I

Kate shivered in the cold morning air. She sat close to the fire in the middle of the camp, but without a coat the gentle breeze felt like icy knives against her arms and neck. Kane sat across the fire from her. His face was thin and pale and his eyes bloodshot. She could still see the scars and stitch lines along his cheeks, neck and hands resulting from the wolf attach. He looked so fragile sometimes that Kate thought a strong wind might knock him over. But he kept up with them, coughing almost non-stop.

The fire had effected all of them. Kate could barely say a word for the first few days, and even now her voice was still rough whenever she spoke. Moore and Roman were the same, but Kane was still recovering from the illness brought on from his wounds. Sitting across the small fire, he breathed heavily through his mouth and swayed slightly back and forth.

He looked up at her after a moment and said, in a gruff voice, “What?” Kate just looked away and put her hands closer to her chest, trying to keep warm. “Yeah,” he said under his breath, “That’s what I thought. Stupid girl, getting us lost out here with your stupid maps…” His voice trailed off and he blew into his white fingers and held them out the fire.

Moore, who had been packing up what little supplies the group had, sidled over to the fire, towering over them. “Get out of the way,” he said, looking down at Kane. Without giving him a chance to do anything, Moore kicked him aside with a muddy boot. Kane yelped, sprawling in the dirt. Moore chuckled and sat down in Kane’s place as Kane righted himself, dusting off his elbows and looking murderous. But he did not say anything. He just found himself another spot by the fire. Moore was watching her now. He grinned and bit into a piece of dried meat. He chewed slowly and licked his lips.

Roman joined them a moment later. He crouched beside the fire and stuck Grey’s knife point down in the soil so he could warm his hands. “Are we almost there?” he said.

Kate just cracked her knuckles, and looked at the fire. The truth was that they were getting close. The morning before, the four of them had made the climb down the rocky ridge Kate had discovered was a pass through the mountains. It was cut into the valley by flowing water in spring. They were well on their way out of the mountains and heading downhill fast now. Sometime soon they would find the river again. They could reach Stonebrook within the next day.

“Kate,” said Roman.

Moore said, “Answer him, girl!” Kate glared at him, but it only seemed to excite him. “You’re lucky Roman thinks you’re pretty, little girl. If it were up to me, I’d have fed you to the monster in these woods already…”

“Moore,” said Roman.

Moore ignored him, still staring at Kate and licking his lips, “How about it, girl. You think you are tough enough to survive the night on your own with the beast circling the camp every night? Is that what you want?”

“Moore,” said Roman again.

“I say we can find this stupid place on our own now. We don’t need her, Roman. Let’s just tie her up and leave her.”

“Moore, go check the traps so we can leave,” Roman said, poking the fire with a small stick.

“The beast is hungry!” said Moore. “Let’s feed him, and maybe he’ll leave us alone for a while.”

“Moore!” Roman shouted, standing up abruptly, pulling the knife from the soil. “Don’t make me tell you again.”

“What will you do, then?!” shouted Moore, standing up as well. He towered over Roman, but Roman did not back down. “Come on then, Grey! Or do you need your daddy’s permission before making up your mind!”

“You’re forgetting who you are talking to, Moore.” said Roman in a calm voice.

Moore pointed a fat finger at Kate and said, “She’s just slowing us down, and you’re just letting her do it! We should be there by now! I say you have you’re way with her and be done with it! We can find this place on our own!”

Roman made a sudden move forward, the knife slicing through the air and stopping against Moore’s neck. Moore, jumped in surprise, backing away, but Roman followed him holding the blade against his neck. “You watch your mouth, overseer. Don’t forget what you are, and don’t question me again.” Roman’s voice shook with a quiet rage as he glared up at Moore. “Go check the traps, and we will get out of here.”

Roman jerked the knife away from Moore’s neck and Kate saw a bead of blood leaking down his neck. Roman turned his back on him and walked back to the fire. He stuck the knife back into the ground as he crouched down and held his hands over the flames once again. Kate saw Moore’s face turning a deap shade of red as he looked from Roman’s back to her and then back again. And then after a moment he made a move.

“If you’re not going to do anything with her than I will!” he shouted. Kate felt her heart jump as Moore advanced towards her, his eye’s glinting fiercely. She only had time to scoot back and try to get up before Moore was right above her. But an arm wrapped around his throat and pulled him back. Moore was reaching for her, red faced and bearing his yellow teeth, but Roman yanked him back and threw him to the floor. Dust billowed as Moore struggled to get to his feet, hold his throat with one hand.

Kate was on her feet now, watching Moore and Roman square up with each other. Grey’s knife was still sticking out of the soil beside the fire. Moore saw it too and he made a move for it. With a flick of his wrist, Roman unfurled the whip on his belt and swung it through the air at Moore. The whip wrapped around his throat before Moore had a chance to fully stand up and Roman yanked hard with both hands. Moore crashed into the dirt again, sputtering and clawing at the whip around his neck.

