Page 9 of Into the Night

And that’s it. With a friendly wave, he disappears back across the road and into a hiking goods store, flipping the sign to open before he closes the door behind him against the stiff breeze.

The knot inside me that I’ve carried around my entire life loosens a little. There was no ulterior motive, no mean trick. Just a nice man with good manners helping a clumsy lady get to her car in one piece.

And a polite shop assistant paying me a compliment and welcoming me to town with no snide follow-up comments. Like people in small town’s normally do.

Genuine kindness shouldn’t be weird, but it is to me.

Looking up and down Main Street, I smile, deciding the longer I spend in Sutton, the more it’s feeling like home.

6

GRIFFIN

Snatching the plain, brown envelope from the glove box, I lean back in my seat and stare at the large, well-worn wooden sign across the road that reads, “Welcome to Sutton.”

I lay the letter from John on my thigh, flattening the wrinkled paper with my palm. I’ve read it a dozen times. He said I’d find the answers I was looking for in these mountains, so here I am. In Sutton at last, but without the one person I thought I’d be able to rely on once I got here.

John’s job is the one I’m here to fill, but I’m not so sure that I can do this anymore. Not without him here to show me how. What if I’m just unleashing a monster on a new town rather than fixing the problem itself?

Glancing nervously in the rearview mirror once again, I shift in my seat. If I’d been the one to attack Leonard, and the police were following me, they’d have stopped me by now. Maybe the cuts on my hands are from the broken furniture, and nothing more. It could be a coincidence. The black hole in my mind remains, and I still can’t pull forward any memories of what happened. It’s terrifying.

Flexing my hands in front of me, the cuts on the back of my knuckles stretch and crack, healing at an astounding speed. At this rate, if the police do catch up with me, even tomorrow, there won’t be a trace of the injuries left.

“You okay there?” A rap on the window startles me, and instantly, I feel my blood pressure rising. Through the window, a bearded man peers in, resting one forearm on the roof as he stoops to talk to me. He’s big and broad, even bigger than me, and the way he’s scrutinising me puts me on edge immediately.

“I’m fine.” I growl, stuffing the letter back into the glove box and facing forward, gripping the steering wheel tightly.

The stranger's gaze lands on my beat-up hands, and he tilts his head, giving me another once over.

“Listen, I’m not sure if you’re just passing through or sticking around, but this town’s been through enough. We don’t need any more trouble.” His tone is reasonable as he gives me a friendly warning. “If that’s not something you can do, I’d suggest you keep moving. Tempers are still high.”

I don’t know who this guy is, but he’s caught me on a bad day. Before I know what’s happening, I’m out of my truck and going toe to toe with him in a gas station lot.

“I’m going to be sticking around. So, if this is your way of scaring me out of town, it’s not going to fucking work. I’m here for good.”

“Calm down. Your eyes have changed.”

Did he say my eyes have changed? What the fuck is this guy talking about?

The mountain of a man raises his hands in a gesture of surrender, urging me to stop pressing forward into his personal space, as I get more and more wound up.

The name tag on his jacket says Jack. He seems like a nice guy, so I’m not sure why I’m reacting so aggressively toward him, but the closer I get, the angrier I am.

Dragging in a deep breath, I expect it to calm me, but it does the exact opposite. The darkness inside me swells, threatening to explode out of my chest.

Jack stares back, concerned, and grabs my arm before dragging me back behind the truck.

“What the fuck are you doing? If you’re going to shift, get into the trees and out of sight.” Jack positions himself so his big body is between me and the main road, hiding me from view.

Shrugging off his grip, I hold my head in my hands, a stabbing pain behind my eyes temporarily blinding me, and a headache coming and going in waves.

I’m completely disoriented.

“Do you need a doctor?”

The sound that comes from me is akin to a snarl, and I double over, fighting to stop myself from charging at the innocent man in front of me.

“No, I just… I need to get out of here.”

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