Dropping her butt down on the porch, she slipped on her right shoe. Her toes felt cramped, just like her chest, and she loosened her laces before she tied them. Did Della or Miranda even realize she'd walked out? That's when she realized that frustration and impatience weren't the only emotions fighting for a spot in her chest. This hurt.
Didn't they realize how badly she needed them right now? Then taking her time to lace up her shoes, she hoped they'd have a change of heart. That they'd decide their friendship meant enough to trust her on this. Right shoe tied, Kylie slipped on the left and commenced the process.
She could still hear them yelling at each other. They still hadn't realized she'd left. Or maybe they had and didn't care. That really hurt, too. If either one of them had needed her, she'd have been there.
She stood, realized that she still wore her nightshirt over her jeans and was without a bra, but she didn't care. She jumped off the porch.
Taking off down the trail in a solid run, she wasn't even sure how to get to the falls. But something in her gut said she'd find it. She'd do this. And she'd do it alone.
Kylie came to quick stop at the edge of the woods, unsure which way to go. She recalled hearing the falls at the rock where she and Derek had gone. She also recalled hearing it at the creek where the dinosaur tracks were. The falls had to be between the two, so she took off down the trail.
She'd only moved a few feet beneath the thick umbrella of trees when the dusty dawn light faded to a foggy shade of purplish gray. She could feel the mist on her face.
The early morning heat chased away the night's coolness, forcing it to leave in the form of fog. But the cloudy haze clung to the trees and hung a few feet off the ground. Apprehension prickled the back of her neck.
Believing she was slightly paranoid, she ignored the sensation and kept going. Going faster.
After about a quarter of a mile on the trail, she ventured off the cleared path, hoping the sound of the falls would call out to her as it had seemed to do before. She listened and she continued to sprint. No falls.
Only the sound of the soles of her tennis shoes hitting the earth accompanied by the normal sounds of nature.
She kept moving between the trees, finding a path or making one as she went. The thorns in the thick brush snagged on to her jeans, as if trying to stop her from going any farther. She didn't slow down.
Occasionally, a low-hanging branch would seemingly just appear in her way, but she either ducked in time or brushed it back with her arms.
She recalled trying to keep up with Della through a patch of woods very similar to this one on the night of the first campfire. She'd barely been able to walk it. That wasn't the case anymore. Her legs moved one after the other in succinct, effortless strides.
The thought hit again: change. Everything was changing. She felt it in how she moved, the speed with which she moved, she felt it in how her mouth pulled oxygen into her lungs. What else would change?
Not important, not right now, she told herself. The only thing that mattered was her understanding the ghost's message. Saving someone's life took priority. Then she could worry about herself.
She blinked, and then knocked a low-hanging cluster of leaves from her face. A loud crack sounded, and she could swear it was the limb breaking, but she didn't believe it. The deeper she moved into the woods, the thicker the brush was and the faster she ran. The faster her heart pumped with a mixture of fear and anticipation. Her whole body tingled with adrenaline.
Was she crazy for going to the falls? What if Miranda and Della were right? What if death angels looked at her sins and chose to punish her? Her mind searched for the wrongs she'd accumulated though her life: lying to her mom, standing by and watching some girl bully another kid in school, hitting a squirrel during driver's education. The more she thought the longer her list of sins seemed to be.
Was she asking for trouble by going to the falls? Or saving someone she loved from something terrible?
Then she heard it. Or rather, she didn't hear it. The only noises bouncing off the trees were the sound of her shoes and the thread-ripping sound of the vines catching and being torn from her jeans as she ran.
She stopped, folding her arms over her middle. Winded, she bent over at the waist. As she drew in shaky breaths, a stillness invaded the woods. The soundless air hung heavy, even heavier than the fog that had risen a few more feet and now snaked through the trees. And just like that she knew.
She had company.
Chapter Nine
The sound of twigs being crushed underfoot told Kylie her company stood behind her. She froze, air caught in her lungs, fear sank into the pit of her stomach. Had the death angels found her?
She hadn't decided her next move when she heard, "Holy crappers, that was fun."
Kylie recognized the singsong voice. She fought back the panic and turned around. She couldn't believe what she saw. Miranda clung to Della's back and her legs wrapped around the vampire's waist. "Ride's over. Open your eyes. We found her." Della unlocked Miranda's ankles and nudged Miranda off her back, but her gaze never left Kylie.
"You okay?" Della asked Kylie. "Your heart's really racing. Is something wrong?"
Even with raw panic still running through her veins, Kylie couldn't help but smile. They'd come. Emotion filled her chest and shot upward and knotted in her throat. Unwanted tears filled her eyes.
"You let her ride on your back?" Kylie asked, hoping they wouldn't notice her watery weakness.
"It was that or wait on her. She's slower than a three-legged turtle using a broken walker."