Roman moved forward, put a heavy boot on Moore’s back and pulled up hard on the whip so Moore’s beat red face was pulled out of the dirt to look up at Kate. She watched Moore’s eyes streaming and his face become and deeper and deeper shade of red and start turning purple. Roman leaned down so his face was close to Moore and said, “You forget your place, overseer.” Roman’s eyes were on Kate now as he went on, “Don’t make the same mistake of speaking of my father again.”

Moore’s eyes were starting to roll into the back of his head now. Kate just watched in horror, her heart pounding madly in her chest. And then Roman released his grip and Moore dropped onto the forest floor again. He took a massive gasp, and coughed uncontrollably as Roman straightened up and flicked his wrists a few times to unravel the whip around his neck. “Check the traps,” said Roman, wrapping up the whip and heading back to the fire, “and then we will head out.” He again crouched by the fire beside Grey’s knife and looked down into the flames.

Moore got to his knees, rubbing his enflamed neck with a huge hand and glaring at Roman’s back.

“GO!” shouted Roman. He had not even looked back. Moore got up slowly, gave Kate a menacing glance and walked out of the clearing. Kate listened to his thunderous footfalls crashing through the underbrush.

Kane, who had remained completely still during the entire exchange chuckled as soon as Moore was out of earshot. Roman looked up at him and said, “You go too.”

“Huh?” said Kane, his cracked voice sounding small in the massive wood. “I don’t take orders from you, you stupid…”

“NOW!”

Kane visibly joilted as Roman’s voice ripped through the air, his eyes bulging. He let out a puff of air through his nose and stood shakily. “Fine, fine, I’ll go,” said Kane. “But only because I’m hungry.” He stomped off in the opposite direction as Moore to check the traps they had set the night before.

Kate stood beside the fire watching Kane disappear into the wood, while Roman remained in his spot beside the fire. “Please,” he said gesturing for her to sit beside the fire. “It’s cold. Try to get warm.”

Kate hesitated a moment, but eventually sank back down beside the fire. Roman was only a few feet away from her. She watched him as he stared at the fire with a hard expression. He said, “Don’t worry. I won’t let him harm you.”

“I’m not afraid of Moore,” she said, although her stomach did a turn as she spoke.

“Good,” he said.

“He’s an overseer?” she said. Roman nodded slightly. He was still watching the fire and she could see him licking the inside of his lips like he was trying to get a bad taste out of him mouth. “So, what? He’s another one of your slaves like Grey? I thought the two of you were friends.”

Roman scoffed. “Moore, my friend? No. He is a grey just like Ben. An overseer in my father’s forges. We picked the nasty greys to be overseers. The ones that are good at keeping the other greys in line. Scare them. Control them. Moore is a special kind of animal. But not a friend.”

“Why do you call him Ben?” said Kate, taking hold of his reference to Grey.

“That’s his name,”

“He said it wasn’t when I asked him. He said his name is just Grey.”

Roman chuckled. “I suppose it is. It’s all their names. The greys. He is probably just used to it by now. It doesn’t matter to me. The Ben I knew is dead. The grey is all that’s left.”

“I don’t believe that,” said Kate. “He still calls you his friend.”

“Does he?” said Roman, sounding sarcastic.

“Yes,” she said. “And he told us that he killed your father. But I don’t think he was given a choice. If you had just tried to help him…”

“Help him?” said Roman, glaring at her. “I gave him everything! I gave him a better life, I gave him food and a bed to sleep in and a home. I got him out of the mines and I got him out of the forges! My father made gave him everything he ever wanted because I asked him to!”

“What do you think he wanted?” said Kate, her voice rising with Roman’s. “Money? Control over the other slaves? You made him an overseer like Moore and he hated every second of it.”

“Don’t let him get to you,” said Roman with a nasty grin. “He was just like Moore in that forge. He had the whip. He had the knife. And he got to take his frustration out of all the greys. The one’s that hated him for getting pampered up in the big house. You thought I didn’t know about all that?” Roman must have thought she looked surprised. “Yeah, we were friends and we talked about what it was like. The greys hated him, the overseers hated him, but I never hated him. And when I put the whip in his hand he was finally free to do what he wanted.”

“No he wasn’t!” said Kate. “He wasn’t free! You said that he was free, but where did you send him? Right back to where he started in the stupid metal forge.”

“It was different than that,”

“No it wasn’t! Roman, you don’t understand him at all. You don’t!” she said. “He never wanted to be like Moore or like any of the greys. He just wanted to be free. Really free. Not free to work for your father. Did you ever look at it like that? If he was so free than why did everyone try to stop him when he wanted to leave?”

Roman stood up, shaking his head. “You don’t understand,”

“No you don’t understand, Roman!” she said, standing up as well. “What would have happened if he came up to you and said he wanted to leave? What would you have said? What would your father have said?”

Roman backed away from her and turned to his pack a few yards away from the fire. “He should never have wanted to ask. He had everything he could have wanted,” he said, bending down and shoving things into his pack.

