Page 148 of Ensnared

Iwatch the bird hop on the branch, absently wondering again why it bothers me.ThenIblink, lean forward.Thatbird isn’t on yesterday’s reel.It’sshowing on the camera for today, for now.Theexact same bird, with the exact same feathers...

Adifferent kind of dread soaks my bones.

“It’slooped.”

“What—”

“Notnow,Lucien.Lookat this.”

Irewind the feed from yesterday to the timeIhad before and set the feed from today back a few seconds.Theimages are mirrored on the adjacent screens.WhenIthinkIhave the times about right,Ihit play.Theexact same bird swoops in at the same angle, headed for the same tree, and perches in the same place.Sametime.Sameimage.Mystomach falls, butIalso feel a breathless rush of relief.

Thisis it.Thisis whatI’vebeen missing.

“It’slooped,”Luciensays, repeating me. “Jasper, this means—”

“Thatwe have no visuals.Thesecameras are useless.”

Hepulls at his topknot of blond hair, the oneImussed beyond repair whenIfucked his face, and his eyes shift as he thinks. “Howcould they do that?”

Ishake my head, some of my soul-clenching nausea receding asIfocus on the problem.Notmuch, but some. “Ifthey have twenty-four hours of footage, and someone with a bit of know-how, and they knew where the cameras were, it wouldn’t be too hard to set it up on an automatic loop like this.We’vebeen hacked.”

“Jasper, if we can’t see them, they could be anywhere.Theywouldn’t even have to avoid the direct trails,”Luciensays, growing serious and tense as the implications hit. “Therecould have been dozens of them waiting forBeauandDom.Jayk’sright.Edencould be in danger.Theguys could be.Wehave to—”

“Exceptthat the hunters don’t want them—at least not as a priority,”Iinterrupt, everything sliding into place in one neat, terrifying picture. “Itwas a lure, to break up our forces, leave us vulnerable.Edenmight be a draw, but they couldn’t have known she would go after them.Whatthey really want is—”

“Bristlebrook,”Lucienbreathes, paling. “They’recoming here, while the others are gone.”

Ifthey know about the cameras, they know about this base.Electricity, water, animals, gardens, weapons—Bristlebrookis a motherlode.

Iglance at the screen of the camera closest to us, right outside the house.Oneof the fewI’msure couldn’t have been affected.

It’sjust now dark, and the shadows are lengthening across the clearing.Dreadfills me.

“Andthe best time to attack would be”—on screen, a lick of fire creeps up the side ofJaykob’sbarn—“right now.”

Chapter33

Eden

Survivaltip #5

Thepeople you love dearest will most likely die,

and it will hit you like a bullet to the chest.

Bracefor impact.

Theacrid smell of burning wood is the first thing that tells me we’re too late.Theraging amber light filtering through the leaves and the blistering sound of gunshots confirm it.Shoutsand cries of pain ricochet off the trees, making it impossible to pinpoint where they’re coming from.

Wekept to a steady jog for hours, not slowing or stopping once despite the savage aches and pains from our earlier run-in.ButwhileBeauhovered around me the entire way,Dompushed us tomove, radiating a tight, edgy determination that told me with frightening clarity how worried he was.That, more than anything, kept me on my feet.

Butour furious flight wasn’t enough.Werealized too late.

They’realready here.

Domducked away a few minutes ago to get a better look, andItake the opportunity to suck in a few labored breaths whileBeaustands watch.Thereare lines of tension around his eyes and bracketing his mouth.

Dompops out of the trees like a phantom, andIonly barely strangle my scream.

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