“It’s a release. There’s nowhere to go but up.”
“Not in Detroit. Hitting each other is just the beginning. Next step is crowbars, then automatics, and before you know it, you’re getting a free ride in a fast car that lights up.”
“And you live there why, again?”
“I’m exaggerating, of course, but I live there for work. I’m a photographer.”
“Ah,” he replied with a small nod.
“Remember, you almost killed me for taking pictures in the woods.”
Once the memory kicked in, he pointed at me, accompanied with another nod, only a much bigger one than the previous. “Right.”
“I left such an impression, huh?” I joked. It was a few days since we had met, and already, Max was shady on the details.
“I remembered you, at least, which is more than I can say about most people.”
Wait, was he just complimenting me?
“And you... hunt for a living?” I asked. I didn’t want the gory details, nor did I want to sound preachy by telling him outright not to divulge further. No need to be rude when he seemed to be getting a little nicer.
“Yep.”
“It doesn’t ever bother you, knowing that you end something’s life? I’m not asking in an argumentative way. It’s just something that’s always in my head.”
He exhaled forcefully, like he didn’t want to get into this. For once, I wasn’t trying to start something. I just never knew how hunters slept at night.
I cut him some slack and changed the topic. “You ever see The Evil Dead?”
I could tell from his sudden scrunched up forehead that my question caught him off guard. “Is that a movie?”
“More than that. It’s a cult.”
His forehead managed to crinkle even more. “So, it’s not a movie?”
“Yes, it’s a movie,” I caved. I was being theatrical about my love for it, but he was either not getting it or refusing to play along. “Some friends go out to a cabin and are all possessed by demons. You honestly haven’t seen it?”
“Nope.”
“Oh. Anyway, your house reminds me of it.”
“Should I feel complimented?”
“It’s a cool house when you take away the floating women and ankle stabbing pencils.”
“Okay,” he responded. The casual dismissal reminded me too much of Priscilla. They were two peas in a pod, truly. Maybe Priscilla was right to want to date him. Boy, they’d be quite the pleasant couple.
“You don’t watch horror movies?”
“Something tells me you do quite often,” he replied, taking a sip of his drink.
“What I saw tonight had nothing to do with it. I just happen to have an appreciation for the genre.”
Max set his cup down and leaned his cheek into his hand. “A couple of buddies of mine sneaked a horror movie away from his older brother when we were, maybe, eight.”
“Drug of choice?”
“Nightmare on Elm Street.”
“Nice. You guys sleep well that night?”
“I did, actually, have trippy dreams the whole night. I’m pretty sure my buddies were having nightmares, but wouldn’t admit it.”
“Playing the macho card, eh? I think, because I was a girl and people expected me to be afraid, I was less afraid. If that makes any sense.”
“It’s easier not fitting a stereotype.”
“Right. Movies would scare me, but not in the jump into a guy’s arms type of way.”
“That’s all for show, though, isn’t it?”
“You saying girls fake being scared?”
“You’re a girl, you tell me.”
“Guess I never tried it.”
He chuckled in my direction. “Doesn’t surprise me.”
“You laughing at me doesn’t surprise me, either,” I retorted with a grin.
His own grin formed. “Laughing with you.”
“I must be the quietest laugher because I didn’t hear me.”
Turns out, Max wasn’t a quiet laugher, because he chuckled pretty loud.
I tugged at the neck of my shirt and waved it like a flag. “It’s so hot in here,” I said in distress. “Well, to be fair, it’s hot everywhere. How do you guys survive?”
“You get used to it.”
“I don’t see how you can get used to the humidity. Though, you are a guy.”
“What does that mean?”
“That you have male genitalia?”
His face slammed shut like he didn’t want to honor my joke with a smile. “I am aware of that, believe me.”
“I meant when guys get hot, they can just walk around shirtless.”
“Women can do that, too. I’m not stopping them.”
“How feminist of you,” I joked. “When I was a kid and was really hot, I used to fill a plastic bag up with water and ice cubes and then tie it to my head, so it’d drip on me all day.”
“Are you serious?”
“Sadly, yes.”
“What an odd ass concept.”
“It worked for, maybe, two minutes. It usually all poured out of the bag right away and I was left with a wet t-shirt and really ugly flat hair.”
“Who would have thought a concept as solid as that would fail?”
“I know, right?”
Max chuckled at me, and I could see that I was, perhaps, endearing myself to him a little. Or, at least, I hoped so.
We ended staying up fairly late that night, talking about the people in the town, our favorite flavor of ice cream (my idea) and pretty much any other random idea that we floated back to one another. About an hour into our discussion on the weather pattern of the forest (not joking), I realized I, dare I say it, almost liked Max. We weren’t exactly on our way to exchanging wedding bands or anything, but it was enough to realize I had unfairly judged him. And I hope he felt the same way about me, too.
I’m not sure why I was suddenly so concerned with having him be on good terms with me. Maybe it was the part of me that obnoxiously wanted everyone I met to like me, or maybe, deep down, I saw that Max was a decent guy once you got him talking, and was hoping I’d get the chance to learn more about him.