“There! That’s your problem. You don’t get it! No matter what you say, you don’t understand him because you were never a slave like him! You may have thought the two of you were friends, but the truth is you owned him. He had to be your friend. He had to listen to you like Moore and like all the other greys. And he never told you because he knew what you would say!”

“Enough!” shouted Roman, standing up and holding up a hand in warning.

“No!” shouted Kate, “No! Tell me what would have happened if he ran. What would your father do to a runaway slave? Huh? What do you do with them?” Roman scoffed and turned back to his pack. “Answer me!” she shouted.

“We make an example of them!” shouted Roman, looking down. He turned slowly to face her again, but could not meet her eye. “When a grey runs, we give them to the overseer and the rest of the greys get to see what happens.”

“Don’t you see?” said Kate. “Listen to yourself! Think about it from his perspective!”

“He could have talked to me! He could have said something! I always took care of him. Always! I would have helped him! But no. He just ran. And when my father got in the way, Ben killed him. He is no different than a monster like Moore! He is selfish and…”

“Your father would have killed him if he didn’t do anything. You know he would.”

“So?” shouted Roman, but his voice was getting less and less confident. “He shouldn’t have run! Stop trying to defend him,” he said, poking her in the chest and forcing her back. He kept coming as she backed away, saying, “You weren’t there. You know Moore and Ben worked together. And Moore was there with my father when they found him. Moore said he couldn’t be reasoned with. He said that he was out of control. That scar along Ben’s arm — that came from Moore trying to save my father. But Ben killed him. He took this knife and plunged it right through his chest!” Roman held up Grey’s knife as he spoke and Kate jerked away as it came close to her face.

“Roman,” she began, but she backed right into a tree and jumped in surprise. Roman stopped just inches away from her, still holding up the knife.

“My father meant everything to me. And Ben took that away,”

“If you just talked to him and…”

“No!” he shouted. And then in a much quieter voice said again, “No. I held my father in my arms as he died. I didn’t even have a chance to hear his last words. Ben took everything from me. And I want him to feel that same pain.” He turned suddenly and walked over to his pack.

Kate was breathing hard, watching Roman’s back as he crouched down and started shoving things back into his pack. “What are you going to do?” she said.

“I know where he is going,” said Roman, closing his bag and standing up. He turned to her, slinging the strap over his shoulder and walked past the dwindling fire to stand in front of her again. “When we were boys he used to tell me this story about his mother. She was a field worker or something like that. He said they would pick these white flowers from rows and rows of bushes, and that when the day was over they would sit in the shade and she would read to him. He thinks if he can get to her he will be happy. But I’m going to find her. And I am going to make sure he never gets to see her again.”

Kate just shook her head as he spoke feeling a heavy weight in her chest, “No. Roman, no. Don’t do it. If you just talked to him…,” but she did not know what to say. Roman waited, his bright blue eyes boring into her. She became aware of someone crashing through the underbrush nearby and then Moore appeared in the clearing again.

She and Roman turned around to look at him. His neck was still red, but his voice was strong when he said, “It’s still following us,”

“What?” said Roman. He, just like Kate, must have been wondering how in the world it had followed them down the steep ravine cut into the cliffs that they had climbed down the morning before. “How close did it get?”

“The tracks are just outside where the firelight could reach last night,” said Moore. “We need to get out of these mountains. I don’t think it will be long before the monster in these woods has enough courage to come into the light.”

They heard a heavy rustling sound as Kane came running into the clearing. He stopped, putting his hands on his knees and panting heavily. “Traps are broken to bits,” he said. “The beast came and took whatever it was that we caught.”

II

As the four of them left the camp, Kate looked down to see the massive claw marks imprinted in the dirt just outside of their camp and shuddered. She thought about the nights in the wood she had spent with Grey and remembered the two of them examining the tracks in the mud.

They continued downhill. Kate’s ears continued to pop as they had the last few days of descending to the base of the valley. They would reach the bottom soon, and their path would cross with that of the river. They had all thought that the beast in the wood would be left behind after such a climb. But it they were wrong.

Moore continued to stare at her, even after what had happened in the camp. She did her best to stay far away from him, but there was only so much she could do. For the last few days she had thought a lot about running, but she Roman could be faster than her, and both he and Moore were excellent trackers. And she had no weapons. No supplies. And there was still a beast lurking in the shadow during the night. But her mind was always on escape.

Kate followed after Moore down a steep narrow slope through the brush. It was a tight space between trees and bushes cut into the earth by running water in the rainy season. Her boots slipped on the pebbles and she started to fall, but Moore’s hands clapped over her hips steadying her. She quickly pushed his hands off and looked down at him.

He stood a few feet below her, balanced on a protruding tree root. He smiled at her, his eyes thin and offered his hand to help her down. Kate ignored it and jumped down on her own and walked past him. He let his fingers glide through her hair as she walked by. Kate jerked away from his touch but did not look back. She was sick of seeing his grotesque smiling face. He was always smiling at her, licking his lips, blowing her kisses; he had even cut away a piece of her hair as she slept one of the nights they spend in the wood. He kept it in his shirt pocket and only pulled it out when they stopped to make camp. He would twirl it in his fingers, smell it, and watch her across the fire.

