

"That wasn't me. Rio, I can't do this. I'm sorry, but I can't," he said as he scrambled to his feet and away from the spider.

"So what made the wind?" the sister asked.

The one the boy called Rio shrugged in response. "We still need the rain. C'mon," she said, and the two girls reluctantly moved forward.

They were close enough for Ilnin to attack at any point. The youngsters were such easy prey and oblivious to his presence. They feared something he didn't see. He could charge and panic them, but he still waited. He didn't understand their odd behavior.

The one called Sebas continued to distance himself from the spider while the girls approached the twisted stone. He didn't understand their interest in the object, and his thoughts shifted as thunder rumbled again, this time closer. This time of year was wrong for such storms, and heavy rains could create lethal flooding. He should have moved out of the area to save himself, but again he stayed.

Ilnin resumed his soundless movements down the slope, creeping ever closer. He noticed the girls' features and drew their scents into his nostrils. Deafening thunder clapped overhead, and both Ilnin and the girls flinched with the sudden noise. Lightning struck and splintered an already blackened tree on the other side of the valley.

"No, Rio. Rain. Not lightning," the boy's sister said.

"I'm trying." Rio closed her eyes, though buffeted by the growing winds as the storm approached. Thick black clouds formed, and thunder crashed above them loud enough to make Ilnin's ears ring. Rio muttered "Rain" repeatedly and pinched her eyes shut.

Ilnin's curiosity made him continue to observe the girl. She seemed somehow familiar to him, with a scent he'd smelled before.

The first few drops of rain fell, sparingly at first then becoming more frequent.

"You did it!" the other girl said. Her celebration stopped, and her mouth hung open. "Oh, that's bad."

Rio's head sagged toward her chest, and her body swayed.

"Rio, stop. Whatever you're doing, stop!" the other girl said.

"Huh?" Rio opened her eyes and groaned. "Aw, crap." She swayed, and her friend caught her before she fell.

"What's wrong? You don't look well."

Rio pressed the heel of her hand against the side of her head. "I'm dizzy, and my head hurts."

"We have to leave. Now."

"Yeah." Rio blinked several times, and her balance somewhat returned.

The falling rain further softened Ilnin's approach over the wet, dead leaves and grass. There was only one gnarled tree surrounded by shrubs between him and the girls. His hair-covered body blended in with the landscape, and he crouched, preparing to lunge. A different sound distracted him, and he followed the girls' gaze. He delayed too long, and the wall of falling rain water from the black storm clouds struck the ground so hard that it bounced back up several feet.

He'd never seen such torrential rain in his lifetime. The girls turned to flee and headed back down the valley when they should have been headed for higher ground. With his focus on the girls, Ilnin had lost track of them.

"Where's my brother?"

"Where's the spider?" Rio asked.

Both girls were soaked by the heavy rain pounding down, with the deadlier part of the storm approaching at an accelerating pace. They continued their race to escape the storm, and Ilnin doubted their ability to outrun it. He dropped to all fours and bolted at an angle along the hillside heading toward the top of the hill and away from the incoming storm before the valley flooded. If the young humans survived the flood, he would find them later. He now knew their scents.

### 38

Emma's blood continued to seep between their fingers, and Colin's head came up with a noise in the distance. "Did you hear that?"

Ethan nodded. "The thunder? Yeah."

"There was something else." Colin turned to get a better view of the area behind him while keeping his hands on Emma's wound. The noise occurred again.

"That's Sebas."

"Stay with Em and continue to keep pressure on the wound." Colin removed his bloodied hands from her side and picked up the rifle while Ethan tried to slow the bleeding alone. Colin swore upon seeing Sebastian and the three-foot-tall spider chasing him.

"What's wrong?" Ethan asked.

"The kids found the sensitive area," Colin said as he raised the rifle to his shoulder.

"Meaning?"

"Sebas has a big spider after him."

"You can't shoot. You'll hit my son."

Colin sighted the weapon on Sebastian, thumbed the safety off, and waited. "Change directions anytime now, boy," Colin said with a mutter.

Sebastian darted aside as the spider lunged at him, and Colin fired. The .22 rifle had little recoil, and Colin eased his grip on the weapon. He missed the spider with his first try, and he reloaded. He fired a second quick shot, and the spider stumbled with a piercing shriek before resuming its pursuit of the teen.

"Don't leave her," Colin said when Ethan shifted his position to see his son.

"I'm not. Shoot it again."

Colin waited for Sebastian to get closer and ignored Ethan's continued barks at him to shoot the spider.

"Shoot it!" Sebastian said before darting aside again. The spider's leap missed him, but the abrupt direction change made him stumble.

Colin fired, and the spider tumbled forward several times before landing on its side, legs twitching for a moment before stopping.

Sebastian finished his sprint to his father and collapsed to his knees, gasping for air. He tried to thank Colin, but all that came out was a wheeze.

"Where are Rio and Colby?" Colin asked.

Sebastian held one hand on his chest, trying to breathe, and pointed with the other. "Coming."

Wind churned leaves and grass into the air, and Colin rushed to cover Emma's helpless form with his body. The icy blast ripped across the lower part of the riverbed and up the slope. Colin protected his face with his hand and shivered with the sudden cold. The black, swirling clouds approached just behind Colby and Rio who sprinted toward the riverbed. "She did it," Colin said, but his grin faded.

The girls waved their arms as they ran, but he couldn't hear their shouts through the howling wind.

As they neared the sky overhead darkened. Rain began to fall, and Colin caught some in his palm. Both Ethan and Sebastian held their hands over Emma's wound, but Colin still didn't understand why Rio and Colby seemed so panicked. He pulled his eyes from the soaking rain pooling in his hand. He noticed the wall of rain moving behind the girls and swore. "Move!" He discarded the rifle and pushed Ethan and Sebastian aside to scoop Emma into his arms. "Sebas, help your father up. We need better cover."

He carried Emma farther up the slope and placed her near a boulder sticking out of the ground. The stone would shelter her from the worst of the rain about to arrive. Colin passed Ethan on his way back down the hill to retrieve the packs, rifle, and other gear. Rio and Colby were out of breath, but he shoved packs and equipment into their arms and forced them to keep walking. Upon reaching her mother, Rio threw the gear down and knelt beside her.

"Why is she bleeding?" Rio wiped rain from her mother's face and begged her to wake up. "It's not working. Why isn't it working?"

Colin darted across the riverbed and gathered the bottles he'd put out to catch water. He slapped the lids back on the bottles that had collected some of the rain, and he scrambled up the hill. He almost reached the others when he was knocked to the ground by the force of pounding rain that fell. The wall of water that followed Rio and Colby had arrived.

Rio crouched over her mother, using her back to deflect the torrential rain that the boulder didn't stop. The storm forced Ethan, Sebastian, and Colby toward a small boulder a few yards away where they huddled together.

A clap of deafening thunder vibrated through Colin's body. The cut on his arm tingled as it healed. He struggled against the crushing rain to reach Rio and Emma. He wanted to pull them both closer to the boulder and out of the worst of the storm, but Emma needed the rain.

He put the water bottles inside the pack still on Rio's back. "Here." Colin pressed the last bottle into Rio's hand.

"The rain isn't working!"

Much of the blood on Emma's shirt had washed away. Colin lifted her shirt and used one of his knives to cut the bandage covering the wound. Rain saturated Emma's body, and Rio dumped the extra water from the bottle over her mother's injury. The red streaks of infection faded, and the bleeding stopped. The jagged edges of the wound sealed in an instant and left a crooked, pink scar.

Colin slapped Rio's shoulder and shouted into her ear over the storm. "This is good. When she wakes, make her drink the rest of what's in the bottle."

"Don't leave!"

"Stay with Em; she'll be fine. I need to check on Ethan," Colin said and left.

### 39

Though succeeding in creating a rainstorm, Rio realized she and Colby had been too successful. The relentless rain wasn't letting up or moving on. Rio lifted her mother's upper body and held her close. Rain dripped from Rio's body to her mother's face, and the cut on her mother's cheek disappeared. "Wow."

She wanted her mother awake. Rio shook her mother and smiled when she stirred. She lowered her head and yelled into her mother's ear. "Mom!"

Emma's eyes opened a crack, and Rio put the bottle to her mother's lips.

"You have to drink this." Rio spilled most of the water, but they were both soaked so it didn't matter.

Her mother drank sips of the collected rainwater, and Rio encouraged her to keep drinking until she refused. Her mother closed her eyes again and rested her head against Rio's chest. Rio drank what was left in the bottle, aware of the lack of water during the day.

The storm's intensity lessened, as did the pouring rain. With the cold water soaking her clothes, Rio shivered, but she didn't mind being chilled.

The movement caused her mother to wake, and Rio smiled. Her mother's fog of fatigue and almost dying was replaced with a brow creased with confusion.

Emma's voice rasped when she spoke. "Rio?"

Rio abandoned the bottle and wrapped her arms around her mother.

Emma pulled her daughter close. "I came as soon as I realized where you were."

Rio wept on her mother's neck. "I'm sorry I went to Burnt Mountain without you, Mom. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"I'm so happy to see you. Where are the twins?"

Rio shifted her body, sniffled, and pointed. "There."

The twins sat huddled with Ethan, and Rio smiled, since Ethan appeared to be healed as well.

Emma frowned. "My mind is still a bit foggy. There are four people over there, right?"

"Yeah. The twins and I made a new friend yesterday."

"Georg is here?"

Rio shook her head. "Who's Georg?"

"Um, he's, uh ..." Emma wiped excess water from her face and frowned, trying to concentrate.

"Mom, relax. It might take some time for the cobwebs to clear. You almost died."

"I did?"

Colin motioned for them to stand. He shoved one of the packs into Ethan's arms and made rapid pointing gestures while shouting at the man through the storm. Ethan said something back, moving to instead join Rio and Emma, and Colin pushed Ethan to head up the hill. Colin made the twins carry other gear and follow their father away from their meager shelter and into the storm.

"Looks like we're moving," Rio said.

"How did I almost die?"

"Your fever and infection."

Emma shook her head. "Huh?"

Colin picked up the rifle and met Rio. After shouldering the large pack Rio had tossed on the ground, he helped the teen get her mother standing. "Rio, we need to move to higher ground before this basin floods. If you can figure out how to shut this rain off, that would be great."

Rio frowned at him. "First you want me to make it rain when there is none, and now you want me to turn it off. If I had a clue what I was doing things would be different. There isn't exactly a water faucet in those clouds, ya know?"

Colin laughed in response.

Emma stared at the man holding her arm. She recognized his voice. Her mouth opened but no words came out.

"Welcome back among the living, Em. That is provided we survive this storm," Colin said.

"Wha—you?"

Her mother stumbled as she began walking, her eyes fixed on Colin. He helped keep her from falling, but she still tried to speak with him.

"Mom, careful," Rio said.

"We'll chat later. Watch where you're going," Colin said.

Rio guided her mother up the increasingly steep slope. Water rushed from the top of the hillside, washing anything not firmly anchored to the ground toward them. Rio tried to make the rain stop by concentrating, but nothing seemed to work. A blackened piece of tree toppled with the wind and almost struck Colby. Her father had pulled her out of the way as it snapped and fell. The impact of the tree with the saturated ground splashed them with mud, leaves, and blackened bits of rotted wood.

The Rileys escaped the deadly log, but Rio, her mother, and Colin were now in its path. Water swept the debris and log toward them. A gust of wind caused them to stop, forcing them to their knees. The log struck another stump causing it to launch into the air, spinning. Colin pushed Rio and Emma into the mud as the log passed just over their heads.

Angered with the relentless storm and encounter with the log, Rio stood and shouted at the sky. "Enough!"

She was answered with a violent gust of wind that made her turn and cower as debris whipped by and blew the rain sideways. After a few minutes of increased intensity, the wind and rain lessened as the storm moved on. She waited for the next blast of wind, but it didn't come. The rain continued, but it reduced to a moderate rainfall. They resumed their ascent up the slope, and once at the top, Rio turned.

The riverbed was swollen with turbulent waters that engulfed the area they'd used as shelter against the worst of the rain.

"Nice work. Maybe a little too much of a storm, but you got the job done," Colin said to Rio before walking ahead.

"Where are we? What just happened?" Emma asked.

"Not real sure myself," Rio said.

Upon reaching the Rileys, Emma embraced Colby and Sebastian. "I'm so glad you're OK."

Everyone's hair and clothes were stuck to their skin and dripping, but none of it mattered. Rio smiled, glad to have everyone together and well. They survived the terrible storm, and her mother had gone from almost dead to upright and talking.

"We're fine. Are you? You were bleeding," Sebastian said.

"I don't understand." Emma looked to Rio for answers.

"Your side," Rio said.

Emma lifted the edge of her torn shirt and touched the ragged scar. "What _happened?_ How long have we been here?"

"You almost died, more than once, and you have lost some time. I'm guessing that's the work of the poison. I can only remember pieces, and I mistook that guy for one of those creatures. I tried to kill him," Ethan said.

"Wait, what?" Emma asked.

Rio realized they'd stopped to talk, and Colin glared at them from several feet ahead. Rio tugged on her mother's arm. "Oh, he's not happy. We'll fill you in on the way."

Colby shooed her father forward. "Don't fall behind."

Rio, the twins and Ethan discussed the events of the last two days as they tried to keep up with Colin. Her mother listened to the conversation and didn't ask many questions. They reached the top of the cliff to begin the climb down to Colin's home, and Rio's shoulders sagged. She didn't realize how exhausted she felt until they stopped. She shivered in her cold, wet clothes, and Colin didn't give them time to rest. With strict instructions he dictated who would descend first, second, and so on.

They followed his orders, and as Colin began his descent, Rio and the twins helped Ethan and her mother down, and they entered the small cave together. Rio stayed close to her mother, and their steps stopped short when they heard a noise from a dark shadow inside the cave.

"Wha—?" Ethan asked, but stopped when Rio waved at him to step back.

The growl grew louder as the wolf emerged from the shadows and stalked toward them.

### 40

Emma used her arm to move Rio behind her body, and Ethan did the same with his children.

"Where's the rifle?" Sebastian asked.

"Colin has it," Rio said.

"Spears? Crossbows?" Colby asked.

"He has those too," Rio said.

The group backed away from the wolf and toward the exit. Rio couldn't pull her eyes away from the animal. As Colin had said, the animal was the size of a small horse, with a long head and huge paws. A swath of its black fur was gone from its shoulder, and a thick scar curved around the wolf's back and side. Heavy feet dropped to the ledge behind them, and the group startled.

"You're supposed to go _inside_ the cave." Colin pushed his way past them and stopped in front of the growling wolf. "Knock it off," he said to the animal, giving the wolf a rough but friendly scratch on the neck as he passed.

The wolf snapped its jaws shut and moved to Colin's makeshift bed. It made a couple of turns in a circle before dropping beside the bed with a huff.

Colin removed the pack from his back and unlashed the weapons he'd tied to it. He placed the rifle on the table and stretched. "Long day. Ethan, bring the other pack over here. Ethan?" Colin turned toward the group still standing near the cave's entrance. "Just going to stand there gaping or are you coming in?"

Colby's eyes remained fixed on the wolf. "Gaping is good."

Colin chuckled and waved them over as he began to start a fire. After adding a few small sticks to grow the flames higher, the group took a moment to warm their hands. Rio looked around Colby's head to take another look at the wolf.

"He's harmless." Colin pulled a piece of dried meat from the string hanging near his head and tossed it to the wolf. Quick jaws snatched the treat from the air and swallowed it in one gulp.

Rio's open mouth closed and turned to a grin. "He's a giant. Is he your pet?" She moved closer to get a better look at the wolf.

"Pet? No. More like a pal. He was burned in the fire like I was, but he was a pup at the time. His pack had left him when I found him. We sorta settled next to each other to die then it started to rain. Been a little twosome pack since."

"Before or after you escaped the creatures that captured you?" Rio asked.

Colin stared at Rio for a moment.

"What? You left that part out," Rio said.

He frowned. "After."

"Where has he been since we got here?" Sebastian asked.

"He does his own hunting sometimes. There's a long tunnel in that back, darkest corner," Colin said with a nod of his head to the area. "He uses it to come and go as needed."

"What's his name?" Sebastian asked.

"Uh, he doesn't have one," Colin said.

"You've been pals with him since he was a pup and never gave him a name?" Colby asked.

"Never had time to think one up for him," Colin said.

"What do you say when you need to get his attention?" Colby asked.

Colin scowled at Colby. "Ugh, the incessant questions! Um, Wolf, I guess."

Colby laughed at his answer. "That's original."

"You asked!" Colin said.

Rio snorted a laugh at Colin's exasperation, and Ethan intervened.

"She's aggravating you on purpose," Ethan said.

Colby grinned at Colin, and the man frowned and returned his attention to the pack. Ethan placed his pack on the ground for Colin to dig through them both.

"What food did you bring, Em?" Colin asked.

"Um, nuts, dried fruit, and, uh—" Emma said. She knelt beside Colin and put her hand on his arm. "How did you survive? The creature bit your shoulder and slashed you with its claws. I'd never seen so much blood. The fire started, and I lost you. If we knew you were still alive, Jody and I would have come back."

"As much as I wanted to go home, I never wanted you or Jody to come back for my sake."

Emma threw her arms around him, and her voice cracked when she spoke. "I'm so sorry we left you."

Colin untangled himself from her arms. "Em, I didn't know if you and Jody had survived the fire. I had to believe you made it out though. I never blamed you for leaving nor do I regret forcing you to go. There was no other way but for me to stay behind while you and Jody got out."

Rio's mother continued to stare at him, though he returned his attention to the packs. Rio had several questions for them, but she remained quiet.

Colin paused his disemboweling of the packs for a moment without looking at Emma. "How is she?" Her silence brought his head up.

Tears slid down Emma's face, and she sat on the small bench by the table. "She died seven years ago."

Rio's chest ached to witness her mother's pain. Colin flinched with the news and assigned the task of emptying the packs to Sebastian. Colin shifted his attention to sorting his menagerie of new weapons.

"How long have I been here, Em?" Colin kept his back to everyone while he pretended to inspect the additions to his arsenal.

"Fourteen years."

Rio joined her mother on the bench and leaned her head against her mother's shoulder. The Rileys didn't speak or move.

"Rio, I was going to tell you everything when I brought you to Burnt Mountain to show you the funnel. I had the packs ready in case something happened and we ended up accidentally going through the portal," Emma said.

"I heard this place has a way of sucking you in," Rio said, repeating Colin's words.

Emma nodded. "Yeah, it does."

"Mom, you know I have a thousand questions, right?"

Emma sighed. "I'll tell you whatever you want."

### 41

After telling Rio of why she and her sister went to Kings Mountain and how they ended up in the funnel, Emma drew in a shaky breath before continuing.

"The clouds were gray, like they still are now, but the landscape was so beautiful. We were on Kings Mountain in November when all the leaves were on the ground, and we came out of the tunnel to a place that was in peak fall colors. We thought it was amazing. The weather turned strange, lightning cracked everywhere, some kind of animal yipped in the distance, and the wind turned violent. A tornado funnel dropped right out of the thick storm clouds and blocked our way back to the tunnel. In our haste to escape the storm, I wiped out and fell down a hill. The storm continued, and I couldn't get back to Jody and Colin. I made it across a narrowing over the ravine and spent a terrifying night alone in a gap between two boulders."

"How did you find them again?" Rio asked.

"It took me a while to find my way across the riverbed to head back to the cave and to the rope. We crossed paths on the way back and almost reached the tunnel when two groups of creatures showed up trying to kill each other. Some of them came after us, and Colin told us to leave. He tackled one that lunged at me, but it still grabbed me by the foot. I got free, and the creature attacked him. More creatures arrived, and I couldn't reach Colin. They started dragging him away. The weather worsened, brewing another storm."

"Fears coming back to life?" Rio asked.

"That's what I thought at the time, but this new storm was much worse. Jody and I fought, but I shoved her into the tunnel. She screamed at me to let her go back for Colin, but I didn't. We lost sight of him, and it was like a volcano erupted. Lava rained down from the black clouds above, and everything the balls of fire touched burst into flames. The intense fire forced both of us deep into the tunnel. The lava _chased_ us in. We used the rope to climb out, and the fire reached the rope, burning it behind us."

"Burnt Mountain."

Emma nodded. "The water didn't put the fire out. Jody got free of the rope and climbed to the top of the cliff. I wasn't as fast to leave the rope." Emma turned her arm, showing Rio the inside of her forearm and the scar across her skin.

"Now I know why you always dodged the question when I asked you how you got that scar."

"Yeah. Jody and I ran. The fire torched everything on the mountain. Ash and smoke hung in the air for days when it burned until being put out by a combination of fire crews and a nor'easter that brought a ton of rain. Jody never forgave me for forcing her to leave."

"Maine recovered from the fire, but this world didn't."

Emma nodded.

"The lava cooled and created the hard, black surface inside the water cave and tunnel," Rio said.

"Yes," Emma said.

"Jeremy brought back help for you though, right?"

"No."

"No? Jerk!" Rio said.

"He ran home after we disappeared in the water and drank himself into a stupor. When Jody and I found him, she joined in as his drinking buddy and companion. She was a mess and wouldn't speak to my parents or me. I needed to return to England for classes a few weeks later, but I stayed home. Colin died, and I couldn't leave Jody, though she wouldn't talk to me.

"We had an unusually icy December that year. Jeremy wrapped his car around a tree and died. Fortunately Jody wasn't with him. Mom fell on the ice and was in the hospital with a broken hip. Dad and I spent two days removing ice around the house. I was in Bangor buying groceries when Dad collapsed with a heart attack. Pete Cole found him, but it didn't matter. Dad died a few hours later. Mom gave up on life, and pneumonia took her. Jody still wouldn't come home and eventually disappeared. The police couldn't find her, and they considered her a runaway like Colin, since they couldn't find him either. I let everyone believe she ran away to be with Colin because it was an easier story to tell. After I buried my parents, I went back to England to stay. Everyone here was dead or gone."

"She never called you? Once?" Rio asked.

Emma shook her head and brushed away more tears. "I tried to find her. I didn't know she was sick."

"What happened?" Colin asked.

Emma was used to Rio asking the questions, so Colin's voice disrupted her thoughts. Emma hadn't noticed that he and the Rileys had gathered closer to the crude table as she spoke. "Uh, she died before I arrived at the hospital."

"Mom, I'm sorry you had to go through all that. How could someone not have bad dreams after so much suffering?" Rio asked, though she didn't expect her mother to answer the question.

"Jody shouldn't have left you alone," Colin said.

"It doesn't matter, Colin. I don't hate her for leaving." Exhaustion made Emma's body sore and difficult to move. The act of using her hand to wipe away tears required effort. Yet, telling Rio the truth after avoiding it for so long provided an emotional relief, and Emma sighed.

"When did you marry?" Colin asked.

"Huh?" Emma asked, surprised by the question.

Ethan frowned. "Sorry. I told him you were divorced when he asked about you before. You were still trying to die of your infection at the time."

"It's fine," Emma said and waved him off. "While I was in England. It didn't last long."

"What happened?" Colin asked.

"He went to jail. We split."

Colin tilted his head. "You're leaving out a few details, Em."

"Details that aren't your business, Colin."

"Fair enough. How's Nate?" Colin asked then winced. "Please don't tell me he's dead too."

Emma smiled. "He's great. He's married to a wonderful woman named Shelley."

"How do you know Uncle Nate?" Rio asked Colin.

Colin grinned. "He's my older brother. Children?" he asked Emma.

"Not yet. Shell has mentioned it though."

Colin snapped his fingers and pointed to Rio. "Your Aunt Shell you mentioned before."

Rio nodded and smiled.

"Finally some good news," Colin said and stood. "Everyone needs to eat and rest." He went to the packs and began tossing items to the table while Rio fetched the water from her pack. "Em, do we have a way out?"

"Rope. Same as before."

Colin clapped his hands. "Excellent. We'll leave in the morning."

"Why not now?" Ethan asked.

"You are more exhausted than you realize, and wolves hunt at night. Eat, and don't go crazy with the water. Save some for tomorrow. Go to bed."

Colin picked up the rifle and moved to the cave entrance. Emma watched him as he sat, got comfortable, and ate in silence. She'd given him several years' worth of information including Jody's death. Emma ate a few pieces of dried fruit and wondered when she last ate. Sleep became a higher priority.

Several missing puzzle pieces snapped into place for both Rio and Colin once Emma stopped trying to avoid her past. The details about her mother's divorce weren't Rio's business either, but she decided to ask her mother about it later when they were alone.

### 42

Rio stirred and tilted her head to stretch her neck. She'd fallen asleep next to her mother who slept on despite Rio's squirming. Colin moved within his dwelling without a sound as he sorted objects he'd removed from her mother's packs. Rio slid out from beneath the silver blanket she shared with her mother during the night. Her skin prickled in the cold air as she worked to pull on her chilled but dry clothes. Colin glanced her way then returned to his obsessive organizing. Once dressed, Rio added a few sticks to the fire and brought her socks and boots with her to the table. Colin joined her but remained silent as she pulled her socks on.

Rio finished lacing her boots and dropped her casted arm on the top of the table. "Can you cut this off for me?"

"You said you broke it a few weeks ago,"

"I got dumped on by buckets of healing rain yesterday."

"Fair enough." Colin lifted the cast, examined it a moment, and placed her arm back on the table. He left her to sort through his stone knives and returned with some items. He placed a flat stone in the center of the table and organized several twigs on the top of it, taking time to put them exactly where he wanted them. He struck one of the knives against a stone to create sparks for a fire.

Rio eyed the crude tools and wondered if this was a good idea. "Think you can do this without cutting my arm off?"

"Guess we'll find out." Colin grinned, though his eyes remained on his attempts to start a fire.

"Mom always keeps a lighter in her pack, though I'm sure you've already found it and sorted it into one of your neat little piles on the floor. Want me to find it?"

"You'd be better off learning how to start a fire using stones. A lighter will run out of fuel."

"It's not an issue since we're leaving today, right?"

"If it's not an issue, why are you in a rush to get the cast off? You can wait and go to the doctor when you are home." Sparks settled and smoldered on the twigs, and Colin blew soft air over them. The smoke thickened, and the twigs crackled as a small flame burned them.

"The cast is dirty, itches like the devil, and it stinks."

Satisfied with the small fire and added light, Colin sat and pulled Rio's casted arm closer to him. He picked up one of the knives and began to saw along the side of the cast. "This exceeds being dirty, kid. Filthy is more like it. When I remove it, we'll give it to the wolf. It smells so bad, he might want to roll in it."

"Must have been terrible for you to live alone for so long with no one to enjoy your excessive wit," Rio said with a frown.

"I managed." He stopped sawing, switched to a serrated knife, and resumed sawing. He nodded with approval as the different edge cut across the fiberglass mesh better.

Rio glanced back to her mother. The rhythmic grinding sound didn't seem to disturb her or the Rileys. Only the wolf lifted his head with the noise. Wolf watched them for a moment before going back to sleep. She returned her attention to Colin and leaned forward, trying to view his features beneath the mass of hair and beard.

"You're crowding me while I work," Colin said without looking up from the cast.

With a sigh Rio straightened her back. "Did you love Jody?"

Colin's hands stopped for the briefest of seconds at her question before resuming their work. "Yes."

"How old were you when you got here?"

"Seventeen. Jeremy and I were the same age. Jody was due to turn seventeen in a few weeks. Your mother was nineteen or twenty. Seems like centuries ago."

"Jody was my mother."

Colin's hands stopped, and his head came up. He glanced to Emma and back to Rio. "You said Em was your mother." He used the knife in his hand to point at his sleeping friend.

"She is. When Mom died, Aunt Emma became my guardian and later adopted me."

"Your father?"

"Mom, uh, _Jody,_ always told me he died in a car accident. She never told me his name, but maybe my father was Jeremy."

"Based on what Em said last night, yeah, makes sense." He resumed working on Rio's cast and several minutes passed in silence, with the sawing noise against the cast the only sound. "Em said Jody was sick when she died. Sick from what?"

"She was addicted to a lot of stuff at different times. I was too young to know everything that was going on, and I spent many nights with a neighbor nice enough to look after me when Mom couldn't. I never knew Mom to be healthy. When she did finally come off everything, her body was too damaged from the abuse."

"How old were you when she died?"

"I'd just turned six."

Colin's hand flinched, and the blade slipped off the fiberglass mesh and nicked Rio's skin. She hissed and pulled her arm away.

"Sorry," Colin said.

Rio pressed the lower hem of her shirt against the small cut on her hand. "It's not that bad." She looked at the shallow trough Colin had created along the length of the cast with his knives. "Cutting this thing off is going to take a while."

"Yep. Have your doctor finish what I started," he said as he picked up his knives and stood. "Wake everyone up."

With a deep sigh, Rio left the table and did as she was told. She woke her mother last, passed her dry clothes to her, then fed the remaining sticks to the dwindling fire while her mother dressed. She returned to her mother's side and folded the emergency blanket to store it back into the pack.

Emma touched the hem of her daughter's shirt. "Is this blood?"

"I scratched my hand. It's nothing, Mom."

Emma tilted her head and examined Rio's cast. "Can't say I blame you for trying to cut that thing off. So much for keeping it clean."

"But—" Rio said.

Emma smiled and held her hand out. "I'm not angry, Rio. I do need you to help me up."

Rio took her mother's hand and pulled. "My arm doesn't hurt anymore. After the fall in the water cave, it throbbed for a long time. I think the rain fixed my arm."

Her mother stood with a groan, winced, and twisted her body.

"What's wrong?" Rio asked.

"My body does _not_ like sleeping on the ground. I'm so stiff."

"Your knee must be killing you."

Emma stopped trying to stretch, and she blinked several times. "It should be, yes, but my knee doesn't hurt at all."

Rio shrugged. "Maybe the rain fixes more than just newer injuries."

"Ethan, toss me the bag of dried fruit next to you, please," Emma said.

Ethan paused from lacing his footwear to throw the pouch to Emma. She caught it and smiled.

"What?" Ethan asked.

"Apparently the rain fixed your old rugby injury to your shoulder," Emma said.

"Dad, that's great!" Colby said.

"It's fixed?" Sebastian asked.

Ethan moved his arm, rotating his shoulder, and grinned.

"You're right," Emma said to Rio. "The rain fixes lots of things."

