Or the inhuman element, he thought, still confounded by the transformation he’d experienced in the woods. Although his senses weren’t as keen right now as they had been, he was sure something fundamental him had changed inside … some primitive part of his brain that had been dormant had been unlocked or re-awakened, and was working in ways he still had trouble comprehending. But he couldn’t deny he could sense things that even yesterday—although yesterday seemed so long ago—would have slipped past him without a ripple.
“We’ll swim over if we have to,” Jeff said. He gripped Evan by the waist, hooking his fingers around his belt for support. “First thing, though, we have to get down to the lake and see what’s what. He’s just one man. He can’t be everywhere at once.”
Evan chuckled and said, “Right. It’s not like he’s Hobomock or something.”
He had said it in jest, but Jeff’s immediate thought was, Yeah, maybe he’s not Hobomock … but I am.
He almost said it out loud, but let it drop. On a purely rational level, he knew it wasn’t true. I couldn’t be. He hadn’t been possessed by any Indian spirit or demon. There must be a simpler explanation for what had happened to him. The threat to his own life had kick-started some weird defense mechanism in his brain. It was probably something everyone had, but society or “civilization” buried it so deeply beneath layers and layers of laziness and complacency that we were no longer aware of it … unless or until we needed it.
Like now.
The danger he faced had stripped all of the trappings of civilization from him. He was more in touch with his primitive heritage, and he was confident he could outsmart and outfight—and kill—Ben.
It was simply a matter of survival.
“You up to this?” he asked.
Evan sucked in a whistling breath and took a step forward. His muscles had obviously atrophied from inactivity, but all he had to do was keep moving. Put one foot in front of the other. They would deal with whatever came when and if it came.
The wind hadn’t let up. It was bending the trees as it blew cold and hard from the west. Even Jeff had to admit that the cold and damp were getting to him. As they made their way slowly along the trail, he couldn’t stop thinking about how nice it would be if only they could get in front of the fire in the dining hall and have something to eat and drink. It wouldn’t take much for the civilized part of his nature to reassert itself.
Odds were Ben was hanging close to the dining hall and the boat, waiting for them to show up. The boat was their only option of surviving and getting off the island. Ben could hole up somewhere out of sight and be ready when they came.
“How you doing?” Jeff asked. Evan’s steps were faltering more and more the further they went. His breath came in short, wheezing gasps that shook his body. With nearly every other step, he stumbled and would have fallen if Jeff hadn’t been holding him.
“I … I’m … all right. I’ll make it.”
“Wanna take a minute to rest?”
Evan gritted his teeth and shook his head.
“If I sit down now, I’ll never get up.”
Jeff had to admire his friend’s fortitude. He wanted to say something about how, even if they didn’t make it out of this, even if both of them ended up dead tonight, they had been brave and had tried with every resource they had, so they could die satisfied.
But Jeff wouldn’t allow such thoughts. They weren’t going to die. Thoughts like that worked against them.
They were about halfway to the dining hall when Jeff suddenly drew to a halt. His senses were tingling as he craned his head forward, cocking it from side to side as he listened and waited for something that had caught his attention to be repeated.
“What is—?” Evan started to say, but Jeff shushed him. Moving quickly, he all but dragged Evan off the trail and into the woods. They knelt behind a low evergreen bush, and Jeff eased Evan down to the ground before creeping forward a short way under the low-hanging branches.
“Stay quiet,” he whispered.
As he scanned the trail, every nerve and fiber of his body crackled with electrical tension. He sniffed the wind as he listened and stared into the well of darkness. To his eyes, the night