He made her feel sick. She stuck closer to Roman as much as she could. Roman scared her in some ways but at least he protected her from Moore. When she thought about escape, her biggest fear was not being alone in the wood with the beast; it was being tracked down by Roman, Moore and Kane and being found by Moore first.

They continued down the narrow pebble strewn trenched that cut through the thick wood into the later parts of the afternoon. Kate remembered coming through this area before and knew that it would connect with the river towards the bottom of the valley.

Sure enough, the sound of running water reached her ears by midday. Once they reached the river, Stonebrook was barely a day’s walk downstream. She thought about what would happen when they got there. She wondered what they would do with her. She would not stand by and let Roman find Grey’s mother and…

Kate froze and sniffed the air.

“Fire!” said Roman behind her. They must have all smelled the smoke at the same moment. Moore hurried past her, crashing through the underbrush, followed quickly by Kane. Roman came up behind her and edged her forward quickly. Branches and leaves were slapping her face and she nearly lost her footing several times on the pebbles and gnarled roots. The brush cleared after a few hundred yards down the slope and then the landscape cleared out.

First, Kate saw the river from between the leaves and pine needles of the wood, then she saw a huge fire erected on the pebbled beach twenty yards away from the river’s edge. The flames danced and spit sparks into the late afternoon air. Moore and Kane were standing by the trunk of a large pine, looking to the bottom of the slope to the burning fire on the pebbled beach. Moore’s booming laughter echoes around the wood while Kane just rubbed his hands together nervously.

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Roman and Kate slowly came up beside them and got a clear view of the bone fire and the pebbled beach. “As I live and breathe,” said Roman, “the grey has beaten us here.”

Kate stared open mouthed down at Grey, who was looking up at them leaning on a tall walking stick, his silhouette glowing from the burning fire behind him.

III

The four of them made their way down to the beach, Roman leading the way. As they approached Grey and the roaring fire, Roman turned his head and said, “Hold her back.”

Moore grinned down at Kate. She felt a surge of disgust rise in her stomach and quickly moved away, but Moore grabbed her upper arm with a huge hand and pulled her over.

“Get off me!” she shouted, stamping on his foot, but Moore held fast. He spun her around and held her close so that her back was against him and his hands clamped over her upper arms. “Let go of me!” she shouted, struggling to get out of his grip, her hair whipping around.

“Ben!” shouted Roman ahead of her. Kate spit hair out of her mouth and looked up. She could see Grey leaning against the walking stick by the fire. He still had not moved.

“Or is it Grey?” said Roman. “Once a grey always a grey, am I right?”

“Let her go,” said Grey. Kate felt a jolt in her heart when she heard how weak and raspy voice sounded. It barely carried over the sound of the river.

“Did you find her then? Was she waiting for you?” said Roman, still advancing on him.

“Let her go, Moore!” Grey’s voice sounded horse, but stronger than before. Kate felt Moore her lean down and stick his nose close to her ear. He smelled her hair and chuckled under his breath. Kate shuddered and pulled away, but he held her close. She felt his hot breath on her neck as she struggled.

“Why did you do it, Ben” said Roman, pulling Grey’s knife out from his belt. “Didn’t I say I would always take care of you?”

“I don’t want to fight you Roman,” said Grey, reaching up and pulling out a long black metal knife from over his shoulder.

“Tell me!” shouted Roman. “He gave you everything you could want! Was it not enough for you?”

“I never wanted to hurt anyone. I didn’t have a choice!” said Grey.

Moore’s hands were squeezing Kate’s arms painfully and he shook her as he shouted, “Enough! Roman, just kill him! Stop stalling!”

“You don’t know how it feels!” shouted Roman pointing his knife at Grey. “My father meant everything to me!”

“I know,” said Grey. “He didn’t give me a choice.”

“You had a choice!” shouted Roman. “I could have helped you! Why didn’t you say anything?! I got you out of the forge. You were free because of me!

“I never wanted to be an overseer, Roman. I just wanted to go home,” said Grey. And then he said again, “I don’t want to fight you, Roman.”

Roman was still pointing the knife at Grey’s chest. Kate could see the tip shaking. Moore let out at growl of impatience and shouted, “Kill him, Roman!”

A thunderous roar echoed through the air, rippling over the water, and resounding in their ears. Everyone turned back to the valley behind them. Moore’s grip on Kate’s shoulders even loosened for a moment.

The sound of snapping twigs and the rustling of leaves came from above them. They could see bushes shaking and buffeting as something large moved through them, down the slope towards the pebbled beach. Kate’s heart was pounding. She barely even notice that Moore was dragging her back towards the fire. Her boots skipped over the rocky beach beneath her.