"Can you people move any slower?" Colin's voice and clapping hands echoed in the cave. He clapped his hands again, urging the twins, Ethan, and Emma to move faster. He took the bag of fruit from Emma and returned to his crude table. "Quickly! Time for a few final plans before we leave."

### 43

Before Rio arrived at the table, she caught the small daypack Colin tossed her way. "Put it on, and don't take it off. You have what's left of the rainwater." To the others, he said, "Anyone who gets injured, find her." Colin handed Emma the rifle and placed the remaining shells in her other hand. "This is all that's left for ammunition unless you have more squirreled away someplace else."

Emma shook her head.

"Pick your targets wisely."

Emma placed the loose shells in her front pocket and the box of remaining shells in the other. She had almost 60 rounds left. If they encountered a swarm of creatures like they did the last time she tried to leave this world, the ammunition wouldn't last long.

Colin pointed to five small piles of food on the table. "Eat while you listen. We need to travel light and fast. Very fast. The creatures can smell things we can't, and I'm sure they already know I'm not the only human in the area."

As each person picked up their food and ate, Colin distributed weapons to everyone. The twins and Rio compared knives Colin gave them from his collection, and Ethan frowned when handed one of the crossbows he and Emma had scavenged two days before.

"It won't hurt you as long as you point it in the right direction," Colin said to Ethan.

"Right," Ethan said with a mutter.

"Don't scratch yourself on any of the bolts either." Colin created five more tiny piles of food from the dried meat he'd stored and the bitter roots. "Put this in your pockets to eat later in case we are delayed. It's the last of the food, so you'll be scavenging for yourself once it's gone. The gear I've given you is all you need to stay alive."

"You're leaving both of my packs and a lot of gear behind," Emma said.

"Replace them when you are home."

"Are you mad? What if we can't get out today?"

"It's a risk we have to take."

Emma tightened her jaw.

"I'm not debating this with you, Em."

He left her to gather his own gear, and while he tied his small pouch to his waist, Emma pawed through the items Colin planned to leave behind. She found the plastic bag containing both her and Ethan's phones and stuffed it into her back pocket.

Colin slung the strap of a crossbow over his shoulder and turned. "I'll go up first. Ethan, you'll bring up the rear, and—" He stopped his words when bits of gravel trickled down the side of the cliff past the crack of the entrance to the cave.

The wolf stalked toward the small landing and growled.

"They're here," Colin said with a whisper. "Em, use the tunnel to leave. Ethan, we stay so they can leave."

"No!" Colby gripped her father's arm to pull him away from the entrance.

"You can't stay behind again, Colin," Emma said. Colin ignored her, so she turned her attention to Ethan. "You can't stay."

"There isn't another way, Em. You can take the kids out, and you know the way home," Colin said.

Ethan tried to pry Colby off his arm then ducked, forcing Colby down as Emma swung the rifle's muzzle toward him.

The _crack_ from Emma's rifle echoed inside the cave, and a creature collapsed on the ledge and fell off. She pulled the rifle's bolt open and reloaded.

Three more creatures reached the landing, and Ethan and Colin fired their crossbows while Emma shot the remaining intruder. Colin reloaded his crossbow and dared a peek out. He ducked back in as a bolt bounced off a rock, just missing him.

"The cliff is crawling with them. Em, you have to go now. Take the kids and leave," Colin said.

"I can't do this again."

Ethan touched Emma's arm and spoke in softer tones than Colin. "Please do this for me. I want my children safe."

Sebastian clung to his father's arm. "Dad, no!"

"We'll stay and help so we can leave together," Rio said.

Colin spun, fired his crossbow again, and another Tuar fell. Three more arrived on the landing in its place. Ethan pulled himself free of his twins, fired his weapon, and killed one creature while Emma shot another. The rifle was quicker to reload than the crossbows, but as she pulled the rifle's bolt open, the remaining intruder raised his own crossbow at her. The wolf lunged at the attacker and yelped as the creature fell from the landing.

Colin and Ethan dragged Wolf back inside. The animal whimpered but didn't move with the bolt stuck deep into his chest. Colin shifted his anger to Emma. "They won't care that you're a woman or they're children. You must leave."

Five creatures dropped to the landing. One lost its balance and fell while the other four forced their way in. Two more arrived behind them. Colin charged the nearest two, slamming them into the cave wall while he fired his crossbow at another. Emma fired two quick shots and was in the process of reloading when a creature aimed its weapon at her daughter. Rio turned to run but fell forward as the bolt struck her in the back.

Emma abandoned her efforts to reload and rushed toward her daughter. Rio scrambled to her feet but stumbled again. She rolled over and raised her arm as the creature brought the crossbow's stock down at her head. The weapon struck her cast, breaking it with the impact. Rio clawed her way along the cave floor to escape her attacker. The creature reached for her but rocked backward when Emma slammed the rifle's stock into its snout. Black blood spurted from the creature's face. Before it could swing its claws at her, Emma struck it again with the rifle, and it fell, stunned.

Her hands trembled, and she dropped the rifle to reach for Rio. "Hold still while I get the tip out of your back." Emma fumbled with the pack's straps to see her daughter's injury.

"No, Mom, I'm fine. I'm not hurt. It punctured one of the bottles in the pack."

Emma stopped fussing with the pack and stared at her wet hands. "It's not blood."

"I'm fine, Mom." Rio pulled at the pieces of the broken cast and tore the interior padding to finish removing the cast.

Emma snatched the bolt from the pack and threw it aside. She slipped the rifle's strap over her shoulder and yanked Rio to her feet. She gave Colby and Sebastian a shove to make them move. "Get in the tunnel," she said and herded them to the rear corner of the cave.

Ethan and Colin continued to fight, but they were outnumbered. Both men were spattered with the creatures' black blood, which mixed with their own. Emma readied the rifle and fired several more times before finally retreating when a crossbow bolt struck the cave's wall beside her. The creature that had tried to kill her died from a stab delivered by Colin. She caught a quick glance from both men before they returned their attention to the invaders.

Emma forced her feet to turn away and move. She left Colin behind for the second time.

### 44

Rio gave Sebastian the headlamp she'd removed from Colin's piles of things to leave behind. She urged Colby and Sebastian into the tunnel ahead of her. Rio's mother adjusted the rifle strap over her shoulder to point the barrel down. _Smart,_ Rio thought. Keeping the muzzle down would help keep it clear of debris as her mother moved into the underground tunnel.

After starting her crawl, Rio paused when she heard her mother cry out with pain. Since Sebastian had the headlamp, Rio couldn't see anything. She shifted to go back to the opening, and a hand grabbed her boot. Rio jerked her foot free.

"Go!" Emma said.

Rio sighed with relief to hear her mother's voice, even if she was getting yelled at for stalling. The tunnel stank of old dirt and stale air, but Rio had enough room to move on her hands and feet. The space would've been tight for the wolf.

Rio checked to confirm her mother was still behind her. "Mom?"

"Move, Rio."

Rio increased her pace, hating the absolute darkness and not knowing where she was going. The tunnel sloped upward, and Rio continued her hunched crawl. Her arms, legs, and back ached, but she kept going. She spotted a hint of light and pushed forward. The twins flinched when Rio erupted from the hole in the ground next to a tree stump.

"It's just me," she said before turning and reaching for her mother's hand. She glanced at the twins and both stood with shoulders slumped and lines down their faces where tears made clean paths through the smudges on their skin. Rio helped her mother out of the tunnel. "Any of those things following you?"

Emma shook her head and grimaced with pain as she lay on the ground to catch her breath. A bolt protruded from her mother's lower leg, and Rio started removing her pack.

"Anyone injured?" Emma asked.

"Only you. Roll over." Rio pushed her mother to side then removed the punctured bottle that still had some water left in it. "Hold still." Rio yanked the bolt free of her mother's leg.

Emma gasped with the sudden, sharp pain. She dropped her head to the ground with a groan. "You could've warned me."

"I did." Rio poured water over her mother's wound, and the deep puncture stopped bleeding and healed. Her mother sighed as the pain lessened and sat up. Rio pressed the bottle into her mother's hand. "Drink some in case there is still poison inside you."

After taking a few sips, Emma passed the bottle back to Rio.

"You're OK now?"

"Yeah." Emma stood and inspected her weapon, clearing it of any dirt. "Anyone get a look at which clan attacked us?"

Colby sniffled and nodded. "They were the light brown ones."

Sebastian handed Rio the borrowed headlamp, and she dropped it into her sack with the water. Rio zipped the pack closed and slipped into the straps. "Good."

"What? How is this good?" Sebastian asked. "I feel like my guts have been ripped out after leaving Dad with those things. This is terrible!" Fresh tears spilled down his dirt-smeared face.

"They'll torture your dad and Colin before eating them," Rio said.

Emma slid the rifle's bolt closed after loading a new round. "It means we still have time to rescue them."

Rio's eyebrows went up with surprise. She expected an argument with her mother about heading for the water cave versus trying to rescue Colin and Ethan.

"How do we rescue them?" Colby asked.

"No clue," Emma said. "We need to know if they're still alive first. Rio, I'm not sure where we are. Can you lead us back in range of the cliff so we can see what's going on?"

Rio turned in a circle as she gazed across the landscape. The gangly black birds loitered in trees around them, but she didn't worry about their presence. She started down a gently sloping hill. "This way."

Sebastian wiped the tears from his face, creating more smudges. "How does she do that?"

Emma shrugged.

"You gave her a compass for her birthday that she doesn't need," Sebastian said.

"She wanted it anyway," Emma said.

Colby stood with a scowl and her arms crossed.

"Sebas, we'll catch up," Emma said. She put her hand on Colby's shoulder.

Colby shrugged Emma's hand off her shoulder. "We left Dad, and Colin lied. They didn't have to stay."

"I know, but we had to leave. It was too dangerous to keep you and Sebas there. We needed time, and your father helped us get it. Besides, think how ticked off he'll be when we don't leave and show up again."

Colby's scowl lessened. "I'm still angry."

"Perfect. Let's take it out on the creatures that attacked us and get your father back."

Colby shuffled her feet forward before lengthening her stride to catch up with her brother and Rio. Emma followed and kept the rifle ready. She turned often to make sure no creatures followed them.

### 45

Ilnin breathed deeply, savoring the scent of human blood in his nose. Thick saliva formed in his mouth and dripped from his jowls as he strode around his captives. His clansmen held the humans after the hard fight to disarm and subdue them. He inspected his prisoners. _All of their injuries are minor,_ he thought. Ilnin sniffed the men and grinned. _And they're free of poison._

The Tuar leader gloried in his success to have captured the human he sought for innumerable years. Until he discovered the three young humans in the forest, the mixture of new scents in the air over the last two days had confused him. After hours of searching for them following the sudden storm, he'd tracked their scents to the cliff. He'd ordered his troops to capture the humans, but in their frenzy to obtain flesh to eat, Ilnin had to descend the treacherous cliff to stop them from killing and eating the humans. He threw a few of the Tuars into the ravine for being so willing to disobey his orders. The remaining clansmen put away their weapons and attacked until the humans were outnumbered and overwhelmed.

Ilnin lifted two lengths of braided rope from the destroyed table in the center of the cave and tossed it to a clansman. "Bind their hands after they reach the top," he said in their Tuar tongue.

His men forced the humans to the landing and surrounded them as they began the climb, while Ilnin remained behind. He strolled through the subterranean dwelling, picking at objects with his claws. He flicked foreign objects aside and lifted the large, colored sack. He sniffed the item and tossed it.

The youngsters' scents lingered in the cave along with another familiar smell. Four other people had been inside the cavern where he now stood. He lifted the second colored sack to his nose. Fresh saliva poured from his mouth.

The woman he'd almost captured before had been here.

He'd been unable to detect her scent since the original fire years ago, but he was certain it was her. Ilnin dropped to all fours and scoured the cave floor, searching for her trail. He moved around the bodies of his dead clansmen and followed her odor to the rear of the cave.

The width of his shoulders prevented him from entering the tunnel that smelled of human and stank of wolf. Ilnin backed away from the exit and prepared to tear a larger opening into the dirt and rocks. Shouts from his clansmen outside demanded his attention. Without his presence to keep his troops obedient, some within his clan would attack his prisoners and kill them.

Ilnin stomped toward the landing and stopped as he passed the dying wolf. He leaned over the animal's head.

"Die slowly and with much pain," Ilnin said with a growl. Wolf meat was a good meal, but this wolf's body was poisoned. He was tainted but still edible. Ilnin's fresh, human meat waited for him, so he left the wolf to suffer a slow, painful death.

If he hurried, he could find the four other humans that escaped.

His powerful arms and legs carried him up the side of the cliff as his clansmen argued.

"They have plenty of flesh, and their blood is delicious."

"We should eat now."

The clamor grew as the hoard of Tuars closed in around the humans bound and on their knees. Ilnin reached the top of the cliff and shoved his way through the clan. Their shouts lessened with his approach, but two of his kind continued their challenge of his orders to leave the men unharmed.

"We're hungry," one of them said.

In a flash of movement, Ilnin slashed his claws across the Tuar's neck. He snatched a crossbow from one of his troops and fired the bolt into the other dissenter's chest. As they fell, dead or dying, Ilnin threw the one with the torn neck from the cliff. The second Tuar gurgled in his own blood and tried to remove the bolt lodged in his chest. Ilnin dragged him by the leg and tossed him into the ravine too.

Ilnin turned to face the rest of his clansmen. "Anyone else want to eat now?"

He was answered by silence and submission. His 100 Tuars were ready to follow orders again.

"There are more humans here. Four have escaped. Bring them to me alive," he said. Ilnin issued the rest of his orders, sending half of his group ahead to their encampment. Of the remaining 50, he sent half to search for the missing humans. Ilnin stayed with the remaining 25 to escort the human males to his camp.

He stood over the longhaired man and grinned. He placed the tip of his razor-like claw under the man's chin and pressed it into his skin. The man winced with pain and stood to try to avoid the sharp claw's tip. Ilnin did the same to the other man. With both men standing, Ilnin ordered them and his clansmen to head home.

His prisoners stumbled forward with no remorse from their captors. Ilnin was hungry too, but he would wait for now. He intended to imprison them, and the man that escaped before would have no way to leave this time. If the rival clan attacked his camp again, Ilnin would crush them and use their flesh for food and hides for armor as he'd done many times before.

The long-haired man glared back at the Tuar leader as he marched forward, and the Tuar snarled, showing his jagged rows of teeth. Ilnin wished the man would try to run away so he could pursue and take him down, sinking his teeth and claws into the man's body.

### 46

Rio, the twins, and her mother watched the exchange between the Tuar leader and his clansmen. They huddled together behind a rotting log with only their heads exposed, remaining silent. Twenty-some creatures now marched with Ethan and Colin in the center of their group as the rest of the clan split off into two other groups. The men were bloodied from their fight with the Tuars, but they remained well enough to walk on their own. Rio glanced at her mother and withheld her grin. Her mother's intense stare as the creatures led the men away meant she was working on a plan. Rio tapped her mother's shoulder, and they ducked behind the log.

"Dad's alive. We must go after them," Colby said.

"We will," Emma said.

"The larger batch that broke off is heading for their main camp. The ones taking Colin and Ethan are following behind them," Rio said.

"The smaller group is headed upstream along the ridge. They're looking for us," Emma said.

Rio nodded. "Once they find the tunnel's exit and pick up our scent, we're screwed."

"They can track us," Sebastian said.

"Right. So we can't stay here," Rio said.

"Can we create another storm and lead it to Dad to heal him and Colin and blow away the creatures?" Colby asked.

"That place is too far away. We need to do something before the creatures take Ethan and Colin to their camp," Rio said.

"They're making slow progress. We'll circle around, cut them off," Sebastian said.

Colby shook her head. "These creatures are ruthless. The leader chucked the two rabble-rousers off the cliff before they were dead. We have one weapon against twenty of those things, Sebas."

Emma interrupted the debate. "Rio, what kind of terrain is between us and their camp?"

Rio brushed leaves and plucked grass out of the ground to scratch a rough map in the dirt with her finger. When she finished explaining her squiggles and marks in the dirt, she looked up. "You have a plan?"

"Working on it," Emma said.

Rio waited as her mother inspected the rifle and blew dirt away from the bolt. She slid the bolt open, confirmed the chamber was clear of debris and loaded before sliding it closed. "You're stalling, Mom."

Emma tightened her jaw and gazed down the slope to the cliff's edge. "It's a long shot, but I want to see if we can save the wolf."

"I like this plan." Rio started down the hill. Her steps halted when her mother grabbed her arm.

"You're staying here," Emma said.

"I have the pack with the water."

"I'm taking the pack."

"Colin told me to keep it."

Emma rolled her eyes. " _Now_ you decide to listen to instructions?"

"I listen to you. Mostly," Rio said.

Colby interrupted the argument. "We're wasting time."

"She's right, Mom. We need to hurry." Rio bolted away from her mother and heard her mother's subsequent curses. Rio glanced behind, and her mother followed, with a fierce glare. She could reach the cliff's edge first and start the climb down before her mother could stop her. Her haphazard sprint turned into a skid when Rio stumbled after stepping in a depression in the ground. She fell forward, and her out-of-control skid took her close to the cliff where she'd slide over the edge. In a few more seconds, Rio's impulsive act would result in her death. A hand grasped her pack, slowing her slide, and Rio's widened eyes found her mother on the ground and skidding with her.

Her mother rolled to her hip and pulled Rio close. She thrust her feet out and slammed her boots against a snag of a rock sticking up from the ground inches before they both went into the ravine. Their bodies crashed together, but they stopped.

Rio was content to sit for a moment to catch her breath, but her mother stood and pulled Rio up too.

" _Never_ do something that stupid again," Emma said with a low growl, her face close to Rio's and flushed with anger.

Rio's heart pounded inside her chest. She shuddered with a wave of renewed fear upon realizing how close she came to dying _and_ killing her mother in the process.

"Never!" Emma said.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think my plan through," Rio said, understanding her excuse was a gross understatement.

Her mother's hands shook with anger, and her jaw muscles tightened into a knot. Rio remained silent as her mother spun her around, unzipped the pack, yanked out a bottle of water, zipped the pack, and spun Rio back around to face her again.

"I'm sorry, Mom."

Her mother was too angry to speak. She shoved the bottle of water into her front pocket and thrust the rifle and box of shells into Rio's hands. The twins arrived, and Colby opened her mouth to speak but closed it again upon seeing Emma's look. Once Rio's mother crawled down the side of the cliff, Colby spoke.

"She's livid."

"You're an idiot," Sebastian said to Rio.

Rio frowned and didn't respond.

"While I'm impressed with this unusual burst of impulsiveness and marked stupidity from you, _what_ were you thinking?" Colby asked.

Rio opened her mouth then opted to just close it instead. She had no defense for her shortsighted decision.

"That was dumb," Colby said.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Sebastian asked.

Rio sulked and brushed dirt off the plethora of scratches she now had on her hands and arms including a deep and bleeding scrape on her elbow. She hoped she could devise a rescue plan for Colin and Ethan. Maybe that would lessen her mother's anger and make her friends stop thinking she was a complete imbecile, though at the moment, Rio had to agree with her friends. Her silly race to reach the wolf first almost ended in disaster.

### 47

Emma's boots dropped to the landing with thud. She rubbed her sore and scraped palms together to ease the ache from clinging to the rocks and the new bruises from Rio's careless sprint down the hill. She took a deep breath and tried to forget her irritation with her daughter for a few minutes. Upon noticing the spatters of black blood on the landing and around the cave entrance, Emma grimaced. With a shudder she stepped over the bodies of dead creatures, hoping they were indeed all dead. Her stomach roiled with a wave of nausea when her boot squished in something beneath it.

Emma refused to look down at what was beneath her boot. The wolf's large body was impossible to miss, so she focused on reaching him. His breaths came in shallow gasps. He opened one eye and snarled when she rested her hand on his side.

"Easy, big guy."

She removed the bottle of water from her pocket and unscrewed the lid. Emma poured some of the liquid over the wound and dribbled water into Wolf's mouth. He lapped at the water, spilling most of it on the ground. Emma set the bottle aside and examined his wound. The short arrow was wedged deep into his chest. She wrapped her fingers around the piece of the shaft sticking out.

"I hope I don't pass out after this. Wolf, please don't eat me," she said before yanking the bolt out.

Wolf yelped and swung his head, teeth bared, toward her, and Emma leapt back. The wolf collapsed, blood pouring from the wound, and Emma scrambled for the water bottle. She poured the liquid into the gaping hole, and the wound began to heal. She trickled more water over his mouth, and he managed to consume more than he spilled. "Good boy," she said and patted his side. "Thanks for not eating me."

Emma glanced around Colin's former home and swallowed hard. So much blood and death. She refused to dig through the dead creatures to find the rifle shell she'd dropped before escaping and instead opted to gather some of the gear Colin intended to leave behind. She picked up her green, abandoned pack and threw various items in it that Colin had sorted into the Not Required for Survival pile.

Emma grumbled as she added items to her pack and realized she had a very different opinion from Colin on what she deemed necessary for survival. "Not a necessity? Moron."

After a few minutes of rummaging through the havoc wreaked by the creatures, she found what she wanted. Emma moved a piece of what used to be Colin's table and lifted the length of rope beneath it.

Emma headed for the cave entrance, and Wolf blocked her way and growled. "Move!" she said with a bark and stepped around him.

She tiptoed around the dead Tuars to reach the landing. She stuck her head out and found three teenage faces looking down at her. She leaned inside the cave and spoke to the wolf.

"Come on. This is the only way you're getting out today."

Emma placed the pack on the ground and coiled a length of the rope. After a few tries of tossing it up, Colby caught the end.

"You'll need to pull Wolf up. Got it?" Emma asked.

"He's huge! How are we supposed to pull him up?" Colby asked.

"Just help him as much as you can to keep him from falling," Emma said.

When Wolf arrived near the landing, Emma gave him the rest of the water and put the empty bottle back in her pocket. She wrapped her end of the rope around his body behind his front legs and tied a knot. After shouldering the pack and tightening the straps around her chest and hips, she patted the wolf's shoulder.

"I hope you understand what we're doing here. You must climb."

He growled at her in response.

"Growl at me again, and I'll turn you into a bloody rug!"

"Now?" Rio asked.

"Yes, pull him up. Hopefully he'll figure out what he needs to do."

Emma gave Wolf a shove in the rump. The twins and Rio hauled on the rope, and Wolf used his front paws to claw his way up the cliff with their help. Emma scaled the cliff behind him, using one of her hands when she was able to help place his rear feet on stable places to stand and push.

The wolf scrambled to the top of the cliff, and Emma's tired arms appreciated Sebastian helping her off the treacherous rock face. She rolled to her side and took a moment to breathe while Colby and Rio untied the rope from Wolf. "I can't believe that worked. I hope I never do that climb again," Emma said with a mutter as she pushed herself up from the ground.

Rio traded the rifle for the empty water bottle.

"Let's go," Emma said to the group and began leading them away from cliff.

Rio caught up with her mother to walk beside her. "Mom? Mom, I said I was sorry. I know I screwed up, and you're still mad, but—"

Emma abruptly stopped and turned on her daughter. "But what? You want me to say that you almost getting both of us killed is OK? It's not, Rio. We are all capable of dying in this place. Ethan and I have already used up a few of our lives on our first two days, and day three isn't off to a good start. None of us are invincible." Emma turned her attention to the twins. "Neither of you are any use to your father as a corpse. Rio, we all need to stay smart if we want to remain alive. Haphazard decisions will get you killed. Understand?"

Rio and the twins nodded.

Emma took a deep breath to settle her temper. "The wolf, amazingly, seems to understand what's going on. Rio, pick the pace to lead us around the Tuars with Colin and Ethan so we can be ahead of them. We'll need to move quickly since we'll be tracked once the other group finds our scent out of the tunnel. Questions?"

"You have a plan to rescue them?" Rio asked.

Emma half-shrugged. "It's a work in progress. Anything else?"

The teens shook their heads, and Emma nodded for Rio to lead.

### 48

When Rio brought the group to a stop, they were out of breath, sweating, and didn't hesitate to sit or kneel on the ground to rest.

After a few moments, Rio decided she had enough air to speak full sentences. "We only have a few minutes before they come around that bend at the base of the hill." She waved her hand in the general direction of the hill.

Her mother counted the remaining shells she had left while resting on her knees.

"Mom? Plan?"

"Uh." Emma wiped the back of her hand across her forehead to clear it from the dripping sweat. "Pass a bottle of water around. Everyone take a sip or two."

Rio and the twins drank some of the water, but her mother refused to drink any.

"Mom, take a drink."

"Save what's left. We may need it later for Colin and Ethan." Emma stood and scanned the landscape.

After placing the bottle back in her pack, Rio's impatience grew, her tapping foot speeding up with each passing moment.

"Mom, what's the plan?"

"I have enough shells if I'm a perfect shot, they don't swarm me, and I don't drop any." Emma sighed and placed the shells back in her pocket. "We know this is madness to try a rescue with one weapon, four people, and a wolf, assuming he's willing to help, against two dozen creatures that are faster and stronger than all of us combined, right?"

"So?" Colby asked. "They have my dad. I'm getting him back."

"I'm open to other ideas, but here's the plan. You three will spread out along the top of that ridge. Find logs, rocks, anything that you can roll down to hit the creatures."

"That will put Dad at risk too," Sebastian said. Wolf sat next to Sebastian, and he cast a wary glance at the large animal.

"We have to take the chance. I'll be on the ridge with you and shoot the ones I can. If they charge us, scatter. Remember, they're fast. If you wait too long to run, they'll catch you. If we are separated, go back to Colin's cave. Can you find it?" Emma asked the twins.

"Uh." Colby shared a glance with her brother.

"You two are hopeless. That way!" Rio pointed.

"What about him?" Sebastian asked with a nod of his head at the wolf.

"I'm hoping he'll protect our rear if the group of creatures searching for us turn up. Thoughts?" Emma asked.

"You're plan requires tweaking." Rio moved back along the crest of the hill. From their location, the ground sloped downward to a level field. Tall brush grew along half of the base of the slope. The grass in the field bordering the hill was trampled from the first group of creatures that went ahead of those holding the twins' father and Colin. Chances were the clan leader would follow the same path around the base of the hill.

"We need to pick our spots on the ridge closer to where we are now. If we go too far back, we'll just be rolling things down into that brush," Rio said.

"Anything else?" Emma asked.

"Nah. It's a good plan," Rio said.

The twins agreed, and the group dispersed to gather stones and logs. They prepped the area with what objects they found nearby. After rolling a log to the ridge's crest, Emma removed her pack. She stretched out to lie on her belly and use the wood to support her rifle.

Rio settled next to her mother and within a minute, the portion of the Tuar clan escorting Ethan and Colin emerged from around the far base of the hill. She snapped her fingers to get the twins' attention and motioned for them to get on the ground. Both scurried their way to hide behind another log lining the top of the slope. As Rio turned to gaze back down the hill, she flinched when one of the bat-bird hybrids landed on the log in front of her and her mother.

Rio stared at the strange being. The animal had a broad head like a hawk, but its long wings were leathery like those of a bat. Its long, black claws dug into the rotted bark, and its maroon eyes locked with her own.

"Move," Rio said with a whisper. She swatted at the bat-bird, and it nipped at her hand. Rio jerked her hand back before the animal's sharp beak caught her skin. "Mom, the creatures are almost under us. You have to start shooting now."

Her mother shifted the rifle to nudge the bat-bird aside, and it shrieked loud enough that she and Rio winced.

Rio hissed at the animal. "Shut up! They're looking this way, you stupid thing."

The bat-bird shrieked again.

"You're not helping." Emma moved to push the animal away and instead received a slash across the top of her forearm from the bat-bird's beak. She cursed the animal but didn't try to force it off the log again.

A second later multiple shrieks erupted from the forest. The noise soon mixed with shouts and roars by the group of Tuars in the trees. The creatures burst from the forest and stormed down the far end of the slope to escape the attacking bat-birds.

Crossbow arrows went in all directions as the two groups of creatures met at the base of the hill and fired upward at the gangly bat-birds swooping down at them. Though the Tuar group had doubled in number, their march became erratic as they scattered to escape the slashing claws pursing them.

"Whoa. Mom, I think this one just saved us."

"Yeah." Emma readied her rifle.

Rio's head turned, and she searched the trees behind them. "Uh, where's Wolf?"

"Doesn't matter."

Her mother shifted her weapon to aim it down at the creatures, and the bat-bird standing on the log didn't try to bite her again.

The clan leader shouted at his troops, but they were panicked and retreating. The creature sniffed the air and scanned his surroundings for a moment before locating the woman and children on the ridge.

"He sees us. Hurry, Mom. Shoot him. He's coming. He's coming!"

Her mother swiveled the rifle's barrel on the top of the log to align the charging Tuar in her sights, but she didn't fire. Wolf burst from the brush and slammed into the creature. Both rolled back down the hill in a tangled heap.

### 49

Emma flinched with Wolf's unexpected appearance, but with the Tuar leader now in a brawl with the wolf, she could focus on freeing Colin and Ethan. She shifted her rifle back toward her friends at the base of the hillside. The bat-bird bobbed its head, almost nodding, before it moved its gaze to the group of panicked creatures. It shrieked, glanced at Emma, and filled its chest to shriek again.

She squeezed the trigger when the animal released its piercing cry. She cursed under her breath at having missed the Tuar she tried to shoot, but the creature didn't seem to notice Emma's attempt to kill it. The leather-winged animal bobbed its head again, and Emma realized the bat-bird had masked her rifle's shot with its cry.

"OK, I'm learning," Emma said, appreciating the bat-bird's help. "Rio, join the twins and start your attack with the debris. Try not to damage Ethan or Colin in the process."

With a quick nod, Rio left Emma's side. The three teens enjoyed themselves while joining the attack on the creatures.

Emma took a deep breath to calm her mind and hands. "Ready?" she asked the bat-bird.

She aimed her rifle at the creature standing between Colin and Ethan. It held its knife to Ethan's chest. Emma squeezed the trigger as the bat-bird's shrill call echoed through the area. The Tuar fell from the hole in its neck, and the two men stared at each other in surprise. Emma suppressed her small laugh at their shocked expressions and found her next target.

