Page 19 of Midnight Hunter
“True. Well, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” Giving my food a stir, I lifted out a bite and blew on it. The slightly processed smell of the food wasn’t enough to keep me from eating it. I was ravenous. And freezing.
The hot food hit my tongue, burning it. I sucked in some air in a reverse blow, trying to cool it down before I chewed up the bits of chicken and rice and swallowed them. It wasn’t the tastiest thing ever, but the warmth sure hit the spot.
“So, what do we do now?” I shifted on the tent floor, wishing I’d spread out my bedroll before sitting down. The chill from the ground underneath had permeated the thin nylon and my pants,turning my butt to ice. I shoveled in another bite of food, hoping to counteract the cold seeping through my clothing.
“We finish eating, then I’m calling the Fish and Game warden I know. I want to find out if he knows anything about these poachers. Then we just hang out until the weather calms down.”
“What happened to not wanting to burn daylight?”
He raised one black eyebrow. “The weather wasn’t supposed to move in so fast. Do you want to search in the rain and get soaked?” His eyes tracked over my body. “More soaked.”
I shrugged and ate another bite of my food. “I’m already wet, but my jacket is waterproof, and I brought extra pants and gloves. What’s a few more hours? We made camp, so why not keep walking a little longer and see where the tracks lead before the rain washes them all away?”
That midnight gaze, studying my face, was impossible to read.
“You’re sure you don’t mind being out in the rain?”
“I don’t love it, but I also don’t love the fact that Dustin could be out there injured in it. My minor discomfort at being damp and cold pales to what he could be facing.”
“All right.” Toren scooped the last of his wild rice and beef entrée from the pouch in his hand and stuffed it in his mouth. Swallowing, he folded the packet and reached for his bag. “We’ll walk some more. But you’re going to put on those dry gloves and hang your wet ones up. Do you want to change your pants?”
“No.” I took a quick bite of my lunch. “I’m not that wet.” Shoveling in the last of my food, I cleaned off my spork and stuffed it and my trash into my pack. Rising to my feet, happy to be off the cold ground, I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulders. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 9
Lana
The rain still came down in buckets as we left camp. The tree canopy helped, but the forest floor was now a mass of wet leaves and moss, making the ground slippery and treacherous. I followed in Toren’s footsteps as much as my shorter stride would allow, hoping I wouldn’t slip and slam my face into a rock.
Breaking through the trees, the shift from tree cover to no cover was abrupt. Rain pelted my head and shoulders. Thank goodness for rain gear.
Down at the riverbank, the water wasn’t flowing any faster than before, but I knew that wouldn’t last. Not if this rain kept up.
Amazingly, the boot prints in the sand weren’t washed away yet. They were full of water and only partially visible, but they were still there. With his eyes to the ground, Toren followed them, and I followed him.
The sandy section went on for several hundred yards before a pile of boulders from a previous landslide jutted out into the river.
I eyed the rocks cautiously. Their shiny surfaces, coated with patches of green, told me they were covered in wet moss. Therewere some branches and roots sticking out of the pile, though, from the trees the landslide brought down with it, so at least there might be something to grab onto if I slipped.
Stretching one long leg onto a boulder the height of a desk, Toren hopped into the mess.
My mouth flattened. I couldn’t climb up that.
Scanning the expanse of rock in front of me, I found a lower point and stepped onto the pile, bent double as I scaled it, so my hands had contact with something. Several times, my boots slipped and I was happy I decided to take this slow.
Once I reached the top and glanced up, Toren was halfway across the pile and fifty feet to my right.
I looked ahead, trying to decide if I should just keep going straight or make my way diagonal and follow him. There seemed to be more handholds on my path, so I decided to stay the course. Head down, I stepped forward, making sure my foot had enough purchase before I moved the other one.
“No!”
At Toren’s shout, I looked up in time to see his arms flail as he lost traction and tumbled to the side. His large body tumbled sideways, and he crashed out of sight.
“Oh, shit.” Heart thundering in my chest, I scrambled across the rocks. “Toren!”
I heard him groan, but nothing else.
