A cat.
Lucille Ball. She was sitting on the shoulder, as if she was waiting for them.
“Pull over. That’s Link’s cat.”
“I wonder how she got all the way out here.” Sampson stopped the car a few feet away from Lucille.
The cat didn’t move until they both got out. Then she trotted off into the trees.
Nox took off after her. “I think she wants us to follow her.”
Sampson shook his head. “It looks more like she’s running away from us.”
“But toward what?” Nox asked. Ridley had told Nox a story about how Lucille had practically led Rid and her friends to her cousin Lena when she was missing once. He had no idea how much of it was true, but that cat was definitely different.
Lucille scampered ahead, stopping every now and then to make sure they were still behind her. Nox wasn’t that interested in chasing mangy cats through the bushes, but he followed her anyway.
If that stupid cat was in the car with them … she could be leading us to Rid.
Nox wasn’t so sure when the cat led them through a cluster of trees and he saw Link slumped against a trunk ahead of them. The ridiculous spiked blond hair and threadbare Black Sabbath T-shirt were unmistakable. Above Link, the branches were cracked and broken as if he’d hit every one of them before he finally made it to the ground.
Headfirst, knowing him.
“What are you doing out here, Link?” Sampson asked as they made their way through the brush.
Link barely moved. His skin was smudged with black smoke and ash, and one side of his shirt was singed above the burns running down his arm.
Nox leaned closer and grabbed a handful of Link’s ripped shirt. “Hey. Wake up.”
Confused didn’t begin to describe the expression on Link’s face. He opened and closed his eyes, shaking his head at the sight of Nox. “Aw, great. I’m in Hell. My mom was right.”
“You’re not in Hell. You’re in New Jersey.” Nox squatted in front of him. “Where’s Ridley?”
Link jerked his head up at the mention of her name. “Wait. You don’t know where she is, either?”
Nox stiffened. It was the million-dollar question, and Link didn’t have the answer any more than he did.
“We were hoping you knew,” Sampson said.
Link rubbed his eyes, wincing as he lifted his arm. “It all happened so fast. ‘Stairway to Heaven’ came on the radio. That’s all I remember, until this black truck ran a red light and plowed right into the Beater.” His face clouded over as he realized what he was saying. “Aw, man. The Beater.”
“Mangled,” Nox said, with a shred of satisfaction.
Sampson nodded. “You don’t want to know.”
Link pressed his hands against his temples. “The driver didn’t even try to swerve out of the way. It was like he was headin’ right for us.” He rubbed his eyes like he was fighting the worst headache of his life. “The only thing I remember after that was the sound of metal crunchin’ and Ridley screamin’. There was so much smoke I couldn’t see her. I kept callin’ her name, but she didn’t answer. Then the Beater caught on fire.”
Sampson examined Link’s eyes. “Do you remember how you got here? You’re pretty far from the crash site. I doubt you walked.”
Link squinted, as if he was trying to piece everything together in his mind. “I didn’t walk. I Ripped.”
“And you didn’t take Ridley with you?” Nox snapped. He didn’t bother to hide the rage in his voice.
Why did she leave with this clown in the first place?
Link shook his head. “It wasn’t like that. I reached out for her, but she wasn’t in the passenger seat. The fire kept gettin’ bigger, and then my shirt started burnin’. I don’t know what happened. I wasn’t tryin’ to Rip, but the next thing I knew, I was out here.”
Sampson glanced at Nox. “I bet it was some kind of defense mechanism. An Incubus fight or flight response.”