Logs and small boulders tumbled down the slope, leveling any Tuars too slow to escape the attack. Sebastian changed his assault to throwing rocks with astonishing accuracy. A pair of creatures collapsed to the ground after getting struck in the head by his choice of weapon while another creature was leveled by a thick log Colby and Rio sent down the hill. The Tuars remained panicked and didn't see the teens attacking. When they ran out of logs, Rio and Colby switched to gathering more rocks for Sebastian to throw.

Emma fired several more shots, accompanied by the bat-bird's cries, and Ethan and Colin moved through the bodies of their more immediate captors to find a knife to cut themselves free of their bonds. Emma eliminated any creatures moving toward the men to re-capture them.

Ethan and Colin navigated their way around the debris that had rolled down the hill and the dead creatures. A Tuar aimed his crossbow at the escaping humans. With the bat-bird's shriek, Emma fired, killing the creature. More clansmen regrouped to try and reclaim their prisoners but they scattered again when the wolf arrived. Wolf bounded through the creatures pursuing the men, causing the Tuars to scatter away from his powerful jaws. The bat-birds continued to chase the Tuars that turned to flee the area, and Emma fired on any creature aiming a weapon at Colin or Ethan during their escape.

Rio's whistle gained Colin's attention, and he directed Ethan up the hill to join his children. With the remaining creatures retreating, Emma said a quick "Thank you" to her bat-bird helper, picked up her gear, and met the others. She urged them away from the ridge and into the remaining trees. Once in the trees, Emma remained ready with her rifle in case any creatures arrived. Ethan knelt to rest and was engulfed by his children's arms.

After slipping the rifle strap over her shoulder, Emma turned Rio around to access her daughter's pack. She removed a bottle of water to pass to Ethan, but her movement stopped. Colin grabbed the back of her shirt collar. With his other hand, he grasped Rio's pack and held both Emma and Rio like someone holding dogs by the scruff.

Colin snarled at Emma. "I specifically told you to leave."

"We were helping—" Rio said, interrupted by Colin's menacing growl at her.

Friend or not, Emma's temper flared, and she twisted her upper body, ramming her elbow into his middle. Colin coughed and released Emma and Rio. He leaned forward, new pain in his gut.

Ethan grinned. "I guess I should have warned you about that elbow."

Emma stood defiantly in front of Colin and jabbed her finger in his chest when he righted. "Never grab me or Rio like that again."

"You—" Colin said, but stopped when Emma stabbed him in the chest with her finger again.

"The next time you tell me to leave you behind, you can stick it!"

Rio coughed to cover her laugh and shared a grin with the twins and Ethan.

Emma wasn't finished and continued her rant at Colin. "No one gets left again. No one!"

Colin rubbed the sore spot on his chest and nodded.

After turning to locate Rio and the water, Emma noticed Ethan and the teens grinning at her. "What?"

"You told him to stick it," Colby said with a snort.

Emma rolled her eyes and retrieved the water from the pack. She offered the bottle to Colin first, as a token of peace. "We can yell at each other later."

Colin frowned but still took a sip of the water. His cuts and bruises from his fight with the Tuars disappeared. Emma took the bottle to Ethan, and after a short drink, his wounds also healed.

The previously forgotten bat-bird swooped low with a chirp, and Colby froze when the animal landed on her shoulder and stretched its leathery wings. It bobbed its head before speaking a short phrase then flapped its wings to leave Colby's shoulder.

"The bird just talked. I'm not the only one that heard it right?" Colby asked.

"I don't know what it said though," Sebastian said.

Emma shook her head with disbelief. The bat-like animal spoke the same language as the stranger she and Ethan met before they entered the funnel. "Impossible."

Ethan's mouth hung open for a moment before he spoke. "It spoke German and wants us to follow it."

"How does it know German?" Colby asked, and her father responded with a shrug.

"We're following whatever those things are?" Colin asked.

"They helped us save you, so yeah, looks like it," Rio said. She and Colby trotted to catch up with the bat-bird.

"Wait for me," Sebastian said.

Wolf's long legs brought him through the trees to the teens. He slowed to follow Sebastian.

"The wolf didn't die. How?" Colin asked.

"I'll explain as we walk. Well, I'll explain as best I can," Emma said. Ethan carried her pack for her, and she filled them in on the events after she and the teens left Colin's home.

***

The Tuar leader extracted his trapped leg from the log that had rolled down on top of him. After being knocked aside by the wolf, Ilnin had been struck by a rock on his way to prevent his prisoner's escape. He'd fallen, dazed with the assault, when he was hit by the piece of a tree trunk. Now conscious and livid, he wiped at the black blood matting the fur on his head.

The other humans had rescued the men and defeated his Tuars. He would capture the humans and give them agonizing deaths. Ilnin wanted revenge _now,_ but he needed time to plan. Suspecting that none of his imbecilic clansmen had spotted the other humans during the attack, he planned to blame the assault on the rival clan. News of the other clan invading their territory and attacking would get his army in a bloodthirsty frenzy for revenge, and he needed his clansmen angry and willing to hunt through the night if Ilnin was to find the humans soon. With a growl he set off to find his scattered troops.

### 50

Rio and the others continued following the bat-like creature. Several from the group of bat-birds that had attacked the Tuars flew over them and ahead of her until she couldn't see them anymore. Only the one that had helped mask her mother's rifle shots and had tugged on Colby's shirt stayed with them. When Rio's group slowed, the bat-bird would stop to perch on a limb and shriek at them until they caught up.

"The bat sounds a lot like Colin," Rio said, earning a few laughs from her friends.

"At least the bat understands my frustration in dealing with people that move slower than cold molasses," Colin said.

Rio's mother chuckled at Colin's joke, and Rio was glad the friendship between her mother and Colin hadn't been permanently damaged by their earlier argument. They weren't on speaking terms yet, but the tension between them eased a little.

The bat-bird led them up a long hill and disappeared from view. Rio and the twins shared a glance before scrambling on their hands and feet up the steep slope to reach the top quicker. Once at the peak and out of breath, Rio still managed a gasp.

Down the other side of the hill was a clearing, bowl-shaped with a rock wall on one end and trees surrounding the rest of the clearing. Several dozen bat-like animals roosted in the trees.

"Wow." Rio's mouth remained agape.

"Think it's safe for us to go down there?" Sebastian asked.

"Why would they help us and bring us here if it wasn't safe?" Colby asked.

Sebastian shrugged. "Other animals around here like to eat people. It could be a trap."

Rio scrunched her brow at his reasoning. "A trap? Are you serious?"

Sebastian shrugged again.

Rio shifted her body and placed her rump on the ground. Her legs were still tired from the climb, so she opted to slide down. "I'll go first. If they attack and eat me, you'll know you were right."

"Shouldn't you at least wait for your mom?" Colby asked.

"You don't want her getting angry with you again," Sebastian said.

"It's not a trap." Rio lifted her feet and slid down the hill, stumbling when she reached the bottom. She smiled at the numerous lanky creatures staring back at her. "If you're going to eat me, let's get it over, yeah?"

A few of the creatures traded perches on limbs before settling again.

"See? Nothing to it," Rio said to her friends waiting at the top of the hill.

The twins slid down the slope followed by Wolf. Some of the winged-creatures swooped at him, and the wolf snapped his jaws, but the bat-birds didn't try to hurt him. His attempts to catch them with his mouth were feeble.

"Are they playing with him?" Colby asked.

"Kinda looks like it," Sebastian said.

Once her mother, Ethan, and Colin arrived in the basin, Rio joined them.

"This is great, right?" Rio asked her mother.

"Yeah," Emma said without sharing her daughter's enthusiasm.

"What's wrong?" Rio asked.

"Why did they bring us here? We need to head in the opposite direction if we want to leave," Emma said.

One of the creatures flapped its leathery wings, left its perch, and landed on the ground near Colby. She squatted and gently touched the animal's chest. "They're so soft. It has feathers, not fur like a bat."

Sebastian and Rio joined her.

"The head is like a hawk's," Sebastian said.

Rio touched the animal's wing. "Part bat and part bird?"

"Careful. They will bite," Emma said with a glance at the cut across her forearm that was now caked with dried blood.

"So is this a flock?" Sebastian asked with a wave of his hand at the group of animals roosting in the trees.

"Colony if they're bats," Rio said.

"They're more bat than bird. I'm calling them bat-birds, and the group is a colony," Colby said. She flinched and let go a nervous laugh when the creature leapt to cling to her leg. It used its forelimbs and legs to climb up her body to reach her shoulder.

Rio shrugged. "Fine with me. They seem to like your company the best and use you for a perch." She examined the animal's blue, iridescent feathers that appeared black from a distance until her attention diverted to Colin. He'd left them to search the area.

"I've been here before," Colin muttered to himself as he moved around the clearing, scanning the trees and the ground before freezing. "This boot print is too big to belong to one of kids. Someone's here."

Wolf's nose sniffed the air, and he growled.

Rio's mother slid the rifle from her shoulder and shifted to stand beside the wolf. A man in ragged clothing emerged from a fissure in the rock wall on the far end of the basin. Wolf's growl deepened, and the hair on his back lifted.

Emma lowered the rifle and patted Wolf's side. "Don't attack."

"Who is this?" Colin stood with tense shoulders, ready to pounce on the stranger despite Emma's words.

Rio pulled her eyes from Colin's aggressive posture and stared at the newcomer. A fogged memory returned, and Rio's eyes widened. "I know you."

"His name is Georg," Emma said.

"He stayed with me after I wrecked my bike. I thought he was some kind of dream, but he's real." Rio approached the man, and her smile widened.

Georg nodded. "Rio."

"Yeah." She laughed and hugged him.

Colin sighed with frustration. "Perfect. A complete stranger is here, Rio's hugging him, and you're not bothering to shoot him."

Emma glared at Colin. "I'm more tempted to shoot someone else at the moment."

Ethan stepped between Colin and Emma before their tempers flared more. "How about no one gets shot today? Colin, we met Georg before we entered the funnel. He had some reservations about helping us at the time, and now that I've been in this world for a few days, I can't blame him. He speaks German and so do those things in the trees that helped us. That can't be a coincidence."

"Cannot. You—" Georg said and broke off his attempt to communicate to the group. He switched to German to speak with Ethan.

"What are they saying?" Colin asked.

"I don't speak German, and neither do you. We have to wait until they're done chatting and Ethan translates as best he can. Hopefully he gets his vocabulary right and doesn't tell Georg that we're married," Emma said.

"Who's married?" Rio asked.

"Forget it," Emma said.

Rio frowned at her mother's response and scuffed her boot in the dirt while waiting for Ethan and Georg to finish their conversation.

Ethan finally turned to face the group.

"What did he say?" Rio asked.

Ethan stalled by running his hand through his hair before giving them the bad news.

### 51

After hearing Ethan's update, Rio's mood plummeted. Her mother's hand touched her shoulder, and Rio blinked at the stinging in her eyes when tears began to form.

"We're not stuck here forever. We'll figure out something," Emma said.

Rio didn't reply and instead shrugged out of her pack. She removed the only bottle left with any rainwater, removed the cap, and took her mother's hand. She poured a trickle of water over the cut on her mother's forearm before replacing the cap.

Her mother's bite from the bat-bird healed, and Rio nodded with approval. "Since we're not getting out today, I figured it would be best if you didn't die from an infection."

"Yeah." Emma took the bottle from Rio and examined the small amount of water left.

"This is the last of rain water we have. One bottle had a hole, you used one on Wolf, and this is the one we've all been drinking from today."

"Keep it in your pack. Ethan," Emma said, shifting her attention. "Ask Georg where we can find water."

The men exchanged a few words before Ethan answered her. "Through the crack in the rock wall where he came out earlier, he says there's a pool that's safe for drinking and where we'll stay tonight."

"I'll refill our bottles," Rio said.

"There are three more empty ones in my pack. Side pouches," Emma said.

Rio picked up her bag, retrieved the bottles from her mother's pack, and motioned to Colby. The pair left to find Georg's pool. Sebastian spent his time with Wolf while the adults discussed finding another way home.

Colby spoke once she and Rio were away from the others. "You didn't want to stay to help come up with a plan?"

"Not now. Colin and Mom are still too edgy. Only your dad is able to keep them somewhat calm and not strangling each other."

"Is she still mad about him yelling at you?"

"Maybe. Mom wants to keep us safe, and I think Colin is angry, and likely a bit scared, that we're following directions from the bats and not him."

Upon reaching the wall of stone, Rio found the fissure and turned her shoulders to slide through the opening. She emerged inside a cavity with high ceilings and a well-lit cavern. Light shimmered on the stone walls from the pool of water at the center of the cave.

Colby rushed to the edge of the water. "Cool! What makes the light?"

Rio joined her friend and stuck her fingers in the water. "It's wicked cold."

Colby immersed her hand too and gave a nervous chuckle.

Rio scooped a palm of water, took a sip, and smiled. "Tastes great."

"Didn't Colin say if anything here tasted good to stay away from it?"

"He also said we should leave him behind."

Colby grinned and helped Rio refill all the bottles. Once finished they left all but one of the bottles and Rio's pack. They found Rio's mother where they left her except the mood seemed to have worsened. Ethan and Georg were the only two speaking with each other, and Colin was gone. Her mother shoved items back into her pack and yanked the zippers closed again.

"Uh, Mom, something wrong?"

"Other than us being stuck in hell and Colin acting like a complete ass? No." Emma jerked the last zipper closed. She took a deep breath and passed her hand over her face. "I'm sorry."

Rio offered her mother the bottle she kept. "We have plenty to drink."

"The pool in the cave somehow creates a light inside. You have to see it," Colby said.

Emma drank deeply from the bottle and sighed. "It's cold."

"Yeah." Rio's eyes searched for the person missing from their group. "Where's Colin?"

"He's still angry we didn't leave, and he pulled everything out of my pack and let me know how stupid I was for returning to the cave and salvaging the things I brought back. After Ethan stepped in, Colin backed off and left." Emma shifted from kneeling near the pack to sitting, and the girls sat with her.

"Where are the bat-birds?" Colby asked.

"Georg sent them out to keep an eye on the two clans and the cave by the water portal," Emma said.

Rio sighed. Part of the news Ethan had translated from Georg regarded the other clan of creatures. They camped near the cave Rio and the others needed to reach to get home. "Any chance they're just stopping there for the night and won't use that location as a battleground with the other clan?"

Emma shook her head. "Doesn't sound like it, since they brought additional supplies and weapons."

They fell silent, and Rio tried to think of anything other than being trapped in this world forever. She instead watched Sebastian interact with Wolf. The pair stood at the far end of the clearing, and Sebastian tossed a stick a few feet away. He and Wolf exchanged glances, and Sebastian retrieved the stick. He waved the piece of wood in front of Wolf, and the animal snapped his powerful jaws on the stick, splintering the object.

Sebastian flinched and rubbed his now empty hands together with a nervous laugh. Rio smiled at her friend's attempt to play with the wolf in the same way he'd played with Toby. Rio's smile faded; she missed her dog.

Wolf's hair bristled and he growled.

Rio's attention snapped back to Sebastian, and her mother was on her feet.

"Sebas, get away from him!" Emma searched for the rifle and swore at its absence. "Colin," she said with a growl.

Sebastian backed away from Wolf, but the animal continued to stalk him. Sebastian turned to run and leapt aside as another wolf burst from the brush to attack.

### 52

Sebastian spun away from the attacking wolf, but the animal's claws still caught his side. He screamed with pain as the claws sliced through his shirt and skin. Sebastian's fresh wounds extended from his lower back around to his side over his ribs. As he fell, Wolf jumped over him and tackled the intruder wolf before it could attack again.

Emma ordered Rio and Colby to stay back while she, Georg, and Ethan charged toward the brawling wolves. Sebastian lay on the ground but was still battered and stepped on during the tumultuous fight between the wolves. Emma wasn't sure if he was still alive. Ethan shouted for his son as they sprinted to reach him, but Sebastian didn't answer or move. Georg picked up a thick stick and swung it at the enemy wolf. The wood collided with the animal's head, causing it to stumble and back away. Ethan and Emma slid to their knees to scoop Sebastian into Ethan's arms before standing to leave.

"Em!"

Emma looked up at the shout of her name and caught the rifle Colin tossed to her as he sprinted past. He lowered his shoulder and slammed into the intruder wolf. As the animal swayed with the impact, Wolf launched another attack, tearing the enemy's shoulder open with his teeth and claws. Colin rolled clear of the fray and was helped to his feet by Georg. Emma aimed the rifle and fired.

The enemy wolf yelped and fled before she could shoot it again. By the time she rejoined Ethan, Sebastian was pale and not moving despite Ethan pressing his hands over his son's deep wounds to slow the bleeding. Colby knelt beside her father and wept.

Emma glanced up to find Rio to tell her to retrieve the last of the remaining rainwater, but her daughter was already emerging from the crack in the rock wall, bottle in hand. As Rio arrived, Emma nodded for Ethan to remove his hands, and Emma's stomach turned with the rush of blood from the deep lacerations on Sebastian's skin.

"Stay back," Emma said to Rio, hoping to keep her daughter from having future nightmares with the volume of blood from Sebastian's terrible wounds. She placed the rifle on the ground, took the bottle from Rio, and forced her hands to stop shaking long enough to remove the cap. She carefully poured the last of the water into the teen's wounds. She tapped the base of the bottle to direct the final drops into the deepest cut that exposed part of a rib and his chest cavity. The bleeding slowed and the lacerations healed some, but Sebastian would still die if untreated. She felt as helpless now as she did upon finding Rio unconscious from her bike accident, but this time she couldn't call for an ambulance.

Ethan placed his blood-covered hands back over the gashes on his son's side. "It's not working."

"It is, but we don't have enough rainwater to heal him the rest of the way." Emma wished she saved the trickle of water used to heal her forearm. She'd gladly take the cut on her arm back if it meant a little more healing for Sebastian. Emma removed her outer shirt and folded it. "Ethan, give me your shirt."

He removed his hands from his son's body, and Emma placed her shirt over Sebastian's side and held pressure while waiting for Ethan to finish pulling his shirt off. Several of the bat-birds returned to the area, circling just above Emma's head before finding a place to roost.

"Roll your shirt and feed it around his body to tie it. It won't be much of a pressure dressing, but it'll do for now," Emma said. Her remaining tank top wouldn't be much use tonight when the temperatures dropped, but she could worry about that later.

Georg's feet stopped next to Emma, and he spoke a few words before leaving them.

Ethan finished tying the knot over the dressing after Emma removed her hands. He lifted his son's body from the ground.

"What did he say?" Emma asked.

"To follow him." Ethan held his son close to his chest and followed Georg, with Rio and Colby trotting behind him.

Emma stood and startled when Colin's hand landed on her shoulder. He muttered an apology for frightening her.

"Were you hurt?" she asked him.

"No."

"Wolf?"

"He'll be fine."

Emma picked up her rifle, and Colin carried her pack for her. They jogged to join the others, and Emma turned her shoulders to pass through the narrowed opening. Under other circumstances, Emma would've have taken the time to marvel at the cave's interior and fantastical illumination from the pool of water in the center, but her attention was on Sebastian. The bat-bird spoke to Ethan and Georg while they worked. Ethan lowered his son to the ground while Georg pulled his ragged shirt over his head to remove his clothing.

"What now?" Emma asked Ethan as she set the rifle aside, and Colin placed her pack next to it. "Why is Georg stripping?"

"I _have_ been here before," Colin said.

Emma turned to him to ask him to clarify but decided Colin's odd remark could wait. "Ethan, what are we doing?"

"Magda," Ethan said with a nod of his head toward the bat-bird. "She says there are plants at the bottom of the pool that can help Sebas. Georg is preparing to go in with her."

"Wait. _Plants?_ " Emma asked.

"Yes. We find the plants, prepare them, and use them on his wounds," Ethan said.

"Prepare them how?" Colin asked.

"I don't know! She does," Ethan said.

"Georg. Georg! Stop," Emma said to the man to make him cease undressing before returning her attention to Ethan. "Magda knows how to fix the plants, and Georg is the best one to speak with her to do the work. He and the bat stay. You'll remain with Sebas, and Colin and I will get the plants." Emma didn't wait for more discussion and pulled her boots off.

"Mom, the water is stupid cold, like it should be iced over. No one can swim in that."

"Rio, go with Colby and find some sticks to make a fire for when we return. Wolf and the rest of the bats will keep you safe while you search," Colin said.

Rio tightened her jaw but nodded at her new assignment.

"Ethan, what kind of plants are we looking for?" Emma removed the rifle shells from her pocket to put them on the ground before slipping out of her jeans and socks while Georg and Ethan conversed. When Colin removed his hide shirt, she forced her eyes away from the scars on his back to concentrate on Ethan's instructions.

"They're, um, slimy. The leaves are thick with sharp spines," Ethan said.

Emma shook her head with a sigh. "Of course they are."

"I'm guessing something like aquatic aloe plants," Ethan said.

Colin sat near the pool and removed his footwear. He paused for a moment before easing his body into the chilly water with a gasp.

Sebastian didn't have time for her to acclimate to the water's temperature, so Emma sat and slipped her body into the pool with less care than Colin. The shock of the icy water splashing over her body took her breath away. When she managed to breathe in again, she shivered violently. "Holy crap, this is bloody cold."

Colin nodded as he shivered, waiting in the water.

"Any critters we need to look for that might get us while we're swimming?" Emma tilted her head, noticing Colin's eye color for the first time.

Ethan relayed the question as best he could to Georg and the bat-bird before responding with their answer. Ethan shrugged. "Shouldn't encounter anything."

"Comforting," Colin said with a snort.

Emma winced as the cold penetrated deeper into her body. "There better be plants down here, or I'm plucking the bird and shooting Georg."

Colin laughed at her remark despite their circumstances.

Magda continued to speak as she waddled to the edge of the pool. She gave a few final words to Georg before diving into the water, using her leathery wings to propel her downward.

Surprised by the animal's actions, Emma decided she and Colin should catch up to the bat-bird. "Looks like we have a guide."

They wouldn't have much more time before the cold attacked their body in a more deadly way than uncomfortable shivering. She took a deep breath, as did Colin, and both disappeared beneath the water.

### 53

Though struggling to keep her attention on Magda, Emma suffered in the icy water. The dance of light from the pool of water was more pronounced now that she was submerged. It was a distraction, but she tried to keep her thoughts focused. She and Colin would become dangerously hypothermic the longer they remained in the pool. Knowing Sebastian needed the plants they sought, she kicked harder.

Magda's wings made wide, swooping motions that gracefully sent her deeper into the water to an area of craggy rocks. At ten feet down, Emma's ears ached, and she continued kicking while using one hand to pinch her nostrils closed to clear the pressure from her ears. Colin swam past her, reaching the rocky landing with Magda.

The bat-bird pushed from the rocks and swam a little deeper. She grasped a batch of plants with both feet and used her wings to swim upward and tear them free. Magda continued her ascent, and Emma guessed they were around 15 feet deep and was relieved she didn't have to swim much deeper. Her lungs began to burn from a lack of air, so she needed to hurry. Emma and Colin left the rocky landing together. Her arms and legs, with increasing numbness, refused to obey. Emma half-swam-half-pulled her way down to the patch of plants. Colin snatched the last of the ones in the immediate area.

They needed to search to find more. Emma only had seconds to find the plants before she needed to surface for more air. Rio was right. The water was cold enough that the pool should be iced over. Emma pulled her mind from her body's frigid torment. She lost Colin as she looked for more plants and pulled her way to another area where she saw a patch of green color. She planned to wave her arm to attract Colin's attention, but when she spotted him, he'd kicked off the ground to begin his ascent.

She called to him in her mind. " _Wait!_ "

More frequent and increasingly violent shivers shook Emma's body. Her hands trembled. Her muscles spasmed with the cold, and she lost some of her precious air. Bubbles left her mouth and nose, and Emma clamped a hand over them to prevent any additional escapes.

Her clumsy gropes to grab pieces of the plants cut her palms. Wisps of blood wafted up from her hands, dissolving in the water. At least the numbness made the lacerations pain-free. After another attempt to collect plants, she succeeded.

The fire in her lungs increased, and Emma kicked her legs to swim up and out of the icy pool. Her uncoordinated movements would cause her to drown if she didn't control her limbs. Emma fought the growing tightness in her chest and concentrated on her legs. She watched her limbs as she kicked one leg and then the other. As she ascended, she maintained her attention on her legs until her upward movement stopped. A heavy weight landed on her and pushed her deeper again.

Emma turned her eyes from her legs to see what had fallen on her. Colin's head lolled back as she tried kicking harder to keep both of them from sinking more. She wanted to shout at him, but she needed the last of her own air. She cursed him in her mind and begged him to swim. Still clutching her plants in frozen and cramped fingers, Emma's eyes closed. Exhaustion consumed her, and she wanted to take a moment to rest. Another part of her mind screamed at her to swim out and survive, but her limbs wouldn't move. A fire filled her lungs, and spots formed in her vision when she opened her eyes again. Colin's mass pushed them both deeper into the pool. Emma's vision blurred as she and Colin sank past the patches of plant life, and stopped on the soft sand. She closed her eyes, ready to sleep.

Her body rocked with a sudden movement, and she brought her head up. Her heavy eyelids opened to a slit, and she thought she recognized Ethan. Before she could figure out why he was there, her body was jerked upward. Hands pushed from below and pulled from above to drag her out of the water.

She sprawled on her stomach on the ground next to Colin and drew in a noisy gasp. She shivered on the ground and tried to take in more air. Blood seeped from between her fingers she couldn't feel, and her hands still clutched the plants. Ethan crawled out of the pool, and both he and Georg dripped steady streams of water from their bodies where they stood. They said something she didn't understand before Georg pried her fingers open.

Emma tried to speak but only incomprehensible sounds emerged. Ethan knelt beside her and spoke, but she couldn't understand him. He helped her sit up, and Emma's eyes wandered to Colin. His skin appeared bluish, and his body was almost motionless. Her mind worked better than her chilled muscles. Colin's lack of shivering meant his body temperature had fallen to near lethal levels.

Then returning to the cave, Rio and Colby abandoned the batch of limbs and sticks in their arms, discarding them in a pile.

"Mom!" Rio flinched when her hand touched her mother's cold skin.

Emma's chattering jaw made speaking impossible.

"Rio, start the fire. I'll look after your mother," Ethan said.

"What happened?" Rio asked.

"We noticed they ran into a little trouble, so Georg and I fished them out."

"What kind of trouble?" Rio asked.

Ethan used a calm but firmer tone. "Rio, focus on the fire, please."

"Is he dead?" Colby asked while staring at Colin.

Ethan's voice remained steady. "No. Colb. Help Rio."

With a nod, Rio and Colby returned to the sticks.

Georg and Ethan moved Colin's semi-conscious form near where Rio and Colby started the fire using a lighter Rio had stashed in her pack. Both men were chilled by their short swim, but neither stopped to warm themselves. After leaving Colin on the ground near the girls, Georg took the plants from Colin's hands and brought them to Magda where she waited by Sebastian. Emma wanted to help Georg with Sebastian, but her muscles remained chilled and unable to do anything but shiver.

Ethan returned and knelt by Emma. She pointed a trembling hand and finger at the pack on the ground near the rifle.

Ethan's brow creased. "You want the rifle?"

Emma shook her head, and it pitched forward and her eyes closed. A shaking sensation made her open her eyes.

Ethan lightly slapped her numb cheek. "Stay awake, Emma. What do you want?"

She nodded and tried to speak again. "P-pack."

Ethan dragged the pack to her, and Emma's chilled fingers fumbled with the zippers.

"I'll do it, just tell me what you want." Ethan unzipped the pack and looked back to Emma for guidance.

Emma asked for the first aid kit, but the words she said weren't the right ones.

"Let me know when I pull out what you want, OK?" Ethan began removing contents. He held up two fleece sweaters for Emma. She shook her head, so he set them aside and kept rummaging. Ethan pulled out a small, red, bag and tossed it aside.

"Yes-s-s!"

"This?" Ethan picked up the small bag. Emma nodded, and he unzipped the pouch. He pulled out bandages and antiseptic wipes. "These for your hands?"

She responded with a frown.

He removed more items from the pouch before finding two wrapped, foil emergency blankets. "These?"

Emma nodded.

He looped his arm around her and helped her to the area where a small fire now burned. Colby continued breaking and adding sticks to the flames while Rio darted back out to gather more.

"Colb, help Emma out of the rest of her wet clothes. Put this on her." Ethan tossed his daughter one of the folded, silver blankets.

Emma appreciated Colby's help while Ethan removed Colin's soaked, hide trousers and put one of the fleece sweaters on him.

Ethan tossed the other sweater to Colby. "Put this on her."

"Colin," Emma said with much effort and groaned while another powerful shiver coursed through her body.

"Put it on him instead of you?" Colby asked, and Emma nodded.

Colby shrugged and tossed the piece of clothing back to her father. Emma struggled to communicate with Colby, but Emma finally made Colby stop pulling the foil around her shoulders.

"Dad, she won't let me wrap her in this thing."

"Be patient. Let her do it, and you assist," Ethan said while working to fit Colin into the second sweater.

Once wrapped in the foil blanket with her arms and legs exposed, Emma scooted closer to the fire. Ethan pulled the additional sweater layer over Colin's upper body, wrapped him in the emergency blanket, and dragged him to the fire next to Emma.

"No," Emma said to Ethan and pointed to her foil covering. "This."

Ethan shook his head with confusion.

"This," she said again.

"Wrap him like you? Just the body without the arms and legs tucked in?"

Emma patted her palm against the part of the blanket over her chest. "Core f-f-first."

"I don't know why, but I'll do whatever you want." Ethan knelt and re-wrapped Colin's foil blanket according to Emma's instructions. "Good?" he asked her when he finished.

Colin's eyes opened though he didn't seem to know what had happened.

Emma nodded. She wanted to say more, but her speech remained unclear.

"We'll talk after you warm up a bit." Ethan patted her shoulder before leaving to help Georg tend to his son. "Colb, keep both of them awake."

"Got it, Dad."

Rio arrived with more wood, the fire grew, and a measure of warmth returned to Emma's body. Colin shivered within his foil blanket, and Emma managed a small, tired smile. With help from the others, Emma, Sebastian, and Colin had a decent chance of surviving long enough to see another day.

### 54

Rio handed her mother a wad of the mushy, green plant. "Here."

