Watching my loved ones experience such a wide variety of painful emotions tore at my heart. Their lives, once full of the normal worries about money, food, shelter, raising a family, operating a business, spending time with family and friends—it all crashed down around them. Everything they knew to be true, things ingrained in them since childhood, slipped out of them with each tear shed.
I had the distinct advantage in dealing with all this new information because I had experienced it through my connection with Papa Joe. Though I still was somewhat unnerved—no, a lot of unnerved—by my new reality, I had the privilege to see it all. To grasp the enormity of the mind-blowing alternate universe I would be living in. Mom and Meemaw at least had some idea, some connection, because they both had experienced similar interactions with their father and grandfather over the years. His blood flowed through their veins. But Dad was hopelessly lost and had asked the majority of the questions earlier.
After Papa Joe finished explaining how he and Nana fell in love and kept their secret—how through visions he showed me the true history of things—I dropped the bomb. When I told them how all of this tied back to me, and what was to come, none of them seemed capable of forming a question to ask or respond with any discernable emotion. They sat like three solid pieces of marble, unable to grasp the entire situation.
The house was quiet now, but I was beyond nervous. I felt jittery and anxious, like I had consumed two entire pots of straight espresso. Energy tingled through me and made my leg muscles twitch and my heart beat faster. Papa Joe said the transfer of power would happen soon, and I worried it might happen in front of my family. Plus, I knew what would happen to him, and I didn’t want my mom or meemaw to be around when he left this world. He had warned me the first transformation would be difficult to control and I needed to be alone so I wouldn’t accidently hurt those around me. When my head began to pound, I shot up out of the chair with the intention to go for a run and release some of the overwhelming energy that flowed inside me. I froze in mid-stride when I heard a car pull into the driveway.
“Who in the world is that?” Dad said from across the room.
I stepped over to the window and peeked through the curtains. When I saw the car, my stomach lurched. “Sheriff Gilmore.”
In a flash, everyone stood up.
“A visit from the law this late is never good,” Meemaw said to no one in particular.
The boots of the sheriff clamored up the front porch steps. We all locked eyes with each other, and then Dad motioned for us all to sit down. He walked over to the front door and opened it before the sheriff knocked. “Evenin’, Sheriff. What can I do ya for?”
“Evenin’, Jared. Sorry to stop by so late, but looks like y’all weren’t asleep. Need to talk to y’all for a minute.”
Dad moved aside and opened the door wider. The sheriff walked in and removed his hat. His enormous frame seemed too big for our small living room. He nodded at us all and tried his best to appear nonchalant, but a look of confusion flashed behind his eyes when he saw Papa Joe sitting in the chair closest to him. For a second, I thought he was going to comment on why Papa Joe was here, but he didn’t. Instead, he turned his attention back to Dad.
“Well, I’m afraid I’m not here on a social visit, as I’m sure y’all know, so I’ll just get right to it. We’re lookin’ into a disappearance of one of our own and wondered if you might offer some help.”
“Oh Lordy, what happened? Tell me it ain’t Raymond Pryor. His poor momma can’t handle any more bad news. After all, she just found out about her cancer two weeks ago.”
“Ms. Gertie, I didn’t mean one of my deputies. I meant one of our citizens,” Sheriff Gilmore said, turning his gaze over to me. “Sheryl, I’m afraid she’s one of your friends. Tami Kilgore is missin’.”
“Missin’?” Mom gushed, “and her with lil’ Drexel just a youngin’. How long she been gone?”
I saw the shift in the sheriff’s demeanor before he ever spoke. His eyes were open, wide, probing into my own. Though I wasn’t a fan of Tami’s, I was still taken aback by the news of her disappearance. But just because we were on the squad together and attended the same school, why would that make the sheriff come here in person this time of night to ask me? It was common knowledge throughout Junction City that we weren’t exactly friends. What, was he going to stop by all twelve of us on the squad and question us personally? What’s next, going door to door and informing all fifteen hundred residents of Locasia County?
