Firebloods by Casey Hays

Author:Casey Hays [Hays, Casey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Whispering Pages, LLC
Published: 2017-05-27T05:00:00+00:00

I have to reread the passage three times because Frankie’s right. Kane’s musky closeness is really fogging up my concentration. Plus, the breeze kicks up, wafting a minty pine scent through the rustling tent. Too many smells. I shake my head.

Focus, Jude.

Suddenly, Kane raises up a little on one elbow, then sits up completely. I peer at him.

“Everything all right?”

He pulls up on his knees, knuckles pressed into his lumpy sleeping bag. He focuses on the tent flap like a watchdog.

“Yeah,” he nods. “I’m just gonna… I’ll be back.” He tosses me a weak smile and shuffles to his feet. Frankie follows him with her eyes as he unzips and ducks out. She plucks one earbud free.

“Where’s he going? To the bathroom?”

Jonas snores once and rolls over. I dump the journal and flashlight and crawl across the tent to zip the flap closed.

“I don’t think so.” I sit back, draw my knees up to my chest. “I think he heard something.”

“Heard what?” She’s suddenly on full alert. She curls her feet up underneath her and listens with me.

Whatever he’s doing, I don’t feel good about it. I mean, what if it’s a bear or a bobcat? Or a serial killer? I glance across the tent at Jonas’s rifle laid alongside the wall and refocus on the shadows outside. I sure hope Kane has his pistol. I don’t remember seeing it.

My dad was killed in the state park.

That swift thought sweeps in and sets my nerves on fire. I pull on my shoes and climb to my knees to peek out the mesh window. Nothing but blackness extends for yards. I grab the flashlight, and against my better judgment, I slide the zipper up.

“What are you doing, Jude?”

I don’t answer her. I yank open my backpack and slam a magazine into my Glock. My toe accidentally jabs Jonas in the leg when I step over him. He grunts in his sleep and rolls over.

“Jude?” Laptop forgotten, Frankie scrambles to her knees. “You’re scaring me a little.”

“It’s okay.” I part the flap, toss her a quick glance. “I’m just going to step right outside.”

With both hands, I slide the pistol out first, my skinny flashlight propped against it. The red dot of the laser pops into my line of vision on the trunk of a tree, but I keep the safety on. It’s deathly quiet—the stillest night of the year it seems—and I perk up, listening for the possible sound of Kane stomping across the gravelly parking area. On her hands and knees, Frankie circles behind me to look out the window, and I take a brave breath and step out.

A huge bug zips through the beam of my flashlight, startling me before it buzzes out of sight. I freeze and take another uneasy breath. I sure don’t want to be out here too long.

“Kane?”

My voice echoes off the trees and disappears with the wind. I take one step, the gun aimed downward. The flashlight emits a wide circle of light in front of me.

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