Her mother rolled the dripping pulp in her fingers before putting it in her mouth with a grimace. Georg insisted that Emma and Colin needed to eat it. Colby grinned while Colin struggled to swallow his portion between gags.

"Colb's enjoying tormenting him," Rio said. She passed her mother one of the water bottles she'd filled and kept by the fire to warm the liquid inside. After her mother took a drink to help swallow the plant, Rio passed the bottle to Colby to give to Colin.

"Yeah, but he's doing better," Emma said.

Rio touched her mother's bare shoulder. "You're still cold, Mom. Why won't you wrap yourself inside the blanket?"

"Because of my body's pH."

"Huh?"

"With hypothermia you must warm the body's core first, limbs later. The cold causes a pH shift as lactic acid builds up in the hypothermic limbs."

Rio frowned. "You sound like you're babbling."

"I'm not. Warm the arms and legs, the blood starts flowing again, and it pushes the lactic acid into the core."

"That's bad?"

"Can be lethal."

"Oh."

"Moderate to severe hypothermia has to be managed well or re-warming can cause more problems."

"You and Colin had it severe, right?"

"Mine was moderate. Since I was shivering, my body was still trying to recover. Colin had stopped shivering by the time he came out of the water. He was dangerously hypothermic at that time."

Colby turned her attention from forcing Colin to eat the plant mush to Emma. "How do you know all this? You're a programmer and fool around with computers all day."

"Colb," Ethan said.

Colby left her place near Colin to join her father.

Rio grinned. "That was good timing. She would've pestered you with questions."

Emma smiled with a nod.

"You may have dropped out of paramedic school, but you kept the knowledge," Rio said.

"Some of it."

"All of it, Mom." Rio handed her mother another handful of the plant. She then turned her attention to Colin and used contents from the first aid kit to clean the wounds on his hands. He continued to shiver, making her job harder.

"Th-thanks," he said.

Rio nodded and paused to observe Georg. The man rarely stopped moving between periods of tending to Sebastian and checking on her mother and Colin. With his most recent set of rounds, Georg paused at the fire to rub his hands over the flames to warm them. He watched Emma and Colin for a moment before giving an approving nod and was gone again.

"Stop stalling, Mom. Eat the plant."

Her mother frowned and put the substance in her mouth. She resisted the urge to chew and swallowed the bitter, green goop. She shuddered as it went down.

Rio pestered Colin to ingest more of the plant too, and once he swallowed another bite, she returned her attention to her mother. "Colin's bigger and stronger than you. Why were you less affected by the cold than he was, though you were in the pool the same amount of time?"

"Colin's muscle and bone. I have more insulation. It's the difference between picking up a pizza on the drive home and having to hunt for your food every day."

Colin sighed with longing. "Pizza."

"Colin, don't," Emma said.

"S-s-sometimes I'd pretend th-the roots were p-pizza."

Rio had eaten her piece of the bitter root an hour ago. Even the best imagination couldn't make the bitter tubers taste better. "How did that work out for you?"

"Terrible. Glad you w-went back for more gear and g-got these, Em," Colin said with a nod at the silver blanket still wrapped around his body.

"Yeah, you yelled at me before, but now it's fine since it saved our necks. You're quite fickle," Emma said.

Colin nodded. "S-sorry."

"We got lucky. I started grabbing stuff from the 'leave it behind' pile to throw in the pack, including the first aid kit and extra layers for the cold nights, in case we didn't leave today."

"Which we didn't," Rio said.

"We will. Just not today."

Ethan approached and squatted by the fire. He held his palms toward the flames. "You're both looking better."

"It helps when friends save you from drowning and freezing to death," Emma said. "Sebas?"

"Better. Georg and Magda's mix of plant guts stopped the bleeding. He opened his eyes at one point but went back to sleep. He's resting well though."

"Ethan, when did you learn to speak German?" Rio asked. She left her mother's side to check the clothes spread out to dry near the fire.

"I lived in Germany for a couple of years before university. I stayed with an aunt who taught me most of what I know. I picked up the rest as I went along. Haven't spoken it much for years until meeting Georg. Colb is trying to learn a few words so she can talk to Magda."

"She's fascinated by the bat-birds," Rio said. "Mom, ready to get dressed?"

"Yes!"

"My clothes?" Colin asked, and Rio shook her head.

"Oh, tough luck, pal," Emma said with a chuckle as she stood, keeping her foil blanket close to her body.

Rio held the silver blanket up while her mother dressed. Once clothed, her mother sighed and smiled.

"Happy to have something more than a piece of foil between your skin and world?" Rio asked.

Emma laughed and pulled Rio close.

Rio returned her mother's embrace, glad to have her feeling better and not frozen to death. Now Rio just needed to figure out a way to get them home. She had some ideas but wasn't sure any of them would work.

### 55

Colin and Emma huddled together and spoke in hushed tones. Ethan pulled his eyes away from them to turn his attention to something else. Colby and Rio played some sort of game with small rocks and stayed close to Sebastian as he slept. Ethan's gaze returned to Emma.

"You like her," Georg said.

Ethan's face flushed, and he turned to his friend. "Thought you were asleep."

Georg shook his head with a small smile and passed his hand over Magda's head as she rested next to him.

"My feelings for Emma are obvious to everyone but her," Ethan said, grateful the conversation was in German. He still changed the subject, deciding he was rude to talk about Emma with her sitting only a few yards away. "Georg, how did you get here? I mean, the first time."

Georg picked the tattered hem of his shirt as he spoke. "As a young man I traveled from Germany to western Canada to hike in the mountains. After several days on the trail, I arrived near Lake Louise and stopped to eat and rest. There was a great tree with roots that fanned out," he said as he gestured with his fingers. "I sat between a pair of the roots and rested against the tree. The bark broke away and I fell inside the trunk. I kept falling a great distance, certain I would die. When I hit the bottom I scrambled out of a hole at the base of the _same_ tree. Nothing made sense."

Ethan nodded, knowing the familiar sense of confusion when he stood inside the water cave.

"I thought I hit my head or something. The sky was a mix of grays, oranges, and reds and was nothing like the blue sky I saw before leaning against that tree. I ran away from the area and stopped on a crest overlooking Lake Louise. Thinking I was losing my mind, I decided to hike to the nearest resort and leave. Instead of a resort and people, large, antlered animals roamed the area. They weren't deer, moose, or caribou though. I saw them feeding on a carcass of an animal."

"Meat? They ate meat?"

Georg nodded and continued. "I kept hiking and had enough supplies to stay on the trail for a few more days. West was more mountains, so I headed east for Calgary, certain I would find people there. My maps were wrong, and I kept getting lost. No resorts, hikers, rangers, tourists, nothing. The meat-eating animals were everywhere though, so I got off the trails."

"Did you make it to Calgary?"

"No. I circled around the city since I didn't find buildings or homes anywhere. I hiked east and ate berries and other things I hoped wouldn't make me sick or worse."

"Did any fears come alive when you came out of the tree?"

"In a way, yes, but not like they do in this area of Maine. This region seems more sensitive."

Ethan realized that both Emma and Georg used the same word to describe the areas around the portals, _sensitive._ He wished he hadn't gotten so frustrated with her before when she tried to explain things to him. His eyes fell on the bat-bird. "Magda. When did you meet her?"

"On my hike east, I met her. I'd seen other birds as I hiked, but none were like her. I shared my food with her and the others. The colony and I worked together to find food and shelter. I could only hike east for a few months before having to stop to build a shelter and store supplies to survive the winter. Many times I barely survived and would have died without her help. Her intelligence is incredible, and she kept me from danger more than once. I didn't have anyone else to talk to, so I spoke to her as I would to you. She learned to speak my language as did the others, though she's the only one that speaks directly with me."

The bat-birds all looked the same to Ethan. "Why?"

"She's the matriarch, and many within the colony are her young. The colony itself is mostly comprised of females. When a male is born, they don't stay long before leaving."

"Interesting. How did you escape this world before? Where are these other exits?"

"When in the real Canada or Maine, I can sense the portals. It's a strange sensation," Georg said, tapping the center of his chest with his finger. "But when I'm here, inside the world we're in now, I can't detect them. The only one I can lead you to is the site I discovered in New Brunswick."

Ethan swore under his breath. Getting his family, including Emma and Rio, to New Brunswick without dying along the way was near impossible. Maybe there was another way. "How did you find that portal?"

"Accident, really. I was looking for shelter for the winter and found a cave just above high tide. I moved deeper into the cave to check for other animals and came out the other side, back in the real Canada. The tide came in, so I had to leave the cave and climb to safety. I found homes and people along the coast. I missed Magda, but I refused to go back to the other world. My appearance alone was enough to frighten the residents, so I disappeared into the forests. I didn't know how to live other than in hiding."

Ethan held his additional questions for a moment, processing Georg's incredible story. He didn't know what kind of game his daughter and Rio played, but they set the rocks aside to draw in the dirt on the cave floor. They spoke in whispers as they talked and used sticks for their drawings.

"Georg, if you could feel the portals, why did you stay in Maine?"

"This region has an unusual presence, with several doorways. More than any I encountered in New Brunswick or other parts of Maine. I survived on my own and thought I could keep others from accidentally going through them like I did. I searched for Burnt Mountain's portal for years without finding it. I never thought it would be within the water until I saw the funnel after your children and Rio fell in. I'm sorry I didn't go in after them. I was terrified, Ethan."

Ethan's mix of pity and anger at Georg left him more confused.

"You and Emma willingly passed through the portal, even though Emma knew what would happen. Guilt plagued me for not helping you then. I am truly sorry."

"I'm glad you came, Georg. Thank you. We need to go home. If we travel north to the Bay of Fundy to your cave, what animals or creatures will we meet?"

"The creatures hunting you here, I've seen similar ones in Canada, but the ones here, they're armed. I've never seen that before. From what I learned of the world beneath Canada, your creatures are unique. Few animals in this world are _not_ dangerous, and the ones that openly hunt you are lethal. To be hunted by ones that use weapons, I fear none of us will survive long if we do not leave this place."

Ethan ignored Georg's bad news. "How long will it take us go reach your cave?"

"It's not that simple. One person can hide more easily than a group of seven, Ethan."

"I understand. You left Magda in New Brunswick and met up with her in Maine. How?"

"With our bond she sensed where I was though we live in different worlds. She stayed close though we were apart."

"She'll know the best way into Canada from here."

"Yes."

Ethan finally smiled. "Good. What about Wolf?"

"He's intelligent and not a threat or the colony would have driven him off. Their show of swooping at him before was for entertainment."

If they had Wolf and the colony helping them during their hike north, Ethan figured they had a much better chance of getting home.

His eyes fell on his sleeping son. The gashes to Sebastian's side remained covered with the mix of plant substance. "How did Magda know about the plants at the bottom of the pool?"

Georg shrugged. "I'll have to ask her. She has more knowledge about this world than I have learned in all my years here."

Ethan now understood he was the source of Colby's inherited, inquisitive nature. He promised himself it would be the last of his questions for Georg. "What fear came to life when you left the water cave?"

Georg sighed. "The ground shook when I passed through the water, and when I left the cave, nothing happened. I was already living my worst nightmare of being back in this world. I was lost again where no one could find me."

"We'll get out this time, my friend."

Georg gave him a small smile, not wanting to crush Ethan's hope of leaving. Georg had been in this world before, and it took him decades to escape.

### 56

Rio glanced up at Ethan and Georg as they spoke. She didn't understand a word of German, so she returned her attention back to the game she and Colby had created to pass time. Rio tossed one of her marble-sized rocks, and it bounced past the line in the dirt it was supposed to stay behind.

"You suck at this," Colby said.

"Uh huh." Rio scratched marks in the dirt to remove a point from her already pathetic score. "Your dad is fluent in German, and you didn't bother to learn any of it from him?"

"I picked up a few words, but not enough to have a conversation. I can only catch about every tenth word of what they're saying." Colby tossed her rock and smiled. "Two more points."

Rio wrinkled her nose as she wrote Colby's new score in the dirt. "I don't like this game."

"When we got near the special place where you created the wind and rain, how did you do that?"

"You had the storm, and Sebas had the wind."

Colby rolled her eyes. "Stop kidding yourself. You made everything and almost controlled the storm."

"Beginner's luck?"

"So what would happen if you went to that place and you were afraid of dragons?" Colby asked.

"Dragons aren't real."

"What? They could be real _here._ There are very real creatures here with crossbows hunting us that don't exist at home. How do you know there aren't any dragons?"

Rio opened her mouth to argue then closed it. Colby had a point. Just because they hadn't seen a dragon didn't mean they didn't exist in this world.

"Maybe one lives in this cave, and it will come home and eat a Colin-sicle."

Rio snorted a laugh and covered her mouth when Sebastian stirred in his sleep. "Colin's basically thawed out now."

"He seems close to your mother."

"They were friends before Mom thought he died, Colb."

"Noooo. Look," Colby said with a nod of her head.

Rio watched her mother and Colin for a moment. The pair sat next to each other as they talked. "They're still cold."

It was Colby's turn to snort. "You are so dense."

Rio frowned at her friend.

"At least they're not fighting anymore. Your turn to go."

With a sigh Rio placed the remaining rocks in her hand aside. She had wondered if she was the one that created and controlled, mostly controlled, the storm used to save Ethan and her mother, but she previously dismissed the thought. Colby believed it to be true though.

"What? Your face is doing that scowl thing when you think so hard you almost hurt yourself," Colby said.

"Everyone's saying we're going to be stuck here for a long time."

"You have an idea of how to escape?"

"Maybe." Rio used her palm to obscure the lines used for their game and score.

"This means you're giving up?"

"Yes, you win, Colb." Rio picked up the small stick to start drawing new lines. "Georg says we can't leave through the water cave because the other clan is camped there, and the light-colored ones are still hunting us and prepping for battle."

"And?"

"The cave comes out at the base of a slope."

"The one the spiders ran down to come after us."

"Right. If the two clans are busy with each other in this flatter area," Rio said as she placed two of the rocks near a rounded line indicating the hill. "We can come in from this side to go up and slip down the side of the slope to the cave." Rio dragged her finger in the dirt, showing the path.

"We leave before they see us."

"Yeah."

"What about fears coming to life?"

"If we can control them, we might be able to leave without setting them off, or minimize setting them off as much as we did the first time."

"How?"

"I'm not sure. Still working on that part."

"Colin's been here forever and hasn't been able to control his or he would have gone home by now."

Rio nodded. "Exactly. He hasn't told us what his fear is, so that's another unknown until he tells us."

"Could be dragons."

"Give the dragons a rest, Colb."

Colby grinned.

"You're such a pest sometimes," Rio said with a smile.

"It's a gift."

Rio chuckled, and Sebastian stirred and opened his eyes.

"He's awake." Colby smiled and scooted closer to her brother.

He took a deep breath and drifted back to sleep.

Colby sighed. "That didn't last long. OK. We have seven of us trying to go home, and we almost lost three people today between Sebas, Colin, and Emma."

Rio nodded.

"We need to finish figuring out your plan so we can go home tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Sebas lost a lot of blood. I don't think he'll be ready to run from spiders by tomorrow."

"Every day we've been here, we've almost died from one thing or another. Our luck will run out, Rio."

"I know, but I'm afraid. What if my plans are crap and I get everyone killed?"

"They'll be crap, regardless. But what if they _do_ get everyone out?"

Rio frowned.

"Rio?"

"I'm making an executive decision."

Colby's brow creased. "What does that mean?"

Rio shrugged. "Mom says it sometimes about work stuff. I think it means she's making a decision without permission or worrying about what her boss will say."

"Sounds good to me. What are you deciding?"

"You and I will finish the details for my idea. We'll run it by the others when we're done."

"And we'll do the opposite of what Colin wants."

Rio laughed at her friend, and the pair went back to work figuring out how to escape without being attacked by the creatures or dying by any number of other ways.

### 57

Colin's head sagged forward, and Emma touched his forearm. His head came up, and he blinked at her with heavy eyelids.

"When do we sleep, Em?"

"Soon. We're past the worst parts of hypothermia, but I want you to stay awake a bit longer."

"Share in the suffering with you?"

Emma gave him a small smile. "Something like that."

"At least I'm dressed again. Those fleece sweaters were far too small for me."

"They kept you alive."

"I'm not complaining. I'm sorry I yelled at you before. I never should have grabbed you or Rio the way I did. I was just—"

"Scared."

Colin nodded. "I lost Jody years ago and lost her again when you told me she had died. I didn't want you and Rio to have the life I had. Running, hiding, struggling to survive."

"We didn't want you and Ethan to be eaten alive or stuck here forever. Leaving you behind wasn't an option."

"Ethan and I would have died if you hadn't returned."

"I couldn't let that happen."

"He cares for you," Colin said.

She nodded.

"You don't feel the same?"

Emma closed her eyes and shook her head. "It's not that simple."

"It's as simple or complex as you choose to make it."

Emma tightened her jaw.

"Touchy subject for you, obviously."

"I'm changing it too. You said you'd been to this cave before. When?" she asked.

"This is where Jody and I spent the night when we were separated from you. I tried to find it again but never did."

"When were you with Jody?"

Colin fell silent for a moment before speaking. "Here. We'd never been together prior to that night. I loved her, Em. We were both scared after thinking we lost you in the tornado and found this place. I didn't take advantage of her."

"I know, Colin. I'm not accusing you of anything. She was my sister, and we were close before coming here. You loved each other. This time it must be different. We all have to leave. Please promise you won't force me to leave you behind again. Please."

"I won't. Promise."

Emma sighed. "Good."

"Why is this so important to you now?"

"Before you went into the pool, you stopped and looked into it. You weren't trying to see how deep it was."

"I didn't think anyone noticed."

"Do you remember what you look like?"

Colin lowered his head. "I've tried to catch my reflection in water before. I felt more guilty for forgetting what Jody looked like. I spent hours trying to remember her face, but as the years passed, I could only remember vague things like her height and long hair. When I saw Rio, she seemed so familiar. When I found you, I thought you were Jody until I got closer."

Emma leaned toward him and pushed his long, tousled hair from his face. "Do you remember your eyes?"

"Blue," he said with a shrug. "I don't remember much other than they are blue."

"Jody's were green."

"Yeah, they were. I'd forgotten that. Details that don't have anything to do with fighting to survive every day tend to get lost."

"You noticed Rio's eyes, right?"

"Hard to miss her. She's a beautiful girl with light-colored eyes."

"Colin, they're the exact same as yours." Emma removed her hand from his hair.

"Mine?"

Emma didn't answer and waited for Colin to sort this new information.

"You're saying she's my—? I'm her—? What about Jeremy?"

"Jody lived with him briefly after she believed you died, but the timing of us finding this place when we were young and when Rio was born, well, Colin, I think Rio's your daughter."

Colin shook his head.

"Rio," Emma said. Her daughter left Colby and whatever they were drawing on the ground. Emma patted the ground in front of her when Rio arrived. "Sit here."

"Something wrong? Do I need to find more wood for the fire?" Rio asked, though the stack of wood near the fire was enough to last through the night.

"Nothing is wrong," Emma said once Rio was seated and facing her and Colin. "Did Jody ever tell you what your father looked like? Did you ever see a photo?"

Rio shook her head. "Never saw a picture. Mom said he had light, brown hair and light, blue eyes that were more gray than blue. Like mine."

The shadows from Colin's long hair made his face seem darker than it was. His hair had darkened over time, but Emma couldn't shake the idea that Colin was Rio's father. She waited while Rio and Colin stared at each other, putting the pieces together for themselves. Rio shifted to kneel in front of Colin and leaned close to his face.

"His eyes are like mine. Or mine are like his," Rio said with a quick glance at Emma before returning her gaze to Colin.

Emma smiled. "Yes."

Rio's nervous chuckle turned into a laugh as she threw her arms around Colin.

He held the teen and turned his widened eyes toward Emma.

"She has your eyes, Colin. I didn't realize it myself until we got in the pool together. The light from the water lit up your face, and I got a good look at you."

A crooked grin crossed his face, and Rio released him.

"We'll do a paternity test when we are home," Emma said.

Rio's smile broadened. "But I already know what it will say."

Colin was unable to find any coherent words.

"Can I tell Colby?" Rio asked.

"Maybe we should wait until we do the test," Emma said.

"I'm telling Colb." Rio darted off to rejoin her friend.

"Or we don't wait," Emma said with a wave of her hand.

Colin lowered his head into his hands. "I knew there was something different about that kid, but I didn't think it was _this._ "

Emma put her arm around his shoulders. "You're now feeling a mix of terror of the likes you've never experienced before, and you're not sure if you are happy or might throw up."

He nodded with his face still buried in his hands.

"It's how I felt meeting Rio for the first time. I turned my life upside down to be more than some aunt living thousands of miles away from her. Take deep breaths. It doesn't do a bloody bit of good other than make some of the dizziness go away. The terror will always stay with you."

"You're not making me feel better."

Emma chuckled. "I wasn't trying to."

### 58

Despite the slow start to the morning, everyone was up, including Sebastian. Rio kept an eye on her friend as he moved around the cave, still stiff and sore from his encounter with the wolf. She never expected him to be on his feet again so soon, but the aquatic plant worked well on his wounds. Unable to keep her idea contained, Rio called for everyone's attention. She told them of her idea and drew her map in the dirt.

To her surprise, everyone agreed it was worth getting close enough to the two clans to see if her plan could work, but they couldn't make the hike in one day with Sebastian's wounds. A hard, fast day of hiking would put them at the exit in the same day, but it could also kill Sebastian. With a bit of additional discussion with the group, she adjusted her plan. Colin's knowledge of the region finalized their plan. They decided how far they would go for the day and where to stop for the night.

As they left the cave, Wolf approached Sebastian and sniffed his injured side. The crushed plant mix was adhered to his skin and kept the lacerations closed. After his inspection Wolf flicked his tail and licked Sebastian's chin.

"He likes you," Colby said to her twin.

Sebastian released a nervous chuckle and nodded.

Colin's brow creased. "Huh. I've never seen him do that before."

"Guess he likes Sebas better than you," Colby said.

Colin frowned. "That's not it."

"Probably because you never gave him a decent name," Colby said.

Rio laughed at Colin's scowl. "She's messing with you again."

"You're an awful person, Colby," Colin said, and she responded with a grin.

Georg gave the group a few instructions none of them except Ethan understood, but Rio caught the general meaning. He ordered them to move. As Georg and Magda's colony led the group, Rio, Colin, and Colby marched in the center of the group. Emma, Ethan, and Sebastian walked behind them with Sebastian being the slowest-moving member. Wolf stayed at the rear.

Though she didn't walk with her mother, Rio slowed her pace enough to listen to the conversation she had with Ethan.

"I never understood how horrible you must have felt finding Rio on the road after her bike accident," Ethan said. "I understand now."

"Thanks," Emma said.

"When the twins' mother left, I was lost trying to manage everything on my own. I feared the twins would have issues trusting others, and they did, to some extent. They never got close to anyone outside of the family until they met you and Rio."

"You were different," Sebastian said with a smile.

"Rio found two strangers lost in the forest, brought them home, and you let us move into your lives without a blink," Ethan said.

"You accepted us too," Emma said.

"He's trying to thank you for risking your life to save me," Sebastian said.

Ethan's face flushed as he nodded. "Right. Yes. Thank you."

Emma chuckled. "You're welcome."

They walked in silence for a while, and Rio glanced over her shoulder. Her mother constantly surveyed the area and sometimes slowed to peer through the early morning shadows. As their surroundings lightened, every shadow no longer looked like a hunting wolf or one of the Tuars. With the colony and Wolf with them, they were well protected. Her mother's uneasiness alarmed Rio though. She shifted her pace to drop back to speak with her mother when Ethan asked the question Rio had in her mind.

"Emma, what's wrong?"

"I'm afraid I screwed up. Before you and I went into the funnel, I texted Shell. Remember?"

"Yes."

"In case we didn't return, I wanted her to know what happened to us. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm worried I made a mistake. Shell and Nate will come looking for us."

Ethan nodded. "If the creatures are truly camped at the water cave, they'll walk into a disaster."

"Or if they entered the funnel before Georg, they could be anywhere. They could already be, um," Emma said, lowering her voice.

"Does Colin know?"

Emma shook her head.

"If Nate and Shell came here, one of the bats from Magda's colony would have seen them and told Georg, right?"

"Yeah. I didn't think of that possibility."

Rio's shoulders relaxed with Ethan's assessment. The thought of having her aunt and uncle, now biological uncle, fighting to survive in this world caused her muscles to tense. She didn't want Colin to notice her level of stress from listening in on her mother's conversation with Ethan.

"Are you sure they would come?" Sebastian asked.

"Are they crazy enough to come to a place like this even after I told them Colin died here at the hands of ravenous, bear-like critters from a world that rained fire? Yes, Sebas, they'll at least go to Burnt Mountain for a look. They'll see the active funnel from the rope we left, and they'll go in." Emma sighed. "I wish I'd never sent that text."

"Why haven't they come yet?" Ethan asked.

"They were going to Boston the day we came here. They should have been back by now though. Regardless of the delay, I'm glad they're not here. I'm terrified of what they'll encounter if they come."

"We'll reach the cave first," Ethan said.

"Yeah. Tomorrow. We'll leave before they arrive," Sebastian said.

Emma sighed and nodded. "Thank you."

"For what?" Ethan asked.

"For understanding my concerns," Emma said.

Rio released a breath she held. She, too, understood her mother's worries, but Rio knew they extended deeper than anxiety about Uncle Nate and Aunt Shell. Her mother would do anything necessary to make sure Rio wasn't stuck in this world forever.

"You OK?" Colin asked.

Rio startled at the sound of his voice. "Uh, yeah, sure."

"Liar," Colby said, the flatness in her tone indicating her boredom with Rio's pathetic attempt to lie.

Rio slipped her hand between his arm and body to grasp his forearm. "I'm scared."

"So am I." Colin glanced down at her. His head turned with the noise of a twig snapping behind them, and the muscles in his arm tightened.

Rio turned with him and spotted the source. Wolf broke a limb under his heavy paw, and Colin's arm relaxed when he recognized the animal. "Have you been afraid the entire time you've lived here?" Rio asked.

"For a while at first, yes. Then I got used to it, but I always kept a part of my brain on duty, even when asleep. Do you know what I mean?"

"I think so." Rio had woken many nights for seemingly no reason until she discovered her mother having one of her nightmares. Rio always woke during the night when her mother's nightmares started, but she never admitted this to her mother.

"Colin, what happens when you go near the marker at the cave?"

He tightened his jaw before answering. "Fire. The first time Em, Jody, and I came, the yipping noise was my fear of being eaten alive. When I was a kid, I saw a TV show on hyenas and African wild dogs and had nightmares for weeks. My true fear changed to fire after getting burned."

"When you went back to try to leave, the fires started again. That's why that area still looks crispy."

Colin nodded.

Rio mentally ticked off the list of fears she needed to attempt to control if the others' efforts failed. _Floods, lightning, tornadoes, spiders, thunderstorms, and now fire. We'll need a miracle._

The group trudged along in silence for a while, stopping only to take the shortest breaks for Sebastian's sake. Otherwise, Georg kept them moving, and Rio tried to keep her nervousness under control as they marched closer to the exit. When Georg called on the group to stop, he and Ethan spoke for a moment before Ethan relayed the message they were taking another break.

### 59

Rio sat close to Sebastian and reviewed her newest idea with him. They were supposed to be eating, but neither wanted to take a bite of Colin's bitter roots.

Sebastian's eyes remained wide. "You're saying you want the three of us to sneak out tonight, go to a different sensitive place, start a storm, try not to die, and come back here before anyone realizes we're missing?"

"More or less."

"You're out of your mind, Rio."

Rio shrugged, unable to argue with his assessment.

"Colb know?"

"Not yet, but she'll join us. Sebas, I need to get near one of these places to find out more about how they work."

"Shh! Dad, is something wrong?" Sebastian asked after silencing Rio.

Ethan knelt near where Rio and Sebastian sat on a fallen tree.

"How do you feel?" Ethan asked.

"Sore. Tired. Same as before. I'm sorry we keep stopping for my sake."

"That's not an issue," Ethan said as he scratched his stubble. "We still have some distance to cover before we stop for the night. I can carry you on my back if you're too tired."

"No, Dad. Let me keep a little dignity."

Ethan nodded. "Where's your sister?"

"Harassing Magda with the few German words she knows."

Ethan laughed and shook his head. "Guess I should go rescue the bat from her."

"Colby is insistent they're bat-birds," Rio said.

"Fine," he said with a wave of his hand. "I'll rescue the bat-bird from her. The roots taste like crap, but I want you to eat."

Ethan left, and Sebastian took a bite of the root he'd been holding in his hand. He chewed with a deep scowl and gagged. "Oh, terrible. Crap doesn't being to cover it."

Rio took a deep breath and took a bite from her own root. Her eye twitched as the bitterness filled her mouth. She chewed it just enough to break into slightly smaller pieces before swallowing. She gulped water from her bottle to force the rest down and rinse her mouth. "I'm not staying here and living off this garbage. We'll create a small storm tonight, heal you, and we'll gain a better chance at getting out of this world with everyone healthy."

"Rio, I'm not in any shape to run from spiders."

"You won't need to. I won't let you set off your fear."

Sebastian considered his options in silence as he struggled to chew another bite. After taking a drink from Rio's bottle, he sighed. "Sometimes the things inside your head terrify me."

"Ha! You should be stuck inside it as much as I am."

"Pass."

Rio chuckled, glad to know he was interested in her plan for extra evening activities.

Georg passed through the group, barking new orders. Rio helped Sebastian to his feet. Georg stopped in front of Sebastian, inspected the dried plant material still stuck to the boy's side, nodded, and was off again.

"Apparently he approves," Rio said.

The group re-formed and resumed their hike. Rio thought more about her plan for the night. She wanted to tell her mother, but her mother would never let Rio do something so dangerous. She didn't like the idea of sneaking away from the others but still thought it was the best option. If she could figure out how the sensitive areas worked and learn how to control the fears, everyone would have an easier time escaping.

As their walk continued, Rio's mind wandered to other ideas. She trotted to catch up to Colin.

He glanced down at her when she arrived at his side. "What?"

Rio blinked at his question.

"What's on your mind? You didn't rush to reach me for a mere 'Hello' did you?"

