Noah turned and lunged toward the door, impacting violently with the creature, sending them both tumbling out into the forest.
“Run!” he screamed. “Run now!”
For a second Madeline couldn’t move, couldn’t bring herself to rush toward them. A gleeful howl pierced through her shock, and she came to life, rushing toward the door and out into the woods. The two struggling figures tangled several yards away, and after glancing at the moon’s position, she dashed toward the northwest.
Behind her she heard Noah scream, long agonized shrieks, and then he was silent. Panic and terror filled her as she ran, darting into the shadows of trees, praying the thing wasn’t loping after her in the dark.
Forty-five minutes later, having located the trail, she made her way through the forest. So far she’d heard no sounds behind her. The chill that had settled in earlier had fled with her panicked run. Though her hair was still damp, the fleece jacket and polypropylene shirt had trapped in the heat. Sweat trickled down her back.
The ground leveled out, sloping only slightly downward.
During the day, she would have passed someone on the trail and asked for help. At this hour, though, backcountry packers would be nestled warmly in their tents. She envied them and pushed on.
Without a flashlight, she continually tripped on large tree roots and rocks in the path, feeling grateful for having her boots instead of the sandals.
The ranger at the backcountry station could help her. In the summer, backcountry rangers usually patrolled the trails and manned the few stations scattered about in the wilderness. Hikers were required to sign up for passes before camping in the backcountry.
She’d signed up for a pass herself, though at a ranger station on the other side of the mountain. She’d written down four days from now as her expected return date. They wouldn’t be looking for her for quite a while yet. Madeline pictured dogs and helicopters sweeping the other side of the mountain, friendly light and sound breaking through the impenetrable darkness.
She let herself pretend that a search party really was looking for her, and the thought cheered her a little.
A sudden scuffling made her go still, as if a fatal crack had split open beneath her skating feet on a desolate, frozen pond. Barely daring to pant in the darkness, she listened, straining her ears.
She could hear something breathing to her left, just off the path. Her hair stood up. Quickly she moved to the cover of a nearby pine. Peering intently, she tried to make out shapes in the moonlight.
A dark, sinewy shape slunk from one tree to the next. Madeline wished it were a bear but knew it wasn’t. It moved upright, and though bears could walk on their hind legs, the movement was always cumbersome and lumbering. This creature was agile and quick as it moved, slipping from shadow to shadow. It was almost a shadow itself, with no features, just smooth, inky blackness.
As it moved onto the trail, Madeline caught sight of its face and bit back a scream.
The thing had turned to face the moon, and she saw its eyes: two huge, luminous red discs in an inky face, reflecting back the moonlight, flashing eerily. The mouth parted to reveal a row of hideous, sharp teeth, then turned up in an eager smile as the thing scanned the darkness.
It was hunting her, and it loved it.
5
QUICKLY Madeline left the trail, making her way through the underbrush and pines. Several times she glanced back toward the creature, hoping Noah was near it. But she didn’t see anyone. Had it killed him?
Panic crept into her belly. She struggled to keep it in check, her head whipping from side to side, trying to find a hiding place. For a moment she couldn’t catch her breath, felt her lungs constricting in terror.
To her left, a little bit ahead, Madeline saw a small clearing in the center of which stood three huge boulders very close together. Maybe she could hide behind one of those, wait till the thing had passed.
Briefly she wondered if she could outrun it, then quickly brushed away the image of it gaining on her in the darkness: she, slowed down by her wet boots and pack: the thing, preternaturally quick and relentless, tearing into her back and neck, opening ragged wounds-
Madeline steadied her mind. Glancing behind now, she couldn’t see the creature, though she dared not look for very long. Wincing as she stepped on three splintering sticks in a row, Madeline pushed for the clearing.
When she got to the edge, she slowed, not wanting to dive out into the open, to be in plain sight in the brilliant moonlight.
But the rocks looked like the best hiding place.
She burst through the trees and into the clearing. Where two of the rocks met was a crevice just wide enough for her to hide in, and the shadows there would completely cover her.
Quickly she ran to where the two rocks met and threw the pack in first. She sat down, stuck her legs through the opening, and then pushed herself farther and farther in with her arms. Soon the rock’s shadow overtook her, and with one more push she was deep inside the crevice, pulling cobwebs off her face.
There was little room to move around. She lay down, glancing furtively out of the opening, desperately hoping the thing hadn’t seen her crawl in. She could see the silvery blue trees of the forest glowing in the moonlight and suddenly wondered if she should have gone in headfirst, so she could kick the thing if it found her in there. But glancing at the inky blackness at her feet, she realized having her head trapped at that end with limited ability to look out would have been too terrifying.
She waited beneath the rock, not taking her eyes from the treeline, and wondered how smart the thing was.
And then she saw it.
The creature emerged from the treeline into the clearing, long, black, lithe body moving furtively, nose turned to the wind, sniffing eagerly. She looked for any hint of features besides the eyes and mouth-hair, wrinkles-but saw none. Its shape was humanoid yet streamlined, a three-dimensional shadow come to life. Its claws met its fingers seamlessly, one flowing into the other. It had no ears.
As it sniffed, she felt a tiny surge of relief and hope when a breeze greeted her face. The wind was blowing toward her, making it difficult for the creature to catch a scent of her.
Dropping low to the ground, it crept about, just as comfortable on all fours. Smelling the rocks and moss, the flowers and grasses, it snapped its head up and stared directly to where she lay in the shadows, its huge, luminous eyes reflective in the moonlight.
Madeline’s heart almost stopped.
The thing crept forward slowly and paused after a few feet, sniffing the air again. It lowered its head and scanned the rocks.
Then, just when Madeline expected it to come leaping out to her hiding place, it turned and retreated into the darkness of the trees, moving along the ground like a sinuous black spider.
Madeline exhaled, realizing she’d been holding her breath while she watched the creature. She stared long at the treeline, waiting for the reappearance of the thing. Nothing stirred there.
Madeline waited. And waited.
She thought of Ellie, felt her mind reaching out to her old friend. In the cramped space her fingers closed over the bracelet and its tiny lockbox.
Ellie? she thought. Am I going to live through this?
She tried to breathe in the tight space, her neck cramped as she remained twisted in the crevice. Staring out, she longed to open the little box, to take out its contents. To use her gift for the one thing that brought her peace, feeling closer to her lost friend. The terrible grief over Ellie was so powerful at times her brain staggered over the reality of it, denying it. Now the memory of running for her life all those years ago surged back, her mouth dry and her blood thrumming in her ears. The Sickle Moon Killer. His face of fear and rage, the sound of his pounding steps on the forest floor-