A low growl was issuing from the brush above them. Birds flew from the trees as the massive animal in the brush pushed past the bushes and low hanging branches. She thought she saw glimpses of a massive, black something through the leaves but she couldn’t be sure. The low growl got louder as the beast drew nearer to them. Then, at the spot where she, Moore, Kane and Roman had stood not two minutes before looking down at the fire; the bush parted, and the beast emerged.

It was a massive animal with black and brown fur. Around its neck was a filthy tangled mane of hair with twigs and leaves tangled in it. Kate recognized it from the book Roman had shown her in the lecture room that last night of the storm. It had the same face covered in long whiskers and four long canine teeth. It looked down at them, breathing heavily from its open mouth, and she saw that one of its massive canines was broken in half. Its face was covered with old scrapes and cuts along its forehead and cheeks, and there were flecks of grey hair mixed with the blacks and browns of its fur coat.

It looked old and tired, but in a sudden fluid show of agility, the beast leaped down from its perch on the hillside and landed heavily on the pebbled beach. The earth shook with the impact of its weight causing the pebbles around Kate’s feet to bounce. It circled the outskirts of their group, sizing them up. And then without warning, it bounded forward. Kate screamed, the beast’s roar shaking the air around her. She felt Moore dragging her away from the animal as it lunged between their group, splitting them off from Roman, Grey and Kane. The animal snarled at the pair of them and advanced.

Crack!

The beast roared and turned its back on them to face Roman, who was brandishing the whip. He sliced the whip through the air again and the crack echoed light a lightning strike over the water. The beast roared. It was so loud, Kate could feel the sound shaking in her chest.

Kate saw Kane cover his ears at the sound looking terrified standing behind Roman and Grey. Then he bolted, screaming in terror. The beast ears perked up and its body tensed watching its prey break off from the group. And then it bounded forward after Kane.

Kate watched in horror as it closed in on him. The beast moved with steady, controlled motions. Kane was heading for a tree with low hanging branches, but the beast was too quick. It pounced, its claws sinking into Kane’s back and its jaws closing around his neck. Kane collapsed instantly under the animal’s weight and the beast landed hard on top of him, tossing dust and dirt into the air. As it shook its head, still holding Kane in its jaws, Kate closed her eyes, unable to watch. She could still hear the muffled growls and the pathetic snapping sound of Kane’s neck.

Moore was dragging her away now. She was aware of people shouting, and she struggled to fight out of Moore’s grip. But he was too strong. “Get off!” she shouted, elbowing Moore in the chest and fighting with everything she had. She opened her eyes and saw Roman and Moore in front of them. They were backing up towards them, Grey holding up his knife and Roman brandishing his whip. And then she heard another roar from the beast.

It was standing over Kane’s lifeless body and staring at all of them only twenty yards away. It hesitated, looking down and sniffing its kill before, stepping over the body and heading forward again. And then, with another burst of incredible agility, it sprang forward toward them.

Kate screamed, and caught a glimpse of Roman slicing his whip through the air and Grey bracing himself with the black knife held aloft before she was hoisted over Moore’s shoulder. She yelled in pain as Moore ran and she bounced against his shoulder. The world was spinning around her, as she was knocked back and forth, but she could see Moore was running her downstream. She pounded on his back with her fists and screamed, “Are you crazy!? Go back! Go back! We need to help them!”

She could hear mixed shouts, the roar of the beast and the crack of Roman’s whip echoing around the wood, but they were getting farther away. And then she was thought onto the ground. The wind was knocked clean out of her and she rolled onto her side, letting out a low grunting sigh, trying to suck in air that wouldn’t come. She could still hear the sounds of the fight happening up stream, but it was less vigorous now. Around her on all sides were ferns and bushes, and she lay under a green canopy and thick trees. Moore was standing a few feet away from her looking towards the river from where they had come.

“Are you crazy!” said Kate, sitting up, “we have to help them!” She stood up shakily, dusting off her knees and her hands. Moore rounded on her his face red and his eyes wide. She felt a sudden surge of panic and turned to run. She felt a horrible tug against her head as Moore grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her to the ground. Her hands instinctively jumped to her head and she landing in the dirt and she felt jabs of pain from the mix of rocks in the soil pressing against her back.

An instant later, Moore was on top of her and pinning her to the ground. She reached back and slammed her fist into his sweaty face but it did not seem to faze him. He pushed her arms down over her head, growling under his breath, as she struggled and kicked underneath him. “Get off of me! Get off! Get…”

Moore drew back a fist and punched her across the face. Her neck snapped to one side and her teeth were clamped shut over her tongue. She spat out blood, trying to get her arms free of Moore’s grasp.

She felt rage mixed with fear boiling in her stomach as she tried to fight him off. He moved his face closer to her’s and she spit a mouthful of blood into his face. He yelled in furry and jerked back, not letting go of her arms.

She heard a rustling sound around them and in her peripherals saw the fern bushes over Moore’s shoulder shaking violently. The bush parted and the massive face of the beast appeared silently.