I don’t know what it was about people like Max and Priscilla that, in spite of their hostility toward me, I still wanted to be their friend. I couldn’t tell if it was the challenge I enjoyed or I really was a glutton for punishment.
By the time it was one in the morning, my eyes were watering and I was yawning something fierce. Max said he was going to bed and I’m convinced it was because he wanted me to do the same and was tired of seeing me nearly nodding off in the kitchen.
“You can drive me home if you don’t want me on your couch,” I said in between yawns. My tired brain makes me a little bolder, so I was willing to risk stepping onto the porch.
“You may as well stay here for the night,” he told me. I was a little surprised. I knew we were getting along better, but I still didn’t think he’d want me sleeping in his house.
Max went into a closet and grabbed a thicker, more comfortable looking blanket and threw it at my face. I didn’t even make an effort to catch it properly and let it smack me hard and then fall on the floor. I was so tired, it felt like a Mike Tyson punch. He must have really disliked me when I got here initially, because all I had before was a flimsy couch blanket, and now I got an upgrade. I must have slipped down on the what-makes-Max-irritated scale, so he allowed me proper comfort.
I lay down on the couch, the blanket half on me, and began to drift while Max hovered above me. My eyes were closed, but I could feel him gazing down at me as I slept.
CHAPTER FIVE
At first, when I woke up I had completely forgotten where I had fallen asleep, and wondered why my blankets smelled like men’s cologne or why there weren’t deer heads mounted on the walls, staring down at me vacantly. I wasn’t really sure how to feel when I realized I was still at Max’s, tucked away under his flannel blanket and cozied up on his leather couch. S
ure, the lack of dead animals was an upgrade, but I was sleeping at a stranger’s house. A male stranger.
More embarrassing was, as I sat up on the couch and attempted to detach my hair from my drool soaked cheek, Max was already wandering around in the kitchen awake and making coffee, which meant he probably came in to see if I was up and saw me soaking his blanket with my mouth water. Sometimes, I’m just too damn sexy for my own good.
“You’re awake,” he noted from the kitchen.
I dropped the blanket down onto my lap. “I forgot where I was for a second. I thought maybe I had been kidnapped.”
“Maybe you have,” he responded teasingly.
I borrowed Max’s phone and instantly called home to Grandma. I made up some BS story about working hard on the fundraiser at Molly’s that I unexpectedly fell asleep on her couch and forgot to call her. Not being able to see Grandma’s face left me unsure of whether she bought it or not. Either she didn’t believe a word I said or there was something on TV that distracted her and she couldn’t be bothered to say more than “Uh-huh, dear.” If this were my mother, she would have sent a search party out for me hours ago.
“Why didn’t you tell her the truth?” Max asked as he handed me a cup of coffee. I was surprised by the kind gesture.
“I’m not sure what the truth is, to be honest.”
“That you were attacked by an animal and were afraid to walk home. It’s that simple.”
“That works in theory, but you obviously don’t know me very well. When I lie or leave out details, I tend to get really chatty and awkward. And itchy. I don’t know why, but I get hives.”
“Lying gives you hives?”
“Yes.”
He sipped his coffee slowly. “You’re odd.”
“I need to use your phone again if that’s okay.”
Max looked befuddled. “What for now?”
“To call Deputy Wilson. I think someone should know there’s a crazed animal wandering around trying to kill people.”
Max practically leapt off the couch and ripped the phone from my hand. “You’re not serious, are you?”
I was a bit puzzled by his reaction. “As serious as a brain tumor.”
“You couldn’t identify an animal in the dark, so you’re going to get a cop involved and tell him some beast tried to kill you?”
“Well, I’m not going to put it that way.”
“What way are you going to put it?”
I thought on it. “I’ll wing it.”
“No,” he sternly told me and held the phone up high to where I couldn’t reach it. I got horrible flashbacks of recess time in elementary school involving a nerf ball and a certain overgrown bully.
“What are we, six?”
“My thoughts exactly. You call the cops to report a burglary or a dead body, not a wolf sighting.”
“It’s not a formal calling of 911. It’s more a, hey, keep an eye out for some horrible monstrosity that may or may not have eaten Joe.”
Max’s eyebrow cocked. “Let’s not go overboard with this.”
“You explain Joe’s absence and what I saw. They can’t be coincidental. Joe flat out told me he was hearing weird noises in the woods and then boom, he’s nowhere to be seen. And then, suddenly, I have an animal chasing after me?”
“There’d be a body then.”
“Not if he was eaten.”
“I know the guy was a skinny vegan, but even he’s not small enough to leave no trace. There’d be a carcass, bone...”
“Why are you so against this?”
“Have you heard the busybodies around here? You start crying wolf and every person in this town is going to think you’re nuttier than a fruit cake.”
“I vacation here, what do I care?” I ripped the phone out of his hand and began dialing for the local station where the deputy worked. Two rings and he picked up. “Deputy Wilson, this is Cora Nash. Do you have a minute?”
“Actually, you caught me at the perfect time.”
