“With a plow, just like I said!” C.P. shouted. “Get the key, come on.”
Mattie tugged the string holding the keys off her neck and handed it to him. He ran toward the truck, but Mattie stayed where she was. She turned to face the shadow in the woods.
“We’re leaving now,” she said, and her voice was so small, so faint. She tried again. “We’re leaving, and we’re not coming back. So the mountain can be yours now. There’s no need to follow us.”
The shadow shifted, and Mattie thought she saw the gleam of eyes.
Not two eyes. Four.
And then the shadow drew a little closer to the road, and though she still couldn’t make out exactly what the creature looked like, she was certain of one thing.
There wasn’t one creature, but two. A smaller one on the back of the larger.
A parent and child? she thought. Is that why it chased us even when we were no threat? It was trying to keep us from its child?
“What are you doing?” C.P. shouted. “We’re leaving right now!”
Mattie turned away from the shape in the trees, ran to the truck, climbed inside. She felt the creature （creatures） watching as she went.
C.P. had already put the key into the ignition, but now he looked at the stump where his right hand used to be.
“I can steer with one hand, I think,” he said. “But I need to hold the wheel while you put it in drive. Can you do that?”
Mattie stared at him blankly.
“The stick in the middle,” he said. “I need you to press on the button on the side and pull it back until it’s next to the ‘D.’”
He grasped the wheel with his left hand. “Okay, I’m ready.”
Mattie followed his instructions, and a moment later the truck was rolling forward.
C.P. started laughing. “I can’t believe it. I can’t believe it. We’re actually getting away.”
Mattie didn’t laugh with him. She stared into the trees, looking for the gleam of eyes, but the silhouette was gone.
* * *
? ? ?
C.P. pulled the truck to a stop in front of a low, brick building. There was a sign on the front that indicated it was a state troopers’ barracks.
“I think we should take you to a doctor first,” Mattie said.
“This was closer,” he said. “And they know how to call an ambulance, believe me.”
Now that they were off the mountain the energy seemed to have drained out of him. He closed his eyes. “I’m just going to rest here for a minute, okay? I’m really tired.”
A second later he was asleep, breathing deeply. Mattie looked at him. She looked at the glass door. She was going to have to go in by herself.
She climbed out of the truck. It seemed like it was a long way down to the ground, and she walked slowly toward the door, her heart pounding.
It’s okay. They’re going to help you. They’re going to help. They can’t give you back to William anymore.
She pushed open the door. There was a man at a desk. He had very short dark hair and he wore a uniform. She saw him take in the blood splashed on her trousers, her black eye, the bruised marks at her throat.
“Miss? Are you all right?” he said, hurrying around the desk.
“Yes,” she said. “But my friend needs a doctor.”
My friend, she thought. I have a friend. And somewhere, I have a sister. I’m not alone.
“Please,” she said. “Please help him.”
“We’ll help him, don’t worry,” he said. He lifted a radio to his mouth and said several things that Mattie didn’t really pay attention to. “What’s your name?”
She took a deep breath, felt the years fall away.
“Samantha. My name is Samantha.”