"Well, no."

"Exactly. You get this look on your face, hard to explain, when you're thinking."

"Oh. Colb says it's a scowl that makes me look like I'm thinking so hard I'll hurt myself."

"Yeah. Something like that. So, again: What?"

"We're not _that_ far from your cave."

"No."

"Wait. You haven't heard—"

"No."

"But—"

"Nope."

Rio tilted her head skyward with a frustrated growl. "C'mon! Last time we went back to your place we found stuff that ended up saving you from freezing to death."

"No, Rio. Let that sink into your thick skull for just a half a second."

"Why?"

"The stubbornness that lives in Kaiser women is phenomenal," Colin said as he rubbed his tired eyes.

"Thanks," Rio said with a smirk.

" _So_ not a compliment."

"Your place still has weapons we left behind. We could—"

Colin's feet stopped, and he turned his attention to Rio's mother. "Em, I'm taking Rio for a quick side trip. We won't be long, I'll keep her safe, and we'll be back shortly."

He grasped the teen's upper arm and pulled her away from the group before her mother could protest. "Keep up," he hissed into Rio's ear.

Colin darted aside into the denser trees, and Rio sprinted to catch up. He maintained his relentless pace, and Rio gasped for air and tried to keep him in sight. By the time she caught up to him, she slowed to lean forward to rest with her hands on her knees.

Colin grabbed her wrist and pulled her next to where he knelt behind thick brush. "Control your breathing or they'll hear you."

"Who?" Rio asked between breaths.

"Shh."

Rio placed her palm on her chest and forced slower, quieter breaths. She exhaled through her lips as she pressed them together to form only a small opening. With her breaths and heart rate almost back to normal, she drew in a sharp gasp when the creature appeared a few hundred yards away. It sniffed the air and dropped to the ground on its four limbs to inspect the grass and dirt.

Colin looked at Rio without a word and tilted his head.

Rio shifted her body to back away from their cover. Colin moved with her, and both remained silent until they were well away from the Tuar.

"Satisfied?" Colin asked.

"How did you know one would be in that area?"

"I've lived here a long time and watched them hunt and track. They're not some dumb, lumbering animal. They will keep scouts around my old cave until we're captured. Until then, they'll watch the area for anyone stupid enough to return."

"Oh." Rio frowned. If Colin hadn't known about the creatures' habits, she would have gotten everyone captured.

"We need to hurry back before your mother comes to hunt me with her rifle." Colin turned and jogged away from Rio, who didn't hesitate to go with him.

"Why did you bring me out here? You could have just told me the creatures were lurking around your place."

"Would you have believed me without question if I'd told you?"

Rio didn't answer him.

"Hence me dragging you out here. Pick up your pace," he said, leaving her.

Rio scowled at his back. She slowed as tears of anger and frustration burned her eyes and wiped them away when they slid down her cheeks. Colin disappeared into a thicker part of the trees, and she stopped, closed her eyes, and lowered her head. She wanted to go home, but everything she did almost ended in disaster. She missed her dog so much her chest ached. Rio sniffled and brought her head up, brushing the additional tears from her face. She used the hem of her shirt to wipe her nose.

There had to be a way to get everyone home safely.

Once certain all traces of her tears were gone, Rio jogged to catch up with Colin and rejoin the others.

### 60

As expected, Colby needed no convincing to join in Rio's late-night excursion. Rio's biggest problem was staying awake. Georg and Colin slept while Rio's mother and Ethan remained awake. Everyone was exhausted so falling asleep wasn't an issue. Rio wanted to close her eyes and join the twins in dreamland, but she needed to sort out how the special areas worked if they were to have any chance of slipping by the warring clans. One bolt of wayward lightning and their plan to sneak by the Tuars was over.

The silhouettes of her mother and Ethan stood near each other as they talked for a moment, before they separated to stand guard elsewhere. Rio decided to move. She slid a headlamp out of her mother's pack on the ground and picked her way around Colin to reach the twins. She shook Colby by her foot, and her friend slowly opened her eyes. A grin spread across Colby's face, and Rio motioned for her to wake Sebastian.

Colby's brother took some additional convincing to wake up. After Colby roughly poked him in his injured side, Sebastian was angered enough to move. Rio now needed to keep him from throttling his sister before the twins woke Colin or Georg. She put her hand on Sebastian's arm and wordlessly begged him to come with her and remain quiet.

Once clear of the area the group had settled in to rest for the night, Rio pulled the twins close.

"You're sure Magda won't give us away?" Rio asked.

Colby shrugged.

"Wolf?" Rio asked.

"Yeah, he seemed to understand, though I don't see him anywhere," Sebastian said.

"Maybe he's hunting," Colby said.

Rio led them deeper into the trees. After several minutes of stumbling through the darkness and tripping over branches, Rio stopped and fumbled with the headlamp. As she began to press the button to turn it on, heavy footfalls landed in front of her and the twins. A shadowed figure stood before them.

Rio and the twins turned to run, but two more shadows blocked their way. Rio drew in a deep breath to shout for her mother.

Colin's shadowed form stepped forward. "Quiet."

Rio placed her hand on her chest to calm her thundering heartbeat. Her relief to have Colin near changed back to fear when she recognized the pair approaching as Ethan and her mother. Once encircled by the three people, Georg joined last. Wolf's massive form appeared, and he sat on the ground as the bat-birds slowed the beat of their wings to land on the branches above.

Colby hissed at the wolf and bat-birds. "Traitors."

There was no way for Rio to explain her way out of this mess. Her only option was to confess.

"How did you know?" Rio asked.

Rio's mother stood with her hands on her hips. "Know that you would do something stupid or that you would do something stupid _tonight?"_

Rio clamped her mouth closed.

"Both," Colby said, earning a jab in the side from Rio's elbow.

Emma turned her attention to Colby. "I suspected she was up to something since before Colin took Rio for a detour. After their trip Colin told me what happened, and I knew she wasn't finished plotting whatever crazed idea she had stuck in her brain."

"Great," Rio said with a mutter.

"So what's the plan, kid?" Colin asked.

Rio explained to them her idea. When she finished everyone was silent except for Ethan relaying the information to Georg.

With Georg's outbursts following the update, Colby chuckled. "I'm guessing we just heard how to swear in German."

Rio rolled her eyes at her friend's remark. The lingering silence from her mother, Colin, and Ethan left Rio feeling more uneasy. She shifted her stance and scuffed her boot against the ground to do something other than waiting for the yelling to start.

"It's not a terrible idea," Colin said with a shrug.

"Georg hates it, but this might be the only leverage we get out of this deal," Ethan said.

Rio's mouth dropped open to hear the men siding with her.

Emma sighed, and the only other sound in the dark forest was the soft clinking of the shells in her pocket as her fingers ran over them. "I don't have enough ammunition to shoot our way out of this world, and I certainly can't do it with this small-caliber rifle."

"So we go with Rio, hope she can figure out how the fears work, and use them to our advantage," Colin said.

"And hope she doesn't kill us in the process," Colby said.

Colin nodded. "That too."

Emma groaned and stretched her neck and shoulders while she considered their options.

"Mom?" Rio asked.

With a sigh, Emma relented. "I'm not getting any Mother of the Year awards for this decision. Lead the way, Rio," she said with a wave of her hand.

Georg barked at each of them in turn, scolding the group for several minutes before falling silent with his arms crossed in front of his broad chest.

Ethan stalled before answering. "Uh, he says he hates this plan."

"He went on for at least ten minutes. What else did he say?" Colby asked.

"Doesn't matter," Ethan said.

"Rio, let's see what kind of trouble we can scare up in the middle of the night, because this is a _wonderful_ time to wander around in the forest when we can't wait for daylight," Colin said.

Rio held up the headlamp. "Can I use this?"

Colin nodded. "For now. We'll hit a clearing before we arrive near the marker. Before we come out of the trees, turn it off."

With a nod Rio flicked the light on and led the group through the trees. Colby trotted to catch up.

"What are the odds they would agree with this lunatic idea?" Colby asked.

"Georg is already mad at us, so let's hurry before anyone else decides he's right."

"Is he right?"

Rio shrugged. "We'll find out."

### 61

Rio crept forward, nearing the open field Colin had mentioned. She turned the headlamp off, plunging the area into an eerie darkness. She put the lamp in her pocket and waited for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light. Rio inched her way through the trees to where they thinned and the clearing started. She glanced to Colin, and he nodded.

"See the marker?" Colin asked as he walked next to Rio.

Rio squinted while she continued moving. A moment later, she nodded after determining what was shadow versus the jagged rock column sticking up from the ground. She pointed. "There."

"Good," Colin said and stopped. "We'll wait here while Rio continues beyond the marker. No one else can go past it or your fears will come to life. Understand?"

The group nodded while Georg answered with a growl.

"I'll call that a 'yes' from Georg," Colin said.

Rio released a nervous chuckle. Her mother's hand landed on her shoulder.

"Don't push things too far. Find out only what you need to know then back off," Emma said.

Rio nodded, wishing her mother could go with her.

"I'll stay here and watch you, but if you can't control the lightning, bail."

"I will." Rio took a deep breath and stepped away from the group to cross the field alone. Rio could barely see the outlines of the black bat-birds as they flew over the field, and her shoulders relaxed some to know she wasn't alone. She glanced back at her friends and mother but kept her feet going toward the marker.

"Sure seems like a terrible idea now that I'm by myself," Rio said aloud. She arrived at the stone column and placed her palm on the rock. Her skin tingled, but Rio dismissed the sensation as her nervousness playing tricks on her mind. She closed her eyes for a moment. To control her own fear of lightning, she cleared her thoughts, pretending she stood in a room with white walls, ceiling, and floor. She pushed other thoughts aside and centered her mind on the nothingness in her imagined room.

Rio opened her eyes but kept her mental image of the room as she stepped forward. Her body wobbled with her first few uncertain steps, and she tried to keep her breaths controlled and easy. Her heart beat faster, but it didn't race. After moving several yards past the marker, she stopped and waited. Only the sounds of insects and other nighttime noises echoed in the darkness. Rio didn't hear any thunder, and the dark clouds overhead remained thin wisps of fast-moving clouds instead of a swirling, thickening mass.

She allowed herself a moment to smile at her success. "OK, not bad. Now I hope I can create a storm and keep it from killing me."

She closed her eyes again to concentrate on a small storm and didn't notice that the prior noises around her fell silent. Rio shifted her shoulders, forcing them to relax more, and imagined a speck of cloud developing in the distance. In her mind the cloud swirled into a more circular pattern as it thickened and grew. A distant rumbling sound made Rio open her eyes.

The sky had indeed changed, and a new cloud developed in the distance. Rio imagined the cloud altering paths. Instead of coming toward her, Rio pictured the storm in her mind drifting to her right. A wave of dizziness caused her body to sway, but she didn't fall. Rio regained her balance and continued to focus on the storm changing directions. Her brow creased with effort, and despite the cold, night air, sweat formed on her face.

Rio ignored the returning dizziness and grinned as the storm's path changed as she intended. With a laugh she turned to look for the others, but she wobbled again. Rio fell to her hands and knees, and she blinked several times. Worried that her mother would rush to her and undo Rio's control, she pushed herself back to her feet. The dark, growing cloud in the distance had shifted back to its original course to come toward her.

"Jeez. Can't lose focus on this stuff for a second," Rio said with a mutter. She centered her attention back on the storm. The cloud grew, creating more thunder, this time with lightning, before the storm changed paths under Rio's direction.

A sharp headache stabbed inside Rio's head. She pressed her fingertips to the side of her head and rubbed the spot that ached the most. She winced as the headache worsened, but Rio refused to let her attention drift away from the storm as it neared. She wanted to create and stop rain from the clouds. Rio flinched when lightning cracked, and her concentration on the storm wavered.

Shouts from behind caused her to turn. Her mother sprinted toward her while the others scattered in the opposite direction and into the trees. Rio didn't understand and tried to determine what her mother shouted at her while the bat-birds shrieked at her from above. In her moments of inattention, Rio's thick clouds expanded, and several bolts of lightning erupted. One bolt struck close enough to blast earth into the air and send Rio crashing to the ground.

Panicked, Rio scrambled to regain her feet, but dizziness kept her from standing. With her palms on the ground, Rio shuddered as the rumbling vibration moved from the grass to her palms and up her arms. She turned and realized the reason for everyone's panic. Hundreds of deer-like animals stampeded their way into the clearing where she'd be trampled.

### 62

Emma paced in a tight formation, and her eyes never left Rio's form in the distance. She kept her rifle ready as she lingered a few yards from the stone marker. Her daughter stood well beyond the stone column for several minutes with no signs of a storm or lightning brewing. Maybe Rio _could_ learn how to control the fears.

Ethan said something, to her or to someone else, she didn't know. Emma's only concern at the moment was Rio. When the small cloud appeared, every muscle in Emma's body tightened. The cloud remained insignificant for a while, but again, Emma's attention was more on Rio.

"Em," Colin said.

She continued pacing and only stopped when Colin touched her arm.

He tilted his head and frowned.

Emma shifted her eyes for a moment to him before watching her daughter again. "What?" she asked without looking at him.

"Wolf," he said, calling for the animal. The wolf arrived, his ears flicking forward and to the sides, and Colin scratched Wolf's shoulder. "He hears it too."

"What?" Emma said with a quick glance at Colin.

"I don't know," Colin said and left her side. "Ethan, tell Georg to send the bats scouting farther out."

"Why?" Ethan asked.

"Do it!" Colin said.

Emma began to speak and stopped when Rio's form swayed. The words "Something's wrong" were forming on her lips when Rio regained her balance. Emma frowned because of Colin's growing tension, but her eyes remained on her daughter.

"Georg is gone," Sebastian said.

"Where?" Colin asked.

"That way?" Colby said, more as a question, and pointed deeper into the forest.

Colin cursed under his breath. "Ethan, Colby, I don't care who does it. Tell the damn bats to spread out."

Emma turned to face him and missed Rio's fall. "Why?"

"How can you not hear that noise?" Colin asked.

Emma fell silent. The distant, low, rumble was not that of thunder. The crack of lightning drew her attention away from the rumbling sound. Rio remained in the clearing, and the storm continued to churn, closer, but on a path not directed at Rio. Emma's eyebrows went up. "She's doing it. She's controlling the—" Her eyes shifted to a dark mass pouring over the distant landscape and into the clearing.

She broke into a sprint to retrieve her daughter before Colin could order her otherwise. He shouted at her, but Emma didn't slow her pace. The storm shifted in Rio's direction with increasing winds, and lightning spread out like fingers from the storm's epicenter. A blast of light filled the clearing, and Rio tumbled away from the electricity that ripped the ground apart.

The deer-like animals, now panic stricken, stumbled and trampled others that fell before the herd. Emma darted past the marker to her daughter.

Emma slid to a stop at Rio's side and snatched her daughter to her feet. "Get up."

Rio sagged in Emma's arms. "I'm trying. I'm dizzy."

Emma slipped the rifle's strap off her shoulder to hold the weapon in one hand as she knelt. She turned her back to her daughter. "Climb on."

"Mom, you can't be on this side of the marker," Rio said as she climbed on her mother's back. "You'll set off a tornado."

If she and Rio didn't avoid the incoming stampede, a tornado wouldn't matter. With the added weight, it took Emma more time to increase her speed as she raced back to the trees.

"Hurry," Rio said while clinging to her mother.

One of the deer-like animals sprang past them while another at the front of the herd passed too close, clipping Emma's arm. The collision caused her to lose her balance, and she and Rio crashed to the ground. Emma scrambled back to Rio, but the herd was upon them. She threw her body over Rio's and waited for the painful collision of hooves against her body.

An unexpected snarling sound brought Emma's head up. Wolf stood over them and snapped at any of the panicked deer passing too closely. The wave of animals parted around them and closed again once beyond the wolf. The ground shook as the herd passed, and Emma held Rio close. Once the animals thinned, Wolf stepped aside for Rio and Emma to stand.

Both were covered in mud from the hundreds of hooves that had destroyed the field, churning the former grass into oblivion. Rio remained unsteady on her feet but able to walk. As they neared the tree line, faces peered down at them from the upper branches of trees.

Colby was the first to reach the ground. "I thought for sure you two were goners."

Emma wiped mud from her face. "Me too."

Colin dropped out of his tree. "Glad you're still alive. We need to go. The storm is still coming."

Another rumbling sound in the distance made Emma swear and shake her head.

"Aw, crap, Mom." Rio flicked her arm, slinging mud from her hand and forearm.

"What?" Sebastian asked as he eased himself to the ground.

"Tornado," Colby said.

"I can't outrun a tornado. I couldn't outrun the deer!" Sebastian said, the pitch of his voice increasing with each word.

"What do we do? Can you make the storm and tornado go away?" Ethan asked, directing the questions at Rio.

"No. I mean, I think I could if I had time," Rio said.

Though Rio appeared unharmed, she continued to wince and rub the side of her head.

Emma didn't have time to assess her for other injuries. She pointed to Georg who waved at them from deeper inside the forest. "Follow him."

### 63

Patience isn't a common trait among Tuars, and it was nonexistent in warrior chieftains. Feet thundered past as Ilnin's soldiers rushed to join the larger army. He growled as they passed, wishing they would move faster. He had troops camped near the enemy clan, but they were under orders to not attack until he arrived with the bulk of his remaining forces. Once in formation, he strode beyond the group until reaching his subordinate leaders.

"Our wide-ranging scouts will join us in two days' time. We attack when we have all our troops together," Ilnin said. This time Ilnin would crush his enemy.

Their former battles ended in losses on both sides, but there was never a clear victor. Though the enemy's troop size was smaller, they were smarter in their attacks and defenses. Ilnin's bloodthirsty troops often perished in traps set by the enemy before they were able to engage in battle. He used these inconvenient defeats to learn from his opponents.

He'd learned to pause and consider his options instead of only reacting with violence. Often, despite the pause, he still solved his problems with some form of bloodshed, but it was done with a measure of thought beforehand. He didn't have an endless supply of Tuars for his army, so Ilnin had to decide which ones to allow to live with scars and which ones to cull from his clan.

The escaped humans and those that aided in their rescue continued to plague Ilnin's thoughts. He desired revenge above all else, and the enemy clan hindered his ability to hunt and capture the humans. Under normal circumstances he would have called his troops together and attacked the other clan within a day of the enemy creating their battle camp. Ilnin opted to wait for reinforcements and also create a little more time for hunting.

With the larger mass of troops marching to join his forces already camped and preparing for battle, he ordered his two best trackers to remain at his side. Instead of proceeding with the others, he took his two clansmen with him on another path.

As the night fell, he found a place reeking of the humans' scent and an area of dried blood. He continued to sniff the air and growled with disgust at the fetid scent of wolves. He and his trackers searched the area until one of them found the humans' trail leading away from the place.

His clansmen requested time to stop for the night, but Ilnin ordered them to continue in the darkness. The strong scents of the humans and knowing one of them was injured compelled Ilnin to keep going. He eventually needed to suspend his hunt to start the battle, but he wanted to capture his prey first.

Fatigue and hunger drained him and his trackers, but Ilnin wouldn't quit. They crept their way through a thick part of the forest, and Ilnin stopped before crossing the plain. The mix of changing winds and a potential storm swirled the smells, so his trackers struggled to determine which way to go.

They argued briefly until Ilnin's growl silenced them. He noticed movement in the clearing and waited. He pulled in deep breaths through his nose until he finally detected a familiar scent. The girl he observed before a sudden storm began three days ago was the one standing alone in the field.

"At least one wolf is near," one of the trackers said.

Ilnin nodded in agreement as the wolf stench reached his nostrils.

"We should attack the human," the second tracker said.

"Not yet," Ilnin said, certain the girl was not alone.

The storm shifted above, and lightning caused his clansmen to cower. Ilnin never moved while he scanned the area for signs of the other humans. The girl fell but stood again. The ground seemed to shake, and Ilnin crouched and placed his broad hand flat against the earth.

"Don't enter the field," Ilnin said.

Minutes later the herd of deer burst from the forest to his right and poured into the shallow valley. The woman emerged from the distant edge of the trees, and Ilnin snarled. As suspected, the other humans were close.

The deer swarmed toward the girl, doomed to be crushed by their hooves, until the woman and wolf arrived to protect her. In the chaos of the stampede, his trackers entered the fray to tackle a deer on the herd's periphery and begin their feast. Ilnin would be trampled to death if he tried to capture the woman or girl, assuming he defeated the wolf first.

With a growl, Ilnin had no choice but to wait until the deer cleared the area. He joined his clansmen who stepped aside from their carcass. Ilnin used his claws to tear flesh from the dead animal's thigh. Blood dripped down his jowls and through his fingers as he ate.

The herd thinned as they moved on, and the field was a mixed stench of churned earth and bodies of deer crushed by others in the herd. The humans' scent was lost for now, but Ilnin didn't need to rely only on his nose to hunt.

He threw his remaining bite of flesh aside when the woman and girl rose from the muck and headed back into the trees with the wolf. The other humans descended from tree limbs, and Ilnin recognized the men he'd previously captured. "Come."

His trackers left the half-eaten carcass aside to follow. _This_ was the kind of obedience he expected from his troops. "Better food awaits us. Leave these scraps to the inferior wolves."

The storm intensified above them, but Ilnin continued his chase.

### 64

Magda swooped low at Georg's shoulder with a mix of words and squawks before stroking her wings downward to fly above the trees again. Ethan's breaths grew more labored the longer they followed the man. Rio wished Ethan didn't have to carry Sebastian, but her friend was still too weak to maintain Georg's grueling pace as he led them deeper into the forest. Sebastian tried to withstand the jarring bounce as his father struggled to run, but his groans with pain became more frequent. Fresh blood stained his shirt where the dressing made of plant matter broke away, and the wound reopened.

Rio glanced at Colby, and her friend's wide eyes stared forward as she tried to keep up with Colin urging her from behind. Rio's mother stayed at her side with her fingers twisting the shoulder area of Rio's shirt into a knot, using the wad of fabric to steer her daughter. The chilled wind lashing the trees above them cooled Rio's skin and helped her nausea, but the storm continued to follow them.

Rio didn't complain about her mother's grip since the fuzziness in Rio's head still caused her to periodically stumble.

"What did she say?" Emma asked.

"Uh," Ethan said between breaths.

"What?" Emma asked again.

"The creatures are behind us," Ethan said.

"We can't outrun them," Colin said, slowing his pace.

"Colin, you're not stopping to fight them off! Mom, Sebas is bleeding again," Rio said.

Georg and Ethan exchanged words again, and Rio hated the language barrier with Georg even more. The German made a sharp right off the path and led them through a tangle of vines and thorns that snagged clothing and ripped at their skin. Rio picked at a thorn embedded in her arm to remove it, but her mother shoved her forward, tearing the thorn free with the movement. Rio stumbled forward, and when she regained her balance, she turned a glare to her mother.

"Move!" Emma said, shoving her again.

Lightning cracked, illuminating the dark sky and the descending funnel cloud.

A startled squeak escaped Rio's mouth. She was no longer annoyed at her mother or concerned with the thorny plants. She put her arms up to protect her face and charged through the brush with her eyes closed.

Her direction changed when someone yanked her arm, causing her to tumble sideways. Instead of striking the ground, strong arms caught her and pulled her close. She opened her eyes as Georg carried her to Ethan. He took her from Georg, set her on her feet, and herded her to the rear of the pit in the ground where the twins huddled together.

Rio scooted next to her friends while Georg and Ethan helped her mother and Colin through the opening. She removed the headlamp from her pocket and turned it on. The pit was a snug fit for several people. In places, old fur was mixed in with the dirt like a wolf used the place for a den. She hoped the animal didn't return while they borrowed it. Sebastian's side and hand were wet with blood where he pressed his hand against his wound. Like Rio, they were covered in new scrapes and scratches, many of which bled. If the Tuars couldn't find them by scent, Rio and the others still left a blood trail. She wanted to tell Sebastian he'd be fine, but Rio didn't know if they would survive the next few minutes.

"I'm sorry," Rio said. "I almost had the storm under control. The deer showed up, and, Sebas, I'm sorry. I tried. I almost had it."

He nodded in response but didn't speak.

Rio turned the light back off and waited.

"Staying here is suicide. If the Tuars find us, we're trapped," Colin said.

"We can't outrun the storm or the creatures," Ethan said.

Lightning crackled overhead, and the violent clap of thunder shook the ground. Colby yelped and clung to her brother's arm. Several bat-birds landed near the opening and moved into the already crowded hole. Colby welcomed some of them into her lap.

"What about Wolf?" Sebastian asked.

"He'll find a safe place to wait out the storm and the creatures," Colin said.

Georg and Ethan spoke in hushed tones with Ethan waving his arms. To Rio, they were arguing.

Emma knelt near Rio. "Turn the light on."

"No," Colin said.

Emma kept her eyes on Rio and nodded. "Turn it on for me."

Rio noted her mother's calm tone and did as she was asked. The wind outside escalated from a howl to a roar. Her mother quietly picked mud and grass from the rifle's bolt mechanism. When finished she gave Rio a small smile. "Thank you. You can turn it off now."

Her mother's calmness seemed to spread among them. Like the twins, Rio's shoulders relaxed a little, and they kept their eyes on Emma. Even Ethan's argument with Georg ceased.

"How many creatures are following us?" Emma asked.

"Three," Ethan said.

Emma nodded and pushed her way through the men toward the opening.

Colin caught her arm. "You're not going out alone."

Emma pulled her arm from his grasp. "I'm not going out at all. You three will make a wall around the kids. Kill any that get past me."

"Emma," Ethan said.

"Give me the rifle," Colin said.

Emma continued to keep her voice calm. "We can't keep running. All we can do is hide. When it's time to defend, I'm going down swinging."

Rio's mouth remained agape at her mother's soothing tone and behavior. Her mother didn't wait for the men to respond as she thumbed the rifle's safety off.

A gust of wind blew debris around the den's opening, and Emma took a step back. The tornado's wrath was upon them.

### 65

Rio had fallen asleep, curled on the tiniest ridge of dirt in the den, just above the water level. "Wake up," Emma said, gently shaking Rio's shoulder.

Her daughter flinched, and her eyes opened wide.

"You're fine, Rio. It's time to leave."

"Oh." Rio pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes as she tried to fully wake up.

Emma was desperate for sleep, but once the storm passed, she remained awake and ready with the rifle. The storm brought down many trees and caused flooding in the area, including the place where they hid.

The torrential downpour created more mud than anything else, so they weren't able to collect enough rainwater to fully heal Sebastian's injuries. The stress from waiting out the storm followed by waiting for the creatures to track them to the den left them all drained. The violent weather had either killed the creatures or obliterated their ability to track Emma and the others.

"Mom, how can you stay so calm?"

"I'm terrified, Rio."

"You weren't last night, this morning, whatever time it is."

"Yes, I was."

"You kept everyone else from panicking though. _Everyone_ was a mess but you."

"On the inside, I'm a disaster."

"You hide it well. I wish I could."

"Remember the story of me passing out when training to be a paramedic?"

Rio nodded.

"I kept myself together long enough to get through that crisis and transport the people to the hospital before unraveling. Trust me, I'll fall apart later when this is over."

"When is it over?"

"We're getting out of this hell today." Emma took Rio's hand and helped her down from her makeshift bed. Rio's feet sank ankle deep in the mud and water. The pair sloshed their way out of the shelter to join the others. Though cold, wet, and exhausted, the rising daytime temperatures would at least help warm them.

Sebastian smiled as he scratched Wolf's shoulder, and Emma also smiled to see the large animal back with them. The bat-birds were easily visible now in the trees that had been stripped of leaves from the tornado.

Emma's shoulders sagged. "Be glad you're adopted and not my first born."

"Why?"

"I'd sell you for a cup of coffee."

Rio's snort spread to Emma, and the pair laughed despite their circumstances.

The others moved to follow Georg and Colin, and Emma sighed. "Guess that means we're going. C'mon." She looped her arm around Rio's shoulders as both encouragement for her daughter and support for herself to keep walking.

"What's the plan?" Rio asked.

"No idea," Emma said with a shrug.

"You really are tired. We need to know what's going on, Mom."

Emma nodded.

"I'll catch up to them and find out," Rio said. She left her mother's side to jog ahead.

Emma didn't think her legs were capable of anything faster than a trudging walk. She would soon learn how fast fear could make her move.

After a few minutes of talking with Colin, Rio bounded back to her mother. "We're back to the original plan from yesterday, day before. I don't know what day. They're all running together."

"Uh huh." Emma rubbed her face with her palms and wished she felt more awake.

"Mom, I'll tell them to stop so you can rest."

"No. I'm fine," Emma said, more to convince herself than to mislead Rio.

Her daughter talked as they walked, and Emma tried to remain engaged in their conversation. She didn't know how much time had passed until the group stopped, and Ethan brought the twins to her.

"This is where we split up," Ethan said.

Emma blinked several times, not realizing how far they'd traveled. The landscape had changed from forested to a more open area, and they now stood at the base of a hill. They were closer to the tunnel exit now than ever before. Adrenaline surged through her veins, and Emma's alertness returned.

"Emma?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah, I hear you," Emma said as she slipped the rifle strap from her shoulder.

"Dad, I don't like this plan anymore," Colby said.

"You and your brother will wait here with Emma and Rio. We're just going to scout the area and be right back," Ethan said.

"If we're not back in fifteen minutes, go back to the cave with the pool," Ethan said.

"Watches don't work here," Sebastian said.

"Use your best guess, and we'll do the same," Ethan said.

Without another word he left with Colin and Georg. Colin gave a low whistle, and Wolf bounded to join them before they disappeared over the next ridge.

"He could've left Wolf with us," Sebastian said.

"We still have the bat-birds," Colby said, pointing to one in a nearby tree.

"Rio, draw us a map of the area," Emma said.

Rio squatted and started drawing lines in the dirt with her finger. "This area by Burnt Mountain, where we are now, the topography is almost the exact same as home. We have to go around what would be the pond at home to go up and over the mountain to slide down to the top of the cave entrance. Here," Rio said, sticking her finger in the dirt.

Emma moved around her daughter and used the toe of her boot to draw another line. "The river is here. What else is around us?"

"Why?" Rio asked.

"Plan B," Emma said.

"When our fifteen minutes is up, we're not leaving?" Colby asked.