“Oh, good,” I said with relief. You rarely ever got a response like that. “I was kind of hoping to talk in person, but I wanted to report an attack last night.”
“What kind of attack? And on who?”
“Me.”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. I got away in time. It was some kind of animal. I know you’re not going to search the woods for a wolf, cuff him, and take him down to the station, but I thought you should know there’s a really aggressive animal on the loose.”
“You said it was a wolf?”
I was reluctant to say what I really thought. “It was... something.”
“You don’t sound too sure. Could it have been a bear?”
“It wasn’t a bear, believe me. But it wasn’t a wolf, either.”
“What was it then?”
I didn’t realize I had begun pacing across the living room floor. Speaking formally to a man with power about what I had seen was giving me the weird feelings in my stomach. “It was... something strange. Something new.”
I couldn’t see him, but I could sense his confusion. “What do you mean by something new?”
“Something I’ve never seen before. I know that sounds crazy, but... this thing was as big as a person and looked like some kind of monster.” Oh, God, why did I have to use the M word? Now I sounded like a delusion kid on the playground making up stories. I nervously laughed and covered, saying, “Obviously not a monster. But you know what I mean.”
“I’m not sure I do,” he responded with an equally awkward laugh.
“I’m just saying this is not your typical animal and I thought you being the police and all, you’d like to know about it. Maybe it’s a new breed or some kind of mutated, infected, enlarged swamp rat. I don’t know.”
He chuckled like I told a joke. “I’ll keep an eye out, but odds are, it was a coyote or wolf.”
“It wasn’t a coyote.”
“Maybe your eyes were playing a trick on you. Was it dark out?”
“Well...yeah.”
“Then there you go. There can be some pretty big strays around here, so maybe it spooked you and you thought you saw something completely different.”
“A stray? As in a cat?” What was this guy on? I said it was the size of a person! I don’t think there’s enough steroids on this planet to get my house cat to look like what I had seen last night.
“If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll tell all the guys at the station to keep an eye out. And maybe you should think about not being outside alone at night. Other than that, there’s not much we can do.”
I was disappointed. I thought someone would take my claim seriously. “Yeah, okay,” I mumbled as the phone slid down from my ear. I’m not even sure we properly told each other goodbye before I hung it up.
Of course, Max had that I-told-you-so look on his face. I didn’t want to give him the pleasure of telling me how wrong I was to call, so I said, “Deputy Wilson said he’d keep an eye out.”
“That all?”
I paused. “And that maybe I saw a stray cat.”
He stifled a laugh. “At least I said it could have been a wolf.”
“Yeah, well...”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure whatever it was won’t bother you again.”
“Easy for you to say. You didn’t see it.”
“You want me to take you home now?”
“Eager to get my butt out the door?”
His eyes flashed down to the watch on his wrist. “I need to start hunting.”
“Oh, right,” I said with a finger flick to my head. I didn’t want to inconvenience him any more than I already had; keeping him up all night, sleeping on his couch, and using his phone. Making him late for work didn’t need to be added to the list. Though, can hunters be late for work? Do they have real work hours? Maybe one day, I’ll ask him.
We hopped into his dark blue pickup truck and the door was so heavy, I couldn’t get it shut at first, and had to pull like my life
depended on it. I think he was holding back laughing at what a moronically pathetic-looking individual I was. What a cliché I was filling at that moment, looking like a weak little woman he needed to help.
For a grungy guy, his truck actually smelled pretty good, like the new car smell. Maybe it had something to do with all the air fresheners hanging from his mirror; two green tree air fresheners and one of those you snap onto your vent to blow the smell in when you turn on the AC.
“What’s with all the air fresheners?” I asked.
“Not crazy about the smell of blood,” he admitted.
“Oh.” I forgot he hauls carcasses in the back of his truck. I imagine it did get a bit smelly on the hot days. “There’s not, like, a deer body in the back is there?”
A smirk crawled from the corner of his mouth. “No. I wouldn’t leave it there.”
“Oh, good. You weren’t expecting me to be tagging along this morning, so for all I know, you could have all of Bambi’s relatives back there.”
“I try not to leave dead animals to rot in the sun.”
“Right. That makes sense.” I twisted my fingernails into my palm repeatedly until I had scratches. It was a nervous tick I’d do from time to time. Talking about killing animals was just really making me uncomfortable. “Thanks, again, for the ride. I could have walked, probably.”
“You’d risk it?”
“Everything during the daytime seems less scary.”
“We’re not dealing with ghouls and goblins, though. You obviously saw something that could be around at any time.”
“So, you do believe I saw something?”
“Didn’t I say that? What you saw exactly—I don’t know. Besides, I’d like to think this wasn’t some elaborate plan for you to come to my house and sleep on my couch.”
“Oh, God, no,” I said with disgust. His head tore in my direction and I realized I may have been a little too enthusiastic. “Sorry. I’m not implying you’re gross, just that if that were how my brain worked, I’d be gross. You know what I mean? Please tell me you know what I mean.”
Lunar Rampage (Lunar Rampage Series Book 1) Page 10
