Read Online Into the Forest Shadows by J.A. Marlow - Free Book Online

the lit window. She knocked and
her hand dropped to the door latch.
    Through the closed door a rough voice
demanded, "Who is it?"
    Kate's hand froze on the latch. "Uh, Grandma?
It's me, Kate. The shuttle crashed. Has Mom called you?"
    The door flew open. Grandma blinked at her,
looking out in the woods past her. Her eyes came back to Kate.
"Kate, my grand-daughter. Yes, yes, please come in."
    Grandma stepped back into the dimly lit
cottage. Kate paused, going over the scruffy appearance. Grandma's
normally well-groomed hair stuck out in multiple directions. An
apron around her waist was tied crookedly. No shoes, or even
slippers, on her feet.
    Kate let the door quietly swing close and
latch behind her. "Are you doing okay, Grandma?"
    Grandma cleared her voice while picking a
pile of computer storage disks off the sofa. "Of course. How are
you?"
    "A little shaken up. I've never been in a
crash before. Do you think we could call Mom? She's going to be
really worried. I should have been home hours ago."
    "I don't think it's working right now. Fog
came through not long ago," Grandma said.
    Kate frowned. The last time they'd been able
to see the fog it didn't look like it had come down the hills as
far as the cottage.
    Grandma gestured to the coat hooks next to
the door. "Please take off your cape. It is warm in here."
    A chance to take off the annoying cape? Her
hand hesitated on the ties. For a reason she couldn't define it
felt wrong. She pulled it tighter around her neck. "No, thank you,
I'm still a little chilled."
    Grandma gave her a bright smile that tipped
to one side, "I'm so glad you are safely here. Could you help me
with a little something?"
    Kate set the basket on the kitchen table. How
wonderful it felt not to be carrying the weight of it. "Sure."
    "Back here. I have a problem with the, uh,
well, it isn't working right."
    Kate followed Grandma down the hallway. Come
to think of it, Grandma wasn't even walking right. Grandma had a
very precise way of moving, almost gliding across a room, a grace
Kate had tried to imitate in the past to no avail. Tonight she was
almost loping.
    Grandma turned and motioned Kate into a room.
Grandma's main laboratory and it looked like it had been
ransacked.
    Grandma put a hand on her back and pushed her
inside. She pointed to the computer on the desk, "There, that one.
I can't get it started."
    "Did you have a problem in your office?"
    "Trying to find something. Nothing is
organized. I need to fix that." Grandma cleared her voice and
pointed towards the computer on the desk. "Please take a look. I
just need to get inside."
    Grandma retreated to the door. Kate surveyed
the mess in the room. This definitely didn't feel right. Grandma
was always organized.
    Kate sat down at the chair. The keyboard sat
askew from a monitor displaying a simple desktop with a few icons.
She opened the main files.
    Only the minimum files and applications of a
clean install appeared. The large storage system showed the same.
Blank places where Kate could recall massive data files. A quick
scan of the drives showed nothing left.
    "How are you doing dear?" Grandma asked with
her rough voice.
    Kate took a deep breath and turned towards
the door. Grandma hovered there, almost guarding it. "I'm trying to
get into the files. This may take a bit. You have a better computer
than we do at home. Could I have a drink of water, please?"
    "In a moment. See what you can find first,"
Grandma said calmly. But the eyes were hard. Grandma's eyes never
looked like that.
    So, she was going to be watched.
    Kate shifted in her seat, bringing her phone
out of a pocket.
    No signal again. That didn't make sense.
Grandma's house had a communication relay that she used to keep in
close contact with the city. Several Gatherer camps forwarded their
communications through it. She slipped it back into her pocket.
    She opened the operating system files,
searching out the main programs she knew Grandma used. One of the
data logs she forced open