Emma shook her head.

"Good. I like your plans way better than the crap Dad comes up with," Colby said.

Colby knelt next to her friend while Rio continued drawing and describing the landscape in Maine. While Rio talked, Emma thought of other options. Her daughter had only been to Burnt Mountain once, but Emma knew Rio. Her daughter studied and remembered maps the way some people could remember names or numbers. For Rio, Burnt Mountain's landscape was a familiar face.

Rio abruptly ended her drawing and stood. She winced and pressed her finger against the side of her head.

"Headache?" Emma asked, and Rio nodded. Emma herded the twins and Rio ahead of her. "Time to leave."

"Dad's not back. It hasn't been fifteen minutes," Sebastian said.

"The bat-birds haven't made a sound. What's wrong?" Colby asked.

Emma ordered the twins forward. "Go!"

### 66

"Quiet," Ilnin growled at his passing clansmen. Their weapons clattered as they marched past him. When they emerged from the thicker trees, his troops re-formed, but some had grown lax in efforts to reduce the noise as their heavy feet crushed vegetation and crossbows bounced against their armor. They followed his order, and the noise diminished.

Forced to abandon his hunt due to the storm's intensity, Ilnin and his trackers re-joined with his forces on their way to the camp. His middle rumbled with hunger, and he wished he'd taken more than one bite of the deer flesh earlier.

Reports from his men reached him that the longer-ranging scouts would arrive earlier than expected, and Ilnin grinned. He would fight the rival clan today. A scent wafted by, and he halted. Ilnin turned where he stood and sniffed the air. After chasing the humans for so long, he knew each one by their smell now except for one man. They were close.

Ilnin called for his trackers and a few other clansmen to join him. "The humans are here. The two men we captured before plus another are in the area. Capture them alive. Bring them to me injured or poisoned and you'll suffer worse torment than they will."

His men left, but Ilnin kept the trackers with him.

"You smell the other humans? The woman and children?" Ilnin asked, and they nodded. "Good. Take me to them."

He and the trackers moved across the landscape, and Ilnin paused at half-dried blood on a piece of brush. He broke the thin branch from the bush and sniffed it. The one that was injured continued to bleed. Saliva dripped from his mouth as the musty odor of human blood filled his nostrils. If he was close to the humans, the wolf and bats wouldn't be far away. Ilnin hissed; his trackers froze. He crept along the ground to join them.

"Stay low and behind the brush. Look for the bats," Ilnin said.

As they moved forward several more yards, Ilnin stopped. Without a sound he removed his crossbow from his back. He inched his way to a better position and raised the weapon. The bolt shot out of the crossbow and hit its mark. The bat fell from its perch, impaled by the bolt.

Ilnin readied another arrow in his weapon and resumed creeping along. "They're helping the humans. Don't let them see you."

Minutes later he arrived at a more open area where the scent of the humans was strong. He set his weapon aside as he crawled on his four limbs with his nose to the ground. Lines drawn in the dirt reeked of the light-haired girl's scent.

Shouts in the distance brought his head up, and Ilnin growled. The unmistakable clatter of Tuars clashing. Several bats rose from the trees. One circled near him and the trackers, shrieking a cry of warning. Ilnin fired at the bat but missed.

With a curse he ordered his trackers to his side.

"Bring me the four humans that remain. Alive!"

His trackers left with their orders, and Ilnin dropped to all fours and was forced to leave his hunt again to deal with the premature battle. As he raced to catch up with the bulk of his forces, Ilnin slowed as he passed the scarred wolf lying motionless on the ground along with two of his clansmen. Despite the loss from his own clan, he laughed, glad to have one enemy already dead. "Maybe you'll stay dead this time!" he said before continuing on his way.

He joined his clansmen to find the battle had not begun yet, but a skirmish had started between enemy clans meeting as they moved to flank each other. With Ilnin's arrival, he and his small group of forces slayed several of the enemy clan. The rival clan's formation broke and scattered.

Ilnin ordered his troops to reform ranks instead of pursuing the retreating Tuars. Chasing them now always meant losing some of his clan to their traps.

"March to join the main army."

Though some were reluctant, they obeyed his newest order. Ilnin considered leaving them to meet his trackers but decided to stay. His clansmen were too ready to break his orders when he wasn't near. His trackers would bring him the humans.

Once back with his full army, Ilnin ordered them to form battle lines. He paced in front of them, checking his troops while listening to reports on the enemy's movements.

"They have the high ground on the far side of the mountain," one reported.

"And they brought ranged weapons," another said.

"Catapults," Ilnin said with a growl. His enemy had a skilled builder that was responsible for superior weapons and the deadly traps. Ilnin planned to capture him and skin him alive.

"They're dug in," a third ranking clansman said.

"Then that's where we'll bury them," Ilnin said before giving the order to march.

### 67

Rio closed her eyes and wished her racing heart would slow enough so she could think. After abandoning the area where they were supposed to wait, her mother urged the teens to move faster. Sebastian held his hand over his side and grunted with each painful step. Rio and Colby moved to stay at his sides to help him along, but he still didn't move as fast as Rio wanted.

"Mom?" Rio asked, turning her head to find her mother behind her.

"Keep going till you reach the boulder ahead," Emma said.

Rio nodded and pulled Sebastian along. They moved around a tree to reach the SUV-sized boulder that was partially covered with earth. Sebastian dropped to his knees and hugged his side.

Colby knelt beside her brother and looked to Rio's mother for answers. "We can't keep pushing him like this. What do we do?"

"Uh," Emma said.

Rio realized her mother didn't have a solid plan and tried not to panic. She peeked around the edge of the rock where they waited and drew her head back. "Mom, three creatures are scouring the ground where we just left."

Emma raised the rifle to her shoulder and peered around the corner.

"Can you shoot them?" Rio asked.

"Too far," Emma said without lowering the rifle.

"They'll be able to track us here," Colby said.

Since Rio's mother now occupied the spot she'd used to view the creatures, Rio climbed up the boulder to look between the granite and the tree. She flinched with the sudden eruption of shouts, roars, and weapons clashing. Bat-birds shrieked and swooped in the distance.

"What is that?" Sebastian asked.

"I don't know," Rio said. She glanced at her mother, who kept the rifle aimed at the creatures still sniffing the ground where they had just left.

One creature left and after a moment of additional sniffing, the remaining two creatures resumed tracking their prey.

"Mom, you see them, right?"

The rifle's _crack_ answered Rio's question. One of the creatures stumbled but continued toward the boulder. Her mother fired a second shot, killing the injured Tuar while the second bolted for cover. Rio's mother cursed and reloaded.

"Did you see where it went?" Emma asked.

Rio scrambled off her perch and tugged on her mother's arm. "We have to go. Colb, get Sebas up. We're leaving."

"Where did it go?" Emma asked.

"Doesn't matter." Rio pulled her mother off balance enough that she didn't have a choice but to turn away from searching for the Tuar. She forced the twins and her mother to leave.

Sebastian stumbled forward, and Rio's mother knelt in front of him. He hesitated before getting on Emma's back.

"I'll slow you down," Sebastian said.

Emma grunted as she stood with his added weight. "Rio, which way?"

Rio turned and forced herself to jog instead of sprint like she wanted; she couldn't leave her mother and Sebastian behind. "If Ethan and the others got caught in whatever fight is happening, they're going to return for us and run into the creature that got away."

"You're leading us _toward_ the noise?" Colby asked.

"We won't get involved, but we need to reach your dad, Colin, and Georg before they try to find us."

"With one still following us," Colby said.

"Mom killed the other one, so I doubt it will come straight at us again."

"You're guessing it won't," Colby said.

"Yeah, I am," Rio said.

Her mother didn't offer any input to Rio's idea and instead focused on breathing and keeping her legs moving. Rio slowed and took the rifle from her mother's hand as they started up a ridge. Her mother drew in long, ragged breaths the longer she climbed with Sebastian still on her back. Upon reaching the top, her mother paused to breathe, and Sebastian slid off her back. Rio scanned the landscape. The Tuar that followed them had stopped to sniff around the rock and tree they'd used to hide behind. As Rio turned to urge her mother and Colby down the other side of the ridge, Rio gasped.

She saw what appeared to be a dead wolf on the ground two hundred yards away. A hand touched her forearm, and Rio's eyes turned to her mother.

"Help me get Sebas down the hill," Emma said.

"But—" Rio said.

Her mother nodded; she'd seen the wolf too. Neither of the twins reacted, so Rio assumed they didn't see him. She took Sebastian's hand to help him down the steeper side to join Colby, who was already moving down the slope.

A humming noise developed all around them. Rio turned as a cloud burst up from the ground. She startled, losing Sebastian's hand, and her boot slipped on loose stones. She slid down the slope, gaining more scrapes on the way, before her other boot snagged on brush, turning her ankle and sending her tumbling the rest of the way down.

Rio landed on her side with a grunt, and she coughed a plume of dust with her face in the dirt. Colby called her name, and Rio shifted her body. Though dizzied from the fall, Rio rolled to her rump. Colby picked up the rifle Rio had dropped during her fall and set it aside, and then knelt by her friend.

"You OK?" Colby asked.

"I think so. What's that noise?"

Colby tilted her head in the direction of the ever-growing, brown cloud. "Bugs."

Emma arrived with Sebastian. Still winded from carrying him earlier, Rio's mother gasped for air while still trying to check Rio.

"I'm fine, Mom. You need to breathe," Rio said, ignoring the throb in her ankle. "Bad bugs?" Rio asked her friend.

Colby shrugged.

"They're like the ones that swarmed out of the ground when we first got here," Rio said. Those insects didn't try to attack them, but Rio didn't know why they were swarming again now. "Uh oh," Rio said as the swarm swirled in the air before coming toward them.

"Here," Colby said, shoving the rifle into Emma's hand. She pulled her brother to his feet, but no one could outrun the flying insects.

The cloud engulfed them, and Rio lowered her head to protect her face with her arms. The insects didn't attack but continued to swirl around them with their deafening hum. Rio glanced up and spotted the twins nearby, but her mother was gone.

### 68

Rio spun in circles, disoriented in the swarm and desperate to find her mother after becoming separated. "Mom! Colb, you see her?"

Colby swatted at the insects, but the swarm didn't disperse.

"There!" Sebastian said and pointed.

Rio followed his hand with her eyes and squinted. She recognized her mother's form and spotted another shadow, growing in size as it charged. Her mother's head was down as she tried to shield her face from the insects, so she didn't see her incoming attacker.

"Mom!" Rio raced toward her mother, but the attacker lowered its body and slammed its shoulder into her mother's middle.

Emma was lifted off her feet before her back and head collided with the ground. The rifle bounced out of her hand, and she was pinned between the ground and her attacker. Rio continued her sprint, ready to deliver a kick to the creature's head when she slid to a stop. She rammed her knee into Ethan's side.

Rio hit him again, rocking him off her mother.

Confused by the swarm, Ethan's eyes widened when he realized he hadn't tackled one of the Tuars. "Emma!"

Her mother pinched her eyes closed and rolled to her side with her hands on her stomach. She released a small cough and moaned.

"I told you to wait," Colin growled at Ethan as he neared and knelt next to Emma with Rio.

"I saw a shape through the insects and thought she was one of those things. Emma, I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he said again, this time to Rio.

Ignoring his apologies, Rio kept her attention on her mother. "Mom, you have to get up."

Emma groaned in response with a deep grimace on her face.

"The creatures are too close for you to lie here and have a rest," Rio said.

Her mother began to uncurl her body, and Rio swatted Ethan's hand away when he offered to help.

"I'm so sorry," Ethan said.

Georg stomped by Ethan, giving him a rebuke in German, before moving past them to the rifle. He picked up the weapon and barked orders at the twins. They followed his gestures to shift closer to their father, and Georg gave the rifle to Colin.

"Why did you attack her?" Colby asked.

"I didn't know it was her. We got caught between two smaller groups of the clans that started fighting and barely escaped," Ethan said. "What are these bugs?"

Colby shrugged. "They just showed up. Fortunately they're not eating us."

"Where's Wolf?" Sebastian asked.

"He's not coming," Colin said. He stood over Emma and Rio and paced. "Rio, get her up."

Rio scowled at him. "You weren't the one that got tackled by a guy that plays rugby in his free time, so back off."

"What do you mean he's not coming?" Sebastian asked.

Colin scratched at his beard and didn't answer.

"He's dead? He can't be dead. We could help him again like before. We can—" Sebastian said, ending his plea to Colin when his father touched his arm. "Dad, we have to try."

Ethan shook his head, and Sebastian's eyes filled with tears.

Rio squeezed her mother's shoulder. "Mom, look at me. Are you dying?"

Emma finally opened her eyes. "I think dying would hurt less."

"Up. Now." Rio assisted her mother while she pushed herself to a sitting position first before standing.

Emma garbled her swears with groans as she worked to straighten her body. Ethan started to apologize again but opted to remain quiet.

Colby's scream redirected everyone's attention away from Emma. Colin fired at the rushing Tuar through the insect swarm, but it didn't slow.

Rio shoved her hand into her mother's pocket to retrieve more shells for Colin, but he charged at the creature without waiting to reload. He swung the rifle's stock at the creature's head, striking it, and sending it to the ground. Ethan and Georg landed on top of the Tuar, each man pinning one of the Tuar's clawed hands, while Colin drove the stock down on the creature's head.

Rio stood with her mouth agape and her hand still in her mother's pocket. The men stepped away from the dead creature, and Colin returned to Emma and Rio. He put the rifle in Emma's hand. "It needs a new round."

"Uh." Emma shifted her stare from the rifle, to Colin, and back to the rifle.

"Here." Rio handed her mother a shell she'd taken from her pocket.

"We can't leave through the water cave as planned," Colin said. "Why didn't you wait where I told you to stay?"

"We couldn't," Rio said.

"Why not?" Colin asked.

Emma brushed dust off the rifle. "I made us leave. Get over it."

"Three creatures got to the area right after we left. One broke off, and the other two came after us. Mom shot one, and you just clobbered the other one," Rio said. "We were trying to meet you before you unknowingly ran into this last one on your way to find us."

Emma brushed insects off the weapon. She slid the rifle's bolt open, and the empty shell ejected. She blew air into the rifle to clear it of more dust. With a frown, Emma placed the rim of the shell Rio had given her between her lips and picked a piece of grass out of the mechanism.

"Guess we got lucky finding you," Colby said.

"Lucky your dad didn't kill Mom," Rio said.

Colby nodded. "That too."

"You sure you need to be putting the ammo in your mouth like that?" Ethan asked.

After she removed the shell from her lips and put it in the rifle, Rio's mother gave Ethan a glare that made him step back. She slid the bolt closed without a word.

"If we can't leave as planned, what now? We can't stay hiding in this insect cloud forever. The noise is driving me insane," Rio said, waving her hand to shoo the swarm from her face.

"Georg's place in New Brunswick," Ethan said.

"No," Emma said.

"It's the only way," Ethan said.

Rio smiled at her mother. Her mother was calming the others in the group again, and Rio wished she had the ability to do the things her mother could.

"We're leaving today. Rio can control the fears once we are close," Emma said.

"She can't—" Sebastian said.

"She can," Emma said with a small smile at her daughter. "I watched her do it. So did you if you were paying attention."

"Are you sure you want to do this, Em?" Colin asked.

"Go to Canada, Colin. Ethan, if you think Sebas is up for that kind of hike, go ahead. Rio and I are going home." Emma placed her arm around Rio's shoulders and started walking. "You up for this?" Emma asked, with her voice lowered so only Rio could hear.

Rio nodded. "Is this you panicking on the inside but not the outside?"

"No. My insides feel like I have been clobbered by a truck."

"So this is you making everyone think you don't feel like dog food."

Emma released a small chuckle and winced.

"You saw me control the storm cloud," Rio said.

"Yeah. Whatever Jody figured out, even if she didn't know it at the time, with controlling the weather, you can do it too. But the clans are fighting now. This will be dangerous."

"Yeah," Rio said with a glance back. "The others are coming."

"Good. We'll need their help."

"You were bluffing about them going to Canada?"

Emma nodded.

Rio snorted a laugh. "You're amazing, Mom."

"Save the praise for when we make it home."

"I've never seen someone so ... so _relentless,"_ Colin said with a grumble as he followed Emma and Rio.

"Which one? Emma or Rio?" Colby asked.

"Both of them!" Colin said and growled with frustration.

### 69

The earlier, smaller fight ended with the darker clan retreating and the lighter Tuars changing directions. Rio and the group moved across the terrain, keeping enough distance between them and the marching Tuars. Georg and Colin led them closer to this world's equivalent of Burnt Mountain. They hiked around the swampy basin that was the murky pond in Maine and started up the ragged slope toward the top of the mountain.

Before reaching the summit, Colin altered his path to take them around the mountain's side. Rio's back ached from the continued crouch as she crept and crawled her way across the mountain. Sebastian suffered the worst still, but the slower pace was easier than running.

Colin brought the group to a halt and pointed. The landscape changed and leveled off near the mountain's base where the entrance to the water cave waited. Beyond that area, the light-brown clan leader shouted his orders, and his troops charged. The darker-colored rival clan, secured behind built-up walls of dirt, launched their assault.

Catapults released two-foot-wide balls into the air that exploded with shrapnel on impact with the ground. Flames spread out, engulfing some of the charging Tuars. Crossbow arrows released between the clans. A bolt stuck into the tree next to Rio, and she yelped with surprise. She clamped her hand over her mouth to prevent any other noises coming out.

Now that she was here and watching the two clans kill each other, Rio wanted to run away. Her eyes shifted to Colin when he gently removed her hand from her mouth.

"We can't go any closer without setting off fears. What do we do to keep them from coming to life until we are out?" Colin asked.

"Uh." Rio's eyes darted between Colin and the battle below.

"Rio, give us something or we have to leave this place. We can't sit here and wait for another wayward arrow to come by."

"I, uh, I imagine I'm in a white room. No windows or door. No sounds or pictures."

"Sounds more like a prison," Sebastian said.

Rio shook her head. "It's like staring at a blank piece of paper."

"OK," Colin said and took a deep breath. "Let's go."

He and Georg led them toward the tunnel entrance. The twins and Rio were flanked by Rio's mother and Ethan as they moved. Rio paused when she heard a familiar rumble of thunder.

"Colby," Rio said under her breath.

Colby winced. "I'm trying. The paper thing isn't working."

Rio's foot slipped and she slid a few feet down the hill before stopping. She paused, but the warring Tuars a hundred yards away didn't notice her short skid. She scampered back up the slope. "Think of Boston and your favorite thing at the Museum of Science."

Colby nodded, and Rio glanced at Sebastian. He stared at his feet as he moved. She feared he was watching for spiders but realized he used his shoes as his focal point. She started to say something to him when Georg stopped and waved at everyone to lie down. They didn't have much brush or other things to hide behind, so Rio pressed her body to the ground. She lifted her head to see what was happening, but Colin's hand landed on the side of her face, pushing her head back down. Someone got on the ground to her other side, but with her head under Colin's hand, Rio couldn't see who it was.

Rio thought the trembling in her chest was from nerves until she realized the earth shook. A group of Tuars marched through the forest to join the others of their clan, and Rio winced when they released a wild war cry. She lapsed in her efforts to concentrate. A crack of lightning followed by a clap of thunder made Rio flinch. She rotated her eyes upward as the sky darkened. The remaining bat-birds in the area shrieked before flying away. Insects hiding under leaves and grass swarmed before also fleeing the storm. Rio was still pinned under Colin's hand.

"We need to go," Rio said, mouthing the words to Colin without a sound.

He shook his head in reply.

"Why?"

The ground shook again as more Tuars marched into the fray. They passed close enough this time that Rio didn't know how she and the others remained undetected. Being covered in debris and mud from the previous night's events helped conceal them from the creatures. The insects evacuating the area also added some camouflage and distraction for the creatures to miss them. She wanted to know where her mother was and hoped she was the person lying on the other side of her.

Rio pinched her eyes closed and trembled. If caught now, she'd never get home. She resisted the urge to sniffle as tears stung her eyes. Her eyes popped open again with Georg's voice. He spoke barely above a whisper to Ethan who then motioned for them to get up. Rio scrambled to her feet. Her mother remained at her side after getting up, and Rio allowed herself a small sigh of relief. She wouldn't lose her mother again.

With the arrival of more of the light-furred Tuar troops like the ones that had captured Colin and Ethan, the dark brown clan was now outnumbered. Creatures attacked each other without any hesitation, and the bodies continued to fall on the battlefield at the base of the mountain. The catapults released another volley, and the exploding assault killed any nearby Tuar, clansman or foe, engaged in battle. Georg was right. This wasn't a skirmish. The clans were here to obliterate each other. Rio's mother looked as pale as Rio felt.

A hand pushed Rio from behind, and she startled with Ethan's touch.

"Go," he said.

The group scrambled down the slope with much less regard for stealth. Rio's legs threatened to freeze as fear swelled in her mind. Creatures from both clans poured from the charred forest from opposite sides toward the battle area. Thunder boomed overhead, and Rio remembered the storm. The creatures' screams distracted her, and focusing on her empty room was impossible. Some Tuars broke away in their own smaller clashes chasing those trying to avoid the worst of the fight. In the process they blocked Rio and the others from entering the opening to the tunnel to take them to the rope. Tears filled Rio's eyes when she realized they were trapped.

### 70

A Tuar rushed toward Rio, and a darker one slammed into her attacker. The collision caused them both to tumble into Rio and the others, sending everyone down the rest of the slope. The warring creatures continued their fight, and Rio rushed to regain her feet. Her mother fired at another of the beasts, killing it, but while she reloaded, a crossbow bolt pierced the back of Colby's lower leg and she screamed.

"Get Rio and Sebas out!" Colin said to Emma and Ethan over the cacophony of war. He scooped Colby into his arms but didn't go far. He pitched forward with an arrow lodged in his back and dropped Colby, landing on her in the fall.

Ethan and Sebastian's attempt to reach Colby failed when creatures arrived in their path. "Run," Ethan said to his son before throwing his arms around one of the creatures, driving it off balance. He pushed with his legs, and Ethan and the creature struck and splintered the remnants of a blackened tree stump before landing on the ground.

Emma fired her rifle again, killing the creature before it could tear Ethan apart with its claws. Ethan rolled the Tuar off him, and once again raced to help his daughter.

Colin struggled to stand, and Rio's vision blurred with tears and dizziness as her breaths came in shorter, faster gasps. Colby crawled toward her brother and father, but her progress was slowed with her injured leg. Georg tried to help Colin as Rio's mother reloaded. A face appeared before Rio's eyes, and someone spoke to her. She blinked several times to clear her vision.

"Uncle Nate?" Rio winced as he squeezed her arm, but the pain helped clear her mind from the crippling terror that gripped her seconds ago.

"Help Colby," Nate said.

He said the words to her again, and Rio wondered where he'd come from and why he held a long, slender stick in one hand.

"Rio! Grab Colby, and go to the rope," Nate said, giving her a shove in Colby's direction.

"But—" Rio said.

"NOW!"

Rio flinched with his harsh tone and nodded. She rushed to her friend and reached for the arrow to remove it from Colby's leg.

Rio's mother interfered. "Leave it for now. Just go."

"Uncle Nate's here," Rio said.

Emma reloaded as she spoke. "I saw him. Go with Colby inside the tunnel."

"What about the fears?" Rio asked.

"Too late to worry about that. Go."

Colby cried out as Rio pulled her friend up. "Sorry. Lean on me if you can't put weight on that leg." Lightning splintered a tree on the opposite slope, and the wind's intensity grew.

Colby nodded and bit her lip as Rio dragged her toward the tunnel opening. Rio continued to glance behind her, refusing to lose her mother. Ethan failed a second time to reach his daughter to help when another creature attacked. Fresh blood spilled from a deep cut to Ethan's shoulder, but he continued to fight, though the pair stumbled into Sebastian, knocking him down.

Georg hauled Colin to his feet and shoved him in Emma's direction, and then he left to aid Ethan. Emma caught Colin as he rocked forward to fall again.

Colin's raspy breaths were followed by a cough that produced bright, red blood on his lips.

"Nate!" Emma said, struggling to keep Colin up.

Nate flipped the staff in his hand, smashing the face of a creature, before rushing to Emma's side.

"Hey, little brother," Nate said. He swung the staff and combined his strike with a spin, hitting two attacking creatures in one swipe. "Thought you were dead." Nate slid his arm around Colin to support him.

Colin blinked with confusion. "Nate?"

"I'm glad to see you, but what took so long?" Emma asked. She kept her shoulders wedged beneath Colin's arm and side to keep him up while she struggled to fire and reload.

"Long story. We have a problem." Nate hefted his brother higher to get a better hold on him as Colin's failing strength dragged both Nate and Emma down.

Crossbow arrows sailed past them, and Emma ducked.

Alone, Rio would have reached the tunnel by now, but Colby's injury hindered their progress. Rio yelped with pain when an arrow sliced through the skin of her upper arm. She now had the poison in her system like Colin and Colby.

She searched for Georg and found him several paces away, wrestling with a creature on the ground and dodging the Tuar's claws.

Sebastian emerged from the tangle of his father and the Tuar and clutched his bleeding side. He reached his sister and Rio, his face a ghostly pallor.

"Spiders," Sebastian said.

"Just step on them, Sebas," Colby said.

Rio transferred Colby to Sebastian to return to her mother.

"What problem?" Emma asked after shooting another creature and reloading.

"Snakes," Nate said.

Emma shot a Tuar nearing the twins. "What kind of snakes?"

"The kind that slither." Nate struck another creature in the head with his staff, breaking the piece of wood but felling the attacker.

"No, what _kind_?" Rio asked, but her uncle didn't hear her. Like her mother, she wanted to know if they would face large, small, poisonous, or whatever kinds of snakes. Her concern didn't matter though. Lightning shattered a tree much closer to them this time, and the dark clouds above swirled in a tighter pattern.

Violent claps of thunder burst through the noise of battle, and Colby whimpered as she clung to her brother. "We're all gonna die."

Rio continued toward her mother and feared Colby was right.

### 71

"Snakes. Great," Emma said with a mutter. "You got him?"

"Yeah," Nate said.

Emma stepped away from supporting Colin's weight. The twins cowered together among the fighting and trembled with the worsening storm. She spotted Rio coming toward her. "Rio, I'll ground you for the rest of your life if you don't go in the bloody tunnel."

Her rifle was loaded and needed another target. As soon as Georg and the creature he fought separated, Emma fired. The creature was wounded enough that Georg was able to kill it with the Tuar's own crossbow.

A mix of red and black blood soaked Georg's beard as he staggered away from the Tuar's corpse. Nate struck any attackers that came at him and Colin as they inched toward the tunnel. Ethan remained embroiled in a fight for his life with another Tuar. The creature swung a thick tree limb at him, striking Ethan in the chest. He staggered back, dizzied by the nasty blow. Ethan raised his arms, ready to receive the deadly slash of claws coming at him.

Emma wished he wasn't so close to the creature, but she had no choice. She squeezed the trigger, and the rifle's bullet found its target:

the creature collapsed with a hole in the back of its neck and landed face down at Ethan's feet.

"Take the kids out," she said, though Ethan still stared at the dead creature. "Ethan, leave! We're coming."

He nodded, and as she pulled the bolt back to eject the spent shell, Emma returned her attention to Colin.

She gasped when blood spurt from Colin's mouth. He lurched forward, a second arrow in his back. Emma dropped the shell she tried to insert into the rifle's chamber.

"Em, go. I have him," Nate said, despite Colin's worsened state.

Emma picked up the precious shell, loaded the rifle, and slid the bolt closed. She hooked her arm around Colin and resumed her position at his side.

"She never listens," Colin said between gasps.

"At least she's consistent," Nate said.

Colin tried to laugh and coughed instead.

Blood poured from new slash wounds across Georg's arm and shoulder, but he used his acquired crossbow to fire bolts back at the Tuars, all while moving to rejoin the group. Though the creatures fought each other and came at the humans too, one Tuar strode across the battlefield. Emma spotted the unusual movement, watching as the creature killed any in its path and stalked ever closer. She recognized the creature's scarred face and glowing eyes.

Her mouth moved a few times before any sound emerged. "This can't happen again."

"What?" Nate asked.

"The one that came after us before and caught Colin, he's here."

"So shoot it," Nate said.

Emma couldn't fire from her position, and if she released Colin, he would never make it to the rope before the creature caught up.

"Shoot the damn thing, Em," Nate said.

She shifted her body to release Colin but stopped. Several creatures approached, and Nate removed his supporting arm from Colin to engage them. Emma groaned under Colin's full weight and tried to keep him moving. She couldn't use her rifle while holding him. Ethan almost had the teens in the tunnel when an arrow pierced his chest, sending him to his back. Colby dragged herself to be near her father, and Sebastian sank to the ground next to her. The blood on Sebastian's side might have been from a new wound, his existing wound, or both.

Emma's eyes found Rio standing, shaking her head with tears streaming down her face. "Rio, run. Please run."

Colin's steps faltered and more blood spilled from his mouth. His shallow gasps for air became harder for him to take, and he groaned. Emma lowered him to the ground. A red stain spread across Ethan's chest as he held his children's hands.

Nate limped toward Colin and Emma with blood pouring from a deep cut to his thigh. "Leave, Em. Shell's waiting for you above the pond."

She didn't want to leave Colin or anyone else, but each person had injuries and couldn't fight much longer. Emma didn't answer him and turned. First, she needed to kill the Tuar that still hunted them. It stomped toward her without heed for other clansmen he shoved from his path. His determined strides shortened the remaining 50-yard gap between them. Emma pulled the rifle to her shoulder and squeezed the trigger.

Her first shot struck it in the arm, and it didn't slow or deviate. Emma removed three shells from her pocket. One slipped from her fingers, and she loaded one of the others. She fired again but hit the creature's thick, leather armor protecting its chest. With a curse she reloaded. The Tuar slipped behind a tree trunk ten yards away, and Emma squatted. She passed her fingers over the ground for the dropped shell without taking her eyes from the creature.

"Mom!"

Emma turned at Rio's call and ducked. One of the creatures leapt to pounce on her. Georg fired his crossbow, striking the creature, but it still fell on top of Emma. She rolled on the ground and scrambled to untangle herself. Hands helped her up, and to Emma's horror, Rio aided her.

