Page 84 of Death Valley

“We need a plan,” I say after a moment. “We can’t stay here indefinitely, waiting to what happens.”

“First light,” Jensen agrees. “We leave at first light, head back toward the ranch.”

“And you know we’ll be safe in the light?” I ask.

“All I know is that you rarely see them in the day.”

“How the fuck do you know that?” Cole asks him. “How do you know about any of this shit?”

“My family’s been here a long time,” Jensen tells him but leaves it at that.

“And him?” Eli asks, nodding toward Red. “Do we take him with us? Or do we just go and…leave him here? Like this?”

None of us answer. None of us want to voice the alternative.

Outside, the night stretches on, black and cold and filled with hungry things. Inside, we watch Red transform, the last traces of his humanity slipping away with each passing hour. And we wait for dawn, for decisions that can’t be avoided, for whatever comes next in these mountains that have claimed so many before us.

And are about to claim another.

24

AUBREY

Dawn arrives with grudging reluctance, pale, weak light that gradually illuminates the horrors inside the Benson Hut. Red remains bound to the support beam, his transformation seemingly complete. The man we knew is gone, replaced by something feral and hungry that strains constantly against the ropes, blue eyes tracking our every movement. He doesn’t speak anymore, just makes grunting, growling noises.

None of us slept. How could we, with the things tapping at the windows all night and Red’s inhuman rasps filling the hut? We passed the night in tense silence, broken only by whispered discussions of what to do next, wrapping extra rope around Red for good measure.

“We can’t stay here,” Jensen says for perhaps the tenth time, pacing the small confines of the cabin like a caged animal. “We’re sitting ducks. Supplies are running low, weather radio says the weather is gonna get worse, and there’s no telling how many more of them are out there with Hank. Last night with the tapping, it could have been him, could have been a bunch of them. We don’t know.”

“We can fight them off,” Eli suggests tiredly, rubbing his hand over his face, looking in no shape to fight anyone. “We haven’t tried to kill any of them yet. We’re only assuming they’re hard to kill. They might not be.”

“Perhaps,” says Jensen, “but I also don’t want to stick around and try it out. Do you?”

“What about Red?” Cole asks, nodding toward the bound figure that once was his friend.

An uncomfortable silence falls over the group. What remains unspoken hangs in the air between us—there’s no taking Red with us, and there’s no leaving him behind like this, either.

“We can’t bring him,” I finally say, meeting Cole’s eyes. “And we can’t leave him here like this.”

Cole stares at me, understanding dawning in his eyes. “You want to put him down? Like a rabid dog?”

“That’s not Red anymore,” Jensen says quietly, moving to stand beside me. His steady presence gives me a little strength. “You know that, Cole. Whatever made him your friend is gone.”

Eli turns away, unable to look at what Red has become. “Maybe there’s a cure,” he suggests, though his tone makes it clear he doesn’t believe it. “In the movies there’s always a cure,” he adds wistfully.

“There’s no cure,” Jensen says bluntly. “We all know what needs to be done.”

“So do it, then,” Cole snarls, grief and anger warring in his expression. “Murder him in cold blood. If you’re so fucking sure.”

Jensen reaches for his gun—mygun—but I place my hand on his arm, stopping him.

“No,” I say. “I’ll do it.”

Everyone looks to me in surprise. Even Red raises his snarling face.

“You don’t have to,” Jensen says, his voice low as he shakes his head. “This isn’t on you.”

“I’m FBI,” I remind him, the admission still raw between us. “I’ve been trained for this. And…” I swallow hard, forcing myself to continue. “And I need all of you to trust me if we’re going to get out of here alive. So I’ll do it. Take one for the team. So you don’t have to.”

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