Page 12 of Creed
Brody stood from the rocking chair, stretching his arms over his head until his spine audibly popped. “Of course. At this point, I doubt they could handle anything without our help. I just don’t want them to get too comfortable making demands of us. Did you leave the photos in my office? Great. I’m going to go look at them. See what new challenge awaits us.”
Everyone scattered in different directions after that. Ellis went with Brody, while Trent and Magnus went back to the other house.
That left me alone with Creed for the first time since I’d arrived. I would have loved to take advantage of the opportunity, but a heavier question weighed on my mind.
“Hey, Creed?”
He didn’t jump, but I could tell from the widening of his eyes that he’d forgotten I was there.
“Kayden. Um... what’s wrong?”
“What’s wrong?” I repeated, insulted that he’d even ask that. “I don’t know. You tell me. You mentioned that your friends found an old coffin on your property, but I thought that was already taken care of. Now it looks like that case is still being investigated. And Brody said you’d been kidnapped? Hospitalized? That sounds... that sounds really serious. So, tell me, what exactly is going on?”
CHAPTER 3
Creed
It wasn’tthe first time I’d escorted someone across hostile terrain. Many of my missions during my service had included getting a person of interest from point A to point B, preferably unharmed. Often these people had no survival instincts of their own, and they had been so reckless with their lives that I wondered if they legitimately wanted to die.
The situation with Kayden wasn’t so severe. The rough mountain terrain wasn’t too hostile and shouldn’t be a threat so long as we were careful. However, after only an hour after starting our trek, I quickly realized that he was ruled by his curiosity much more than his common sense.
“Don’t go over there.” I pulled Kayden back from where he’d been about to step off into the underbrush. There was no actual path, so we were following one of the natural trails formed by deer and other animals traveling through the area. I’d studied the area extensively from the moment we decided to purchaseour property, so although I’d never been on this specific part of the mountain before, I knew we were going the right way.
Kayden, however, seemed determined to lead us astray.
He pouted at me, though he didn’t stop me from physically pulling him back onto the trail.
“Why not? The way the sunlight filters through the trees over there would make for a great photo.”
I’d expected Kayden to take extensive notes about our little camping trip. That was the whole reason for the journey, to give him something to write about.
What I hadn’t expected was that he also insisted on photographing as much as possible. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. I’d read a few of his articles, and each was accompanied by plenty of pictures to show readers what he was describing, but I hadn’t put the pieces together to realize what it would mean for our own trip.
Rather than try to explain to him why stepping off the trail was a bad idea, I decided to show him. Picking up a long stick lying on the ground nearby, I stuck it into the underbrush he’d been about to step through. The stick kept going, sinking down lower and lower so nearly the whole thing was below the leaves before it hit ground.
“Oh,” Kayden gasped, pushing back some of the underbrush so he could see the hidden ravine for himself. “I didn’t notice that at all. How’d you know that was there?”
“I’ve learned how to read the land,” I said simply. “Come on. We need to keep going. At this rate we won’t be reaching the camp site before nightfall.”
Hitching his bag higher onto his back, Kayden hurried to follow after me as I started walking in the right direction again.
“Campsite?” he asked once he was walking next to me. “I thought this area was completely untamed.”
I watched him out of the corner of my eye, noticing the way the large pack he was wearing weighed on him. Most people underestimated how heavy a properly stocked camping pack could be. I’d had a few escort missions fall apart simply because the person in question refused to carry their share of the load.
My gaze lingered on Kayden’s body.
For all his reckless curiosity, he at least pulled his weight. I could tell he was struggling under the weight of his pack but he hadn’t uttered a single word of complaint.
I’d been staring too long. Realizing what I was doing, I turned my gaze back to the path ahead of us. “It’s not an official campground, but I’ve planned out safe areas for us to make camp. In wild areas like this, you can’t just throw down a tent anywhere and assume it’ll be safe.”
“Uh huh,” Kayden nodded absently as he pulled out a small journal and started taking notes. “And what makes a place safe for a tent? You said you haven’t actually been out to this area before. How can you determine the best places to make camp ahead of time?”
Usually, I hated having my decisions questioned, especially by someone who clearly knew less than me. Yet, there was something about Kayden’s tone that made his questions sound unobtrusive even as he grilled me for details. The genuine interest in my answers and his willingness to listen as much as talk made it easy to tell him what he wanted to know. Aswe continued our hike, I spent a surprisingly pleasant hour explaining about the various maps I’d consulted while planning out our trip, and how I’d used them to determine the best camping areas.
I’d answer these questions all day so long as he never asked me another question about the body that Magnus found or the rival cults of the area.
After Deputy Hillard’s visit, I’d been forced to explain the basic situation to Kayden. Luckily, I’d been able to deflect most of his questions based on that fact that I hadn’t actually been there. He’d been all geared up to interrogate Magnus and Brody about what happened to them, but I’d reminded him that we needed to leave soon. In this way, I’d managed to keep him from getting too involved, but I knew it wouldn’t last forever. The man was too damn curious. Eventually, he’d be back on that train of questions, and I needed to figure out an answer to give him.