"You need to leave," Emma said.

"I'm not leaving you, Mom."

Rio's eyes widened, and Emma glimpsed the attacking creature and his scar. She swung her arm with the intent to elbow the creature in the snout. Instead of receiving the strike, the creature sank its sharp teeth into the flesh around her elbow. Emma screamed with pain, and her knees weakened.

Ilnin growled with pleasure as the woman's blood filled his mouth. The red liquid slid along his tongue, and he swallowed. Without releasing her, he bit harder, bringing a new wave of blood filling his mouth and another scream from the woman. He would have laughed had he not been so consumed by the exquisite taste of her flesh.

### 72

The sound of her mother's scream made Rio's insides quiver. She snatched the rifle from her mother's hand and rammed the gun's barrel beneath the creature's armor. Rio pulled the trigger, and the creature released her mother's arm. She searched for the dropped shell through the grass and dirt, noticing the drops of blood falling to the ground. Once she found the missing round, Rio looked up. Her mother's eyes were pinched closed with pain as she cradled her damaged elbow. Streams of blood poured down her arm and dripped from her fingers. The creature lay on the ground and didn't move. Rio snatched the shell from the ground.

She slid the bolt open and reloaded the rifle. She pushed the weapon into her mother's uninjured hand. "Take it."

"Rio, you must leave," Emma said.

"You can't reload by yourself."

"I'm almost out of rounds."

"We'll use them on the ones that get too close."

Georg barked something at them, and as Rio and Emma turned, the presumed dead creature fired his crossbow. Georg had moved between Emma and the Tuar, and the bolt struck the left side of his chest. Their friend was dead before his back hit the ground. Emma slammed the rifle's stock against the creature's head, and the Tuar collapsed.

Rio and her mother knelt by their friend.

Rio shook the man's shoulder, but he didn't move or respond. "Georg." She looked to her mother, but she didn't say anything. "Is he dead?"

Emma placed the rifle on the ground and pressed her fingers against Georg's neck. She removed her hand and picked up the rifle again.

"He's dead?"

Emma nodded. "We have to go."

"We're leaving him?" Rio asked, and her mother guided Rio away from their friend.

They moved to join the Rileys. Rio stopped and her eyes widened at the ball flying through the air, growing in size as it neared. A catapult had released its weapon, and there was nowhere for Rio or her mother to run.

Emma dropped the rifle and threw her arms around Rio. The ball struck the ground and exploded. Rio's feet left the ground, and when she crashed back down her world dimmed. The ringing in her ears made all other sounds disappear. Something pressed down on her body and a liquid dripped on her cheek. She squirmed to free her hand and touched her face. Blood covered her fingertips, and the dripping continued. Her vision cleared, and Rio realized the blood came from her mother as the woman lay unconscious on top of her daughter.

"Mom!" Rio said, her voice sounding foreign in her own ears. She struggled until she managed to shift her mother's weight and roll her off. "Mom?"

Rio's hands trembled and left red streaks on her mother's face where she touched her. Her mother still breathed, but she wouldn't wake up. Rio stayed with her mother, but searched for help. Uncle Nate had collapsed and was still too far away to help. Rio and everyone she loved were going to die. Instead of forcing herself to be calm like her mother did during a crisis, anger filled her mind, and she wanted all the creatures dead. Rio screamed at the sky, which turned from gray to black as the cloud swirls thickened. Fingers of lightning spread out across the clouds with several bolts reaching the ground. Many creatures abandoned the area, but Rio's revenge wasn't complete.

Wind swirled around her friends and family, and any arrows fired at Rio blew off course. Several creatures charged at her, and Rio glared at them with defiance, refusing to run or hide. Orange, glowing fire fell from the black clouds and engulfed the Tuars that fired upon her. Chaos spread as the creatures scattered to escape the flames created by Rio's fiery rain.

One creature moved close enough to grab Colby by the ankle to drag her away. A ball of lava fell, struck the Tuar, and smothered it with flames. Colby scrambled to escape the frantic, shrieking creature as it burned to death. She slapped at the fire that caught the lower part of her jeans from the spattering flames that engulfed the creature.

Another Tuar dragged Georg's corpse. Rio tightened her jaw and refused to let the creature take her friend. More fire fell, but the consuming flames ignited both the creature and Georg's body. Rio growled with frustration for not controlling her attacks and accidentally setting Georg aflame. The Tuar stumbled away before falling to its death.

An explosion in the center of the battlefield gained Rio's attention, and she turned her fury on the Tuars with catapults. They were responsible for injuring her mother, and more angry tears flowed from Rio's eyes. She imagined a searing streak of flames along the hillside, and within seconds, fire leapt from the ground, scorching everything in its path as it traveled up the slope to the entrenched Tuars. Fire engulfed some of the catapults, and the darker-colored clan retreated in terror.

Rio didn't want any creature to escape. This world and the Tuars were the cause for Jody believing Colin had died and forcing Emma and Colin to relive the nightmare now. More molten fire fell from the black skies, consuming numerous acres of landscape outside of the protective wind still swirling around them. Someone shouted her name several times before Rio calmed her rage enough to divert her attention from destroying the creatures.

Colby shouted at her. "Rio, make it rain. Stop screwing around with the fire. We need rain."

Rio blinked as Colby's words penetrated her anger. She had the ability to stop everyone's suffering by making it rain, but Rio had instead lost control and had chosen to cause more suffering. She took a deep breath and ended the lava rain and calmed the raging fires in the area. She kept the encircling wind, and once the clouds turned from black to gray, heavy rain fell. She didn't know if the rain would heal the Tuars too. They were the last ones she wanted to recover.

Rio pressed her palm against the side of her head. A lump that had been growing throbbed, and dizziness made her stumble. She kept the rain centered on her friends and knelt next to her mother. The rain seeped through her hair, and Rio's skin tingled as the lump went away, though the swirling sensation in her head remained.

"Mom? Please wake up."

### 73

Rio's destructive fire had ended the battle, and the two clans dispersed, now more concerned with escaping the flames than killing each other. The cold rain trickled down the back of Rio's neck into her shirt, and she shivered. Scrapes to her mother's face disappeared on contact with the rain, and the bleeding wound beneath her hair healed.

Her mother's eyes opened, and she gasped with pain.

The explosion from the catapult's projectile had embedded pieces of debris and shards of wood in her mother's body. "You're OK. More or less," Rio said as she pulled the smaller pieces of splintered wood from her mother's arms and side, causing grunts of pain from her mother with each piece removed. A longer shard had entered the back of her mother's leg and stuck out the front of her thigh. "Do I pull this one out?"

Emma lifted her head, grimaced, and dropped her head back to the ground, eyes closed.

"You can't puke, Mom. I need you."

Her mother groaned in response.

"Mom, what do I do?"

Emma tightened her jaw and clenched her hands.

Rio considered counting to three but opted to just yank the wood free. Her mother cried out, and Rio gagged at seeing the gaping hole in her mother's thigh. The rain immediately eased her mother's pain as the wound began to heal. Rio shuddered as her mother's blood dripped from the shard, so she tossed the stick aside. She wiped at the thinning, red liquid mixing with the rain on her mother's elbow. Numerous pink lines of scars remained where the creature's shark-like teeth had chomped through the flesh.

She allowed her mother a moment to rest while Rio looked for the others. Sebastian moved with ease now, and he wore a fiendish grin when he snatched the bolt out of his sister's leg. Ethan sat up, his eyes wide as he inspected the healed wound in his chest with his fingers and the arrow in his other hand. Uncle Nate was upright again and kneeling by his brother. Colin didn't move. Georg's remains smoldered as the rain mixed with the liquid fire that had consumed his body.

"Rio," Emma said.

Rio swallowed hard and pulled her eyes away from Georg.

"There wasn't anything you could have done for him, but there are still other people we can help."

Though her heart ached, Rio nodded. She took her mother's outstretched hand and helped her stand. Rio picked up her mother's rifle and passed it to her.

"Keep the rain going if you can, but don't let it wear you out. Check on Ethan and the twins. I'll help Nate."

"OK." Rio started toward the twins then stopped. They were now fine, as was Ethan. Rio realized her mother had given her the bogus task so she wouldn't be there if Colin was dead. She sprinted to her uncle and Colin, arriving with her mother.

"Em, our wounds are gone. That's impossible," Nate said.

"The rain here is special." Emma passed the rifle to Rio. "Hold this for me and keep watch for any creatures coming our way."

"He's not waking up," Nate said.

Emma knelt and helped Nate roll Colin to his side. She pulled the arrows from his back and cupped water in her hands to pour directly into the holes in his skin. Emma poured another handful of water over the wounds. "Please, Colin."

"I'll make it rain harder," Rio said.

"No!" Emma said, but the rain's intensity had already doubled.

Rio squinted through the pelting drops and knelt. She pushed Colin's long hair from his face, and the rainwater flowed over his skin and soaked his hair and beard.

"What do we do?" Nate asked.

Emma shrugged. "This usually works as long as you're not, um."

"He's not dead!" Rio set the rifle aside, shook Colin's shoulder, and leaned in close to his ear. "Dad, you have to wake up." She begged him to live, and her tears mixed with the rain.

"I think it's working," Emma said.

Rio's head came up. Colin's face twitched as the heavy raindrops splashed against his skin. Rio shifted to look at his back and grinned. The cuts stopped bleeding and closed. Rio used her hand to shield Colin's face from the downpour, and he opened his eyes.

"Rio, ease up on the rain before we drown," Emma said. She and Nate supported Colin to sit him up, and the drenching rain eased to a steady rainfall.

"She's controlling the weather?" Nate asked, and Emma nodded.

"How?"

Emma shrugged.

"What happened?" Colin asked.

"If you didn't die, you were close to it, brother," Nate said.

"Oh," Colin said.

"Emma, the gun," Ethan said.

Rio's head turned and spotted the creatures stalking closer to the wind barrier. She picked up the rifle and thrust it into her mother's hands before sliding her body next to Colin. She hooked her arm around his waist, and she and Nate lifted him.

"Can you keep the wind going and move it so we can reach the exit?" Emma asked.

Rio examined the clouds above and the swirling winds around them. "Yeah, I think I can move it." She took a few steps forward, and the protective funnel moved with her. She chuckled with her success despite the added dizziness in her mind. Water bubbled up from the ground despite the lessening rain.

"What is this?" Nate asked, staring at the water forming around their feet.

Emma growled with frustration. "Ethan."

"Huh?" Nate asked.

"There's so much smoke. Did I make the fire?" Colin asked.

"Uh, no. That was me," Rio said.

Colin shook his head. "How?"

Emma prodded her daughter in the back. "Hurry."

"I'll make the water go away, Mom."

"Leave it alone. You can barely walk in a straight line. Move faster," Emma said.

Rio nodded and swayed. Her steps stumbled with the lack of balance, but she still led them to the Rileys.

"What about Georg?" Colby asked.

"He's dead," Emma said.

Colby's eyes widened. "We're leaving him?"

"We have to, Colb. We're still not safe yet," Ethan said.

Rio didn't want to leave Georg either, but Ethan was right. If they didn't leave this world, someone else would die. The rain hadn't healed the creatures, but Rio couldn't test her luck anymore.

### 74

"Rio's making this wind thing around us, but it wears her down. Everyone needs to go back to trying to control their fears to lessen the work on her. Got it?" Emma asked the group.

Heads nodded in response.

Emma sloshed her boot in the ever-deepening water at their feet. "Ethan, get this crap under control," she said before turning to Rio. Dark circles had formed under her daughter's eyes, and though Rio displayed toughness on the outside, she was exhausted. Emma didn't understand Rio's ability and doubted Rio did either. Still, they hadn't escaped yet and needed Rio's help to do it. "We still have a few more yards to go."

The "few more yards" translated into more like ten, but it didn't matter. Rio nodded. "I can do this."

"Don't kill yourself in the process, please."

Rio offered her a tired smile. "I won't."

A few remaining creatures stalked them from beyond Rio's protective winds, but Emma, with only a few rounds left, didn't try to shoot at any of them.

Colin stepped around a snake slithering past. "Really, Nate? These little things?"

Nate shuddered.

Sebastian kept his eyes on his shoes as he walked, and Colby's lips moved though she didn't say anything others could hear. The twins controlled their fears better than their father did. The water didn't get any deeper, but it wasn't going away either. With Rio's swirling wind keeping them somewhat safe, Emma tried to keep her anxiety controlled since in this wind she walked _inside_ her fear of tornadoes.

Rio's steps slowed, and she turned her attention to a pair of creatures creeping closer. Emma placed her hand on Rio's shoulder and spun her back around. "Keep going."

"I can scare them off."

"Leave them alone," Emma said. The Tuars weren't a threat yet.

When they reached the tunnel's entrance, the group stopped.

"What now? Do we walk through this wall of wind to go in?" Colby asked.

"Ethan, take the twins through with Nate," Emma said.

"What if there are creatures in there waiting for us?" Sebastian asked.

"You'll have to deal with them," Emma said. "Once they're out, Nate, come back and let us know."

Nate urged Colby and Sebastian into the tunnel.

"You and Rio need to leave with us," Ethan said.

"No, we need to be last," Emma said.

Colin shook his head. "I don't like this plan."

"I don't care. She's the best one to keep the creatures back long enough for us to escape. I don't see anyone else here that can control the wind and make lightning on demand. Do you?" Emma asked.

Colin scowled at her in response.

"I can't keep the wind going once I enter the tunnel," Rio said.

"Exactly," Emma said. "You must go with Nate, Ethan. Things will become real interesting once that wall of wind comes down."

"Don't take too long," Ethan said with a final look at Rio and Emma.

"We won't. I promise." Emma removed the remaining shells from her pocket and shook her head. With the rifle already loaded with one round, she had four additional shells remaining.

"Five shots left," Colin said.

Emma nodded. Six creatures stalked them, and she groaned when she recognized the scarred face of the seventh Tuar that joined the others.

Colin swore. "That one just won't die."

"I wish I could admire his tenacity, but I can't," Emma said.

"Let me—" Rio said.

"No! This thing that you're doing, it's wearing you out. You feel the worsening fatigue, right?" Emma asked.

Rio nodded.

"Leave them alone," Emma said.

Time seemed to crawl, and Emma's concern grew. "Colin, check on Nate, please."

"Will arguing why I shouldn't leave you and Rio alone do any good?" Colin asked.

She didn't answer.

"Of course not. I'll be right back." Colin disappeared into the tunnel.

Emma took a deep breath to steady her nerves. "How are you?"

"Tired." Rio closed her eyes a moment to regain her focus on the elements, and her lids were slow to reopen. "At least with almost everyone inside I don't have to worry about anything other than keeping the wind going. My lightning and your tornadoes aren't much of a problem anymore."

Emma's tornadoes were still very much a problem. She stood in the middle of one Rio created. "I love you, and I'm proud of you."

"Don't go sappy on me yet, Mom."

Before Emma could respond, Rio's knees buckled. Emma slipped her arm around Rio's upper body and pulled her toward the entrance as the encircling wall of wind began to dissipate. She kept her eyes on the creatures but had to turn as rushing footsteps approached from behind.

"What happened?" Colin demanded more than asked, and he scooped Rio into his arms.

"Wait," Rio said, her word slurring as she turned in Colin's arms.

Lightning crackled across the clouds before several bolts dropped, electrifying the air and blasting holes in the ground where they struck. The creatures scattered.

"Ha!" Rio said.

"That's enough," Emma said, pushing on Colin. "Take her inside." She stayed close, following him through the tunnel. They reached the cave where the rope hung down through the water. Ethan and the twins were gone, and Emma half-smiled, thinking they were safe.

"Is she OK?" Nate asked and went to Rio as she lay in Colin's arms.

"She spent her energy controlling the weather," Emma said.

"Nate, climb up first and help pull Rio along while Em pushes her from below," Colin said.

"She's too weak. I can't carry her and make the climb too. Colin, take her out for me," Emma said.

He shook his head.

"I promise I'll be right behind you."

Colin growled but didn't have any other ideas. "I hate this plan, Em."

Emma gave him a small smile. "You can file a complaint later."

Nate was the first to climb on the rope. He slithered his way up a few feet and stopped just below the water ceiling. Colin hefted Rio's form to hold her to one side while he gripped the rope with his other hand. Nate reached down to grab the back of her shirt.

"Wait. You're actually leaving her?" Rio struggled against Colin's grip to free herself, but her weakness prevented her from making any progress.

Colin and Nate coordinated their movements to climb the rope and move Rio into the water despite her protests. Emma shifted closer to the rope, but her head turned at a scuffling noise from within the tunnel. Colin's upper half was now in the water funnel, with Rio's feet and Colin's lower half still in the cave. They needed more time to escape, so Emma moved the rifle to her shoulder.

Glowing, yellow eyes gave her a great target in the dark tunnel, so Emma pulled the trigger. The creature fell, but another was behind it. She reloaded and fired again. In her haste, the shot went wide and bounced off the side of the tunnel. Her next shot found its mark, but a third Tuar took the dead one's place. She reloaded once more and managed to wound her target. After reloading for the last time, Emma fired at the lead creature, slung the rifle's strap over her shoulder, and scampered up the rope, forgetting to take a breath before entering the water.

### 75

Nate pulled on Rio's soaked shirt. "Rio, stop fighting us!"

Water poured off her and the two men after emerging from the funnel. The twins and Ethan shouted at them, and Rio thought she heard a bark, but she was more interested in her mother. Rio twisted, but her uncle's grip kept her from turning much. She tried to kick Colin, but weakness kept her from being able to coordinate her movements much less do any damage. "Where is she?"

"She's coming. Keep going before you fall," Colin said and gave her a shove.

Despite her resistance, the strong men easily hauled her up the rope.

Ethan lay on the top of the ledge with his hand out, ready to grab her, but Rio didn't want to be within his reach. "We have to go back," she said. With another twist, Rio freed herself from her uncle's grip, though Colin still had her. Her mother's arms and head erupted from the churning water below.

Emma coughed then drew in a raspy breath as she clung to the rope. "GO!" she said. Emma moved her hands up the rope, pulling her body up as she used her feet to push. Her climb stopped, and she slid downward when a clawed hand grasped her left boot.

"Mom!" Rio didn't know what she could do to help, but she was terrified at her mother being dragged back down into the water.

Her mother kicked at the creature's hand with her other boot, but it wouldn't release her. The creature's head and upper body emerged from the water, and violently twisted her mother's foot to pull her from the rope. Her mother's scream flooded Rio with a mix of fear and anger. She refused to lose her mother to the horrible creatures and the world they lived in. She squirmed her way out of her uncle's hand but lost her balance. Her body pitched to the side, and she was suddenly falling head first toward the swirling funnel. Her fall stopped, and Rio hung suspended, folded in half, by the waist of her jeans.

C _RACK._

Rio flinched as did her mother with the sudden, loud noise, but the creature released her mother's foot and fell back into the water, disappearing. Colin held Rio by the back of her jeans, and his angry scowl and muttered swears at her stupidity didn't matter. The creature had released her mother, but she stopped climbing, her face pinched with pain.

"Mom, come on," Rio said.

Emma looked up and swore. "Colin, get her off the rope!"

"Wait—" Rio said.

Colin jerked Rio upright, ending her dangling position. "Nate, take her."

Her uncle coiled his leg in the rope and flipped his body so he was upside down. He used both hands to pull Rio up enough so Colin could let go of her. Rio was still too weak to climb the remaining five or six feet up the rope without assistance. Her uncle kept his hold on her to keep her from falling until Colin was in a better position.

Another creature started up after her mother.

CRACK.

Rio flinched again with the loud noise and spotted her aunt lying on the ground on another part of the high, granite ledge overlooking the pond. Her aunt took her eye away from the large rifle's scope for a moment to smile at Rio. Shell turned her gaze to Emma and winked at her before reloading and peering through the scope again.

Rio laughed to see her aunt.

"Hurry! The rope is fraying," Ethan said.

"Great," Colin said with a grumble. "You've got her?"

"Yep." While still upside down, Nate helped Rio until she was close enough to Ethan.

The twins paced near their father, and Rio realized she didn't imagine the barking earlier. Toby kept his eyes on the water and growled. She always thought the dog was harmless, but the hair on his back was raised and his lip twitched with each snarl.

Ethan's hand clamped over her wrist, and he helped Nate haul Rio the rest of the way up. She flopped to the ground and scooted close enough to the edge to see what was happening with her mother. Uncle Nate maneuvered his body to right himself again and free his leg. Ethan took Nate's hand to help him reach the ledge. Rio wrapped her arm around Toby to use him for balance and prevent the dog from falling.

Colin slid back down a few feet. "Come on, Em."

"I am," Emma said with a growl as she climbed.

Two more creatures pursued Emma.

CRACK. CRACK.

As the Tuars fell the rope swayed. Emma shifted to turn her back toward the rock wall. She grunted with the impact but didn't lose her grip. The rifle strap slipped from her shoulder, causing the stock to bounce against her broken foot every time she moved. She risked only holding on with one hand to move the strap from her lower arm to be over her head and rest across her chest.

"Just drop the damn thing," Colin said.

The rope shook with another creature beginning its ascent, Shell's rifle boomed again, and the creature fell.

"Let's go!" Nate said. "Those things are too heavy and the rocks cut through more of the rope every time they jump on it."

Emma climbed as quickly as possible, but with only one working foot, she struggled. Another creature's rapid scamper up the rope caused Emma to stare at it, unable to move. The Tuar swiped its clawed hand at her, and Emma snatched her injured foot out the way. Claws snagged her other leg, tearing her jeans but missing her skin.

Rio shouted for her mother and leaned forward, but her uncle pushed Rio back again.

CRACK.

The creature fell, and her mother remained wide-eyed and staring at the swirling water.

"Em, move!" Shell said.

CRACK.

Emma winced as the shot struck the rock wall just below her feet. She realized her friend intentionally fired so close, and Emma glared at Shell.

"Are you insane?" Emma asked.

"Yes." Shell fired again near her friend. "Go faster."

Emma flinched from the second nearby shot. "Stop doing that!"

Rio grinned. Her aunt irritated her mother on purpose. Colin slid down the rope to meet her and helped Emma. Though her mother uttered a string of oaths involving beating Aunt Shell "to a bloody pulp," she continued to climb.

Shell fired, and another creature fell shortly after erupting from the water. Rio wondered how many more creatures would come after them and hoped Aunt Shell had a huge stash of ammunition with her. Ethan and Nate pulled Colin and Emma to the granite ledge. A series of creatures bounded up the rope. Ethan snatched the knife from Emma's belt and cut the remaining fibers, sending the Tuars back into the water. The tendril of rope followed them down and disappeared. The pond's water returned to a smooth surface.

As her mother rolled to her back, exhausted, Rio flopped across her mother's body. Rio wrapped her arms around her and smiled as her mother pulled her close. She closed her eyes with her head against her mother's chest and felt the same relief as the others to be out of the other world and alive. Georg didn't escape and tears burned her eyes. Rio sniffled, and her mother's hand caressed her hair.

"You OK?" Emma asked.

Toby's wet nose and tongue found Rio's cheek, and she smiled. "Yeah."

Inside the water cave, Ilnin's deafening roar sent his remaining clansmen away. He tore at the broken rope and kicked the bodies of his dead Tuars out of his way. Some kind of weapon put large holes in his clansmen when they each tried to climb the rope. Wounded, he'd sent his soldiers to capture the humans for him, but they failed.

In frustration, he'd pushed them aside to ascend himself. The new world he entered was nothing like his own. The smells still lingered in his nose of the humans and a myriad of other scents he never experienced before. He sniffed the rope again and salivated. He passed his tongue around the inside of his mouth, moving it over his sharp teeth.

He'd never forget the new world he saw, the woman's taste, and the girl's ability to control the elements.

### 76

Emma didn't remember much of the trip home. Ethan and Nate helped her down the mountain while Colin carried Rio. Once at the base, Emma sighed with relief to see the pair of ATVs waiting. Her foot throbbed, and she could not have made the long walk home. Despite the pain in her foot and the sometimes jarring ride home, Emma still fell asleep on the metal rack on the back of the ATV with Rio next to her.

She caught an additional bit of sleep after her shower during the ride to the hospital and again on the ride home. Shell remained with her the entire time. By the time they returned to Emma's home, the house was quiet except for Toby's warm greeting. The dog wiggled as he moved around Emma's feet and newly acquired crutches until she made it to the chair at the table.

Shell sat across from her with a note in her hand.

Emma shifted another chair closer to elevate her foot, which was now encased in a plastic boot with Velcro straps that covered her lower leg. "What's that?"

"Note from Ethan. You walked right by it on the counter."

Emma shrugged.

"You need to go to bed, Em."

"What does it say?"

"Rio's asleep in your room. Colby's in Rio's room, and he and Sebas are in the extra bedroom. Colin and Nate are at our house. Ethan wants you to wake him if you need anything."

Emma rubbed her eyes. "Do I need him for anything?"

"I can think of lots of things," Shell said with a grin.

Emma groaned and folded her arms on the table in front of her. She rested her head on her arms and realized how comfortable the position was. Shell leaned across the table and pushed Emma's sleeve back, revealing the scars extending from her forearm to her upper arm from the creature's bite. She swore and shook her head before sitting again.

"I'll admit I didn't _fully_ believe your story about Colin's disappearance until Nate and I reached the mountain and saw the funnel. Sorry it took me so long to shoot the one that grabbed your foot and broke it. I was shocked to see the animal exactly as you'd described it coming up the rope."

"If you didn't believe me, why did you still come?"

"I always believed you to some extent. _Trust_ is probably a better word. You wouldn't lie about what you thought happened to Colin even if the story seemed a bit far-fetched. We were in Boston when you texted. There'd been a pile-up on the interstate, so we were stuck for hours. When we got home, my phone was missing, and it took Nate and me a while to find it under the seat in the car. It had fallen when Nate braked to avoid the accident. We came here first and found the horses grazing in the yard and knew you and Rio were in trouble."

Emma sighed. "After I sent the text, I realized I put you and Nate in danger. I regretted contacting you, but you and Nate are why we made it out. We did nothing but struggle to stay alive. Georg wasn't as lucky. He died saving me."

"I don't know who Georg is. When you've had some sleep, I want you to tell me everything that happened there."

"It's the stuff of nightmares, Shell."

"So I've heard," Shell said and gave her friend a small smile.

"Thank you for trusting me, just a little, without any proof."

"I'm glad you contacted us, Em. When you were getting your foot x-rayed, I called Nate. He said you finally realized Colin was Rio's father."

Emma's head came up from her arms. "Finally? What does that mean?"

Shell chuckled at her friend's reaction. "Nate knew the first time he saw Rio when you brought her back here after Jody died."

"He could've told me," Emma said with a grumble.

"We thought Colin was dead."

"Nate still should have said something."

"Take it up with him tomorrow."

"I will." Emma rested her head back on her arms and doubted she'd remember to speak to him. Her mind wandered back to their escape. "Why did you shoot at me?"

"Ha! I missed you on purpose. You were stuck on the rope admiring the creatures coming after you. I had to get your attention."

"I froze, Shell. They were so fast, and I froze."

"Again. Lucky for you we were there."

"Why do you even have that thing? You're so anti-gun." Emma sat up for a moment to shift her leg in the chair before putting her arms and head back on the table.

"I'm not anti-gun. I'm anti stupid people having guns. There's a difference."

"It's huge."

"Em, honey, anything is huge compared to your wee .22. Mine is a 30-06, and she's a beauty. She's my moose gun."

Emma ignored the insult at her small-caliber rifle. "You don't hunt."

"I might someday," Shell said with a sly smile. "I like to practice. Nate said you are a good shot with your plinker. Maybe we should have our own little marksmanship competition. I have some zombie targets."

Emma laughed. "Zombies." The laughter brightened her mood, and she was thankful she was home with her friends.

Toby sat by his bowl and whined.

Emma shifted to get up from her chair.

Shell hopped up from her seat. "I got him."

After settling back into her comfortable position, Emma closed her eyes.

"Need anything while I'm up?"

"Ibuprofen and an ice pack, please." Emma's heavy eyes didn't open again.

"Will do." Shell picked up Toby's bowl from the kitchen and found his food bin. "How much do you feed him?" She carried his bowl into the dining area with Toby following. "Em?"

Her friend didn't respond, so Shell returned to the kitchen. "We'll just wing it," she said to the dog.

A drop of drool bubbled at the corner of Toby's mouth while he waited for Shell to put a scoop of food in the bowl.

"That's just gross." She put the bowl down for him, and he gobbled the food.

### 77

Rio rolled over in bed, and Toby shifted to create more room for his legs as he stretched out. She woke with his movement and smiled to be next to her dog. She yawned, realizing she was in her mother's bedroom. She somewhat remembered Ethan organizing modified sleeping arrangements last night, but her bigger question regarded her mother's whereabouts.

The smell of food reached her nose, and Rio slid out of the bed. She walked to her room and found Colby sitting up and rubbing her face and wearing a pair of Rio's pajamas.

Colby dropped her hands to her lap. "Food."

Rio chuckled and went to her dresser. As she pulled clothes out, she remembered events from the previous day and their narrow escape from the other world. Her body still felt sore and tired, but she was glad to be home. She noticed her compass on the top of the dresser and vaguely remembered putting it there last night.

She picked up the compass and grinned. "It works again."

"I'm happy for you." Colby nudged her friend aside and removed clothes for herself. "Mind if I borrow these?"

Before Rio could answer, her friend darted out of the room with the clothes in her hand. Rio dressed in her room and slipped the compass in her pocket. Her stomach grumbled with hunger, and she headed downstairs with the dog. The sounds of doors opening and closing and additional footsteps told her Ethan and Sebastian were also up.

Rio spotted her mother sleeping hunched over the table. She stomped into the kitchen to find Uncle Nate and Aunt Shell preparing breakfast. "Why did you let her sleep in there?"

"I didn't _let_ her. She passed out on the table, and I wasn't going to make her move," Shell said.

Nate rummaged through the kitchen cabinets and dropped a pan that clattered on the floor.

"Jeez, Nate, can you make a little less noise?" Colin asked as he walked through the front door, holding up a bag. "You left the eggs in the car."

Rio's mouth hung open.

Shell continued working at the stove. "Nate, get the plates. Colin, find a bowl for the eggs."

"Where are the plates?" Nate asked.