No, he’s here because he thinks I’m involved somehow!
That thought kept my mouth clamped shut.
“We don’t have all the particulars just yet, Ms. Jolene. What we do know is that she left Kilgore’s place around noon to go shoppin’ for school clothes. Then she planned on headin’ to cheerleadin’ practice. Problem is, she never showed up at practice. Drexel got worried when she didn’t come home and started callin’ her cell. When she didn’t answer, he and his pa went out lookin’ for her. Found her car in the back lot of the high school—empty. Her phone sittin’ in the driver’s seat and her purse and gym bag in the passenger seat, and blood in the car and on the ground. That’s when he called us. Raymond Pryor brought ol’ Blue, and he picked up on her scent right quick but then lost it out past Caney Creek. Found blood on the trail…and then, nothin’. The dogs picked up on some other scent that drove them into a frenzy, and all they seem to be doin’ now is runnin’ around in circles. Boys are still out searchin’, but the way I’m figurin’ it, they ain’t gonna find her alive.”
My stomach dropped. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Meemaw swayed a fraction and Mom reach her hand out to steady her. “Why is that, Sheriff?” I ventured, barely above a whisper.
“The amount of blood found is fresh…and substantial. If it’s Tami’s, she wouldn’t survive losin’ that much. No one would.”
“Why, who would do such a terrible thing? Ain’t nobody around here, least not that I can think of. Maybe a drifter? You know, I’ve heard news reports about truckers who prey on young women while drivin’ to and fro. And Lord knows lots of them come through here deliverin’ supplies to the Cohestra plant ever since the tornado.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dad wince. I knew exactly what he was going through his mind—the conversation with the sheriff so many years ago about Nana. How they’d found her body torn to shreds by what they had eventually concluded was a bear. After all we’d just told him, and what he witnessed with his own eyes, it all seemed to click together for him.
Sheriff Gilmore’s gaze hardened. He ignored my mother’s question. His face betrayed his true thoughts now. Doubt and accusations swirled behind his hooded eyes. He leaned forward, cocked his head to one side as he studied my face. “Sheryl, I understand you went out for a run earlier today out by Cohestra alone? I know y’all like to run, but I thought y’all ran at night because of the heat. Is that true, or did someone give me false information?”
My mouth was so dry, I couldn’t have said a word if I wanted to. Dad bristled to my defense, his parental instincts in high gear. “Am I hearin’ you right, Sheriff?” Dad spat out, his face a dark shade of burgundy as his anger flared. “Maybe you need to rephrase your question so it doesn’t sound like you just barged into my home and accused my daughter of a crime.”
“Jared, I am simply askin’ questions. I’ve got a girl missin’ and two sets of extremely upset family members wantin’ answers I don’t have yet. I was just hopin’ maybe Sheryl happened to see Tami sometime today. Help us get a sense of her steps before she up and vanished into thin air. And the Cohestra plant is on the way toward the school. So, Sheryl,” he said, turning his attention back to me, “where you out runnin’ today, and did you by chance see Tami?”
It took a few seconds for my throat to unlock and my tongue to form words. “I did go for a run, but I didn’t see Tami.”
“You sure?” Sheriff Gilmore questioned, doubt oozing out of his voice.
This tim
e, I nodded yes.
The sheriff chewed on that for a few seconds, his dark brown eyes burning a hole through me. He reached up and rubbed his forehead. “Then can you explain to me why she sent y’all a text sayin’ she was on her way to meet ya?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“As I said, I did go out for a run, but I didn’t see Tami, so no, I can’t explain that. I didn’t text or call her either, I swear. I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about. I…I’m not friends with Tami, so I…”
“Sheriff, this all can be answered with ease,” Papa Joe said, his voice quiet yet with an air of authority. He rose from his spot next to Meemaw and walked over to Sheriff Gilmore. Mom, Dad, and Meemaw watched in silence, seeming to sense the power and control wielded by Papa Joe. I saw the change in his eyes from chocolate brown to vibrant sable…felt the electricity level in the house soar. I knew he was working his mind-magic on the sheriff—and I think my family did, too. The tone and timbre of his voice had the same effect on the sheriff as it had Ms. Johnson. I used the moment and bounded up the stairs to retrieve my cell phone from the bathroom. I could hear Papa Joe coo and coerce the sheriff into silence.
