counter to him. "I was thinking of doing some hiking. Know any good trails?"
"Um, yeah. Sure." The teenager rubbed his eyes. "There's the one trail goes up to the fire lookout."
"That's where I was last night," Wren said.
"Oh. Oh yeah, right. So, you want a long hike, or what?"
"I'd like to explore a bit deeper into the forest."
"Kay. There's a loop that goes—here, here's a map."
He shoved a sheet of paper her way. She saw the trailhead behind the hotel which led up to the lookout and the ranger station. Next to it was another trailhead, and that was the one Shawn pointed to, yawning.
"Round the whole forest, basically. You go over a stream, and then up some, then it crosses back over. It's like, maybe ten miles round trip. Long loop."
"That sounds perfect." Wren folded the paper and tucked it into her jacket pocket.
"Wait," Shawn said. "You have water?"
"Water?"
"It's a long hike. Morning's foggy, but later it'll be hella hot. You'll want water. There." The teenager pointed behind Wren, to a pyramid of water bottles. She grabbed two of them and threw a five dollar bill on the counter.
"Thanks. Keep the change." Wren smiled inwardly. A pothead teenager, and he still thought ahead enough to worry about her. Nice kid.
Four miles into the hike, she wished she had brought more than two bottles of water. The fog had rolled out quickly, and the sun was hot, despite filtering down through the branches of the pines. It was humid enough here that the warmth made her sweat, and she wiped her face with her shirt.
The trail was steeper than she had thought it would be, and she spent a lot of time walking off on side paths, trying to find some evidence of a bear shifter. So far, nothing.
It was not until another mile or so that the trail started to turn down and the sun was completely blocked out by the thick pines. Her shirt was soaked through with sweat and now, down in the shadow of the mountain between two ridges, a chill ran through her. She walked faster now, gun still at the ready. Trudging across a trickling creek, she lost her balance slightly and pitched forward on the stones. Catching herself on the creek bank, she looked up, and what she saw in the bush took her breath from her lungs.
A tuft of light brown fur waved slightly in the wind, caught on a broken branch. The morning dew still beaded on the fur. She reached out, pinched it between two fingers, and examined it closely.
It was easy to tell bear fur apart from most other animals in the forest. The grain was rougher than deer fur, and usually came off in tufts.
So there was a bear around here. Wren already had her gun drawn, and she looked around now with the wary eyes of an animal of prey. There was another broken branch farther up the creek bed. Wren stepped forward slowly, her gun aimed down in front of her. She would not be caught off-guard.
Step by agonizing step, she made her way up the creek bed. The trickle of water under her feet grew as she moved upstream, and the stones grew larger, with occasional small boulders strewn through the creek bed. The extra water made the rocks slippery, and she stayed to the side of the bank so that she would not stumble again.
Better, too, for the hill rising up protected her on one side. The boulders were so large here that sometimes she had to circle them with her gun up and aimed, for she could not see over them to what was hiding on the other side. Every time she circled a boulder, her heart beat fast and she felt the adrenaline surge in her system. By the tenth time, she was growing tired from the constant tension in her muscles, but still she made her way upstream. She could not be careful enough. Tommy had not been careful enough. She would not make the same mistake.
She followed the broken branches along the side of the creek for a quarter of a mile. The creek under her feet had grown to a steady stream—the ground lower down must be porous, she thought—and soon she was simply scrambling over the
"Um, yeah. Sure." The teenager rubbed his eyes. "There's the one trail goes up to the fire lookout."
"That's where I was last night," Wren said.
"Oh. Oh yeah, right. So, you want a long hike, or what?"
"I'd like to explore a bit deeper into the forest."
"Kay. There's a loop that goes—here, here's a map."
He shoved a sheet of paper her way. She saw the trailhead behind the hotel which led up to the lookout and the ranger station. Next to it was another trailhead, and that was the one Shawn pointed to, yawning.
"Round the whole forest, basically. You go over a stream, and then up some, then it crosses back over. It's like, maybe ten miles round trip. Long loop."
"That sounds perfect." Wren folded the paper and tucked it into her jacket pocket.
"Wait," Shawn said. "You have water?"
"Water?"
"It's a long hike. Morning's foggy, but later it'll be hella hot. You'll want water. There." The teenager pointed behind Wren, to a pyramid of water bottles. She grabbed two of them and threw a five dollar bill on the counter.
"Thanks. Keep the change." Wren smiled inwardly. A pothead teenager, and he still thought ahead enough to worry about her. Nice kid.
Four miles into the hike, she wished she had brought more than two bottles of water. The fog had rolled out quickly, and the sun was hot, despite filtering down through the branches of the pines. It was humid enough here that the warmth made her sweat, and she wiped her face with her shirt.
The trail was steeper than she had thought it would be, and she spent a lot of time walking off on side paths, trying to find some evidence of a bear shifter. So far, nothing.
It was not until another mile or so that the trail started to turn down and the sun was completely blocked out by the thick pines. Her shirt was soaked through with sweat and now, down in the shadow of the mountain between two ridges, a chill ran through her. She walked faster now, gun still at the ready. Trudging across a trickling creek, she lost her balance slightly and pitched forward on the stones. Catching herself on the creek bank, she looked up, and what she saw in the bush took her breath from her lungs.
A tuft of light brown fur waved slightly in the wind, caught on a broken branch. The morning dew still beaded on the fur. She reached out, pinched it between two fingers, and examined it closely.
It was easy to tell bear fur apart from most other animals in the forest. The grain was rougher than deer fur, and usually came off in tufts.
So there was a bear around here. Wren already had her gun drawn, and she looked around now with the wary eyes of an animal of prey. There was another broken branch farther up the creek bed. Wren stepped forward slowly, her gun aimed down in front of her. She would not be caught off-guard.
Step by agonizing step, she made her way up the creek bed. The trickle of water under her feet grew as she moved upstream, and the stones grew larger, with occasional small boulders strewn through the creek bed. The extra water made the rocks slippery, and she stayed to the side of the bank so that she would not stumble again.
Better, too, for the hill rising up protected her on one side. The boulders were so large here that sometimes she had to circle them with her gun up and aimed, for she could not see over them to what was hiding on the other side. Every time she circled a boulder, her heart beat fast and she felt the adrenaline surge in her system. By the tenth time, she was growing tired from the constant tension in her muscles, but still she made her way upstream. She could not be careful enough. Tommy had not been careful enough. She would not make the same mistake.
She followed the broken branches along the side of the creek for a quarter of a mile. The creek under her feet had grown to a steady stream—the ground lower down must be porous, she thought—and soon she was simply scrambling over the
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