Kate screamed as the jaws opened wide and its rancid breath washed over them. Moore looked over his shoulder and saw the massive jaws that could encase his entire head an inch away from him, and screamed. He tried to jump over Kate and get away from the gaping maw, but the beast lunged forward and caught him around the neck.

A giant paw land between Kate’s legs as the beast lurched forward. She could feel the combined weight of Moore and the animal on top of her. Moore screamed, his hands reaching up to the jaws clamped around his throat. A loud snap issued from out of Moore’s mouth as his neck broke and his scream was cut off. Blood from his open mouth splattered onto Kate’s face. She blinked furiously looking up into the lifeless brown eyes of Moore, noticing the scar of an ornate letter G branded into his neck right in front of the beast lips.

The looked into the bright hazel eyes of the beast. They commanded her attention from over Moore’s head. She got an even better look at the old scars traced across its chin and forehead and around its eyes. It puffed out a few heavy breaths through its nose that ruffled her hair. It held Moore’s lifeless body over her so she could not move. Then it slowly backed away, dragging Moore with it. The beast’s eyes never left her’s until it disappeared into the brush completely. The last thing she saw was Moore’s boots dragged away into the ferns. Then she was alone.

She lay there shaking uncontrollably. She could feel the blood rushing through her veins at top speed as her heart continued to pound. All at once she felt a rush of cold hit her like she had just been doused in an ice bath.

She stood up, her knees and shoulders cracking and popping. Her muscles felt tight and shaky. She could not stop her fingers from twitching and her arms from shuddering. She looked around the deserted looking wood around her. She could hear nothing but the sound of rushing water to her left. Nothing else. The beast was gone. She took a shaky step back, stumbling a little and then turned and ran back to the pebbled beach.

She jumped over logs and felt leaves and branches smacking her face but she didn’t care. When she reached the beach she saw Grey kneeling beside Roman ten yards away from the fire. Kate ran as fast as she could, stumbling over the rocks, her body still shaking from what had happened. She skidded to a stop beside the pair of them and looked down at Roman.

There were four large claw marks across his chest. He coughed and grimaced in pain, blood oozing out of his chest. Kate felt sick and turned away covering her mouth. She gave herself a moment, gulped and then turned back to look at him on the ground. Grey’s hand reached out to touch Roman’s shoulder.

“Don’t touch me!” said Roman. “Get away from me!”

Grey straightened up and moved back a half step. Roman rolled onto his side, turning his back to them and shakily pushed himself to his knees. His body was shuddering. It looked like he was cold the way his shoulders and hands shivered as he tried to stand up. Grey stepped back, holding out his arm and gently pushing Kate back as well as Roman struggled to his feet.

Roman grimaced and wheezed for air as he stood and wobbled on the spot, his back to them. He took a few steps away and leaned over to pick up his whip which lay tangled over the rocks. As he did so, droplets of blood fell onto the ground around him like raindrops.

Kate felt edgy. She wanted to get moving, but Roman was so slow. She glanced around and saw the beast at the edge of the wood watching them. His mouth was closed now, but lines of blood were slipping over his lips onto the ground.

As soon as she looked at him, the beast began to growl again. It got low on its haunches and started forward, its eyes locking onto Kate. Grey stepped in front of her holding his black knife. He leaned down and picked up the knife Roman had been carrying from the rocks at his feet.

Roman staggered forward on her other side. He shook his head and stepped forward beside Grey. He staggered a little, falling against Grey’s shoulder. Grey pushed him upright by the shoulder, and the pair of them glared at the animal before them.

The beast roared and pounced forward, coming at them at full speed. Grey spread his arms wide and slapped the two blades together making a loud clanging sound, just as Roman lifted the whip over his head and brought it crashing down in front of them.

Kate flinched at the sharp noises and clapped her hands over her ears. The beast halted in its advance, snarling and pawing at its ears. Grey slapped his knives together and Roman continued to crack his whip. The two of them moved slowly forward together, driving the beast back into the wood. The beast hesitated at the edge of the wood, roared one last time, and disappeared into the brush.

Roman immediately fell to his knees, letting the whip fall out of his hand. Kate ran forward towards them. “Get away from me,” he said, as Grey moved to help him again.

Kate made it just in time to catch him before he fell to the ground. Roman leaned against her heavily, sliding down her chest onto the rocky floor. He look up at the sky, his head resting in her lap, blood leaking down his lips. Kate looked into his glassy sky blue eyes and then looked up at Grey.

Grey’s stormy blue eyes were alert and hard like they always were. But there was a sheen of water against them now. He stood over them watching Roman struggling to breathe.

“I hate you…” said Roman in a shaky voice. His teeth were stained red with blood. “I hate you…”

Grey knelt down on his heels looking at Roman and put a hand on his shoulder. Roman covered it with his own bloody hand.

“Remember when we were boys, and I first met you in Burk?”

Grey nodded.

“What did I say to you?” said Roman.

“You said I didn’t have to run, because you and your father were going to take care of me,” said Grey in a low voice.

Roman coughed, and more blood ran down his chin. “Didn’t my father take care of you?”