"Over there," Shell said with a nod of her head. "No, to your right. Your _other_ right."

Rio continued to stare at Colin. His hair and beard were gone, clipped close to his skin, and she examined his face, his eyes.

"Rio?" Colin asked.

Rio finally blinked. "Yeah?"

"Are you OK?" He stepped closer to her and placed the bag on the counter.

"Yeah."

"Colin, we still need a bowl, and Rio, your mother will need coffee," Shell said.

The noise of crutches clattering to the floor from the dining room echoed into the kitchen.

"Correction. She needs the coffee now," Shell said.

Colin headed for the dining room while Rio snatched a mug from the cabinet and filled it with the steaming, black liquid. She darted back around the counter with only minimal spillage.

Her mother, still seated, sat upright after retrieving the crutches she'd knocked over. When her eyes landed on the stranger in the room, she paused.

"Hey," Colin said.

Upon recognizing him, Emma smiled. "Wow."

Rio pushed passed him. "He cleans up well."

Colin passed his hand over the short hair on his head. "Feels weird. Drafty."

"And wearing normal clothes too," Emma said.

Rio placed the mug in front of her mother. "This is so you don't have to sell me."

Emma hugged her. "I might keep you around a little longer."

Rio pulled out a chair and sat next to her mother. "I love you, too."

Nate entered the room and draped his arm across Colin's shoulders. "It's great to have my brother back."

"I still can't believe he teaches karate to kids. Have you seen this whole collection of sticks on his wall at home?" Colin asked Rio.

"It's not a stick," Nate said.

"It's called a _bo,"_ Rio said.

"See?" Nate said to Colin.

"Yeah, well Em brings a pea shooter and you bring a stick to a fight," Colin said.

"It's not a stick!" Nate said.

"Pea shooter is right," Shell said from the kitchen.

"Stop picking on Mom," Rio said, her tone becoming defensive.

Her mother touched her leg. "They're joking."

"No, we're not." Shell carried a towel and dried her hands as she leaned on the doorway between the kitchen and dining area.

"Fine. They're joking, but Shell isn't," Emma said and rolled her eyes.

"Nate, you spent so much time chasing girls, how did you ever convince someone as amazing as Shell to marry you?" Colin asked.

"Quiet," Nate said, warning his brother.

"Colin, I think you and I need to talk more," Shell said.

"No way." Nate pulled Colin back into the kitchen as he left. "We have eggs to fix, brother."

Another pan clattered, and Shell sighed before returning to the kitchen.

Three sets of feet started down the stairs.

"I like this," Rio said.

"What?" Emma asked after taking a sip of her coffee.

"A house full of family and extended family," Rio said as Ethan and the twins entered the room.

Emma smiled. "Me too."

### 78

Rio scuffed her boot against the gravel as she stood next to her mother. She already said her goodbyes to the twins, and her friends sat in the car with sagging shoulders. They promised to stay in touch, but Rio still wasn't ready for them to leave. Since escaping the other world, she spent every possible moment over the last two weeks with them. The days passed too quickly for Rio.

Her mother and Ethan's parting conversation seemed awkward to Rio, like the two friends forgot how to speak to each other. Mr. Cole drove up, and he stepped from his truck. His heavy boots crunched on the small rocks as he approached.

"Good. I'm glad I didn't miss you," Peter Cole said, shaking Ethan's hand. "Have a safe trip home."

"Thank you. And thank you for letting us rent your home. You have a lovely place here."

"I see you met the neighbors," Pete said with a thrust of his chin toward Rio.

She smiled at the man. His gruff appearance never fooled her; he was one of the nicest men she'd ever met.

"We did," Ethan said.

"Had a nice stay?" Pete asked.

"It was an eventful summer, and we're so glad we visited Maine," Ethan said.

Pete nodded. His eyes lingered on Rio's mother for a moment before looking at Rio. "Heard you broke your arm."

"Wiped out on my bike."

"And your foot?" Pete asked Emma.

"Twisted it. Minor break so I won't be in the boot much longer. Down to one crutch now," Emma said.

Rio noted her mother's half-truth, leaving out the part that a creature from another world did the twisting and breaking.

"Hmm. I don't recall your parents being so clumsy," Pete said.

Rio's mother smiled at the man. "You'll join us for dinner tonight, yes?"

Pete grunted as his way of answering. He waved at the twins before heading toward the house. He stopped and turned. "Ethan, come back anytime you want, son."

Before Ethan could respond, Pete resumed his walk to the house.

"You will come back, right?" Rio asked Ethan.

"Yes, I'm sure we will."

"Good," Rio said, stepping forward and hugging him. "And we'll see you in December too." She lowered her voice so only he could hear her. "I know you have a thing for Mom. Continue to be patient with her, please," she said then resumed her regular volume. "Make sure you plan lots of fun stuff for us to do while we're there."

Ethan nodded. "Yes, I do. I mean, I will, sure. December."

Rio couldn't contain the small smile at the corners of her lips.

"When you visit in a few months, you're welcome to stay with us as long as you want," Ethan said to Emma.

"Thank you. I'll let you know our plans as the time gets closer," Emma said.

"Right." Ethan stepped forward and embraced Emma, slipping his arms around her to avoid bumping the crutch.

Rio's eyebrows went up as he held her mother a bit longer than a quick hug. When he finally released her, his eyes darted away, and her mother's face flushed.

"December," Ethan said.

"Yeah," Emma said.

Ethan nodded and climbed into the car. With a final wave he turned the car up Pete's gravel road.

Rio caught her mother staring at the black boot on her foot and adjusting the crutch in her hand.

"Mom?"

Emma's head came up.

"Will you miss him?" Rio asked.

"I'll miss all three of them."

"That's not what I meant."

"Yes, I'll miss him. He's a good friend."

"What about Colin, um, Dad? Ugh, still getting used to the name change."

"We didn't receive the paternity test confirmation until yesterday. You'll get used to it."

"Yeah. So what about him?" Rio asked again.

"He's a good friend too," Emma said, waving Rio toward the truck, where Toby waited for them with his head out of the open window.

Rio scowled at her mother. "Are you avoiding dating because of me?"

"I'm not dating because I don't want to. Why do we keep having this conversation? Please stop pestering me. You're as bad as Shell."

"Aunt Shell says Fish likes you," Rio said with a grin.

Emma laughed. "No. Get in the truck."

Rio walked backwards as her mother used the crutch and hobbled on the boot toward the truck.

"You don't have to be lonely, Mom."

"I'm not. I have you and Toby."

"Fish seems like fun."

"Then you date him," Emma said.

"Can I?"

"Of course not."

"But—"

"Get in the truck, Rio."

"Just _once._ Please?"

"You're thirteen, and you're not dating Fish."

"Not me. You!"

Emma stopped. "If I go on one date with Fish, you'll stop harassing me?"

Rio nodded.

"This includes bugging me about Colin, Ethan, and anyone else on this planet."

Rio smiled and nodded.

"I'll think about it. Truck. Now."

"Aw, that's not a commitment."

"Sure it is," Emma said.

"Can I drive us home?"

"Dream on."

Rio exaggerated her sulking as she climbed into the truck. Toby wiggled with their arrival and licked Rio's face when she sat next to him. Her mother fed the crutch into the cab first then slid into the driver's seat, careful not to bang the boot against anything. Once her mother was inside the vehicle, Rio leaned in multiple directions to check the area.

"What are you doing?" Emma asked.

Rio leaned back in her seat with a sigh. "Ever wonder if those things might get out?"

"The windows are down," Emma said, lowering her voice.

"Mr. Cole is puttering around over by the house," Rio said, dismissively waving her hand. "He can't hear us."

They sat in silence for a moment before Rio spoke again. A few days ago, her mother had two eight-inch-long oval stones carved with names on them to remember the friends they lost. They placed the stones at the base of a tall, thick pine in the woods near the house, and Rio wanted to see them again.

"I miss Georg. Can we go to the stones today?" Rio asked.

"Of course."

Rio nodded as Toby sprawled across the seat with his head in her lap. She imagined Sebastian and Wolf sitting next to each other in a similar position if the wolf had survived. She felt like she missed an opportunity to have a great friend in Georg, the man who first looked after her when she crashed her bike on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. The truck's engine started and pulled Rio from her thoughts.

"You didn't answer my question," Rio said.

"I did. We can visit the stones."

"No, the first question about the creatures getting out."

"I have thought about them. The rope is gone, and you told me it was impossible to swim against the funnel."

"The creatures are stronger than me."

"They never got out after Jody and I left. They won't this time either."

"I was thinking about the other clan too," Rio said, shifting her position to face her mother.

Her mother closed her eyes and shook her head with a sigh. "And?"

"They never actually attacked us. It was always the lighter-colored ones following the crazy one with the scar. You know, the one that bit you?"

Emma opened her eyes and leaned her head against seat's headrest. "He's hard to forget."

"The other clan never attacked us."

"I have the scars from the catapulted fireball that exploded near us, Rio."

"Yeah, but I thought about that too. We moved into its path. I don't think it was fired at us."

"I don't like you thinking about these things."

"I'm just saying that the darker creatures might not have been as bad as the other ones. It makes me curious about them is all."

"You're saying you want to go _back?"_

"No! That's the last thing I want. I wonder about them sometimes."

"Good, because if you said you planned a return trip, I'd chain you up in the cellar."

Rio chuckled at her mother's response. "I know you would."

"You start school in another week. Wonder about that." Emma put the truck in gear to leave.

"Mom, I was wondering about something else. What kind of monster does it make me that I intentionally sent fire down on them?"

Emma braked and put the truck back in park.

"You're not a monster, Rio."

"But I wanted them dead. I wanted them to suffer and to suffer _a lot._ No one in their right mind wishes that kind of thing on someone else."

"First, you're not talking about people. The Tuars are some kind of animal determined to kill us. Second, everything you did was in self-defense and in defense of those of us too battered to look after ourselves. Getting mad at them doesn't make you a monster."

"I was more than mad, Mom."

"You did what you had to do to save yourself and others. You just happened to do it with fire from the sky," Emma said, with a glance out her open window to make sure Pete wasn't within earshot.

Rio nodded though she intended to think more on the topic.

"If you were a monster, like them, you wouldn't have stopped. You would have lost control and killed them all. You didn't. That's not who you are."

"I understand," Rio said with another nod.

Her mother waited and since Rio fell silent, she put the truck in gear to drive them home.

"Mom, can I drive once we are on our driveway?"

Emma groaned. "Child, you give me such a headache."

Her mother didn't refuse, so Rio took that as a good sign. "Does that mean I can?"

"I'll think about it."

Rio frowned. "Aw, that's not fair."

### ###
Acknowledgements

Many friends and family have encouraged me in my new adventure into writing as it developed into something more than a hobby. My early readers, Chris Clements and Jim Lardie were patient enough to wade through the early drafts and numerous edits. My later readers included Jim who was just itching for punishment and re-read my edited versions for another round. Bridget Crosby and Jamie Currier were fortunate enough to get the more polished versions.

Chris Dewey entered the fray as a personal coach to help me rekindle creative pursuits. Joel Canfield provided volumes of information and encouragement during the publishing process and also gave me early feedback to strengthen the story.

All Mainers, thank you for sharing your beautiful state with one who is "from away." I absolutely adore living here, yes, even in the winter.

You, the reader, thank you so much for taking the time to read the book.
About the Author

_Burnt Mountain, The Monster Within_ is Cheryl Campbell's debut novel and is the first installment of the five-novel _Burnt Mountain_ series.

Cheryl was born in Louisiana and lived there and in Mississippi prior to moving to Maine in 2001. She has a varied background including art, herpetology, emergency department and critical care nursing, and computer systems. She lives in the Bangor area and calls Maine her home.

To follow her blog, visit www.burntmountainbooks.com. She lives in the Bangor area and calls Maine her home.
Burnt Mountain,

One in the Chamber

### by

### Cheryl Campbell

### 1

Dampness lingered in the ground during the spring months, so as Rio Kaiser stood at the open door to enter her home, she contemplated taking off her wet, mud-caked boots. She flexed her toes inside her boots and the leather and fabric squished as she moved. They weren't _too_ muddy. Toby, her clumsy Boxer bounded past her, filthy feet splattering mud on the wood floor as he went to his water bowl and began lapping. Between the mud Toby brought in and the water he slung from his jowls, Rio shrugged as she walked through the door. "No point worrying about the floor anymore," she said and pushed the door closed with her foot.

A water pipe at her school had broken during the night, causing flooding and creating an unexpected but appreciated day off from class to create a long weekend. Rio had the house to herself while her mother was in Bangor for work. She didn't stay in the home long after waking early this morning and headed into the woods.

She stood and looked out the open window from the kitchen while eating her peanut butter and jam sandwich, washing it down with a glass of water. The fragrant scent of the lilacs in the vase on the counter made her smile. Apple trees bloomed and the lilac bushes, wider and taller than her mother's truck, were full of purple flowers. Mainers often refer to early spring as mud season, and this year, after a winter of heavy snow, the season had lasted weeks longer.

She considered a refill on her water but instead grinned when she noticed her feet and the hem of her jeans. She turned fourteen soon and had grown in the last year. The jeans her mother bought her last fall at the start of the school year were now an easy inch or more, higher up her boots.

She skipped the second glass of water and dropped her rump on a stool by the counter and watched Toby walk in a circle before dropping on his bed. She stood, removed the book from her back pocket, and sat again. Leaves fell out of Rio's book as she flipped the pages, and she carefully picked them up to put them back between the pages to compare them to the pictures in her book later. She loved the woods.

"I could go to college to become a forester, Toby. Except—"

Her problem with Dublin, Maine was the hazardous events of last summer that almost got Rio, her mother, and their friends killed. While barely surviving, Rio did meet her biological father, but another friend died. She didn't want to remember the sad parts, so she forced them from her mind. She winced and touched her fingertips to the side of her head where a sudden headache brewed. She usually got headaches when she didn't drink enough water on hot days. Today wasn't warm, but with the unexpected headache, she decided to have the second glass she skipped earlier.

Before rising to return to the sink, she enjoyed another moment resting on the stool. Toby's head came up, ending his brief nap. He pushed his floppy ears forward and sniffed the air. The hair on his back and shoulders lifted, and he growled.

The skin on Rio's neck prickled with fear. His rumbling growl in his chest changed into a snarl, and she shuddered. The one time she saw him behave aggressively was during last summer's nightmarish events. Without a sound Rio slid from her stool and crept to a window. No one was in the front yard or coming down the long driveway. She tiptoed toward the rear of the house where she entered earlier. Toby paced near the back door, and she froze.

A chill ran through her, and she didn't want to admit why. Her headache, momentarily forgotten, worsened, and she winced. She pressed her back against the wall and slid along the surface until she reached a window. She dared a peek through the glass. Her eyes widened, and the book slipped from her hand when the thickly-built, powerful, hair-covered creatures emerged from the woods a hundred yards from the house.

"No. No, no, no. They weren't supposed to escape," she said with a whimper. "I'd dehydrated. I'm hallucinating."

Her breaths quickened, and dizziness overwhelmed her thoughts.

"Calm down. You're not hallucinating." Rio forced her breathing to slow. Her mind cleared some, and she spotted her phone on the counter. "Mom."

She shifted her body for another glance out the window. The creatures with bear-like bodies and flattened faces moved from bipedal to all fours as they raced toward the paddock next to the barn. The horses shrieked in fear but couldn't escape the attack. Rio cried as she slid down the wall, placing her palms over her ears to keep the sounds of the panicked horses out.

Toby rushed to the window near Rio and stood with his front paws on the sill. He barked at the creatures, and Rio threw her arms around him. She pulled the dog into her lap and drew in a ragged sob. Rio needed help. The closest neighbor was Pete Cole who lived several hundred yards away in a valley. Her mother was due home soon, but Rio didn't know what time. She could call Pete or her mother, but neither could arrive at the house in time to help. Rio considered the police, but they wouldn't believe her if she told them about animals from another world.

The Kaiser home was too rural for the sheriff's department to respond quickly. The creatures that her father called Tuars would find Rio by her scent long before anyone could help her. Still, Rio decided she needed her phone to call the police about an intruder and avoid the other details. As she moved from her rump to crawl to retrieve her phone, Toby thrashed free from her arms.

He growled louder and bared his teeth. Rio realized the screaming from the horses had stopped. The dog resumed his place, guarding the home and pacing by the back door.

"Toby, come," Rio said with a hiss.

The dog turned and considered her for a moment before staying by the door. Rio crawled to him, grabbing his collar, and tugged him away from the door. The closest exit that would lead her out the house was through the cellar. She forgot about the phone and scrambled across the floor while pulling Toby with her. She eased the door open, sent Toby through first, then turned her body. She kept her eyes on the back door while she moved her feet down the steps before pulling the cellar door closed.

Rio darted for the bulkhead door. It would open into the back yard. If the creatures entered the house through the basement, they would immediately find her. The bulkhead locked from the inside, but the creatures could rip the door off its concrete base if they wanted to.

"Please don't come this way," Rio said. She repeated the phrase with a whisper and flinched when an explosion crashed inside the house above her. The back door was torn from the frame, splintering wood and shattering the glass, followed by a second crash against the floor. The Tuars were inside the house.

Heavy feet stomped on the floor in the kitchen above. More glass broke and objects slammed into the walls and floor as the creatures moved through the house. Toby growled at the noise above, and Rio pulled him closer. "Shh!"

He turned his brown eyes toward her. Rio's knuckles were white as she gripped his collar; her body shook uncontrollably.

She remembered her phone in the kitchen. She groaned—no way to warn her mother and tell her to _not_ come home. Memories of the Tuars' razor-like claws and black eyes that glowed yellow with heightened moods made her body tremble. Her stomached tightened with thoughts of their rows of shark-like teeth. She didn't want to die.

Rio yelped when something heavy collided with the floor directly above her head. She clamped her hand over her mouth. Toby's body rumbled with another growl, and she buried her face in his fur. He stopped growling, but Rio couldn't wait in the bulkhead for the creatures to find her.

"Stay," she said to the dog and uncurled her fingers from his collar. Toby remained with her though his ears continued to twitch while he watched the door between the cellar and the rest of the house. Rio hoped she could slip out while the creatures were busy tearing the inside of the house apart. A high-pitched beeping sound echoed through the house, and Rio tilted her head.

"Crap. Now there's a fire."

Rio wiped the tears from her face and pulled on the locking bar inside the bulkhead doors. Her hands shook, so she paused a moment before trying again. She winced as the metal scraped against metal, and the bar released. She eased one of the doors up, peeked out through a slit, and lowered it again.

"Toby—"

Rio yelped again when the cellar door was forced off its hinges, and it tumbled down the steps with parts of the door's frame still attached. A creature roared from the doorway, and Toby leapt before Rio could grab him. She tucked her body tighter into the wedge-shaped bulkhead. Toby raced up the steps and beyond Rio's sight. His vicious snarl was followed by a sharp yelp. Rio didn't hear another sound from the dog, and she stifled a sob. She wanted to go after him, but she couldn't fight one, much less a group, of the creatures.

She opened the bulkhead door, glancing around as she pushed it up, and bolted for the trees.

### 2

Emma Kaiser turned the radio up as she drove home. She shifted in her seat to remove the bank slip from her pocket. With a glance at the numbers, she smiled. Emma's new programming contract came with a nice bonus that would allow her to take Rio back to England and Scotland to visit their friends in the winter. The binder in the passenger seat contained the details of her project, and she was eager to go home and start on it.

Her thoughts shifted when the song on the radio ended and the news update began. The report mentioned the Dublin community during the short newsflash, and Emma stuffed the bank's receipt back into her pocket.

"This is the third instance in a week of coyotes attacking livestock at a few of the Dublin farms. Wildlife biologists for the state are attempting to trap the coyotes to test them for rabies," the announcer said.

"Strange," Emma said with a mutter.

This was a big deal for the station in Bangor to carry the story about Dublin's tiny community. When she got home, Emma would tell Rio that she and Toby needed to stay close to the house for a while until the issue with the coyotes was resolved.

Her phone rang, silencing the radio's weather forecast. Her friend's name appeared on the caller ID, so she made the exception to take the call now instead of waiting to call her friend back once she returned home.

"Hey, Shell," Emma said.

"Are you home? Are you OK?" Shell asked.

"Uh—" Emma blinked a few times, startled by the second question. "Not home yet. I'm fine."

"Is Rio home?"

"Yes. Why?"

A rustling sound came through the truck's speakers while Shell spoke with a muffle to someone else.

"Stop covering the speaker with your hand, Shell, and talk to me!"

"We're on our way," Shell said.

"Where?" Emma swore at her friend. "Tell me what's wrong!"

"How far out are you?"

Emma glanced at her surroundings. "Fifteen, twenty minutes maybe. Stop asking me questions and tell me what's going on." She pressed her foot on the truck's gas pedal, and the engine surged the vehicle forward.

"Fire department has been dispatched to your road."

Emma swore again and pushed the pedal to the floorboard. "Did you call her?"

"No answer."

Rio was the rare teen that refused to keep her phone with her. It often stayed on the kitchen counter instead of in her pocket. "Typical. Pete?"

"He's on his way from the Crosby farm."

"Who called the fire department, Shell?"

"Joyriders on ATVs. They saw a lot of smoke and called it in. We're assuming it's your house."

Emma didn't care about the house. Let it burn. She needed Rio to be OK. "Can you beat me there?"

"Yes."

"I'll be there in ten."

"Don't—"

Emma disconnected the call and wished she could push the truck harder. She didn't bother to look at the speedometer. Part of her mind told her to drive slower; it wouldn't do any good to kill herself on the drive home. The other part of her mind screamed that Rio was possibly in danger. The last time she felt such gripping fear was last year, when she and Rio were trapped in another world with flesh-eating creatures that hunted them with a relentlessness Emma never witnessed before.

She pulled her mind from those thoughts and tried to recall the events this morning before she left the house. Rio planned to hike in the woods, so there was a chance she was still out hiking, climbing, collecting leaves, and whatever else she did while romping through the trees.

Without much fear of other vehicles, Emma drove faster than she should on Maine's rural roads. She braked hard, taking the truck off the paved road and turned on the long gravel road that would take her home. She slowed enough to slide the truck almost sideways on the gravel before straightening then lunging forward. Rocks sprayed from the rear of the vehicle when she stomped on the gas pedal.

The truck's back end threatened to swing around in the turns, so Emma was forced to slow the vehicle. She tried looking over the tops of the trees when she topped a hill as she hurtled along the road, ever closer to home. Black smoke rose in the distance, and she couldn't swallow.

She pulled her eyes from the smoke and focused on driving. The trees broke to reveal the open fields in front of the house. Fire trucks sat in her yard, and the house belched thick, black smoke from both levels of the home. A sheriff's car and Nate's truck were in her drive with a few vehicles she didn't recognize. Sometimes it was quicker for rural, volunteer firefighters to meet the trucks on site instead of going to the station first.

Emma bounced the truck into her drive and after slamming it into park, jumped out. Her head swiveled as she sprinted for the house, calling for her daughter.

"Where is she?"

Nate caught her as she tried to move past him to get closer to the home. He gripped her shoulders and forced her to look at him. "We're still looking. Firemen are suiting up to go in."

The firefighters prepared to enter the front of the house, but the door was likely locked. Emma wrenched herself from Nate's grasp and darted for the house. He shouted at her as he chased her, but Emma didn't slow. If he got his hands on her, she wouldn't get free again. Firemen barked orders and tried to stop her from entering the house, but Emma swerved around them, skipped up the back steps, and ran inside.

### 3

The searing heat blasting through the rear of the house caused Emma to shield her face with her arms and take a step back. Half-expecting Nate to snatch her out of the house, she glanced behind her, but the firemen had caught him before he could follow her into the home. Emma squinted through the heat and smoke, calling for her daughter.

Her heart beat faster when she got no reply. Emma crouched to avoid some of the smoke, but she still couldn't see much. The upper level of the house was engulfed, and flames rippled across the ceiling above her. She didn't have much time before parts of the house began collapsing. Emma crawled through the rear area of the house to the kitchen. Her continued calls for Rio remained unanswered.

She moved toward a heap lying on the floor that was too small to be Rio. Upon recognizing the dog, she pulled him into her arms.

"Toby," she said with a cough.

He lay in her arms, bleeding, but he flicked his ears when she spoke to him. He was alive, for now.

Severe heat sent Emma scrambling away from the flames when a portion of the ceiling fell. The air was too hot to breathe; she needed to escape the flames or die. Another part of the second story of the house crashed down, filling the living room with fiery debris. The framing around the front door buckled, and the firefighters' garb reminded her of spacemen as they forced the door open. She couldn't reach them without going through the kitchen or living room.

Emma noticed the gaping hole where the cellar door used to be, and she rushed toward it while carrying the dog. She started down the stairs to reach the basement but had to stop. The lower half of the stairs was blocked by the broken door. With no other choice, she jumped the obstruction and the remaining five steps. She landed with a grunt, and Toby yelped with the jarring impact of her feet on the concrete floor. "Sorry."

The heat was less intense in the basement. She glanced around, still looking for her daughter, and froze. A half-burned Tuar emerged from behind the cellar stairs. Its eyes glowed yellow, and areas of the creature's fur still smoldered. The stench of burned hair and flesh turned her stomach, but she didn't have time to get sick.

Though injured, the creature lunged at her, and Emma sprang away from her attacker. She held Toby tighter and searched for a way out. Burning debris blocked her retreat upstairs so she turned to her only remaining exit. The bulkhead door leading to the back yard was open, so she raced up the four short steps to reach the back yard. Without looking back, she dashed for the front of the house.

A menacing growl from behind caused her to turn her head. She changed directions mid-sprint, almost dodging the creature's claw. She cried out as its claws tore into her shirt and upper arm. Shell rounded the corner of the house, spotted Emma, and shouted for help. Emma didn't know what else to do but go to her friends though doing so would also bring the creature with her. She glanced back at the Tuar as it leapt to tackle her. She curled her upper body over Toby and allowed her back to take the force of the creature's impact.

The Tuar's weight shoved her forward, and Toby's cry was obscured by Emma's grunt when she struck the ground. She coughed as air tried to enter her lungs, and she lay crumpled and clutching the dog, waiting for the creature to slash her with its claws. She peeked her eyes open when the attack didn't come. The beast lay still, but she was pinned under its mass.

Emma squirmed from beneath the Tuar and regained her feet. She stared at the motionless creature with wide eyes, expecting it to rise and come after her again. Toby's blood seeped through her shirt, and Emma's attention refocused on the dog in her arms. The creature's body twitched, and Emma turned to run away again. Her feet halted when she collided with what she expected to be another Tuar. Instead, the familiar face of a man looked at her, his hands clasped firmly on her shoulders to keep her from falling.

"What the hell is that thing?" the officer asked. He continued to aim his service weapon at the dead animal on the ground, ready to shoot again if it moved.

"Nice shooting, son. Come on, Emma," Pete said with a calm voice as he steered Emma away from the creature.

Emma's knees wobbled, but her neighbor kept her up. She tried to speak, but her sore throat, damaged by heat and smoke, hindered her efforts. "I couldn't find her. Pete, I couldn't find her!"

He didn't answer her and kept her feet moving. Emma closed her eyes, trying to think.

Nate and Shell joined them, and Emma's mind refused to function. Pete held her upright while Nate inspected her wounded arm. Blood soaked the sleeve of her shirt, and Emma wondered why her arm didn't hurt.

"Give me Toby, Em," Nate said.

She did as she was told, and with the 70-pound dog out of her arms, her hands trembled. "I couldn't find Rio."

Shell flinched with the news but remained calm. "We'll find her, Em. We will."

Emma drew in a ragged breath. "Those things escaped, Shell."

Shell placed a reassuring hand on Emma's back. "I know."

Pete guided Emma to an ambulance she didn't realize was at her house. She didn't know when it had arrived, but she turned and sat on the bumper, refusing to get in the back for fear of being closed in and taken away.

A paramedic examined Emma, and Shell lifted Emma's uninjured arm while the medic wrapped a blood pressure cuff around it. Shell held an oxygen mask to Emma's face and talked to her friend, but Emma's eyes remained on Toby as Nate and another medic helped the injured dog.

Emma spoke, her voice muffled by the mask on her face.

"Yeah. He's a tough guy," Nate said with a smile and patted the dog's side.

Whatever she said made enough sense for Nate to answer her back. Emma's mind remained fogged, and she startled when a loud crash erupted from the house. Half of the second story caved in, crushing the area of the home beneath the impact. Flames leapt from the rubble, and smoke billowed from the debris where water from the firetrucks' hoses met fire.

"I should have stayed in there longer to find her," Emma said.

The medic cleaned the deep slashes to Emma's arm before wrapping it with gauze.

Shell remained with her friend. "You need stitches and antibiotics for your arm. I'll go with you to the hospital. Nate will stay here, and Colin is on his way."

Emma shook her head and closed her eyes. She forced her mind back to when she arrived at the burning house. She recalled running from Nate and the firemen. The barn wasn't on fire in the field behind the house, and the horses were gone. _Where were they?_ she thought. More memories returned with better details. When she had stepped through the back door, she stepped _on_ the door as she entered the house. _Did the firemen kick it in before I arrived?_ Heat. Fire. Smoke. Rio's book about trees was on the floor with some of the leaves from the pages next to the book and curled from the heat.

Gouges had been torn into the walls, doorways, and furniture. She'd crouched to make her way through the house. An area of the ceiling collapsed, and Toby was on the floor. There was an indentation in the wall matching the dog's size above where he lay. _One of those things threw him into the wall._

The firemen entered the house through the front, and the heat forced her into the basement. The cellar door was gone, torn from its frame like the back door. _The firemen didn't do that._

Holiday decorations and other stuff in the cellar lay strewn across the floor. _The firemen didn't do that either._

"Em?"

Emma ignored Shell's voice and kept her eyes closed while she searched her memory. The burned creature was behind the stairs. _Did only one Tuar attack the house?_ The creatures ate flesh, and the one in the basement didn't have any blood on it except its own black blood oozing from the burns. _Did others take Rio and leave this one behind?_ Emma didn't have that answer yet. She had left the house through the bulkhead door. _Wait!_ She didn't have to open the bulkhead. One side was already open. The creatures were too large to pass through only one side. Emma snapped her head up and pulled the oxygen mask off.

"She got out!"