I snatched my phone from the bathroom counter and did a quick scroll. Sure enough, there was a text from Tami around seven, right around the time I left the bathroom and bounded downstairs. Just one and it said exactly what the sheriff mentioned. I scrolled through the others and my stomach clenched. Three texts from Barb and two from Dane. The news of Tami’s vanishing act spread faster than the pox, and both wanted to know if I’d heard or not. But the last one from each of them made my heart pound since they both said they were going out to help search, and they asked if I would join them.
Oh shit.
As I flew down the stairs, I heard Papa Joe’s calming voice from the living room. “Sheryl has nothing to do with Tami’s disappearance, Sheriff. Someone is trying to make it appear that way, but as you will see from Sheryl’s phone, there was no contact from her end with Tami.”
“Look Sheriff, see? No phone calls to her or texts. The one from her to me is here, but I didn’t reply back,” I said, hoping my words didn’t sound as rushed and fake to the sheriff’s ears as they did to mine.
The sheriff’s eyes glazed over as he stared into Papa Joe’s, but the second he turned his gaze to me, the connection seemed to lessen somewhat. He took my phone out of my hand and scrolled through it, handing it back to me with a strange look on his face. His moves seemed robotic—forced. I wasn’t sure if it was from the fact that I had no contact with Tami or the sensation of his brain no longer under his control. Maybe it was a combination of both. “Seems more investigatin’ needs to be done here. Don’t make no sense though. Why do you think Tami sent you the message?”
“That is a minor consequence in this matter, Sheriff. You need to concentrate on finding her. You already stated her scent trail and the blood led into the woods. Focus on that first. Believe and know Sheryl is not involved in any way with Tami’s…disappearance.”
Papa Joe reinforced his words with a gentle hand on Sheriff Gilmore’s shoulder. As I watched, I noticed the minute his hand touched the sheriff’s body, the words reached inside his mind and took hold. With a nod of his head, the sheriff agreed. “Sorry to barge in here so late. Just tryin’ to follow all leads. I see this is a dead one though. I’ll be on my way now. Goodnight.”
All of us remained still except Papa Joe. With his hand still on the sheriff’s back, he walked him to the door and led him out into the darkness and out to his car. The four of us stood rock still, each one of us grappling with the news.
Mom was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. “Sheryl? Is Tami…I mean, is she…is this connected…?”
“I don’t know why or what it means, but yes, I think it is.”
“Yes, it is. He is trying to either lure you out to help save a girl he assumes is your friend, or he plans on killing her and making it look like you are involved. Either way, it does center on you.”
The four of us stared at Papa Joe as he shut the front door and made his way back over to the chair. His voice was distant—tired. His gait was unsteady and slow, and when he eased his body into the cushions, he winced in pain. His mocha-colored skin looked ashy and a thin sheen of sweat coated his sunken face. The wrinkles on his brow seemed to have doubled in mere seconds, along with the strands of gray in his hair. The temperature in the cramped living room shot up—worse than the steam room at the gym. My skin prickled as sweat appeared all over me, and it almost hurt to take in a breath. The air felt like it was from a cauldron of hot magma. Each breath brought an overwhelming rush of smells, and my mind spun to process them all. Dad’s cologne, Mom’s skin lotion, Meemaw’s shampoo, Papa Joe’s musk, the dust balls under the couch, the dinner in the kitchen, the humidity-thick air from outside, full of night jasmine and gardenias. Then, the scent of the note that sat, untouched, on the small table, slammed into me with the force of a freight train. Heat snaked through my body and smothered my brain. My legs and torso began to shake as rage fueled the fire inside of me, and instinctively, I started to back away from my loved ones.