Grey shook his head. “No,”

“Did I?” said Roman.

“Yeah, you did,” said Grey. “You’re my friend.” Kate saw Grey’s fingers whiten as he squeezed Romans shoulder tightly.

“Then why didn’t you say anything? Why are you running Ben?”

IV

As Roman died in her arms, Grey did not cry. He did not say a word. But his jaw was tight and his cheeks red. Kate felt hot tears running down her face as she held him there on the bank of the river.

She felt like her heart was breaking in her throat. They put him into the roaring fire so that the beast could not come back for him. Grey watched the flames roaring around his friend for a long time. Kate could not. She huddled close to him and put her face in his shoulder. She felt Grey’s hand slip into hers and squeeze gently.

Night had come upon them in full and the moon was out in a dark blue, star-speckled sky. Grey let go of her and limped to the edge of the fire. Kate watched him kneel down and fiddle with something. When he stood up, she saw the metal knife that Roman had carried sticking out of the rocks. Grey turned his back on the fire and limped over to his pack on the ground and the walking stick. He picked them both up slowly and walked back over to Kate.

“Are you ready?” he said, Kate nodded and he took off his coat and wrapped it around her shoulders. As they headed down the river, Kate looked back at the bonfire. It continued to rage and spark into the night. Grey did not look back.

V

Morning light hit the walls of Stonebrook, casting an orange glow to the rockface. Grey’s movements were labored. Kate steadied him as best she could. At times she thought he would fall asleep as he walked. She would catch him as he started to fall to one side or the other.

His breathing too was labored. With every breath, there was a sort of wheezing sound as he exhaled like he didn’t have enough air to be let out. She had asked him if he was alright several times but he just waved off her concern and said he was fine in a fading voice.

They gained the dirt road and Grey turned away from the main gates and stumbled yet again. Kate caught him, and he grunted in pain. She gently lifted one of his arms over her shoulder so she could support him. “Where are you going? The gates are that way,” she said, grunting a little under his weight.

Grey shook his head and pointed. She looked to the right of the stone walls and saw more dirt paths leading to small crops of differing sizes. It was like looking at a group of gardens in a quilt pattern spread over the hillsides. They stretched on for what looked like a few miles.

“What’s out there?” she said.

“I don’t know,” said Grey.

She led him down the dirt paths for a quarter mile. Most of the crops that they walked by were not yet growing or blooming. But here and there were small lines of greens and even some blooming flowers.

The path went up and down over the rolling hills. Grey was having some trouble. As they reached the crest of yet another hill, Kate turned to him and said, “Grey I think we should head into Stonebrook and get you some help. And rest. You look terrible.” He had cuts all over his face and neck, as well as purple bruises around his throat. She couldn’t not imagine the amount of pain he could be in, or how he had gotten the bruises around his neck.

But he didn’t seem to be listening to her. He let go of her and took a few steps forward. Kate watched him, ready to catch him again if he fell. But Grey was looking out at the next set of crops. There was an entire hillside before them covered in white flowers.

“Do you smell that?” he said.

Kate sniffed the air and caught a sweet scent of pollen.

“I think this is it,” he said.

“This is what?” said Kate.

“Home.”

Kate stood beside him and looked down at the hillside. The morning was cool and dry and the sun was shining down onto the field of white flowers from a perfectly blue sky. She sniffed the air again, taking in the sweet scent. She saw a few people out in the flower field. They were collecting something walking up and down the rows of flowers.

Grey took another step forward, staring fixedly at one person. It was a girl far below them. She had long dark hair and had her back turned to them. She was on the very outskirts of the flower field and was walking away from them.

“Is that…” Kate started, but Grey was already walking down the hill. It looked like he was moving with some new found stamina. He stood straighter and his strides were longer. Then he broke into a run. Kate ran after him. “Grey, slow down!” she said trying to catch up. She could see that they had drawn the attention of some of the people in the field. They were straightening up to get a look at them.

Grey was headed right for the girl at the edge of the field. Kate followed as fast as she could, but Grey was somehow running faster than her. The woman turned to see what the commotion was about and saw Grey running towards her. Kate could see her back away in surprise.

Grey slowed to a jog and then to an even slower limping walk and then he fell to his knees, ten yards in front of her.

“Hey,” said Kate skidding to a halt beside him and putting a hand on his shoulder. “You couldn’t wait for me?” Then she saw the tears running down his face. She knelt beside him looking at his beaten and bruised face. The tears mixed with the dirt on his cheeks creating a muddy mix. He was watching the women in front of them. “Grey…” said Kate, squeezing his shoulder.

Then she looked at the woman now walking towards them slowly. But it wasn’t a woman at all. It was a young girl. She was no older than thirteen. She set aside the bag she carried and edge forward slowly, watching Grey with her brow furrowed. She had light skin and dark long hair. And blue eyes. Stormy blue. Kate looked back at Grey, and then back at the girl.

