Page 35 of Catching Camila

John

Thursday 12:51 p.m.

John pressed his back to the tree trunk, feeling the rough bark beneath his T-shirt, as he skimmed the headlines fluttering in his hand. Please don't let there be a sketch of my face above the word Wanted. Please.

He peered at the color image on the front page. There, between the columns and bold black headlines, was a picture of his crater and, next to it, two others.

CRATER INVESTIGATION CONTINUES AS OFFICIALS SHUT DOWN AUBURN OAKS PARK

July 9th, 2017

After three craters appeared in Auburn Oaks Dog Park and the surrounding forest, officials from Oakland County Parks have shut down the park. The three craters, each measuring over twenty feet in diameter, have appeared over the last three days. Neighbors of the park say they heard loud explosions and saw a comet-like streak in the sky. One resident, Nathaniel Dugget, in the Bailey Ridge subdivision said he saw the third celestial event two nights ago.

“I was standing on my porch when I saw this bright light cut through the sky. The meteor smacked into the trees behind my house. It felt like the whole earth was shaking,” stated Dugget, 54.

Park officials have neither confirmed nor denied the craters are caused by meteor activity, though several eyewitnesses claim to have seen a bright streak in the sky just prior to the discovery of the craters.

Harvey Natchetson, chief parks operator, has closed the park to visitors until they can repair the damage. That effort, however, is being delayed by an investigatory team of the federal agents who arrived yesterday evening. The team of specialists was unavailable for comment, but could be seen inspecting the crater and the surrounding damage. Natchetson is unable to determine when the park will be reopened, but stated it could take weeks.

John letthe paper slip into his lap. Three craters. Federal investigations. A cold sweat sprouted along his back. How were there three craters? There’d been his and the one he’d seen when the beast arrived, but now another one? Was it another beast like the one he’d seen in the woods? Oh gods. The dead man in the Quick-E Mart was only the start of what that thing could do. And if there were two? He shuddered.

Or, could it be someone like him? Someone who was normal except for a few powers? John shook his head. Who was he kidding? He was no more normal than the beast, but at least he wasn’t tearing people’s throats out. That was something.

John scanned the paper again for more news about the deaths. There had been the man in the gas station store, Joseph Bordeau, 67. The paper also listed a Mackenzie Fisher, a homeless man who died in similar fashion only twelve hours from the first. And now a school parking lot attendant, Eugene Harson, had been found in his home with his neck torn from jaw to collarbone. They could find no sign of any other disturbance or stolen goods in the home.

John shook his head and dropped the paper. He stared through the tree trunks where, across the road, he could see the faint outline of the ice cream shop. This morning he'd bolted out of Camila's window the moment he'd heard her mother put the key in the front door. He'd spent the morning in the woods, as near as he could be to her. John sighed and slid down to the ground. Eight hours until she got off work. An eternity.

The forest sounds were soothing. Above, birds twittered and insects droned. The breeze stirred the trees. After a while, his head dipped forward. Sleep would help pass the time.

He became aware of a scent that tugged on his brain. Something foreign and animal.

When his nose fully caught the scent, his head snapped up, adrenaline pumping through him. The last time he'd smelled it was in the convenience store. The thing from the crater. John scrambled to his feet. It was close. He stared across the road to the ice cream shop. Images of Camila torn apart just like the clerk sent his heart thumping. He wouldn't let it get anywhere near her.

A raw ferocity built in his gut, pushing down fear. Just the thought of the beast sniffing around Camila drove a rage into his brain that compelled him onto his feet. He’d work the edges of the woods and circle back. He took off running so fast the dry leaves swirled up in his wake.

The wind lashed at his face, forcing tears from his squinted eyes, but John was built for speed. Trees whipped by in green blurs. Birds arrowed out of the branches around him, squawking as they tore away. He hurdled over a fallen tree trunk and landed with barely a sound. His lungs felt like hot air balloons, able to hold endless oxygen. Every sense was heightened, fresh, raw. He smelled a campfire ten miles off, heard the rush of cars on a freeway twenty miles east. He knifed through the greenery, the light and shadow dappling his skin.

John skidded to a stop, his feet digging deep grooves into the pine carpet. He sniffed, catching the scent, something animal and musky. His eyes tracked the shadowed landscape. He turned his head and…there.

It was here. Close.

He peered into the semi-darkness. Here the pines and maples were ancient columns thrust halfway to the moon. Little light made its way down. His heartbeat picked up.

In the distance he spotted something foreign nestled between tree trunks—a large white structure half as big as Camila's trailer, dotted with rust and vines. As he stepped closer, careful to stay downwind, he could make out a seventies-style R.V. trailer. Rectangular windows, their glass long since shattered and littering the forest floor, looked into a dark interior. The tires were strips of flattened leather circling bent hubcaps. A ladder missing several rungs ran up the back and over the top. One step closer and he could see a large olive green V.W. emblem peeking through the vines. The R.V. was likely a hunter's hangout, long forgotten. The whole thing looked like it hadn't been touched in years.

But it has,John thought. This is where that thing's been staying. His breath caught in his throat at the thought. It could be in there right now, all teeth and claws. He'd be torn to pieces.

The monster was obviously hunting, but for what reason. Did it hate humans, wish them ill? Or was it just hungry? Either way, John’s gut clenched.

Camila. This thing had been within minutes of her workplace. What was to stop it from going back for her? He stalked closer, not even breathing. He was probably the only person strong enough to stop it. He had to try, or how would he sleep at night?

John stepped to the open doorway and peered in. A rancid smell greeted him: animal odors, decay and rust. His eyes zeroed in. Near the front, warped cabinet doors dangled on their battered hinges. The floor was littered with trash, dirt and— What were those white things? Bones? Small animal bones were scattered throughout the entryway and snaked back into the darkness. A skull with a matted hunk of fur on it looked up from the floor. A dead raccoon or dog? John swallowed hard. He had to stop this thing before it killed again. In his mind he saw the clerk with his throat ripped open. But, what if that happened to—

Movement inside the trailer. John tensed, scanning the blackness. Was that a shape in the back? Was it in there? Fear bounded in his chest. Willing himself forward, he took one step.

“Hello?”

It tore out of the darkness.

The thing slammed into him like a freight train. John fell backward, out of the trailer, all his breath knocked away. Leaves and dirt flew up around him. His head smacked the ground hard enough to send a burst of stars shooting across his vision.

A brown blur sailed over him. He caught a glimpse of one foot, each toe armed with three inch claws.

He tried to stand, scrambling up, sucking in air. His head spun, but he didn't have time to recover. He had to fight now.

Only… The beast was gone.

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