Virals(36)

With only a vague sense of where Dead Cat lay, I pounded for the tree line.

Three figures emerged from the trees, black cutouts against the blacker forest. No way these men were scientists.

One figure raised a hand and pointed in my direction. Then he froze, arms straight out and clasped in front of his face.

Crack! Crack!

Overhead, a branch exploded. A lone monkey screamed and bolted in panic.

GUN! GUN! GUN! GUN!

My brain, understanding bullets, surrendered the Tory Machine to its primitive instincts. Spurred by a massive dose of adrenaline, I sprinted into the night.





Though I never finished the story, you know what happened next.

My blind flight succeeded, and I found Dead Cat Beach. Shelton, Ben, and I crouched inside Sewee praying for Hi to appear.

Terrified, my thoughts went nasty places. A thousand questions jockeyed for attention.

What were armed thugs doing on Loggerhead? Why did they shoot at us? Did they know about the body? Did they know who we were?

One thought dominated: Someone just tried to kill me.

Murder me. Dead.

A murderer shot a gun at my head, trying to end my life.

The reality threatened to trigger my panic button.

You escaped. You're okay.

But not everyone had made it to the boat. Where was Hi? Seconds ticked by. I barely dared to breathe.

"Start the motor!" Shelton was trembling.

"They'll hear it," said Ben.

"They've already got Hi!" Shelton sounded near hysteria. "Hi's been shot!"

I shook Shelton by the shoulders. "Get it together! Hi will come to the beach. He knows where the boat is." To Ben. "Can we at least pull the anchor?"

Ben did as I requested, then hopped into chest-deep water to steady the boat.

"Where the hell is he? He always gets lost!"

Shelton had a point. Hi could be anywhere. The longer we waited, the more uncertain our fate.

And another thing worried me.

I'd left my archaeology kit by the grave.

I searched my memory. The bag was not monogrammed and contained only equipment. There was nothing to tie it to me.

Minutes dragged by. Five. Seven. A thousand. We couldn't stay there forever. Sooner or later, we'd have to go.

As I was losing hope, Hi appeared, his pale face barely discernible in the moonlight. He darted from the undergrowth, eyes frantically seeking the boat.

Despite Ben's efforts, Sewee had floated some distance offshore. We splashed our hands in the water to get Hi's attention. His head whipped seaward as he dropped to a crouch, prepared for fight or flight. Shelton and I waved madly in the dark.

Relief spreading his face, Hi crossed the sand and launched into the surf. Ben pulled himself aboard, then reached down to drag Hi over the gunwale.

"You didn't leave!" Hi gasped and spit seawater. "Oh thank God! Thank God, thank God, thank God!"

"No way, buddy," said Shelton. "Never considered it!"

"You're lying, but I don't care!" Hi flopped onto the deck. "You guys are the best. I was sure you'd be gone."

Ben turned the ignition and the engine gunned to life. Anyone close would have heard.

We watched, terrified.

No one emerged from the woods.

Ben dropped the hammer and we shot from the island, leaving pale ribbons of froth in our wake.





CHAPTER 26


"We should go to the police right now!"

Hi said it for the third time. He sat with his arms crossed, back pressed to the bunker wall. "We're in way over our heads."

"With what?" Shelton asked. "You lost the only evidence we had."

For a beat, Hi just stared. Then he spoke slowly. "I just ran through pitch-black woods, at night, while killers shot at me. Then I had to dive into the ocean and swim to the boat." He spread his hands wide. "I'm very sorry that, somehow, I lost track of my phone!"

"I know, I know," Shelton said. "But you had the pictures. Now we don't have anything to show the cops."

"There's a freakin' human skeleton in the woods!" Hi exploded. "I think that'll work, don't you?"

After our escape, Ben had steered Sewee straight to the bunker. We had a lot to discuss, and needed privacy.

I sat on the floor stroking Coop's back. The last saline bag was dry, so I removed the needle from his paw and took off the bell collar. He began gnawing the hated thing with relish.

Coop looked better, had even eaten some solid food. His energy level was up. I tried to stay detached but couldn't. Coop's improvement helped balance the horrors of the evening.

"Why tonight?" Ben asked. "Tomorrow's fine. I don't want to bother my Dad this late for no reason."

Hi pulled a face. "For no reason? Did you miss the human bone display?" He looked around, incredulous, expecting support. But on this point I agreed with Ben.

"Ben's right," I said. "If we confess tonight, our parents will make us go over everything a hundred times. Then we'll have to ride down to Folly Beach and convince the cops as well. I'm too exhausted to answer a barrage of questions right now. The morning will be okay."

"Does anyone even work a night shift at Folly PD?" Ben asked. "They're a small department."