Page 48 of Rangers Mountain Rescue
19
Havoc
The farm looks peaceful at night.
Quiet.
Too quiet.
The moon hangs low over the farm, silver light stretching across the pasture.
Ace sits on the hood of his Jeep, scanning the tree line with binoculars.
Blaze leans against the fence, arms folded.
Wolf’s truck is parked halfway down the road, watching the highway.
Nobody says much.
We don’t need to.
The air has that feeling.
The one that says something is coming.
Buddy suddenly lifts his head.
The dog was asleep five seconds ago.
Now his ears are forward.
Alert.
I straighten in my chair on the porch.
“What is it, Buddy?”
Buddy growls.
Low.
Quiet.
Ace lowers the binoculars.
“You hear that?”
I do.
A faint crunch of gravel.
Not the road.
Closer.
Behind the barn.
I’m already moving.
