“It’s got to be,” he said. “That’s a car key around your neck, and there’s a road. That guy had a way of getting up and down this mountain quickly.”
“Okay,” Mattie said. “Okay. Let’s run.”
They took off, pushing through the snow, both of them barely upright.
The tree trunks were closer, closer, closer, and then they were inside them and Mattie saw the road on the other side, maybe ten feet away. Nine feet, eight feet, seven feet. They were almost out.
The creature roared again, louder than before, and the sound wanted to break her but she could taste her freedom and so could C.P. He grabbed her hand and they ran, breaking free of the woods, their feet touching the dirt road.
“He cleared this,” C.P. said, looking left and right. “That’s the only reason we could see it from the stream. He must have a truck with a plow on it.”
Mattie didn’t care what kind of vehicle it was as long as it was near, but she didn’t see anything.
“It’s not here,” she said.
The roaring had stopped, and there was no warning crunch of branches breaking.
“Just because we can’t see it doesn’t mean it’s not here,” he said. “It’s probably that way, closer to the cabin.”
The cabin. Everything in her life seemed to circle back to that place, no matter how hard she tried to get away from it.
And the creature was following. If they went back in the direction of its cave, it might decide to eliminate them both with one swipe of its paw.
“Maybe we should just follow the road down,” Mattie said. “On foot. It will still be easier than hiking through the snow.”
“Let’s just look,” he said. “Just a little ways in that direction.”
Mattie glanced back at the trees behind them. There was an enormous silhouette there, waiting.
“It’s watching us,” she whispered.
She saw him find the silhouette with his eyes, saw the blood drain out of his already pale face.
“But it’s not attacking,” he said, his voice trembling. “It’s just watching. So let’s just follow the plan.”
He took her hand again, and squeezed hard. They walked up the road, toward the cabin.
“It can’t be too close to the cabin. Otherwise you would have heard the sound of the engine every time he went somewhere.”
Mattie knew he was trying to sound calm and normal, to pretend that the shadow in the trees wasn’t following them with unnatural silence.
It’s watching and waiting. It’s trying to decide if we’re still a threat.
She heard the creature’s breath suddenly, heard the huff of its exhale.
It’s going to attack. It’s not going to wait any longer.
“There it is!” C.P. shouted.
The creature paused.
And there, parked in the middle of the road, was a huge black truck.
“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