Run. Now. It’s time. Follow her scent—it will lead you to him. Kill him, Sheryl. Do not let Hattak’katos win—or live. And—stay away from your mate. Do not disobey me on this. Go, Little One. Become who you were meant to be. Chi hullo li.
I love you too, Nahu’ala. Chi hullo li, Papa Joe.
Immense sorrow wracked my heart and soul at Papa Joe’s words. This would be the last time I saw his face or heard his comforting voice inside my mind. No more would my furry companion snuggle with me under the covers at night, warding off my childish nightmares. No more would I be able to see through his eyes and experience the vivid imagery of his past—or my future. No more would I be the wide-eyed young girl sitting at his feet, learning the ways of my ancestors. The connection we shared would be severed—forever. My family would never be the same. I would never be the same. No life with Dane. No future outside of this place. A choice I didn’t want to make but a duty I was unable to ignore.
I let out a gasp of torment as the weight of my changing world hit me. When I reached the front door, my grief at losing Nahu’ala and my former life reached its peak. The volcanic pyre inside me exploded. The tears behind my eyes burned away as uncontrollable fury barreled through my body. The shocked gasps from my family were barely audible as the growl erupted from my burning throat. The decibel level was so loud it made the entire house shake, knocking pictures and knickknacks from the shelves across the room. My fingers clamped down on the door handle as the power surged through me. In one swift motion, I ripped the entire door from the frame, tossed it to the floor, and bounded out into the darkness, oblivious to the panicked voices of my family behind me.
I left my house as Sheryl Ilene Newcomb and wondered if I would never come back as her again—if I came back at all.
Just like my previous run, I fled through the darkness with powerful strides, my breath even and steady. White hot energy coursed through me as my feet ate up the road in front of me. Though after midnight, the world around me seemed sharp and clear. Even things on my periphery—impossible for me to see—I noticed while I navigated the quiet streets of Junction City. A surge of adrenaline pressed my muscles harder, and they responded without hesitation. Never, in my whole life, had I ever moved so fast or been full of such consuming anger and soul-crushing sadness. My bare feet seemed to make little contact with the ground with each step. Every odor of the city invaded my nostrils, but I pushed them all away until I caught the one I was looking for—Tami’s.
When I passed the edge of Maple Street and made the turn toward the high school parking lot, Tami’s scent slammed into me. The obnoxious odor of her wretched perfume and her personal musk was unmistakable, and it reached out and wound around me like a thick cord, snuffing out all my lamenting over my former life. My legs pumped even faster, and I covered the two mile journey toward the school at a
frantic pace, my hair billowing out behind me like a silky, damp mane. I sensed it was too late and that I wouldn’t find Tami alive, but I had no choice but to try.
I had to find Hattak’katos and stop him—no matter what.
Even from the distance, I heard the commotion in the parking lot and the woods as the searchers and the dogs navigated the area. Bright floodlights stationed at various spots in the parking lot cast their yellow beams into the dark forest behind the school. The sound of dogs yapping as they tried to find Tami’s scent and lead their masters to her intermingled with the shouts from the people calling out Tami’s name as they trudged through the dense underbrush. In my furious state, spurred on by the animal growing inside me, I had forgotten about not only the people but the dogs. If they caught a whiff of my scent…
Right when the thought hit me, my body responded and veered sharply to my right. My taut muscles contracted and my body jumped over the Shotwell’s privacy fence, clearing it by almost ten feet. Less than five long strides later, flanking the backside of the school property, I ran away from the dogs and searchers. My legs took me to the opposite end of Caney Creek. The light breeze shifted and thankfully masked my scent from the dogs but brought the pungent smells of the inner forest to me. Again, I pushed all the competing aromas away and searched to find the link to Tami’s. When I did, I slowed my pace down a fraction. Her scent was rancid now—tinged with the putrid aroma of death. The bitter, coppery flavor of her dead blood cells invaded my nose and mouth. My lips curled back in disgust at the stench.
Growl Page 16