They had the same color eyes. And same color hair. Even the girl’s face looked like him. She stared at Grey with a familiar looking frown that Kate saw on Grey’s face all the time. The girl sized him up, piercing him with those beautiful blue eyes. But she was too young to be Grey’s mother. Much too young.

“Bethany!” called a gruff voice from somewhere off in the white flower filed beside them. A tall man appeared, pulling a straw hat off his head and looking down at the pair of them kneeling in the dirt. The young girl moved over to the man, who put his hands on her shoulders and said, “Who are you two? I don’t recognize you from the city.”

“Uh,” said Kate, looking from this newcomer to the girl, and then to Grey. “My name is Kate. We are from Northanger in the valley. This is…”

But the man was now staring at Grey opened mouthed. The young girl looked up at the man and said, “Dad, who is that?”

Her father moved her aside and took a few steps closer to Grey and Kate kneeling in the dirt. “Are you from here, son?” he said getting down on one knee.

Grey nodded.

“Oh my god,” said the man. “You look just like her. You are Ben, right? Beniville Allen?”

Grey nodded again.

The man laughed. “She said you would be back one day. She always said you would come back. How did you do it? How in god’s name did you make it this far?”

“I walked,” said Grey.

The man laughed again, and his daughter came up beside him putting her arms around his shoulders watching Grey closely.

“Where is she?” said Grey.

The smile faded from the man’s face. “Well,” he said rubbing the back of his neck, looking down at the dirt between them. “She’s gone, son.”

“Two winters ago.” said the girl.

Kate felt Grey shaking under her arm. She saw fresh tears running down his cheeks. Kate felt like an icy bucket had dropped into her stomach. Her chest hurt and her throat felt tight as tears welled in her own eyes. She squeezed Grey’s shoulders gently, trying to think of something to say but she was at a loss.

Grey put his palms to his forehead and doubled over. Kate felt tears begin to stream down her own face.

“She got sick,” said the man, “The human body can only take so much. She fought hard for a long time but you can only hold on for so long. You can only make it so far. She went peacefully in her sleep.”

Grey looked up at him, his eyes bloodshot.

“You should know that she never stopped waiting for you. She always believed you would be home one day,” he said. He reached up as though to pat Grey’s shoulder, but he stopped. “I was lucky enough to be with her for almost twelve years.” The man went on. He looked troubled like he was not sure whether to keep talking or to stop. “We found each other after this city started to rebuild. Everyone lost someone back then. We were able to find a little happiness in each other I think. She told me all about you. She never forgot about you, son.” His voice trailed off a little. “This is your sister, Bethany.”

Bethany waved down at them, still looking at Grey with the same furrowed brow.

“You both look just like your mother,” said the man.

Grey gently moved Kate’s arms away as he unshouldered his pack and pulled it into his lap. He opened it and pulled out the shabby book with shaking, bloodied hands. He brushed the cover off and held it tight. Then he looked up at his younger sister and held it out.

Bethany hesitated a moment and then took it. She examined the faded cover for a minute and flipped through the pages.

“What is it about?” she said.

“It’s book our mother would read to me when I was little. I’ve carried it a long time.”

“Thank you,” said Bethany.

Grey stared at her for another long moment, soaking her in. Then he looked down. He slowly got his feet underneath him and stood. Kate helped him. Then he turned away and started walking up the hill.

Kate glanced back at Bethany and her father, as Grey turned his back on them. They both watched him go with very different expressions; one looked thoughtful the other pained and confused. Kate saw Bethany hug the book close to her heart, as she watched her older brother walk away.

Then Kate turned to follow Grey up the hill. She hurried to catch up to him. He did not look at her, but he took her hand as they walked side by side.

“What are you going to do?” said Kate, wiping her cheeks with her free hand.

Grey stopped at the top of the hill. “I don’t know.” Kate bit her lip looking at him. He looked calm again. In control. Like he always did. “What?” he said, glancing down at her.

“Grey,” she said, looking up at him and shaking her head, “you came so far. I’m so sorry. All you wanted was to make it home and when you finally got here…” she struggled to think of what she wanted to say. Her heart was still fighting back tears and she felt like he should be as well. But he looked calm again.

“I have been walking alone for a long time.” He squinted against the sunlight at the top of the hill. “A long time. But I always carried a bit of home with me. I spent so long dreaming of this place.” He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. “I remember this smell. It feels right. This is where I have always known I belong. And now I’m back. I’m finally home.” He let out a shaky breath and opened glistening eyes. “And I’ve lost her all over again.”

Kate looked up into his face as he looked out at the mountains and the trees that surrounded them. He closed his eyes again and took another breath, steadying himself.

“People die every day. The world moves on without you when you’re not around. But we need to move on too. We all need to hold onto the things we want. The things we love; even after they leave us behind. I can be sad for the rest of the time I have here, or I can find something new to carry with me. Something new to keep me going.”

Kate felt a smile touch her lips as he looked down at her and squeezed her hand. He gave her a small smile and then he limped forward, leading her back towards the stone gates of Stonebrook.