Hunters descent, p.5
Hunter's Descent, page 5
The campers had disappeared around a corner when the sound of running feet crunching through the snow reached her ears. A young human careened around the corner, using one hand to push off the side of the building. The other hand was clapped to her head to keep her from losing her too-large knit cap. She skidded to a stop in front of their little group, her eyes wide. They darted guiltily toward Shockley, then away.
“Late again, Rabbit?” His voice was stern.
“Not yet, sir.” She bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet. “I will be if I don’t move.”
“Then move,” Shockley said. “But don’t run.” He had to raise his voice to reach her as she broke into a sprint.
Rabbit slowed down to a pace a hair slower than her previous breakneck pace, then was gone around the corner.
“You’ll want to speak with her,” he said. “Shejuanna’s bunk was next to hers. The latest…unfortunate.”
Ruri pulled out her notebook and scribbled Talk to Rabbit halfway down the page. Mal nodded approvingly. So far, this undercover stuff was pretty easy. All she had to do was keep quiet and let Mal do the talking. That made it easier for her to keep an eye out.
“We’ll inspect the mess first,” Shockley said.
There was nothing amiss in the mess, nor in the rest of the buildings they surveyed. Neither Ruri nor her wolf smelled anything that seemed unusual or out of place. From everything Ruri could see, Shockley ran a tight ship. She sensed no particular animosity toward him from the staff they ran into and far less than she would have expected from the teenagers here. There was certainly some resentment, but that was to be expected. They were being held here; no matter how much Shockley talked about saving them, it wasn’t their idea.
Their last stop was the barracks. Ruri noticed nothing untoward there either. Mal stopped to take samples every now and again, running a cotton swab over various surfaces, then passing them over to Ruri who dutifully played her part, noting each one in her little book and then placing them in labeled snack-size plastic bags. By the time they reached the last of the barracks, her jacket’s front pocket bulged with them.
“Here is Shejuanna’s bunk.” Shockley stopped in front of a pair of bunk beds in the middle of the long room. “I had Mrs. Brewster pull Rabbit from class to answer questions.”
The short teen they’d seen earlier pulled herself to something approximating military attention. She stared past them at the far wall.
“Thank you, Mr. Shockley.” Mal held out her hand to him. He took it, engulfing it in his much larger hand. “You’ve been very helpful. We’d like to speak with—Rabbit, is it?—privately. I’m sure you understand.”
“Ah, well.” He withdrew his hand and wrung it in the other. “As she’s a minor and I’m technically her guardian while she’s in our facility, I can’t allow that to happen. You recognize that, don’t you?”
“I do.” Mal chewed her lower lip, mulling over the problem. “I also can’t have you influencing a witness.” She raised a hand to forestall his objection. “Not that I think you would. Why don’t you take a seat over there? You’ll be able to hear any questions I ask, but I don’t have to worry you’ll try to intimidate her.”
“That’s very reasonable, thank you.” Shockley took a seat on a footlocker a couple of bunks away.
Mal smiled at Rabbit. “You can take your ease. Is Rabbit your given name?”
“No, ma’am. It’s Julietta, but that doesn’t really seem to fit.” She smiled, teeth white against light brown skin. “Rabbit Romero has a ring to it, ya know?”
“That it does.” Mal indicated the bunks with her chin. “You shared that bunk with Miss Jackman?”
“Sure did. Hers is the upper, she offered to take it and everything.” Rabbit’s face took a downward cast that looked foreign on her face. Her lips had looked more natural when smiling. “She was a good bunkmate. Never snored.”
Ruri took a discreet step closer to the bunk.
Mal looked over at her. “Good idea, Miss Smith. Why don’t you take some samples?”
“All right.” She took the proffered swabs and did a thorough examination of the mattress and sheets. Someone had made the bed; it looked like no one had slept there since then.
“Were you the one who found her?” Mal asked Rabbit.
“I did. Shook the bed to get her up for reveille, but she didn’t move. When I climbed up to get her, her eyes were open, staring at the ceiling.”
“Did you touch her?”
“Course I did. She was cold.”
“But you didn’t feel sick or funny in any way after that?”
“No. I felt fine.” Rabbit shrugged. “Still do.”
Ruri leaned closer and inhaled the combined scents of the sheet, mattress, and detergent. She sniffed again, more deeply, but there was still no sign of anything untoward. “When was this?” she asked.
Mal looked up, startled that she’d said something.
“Three mornings ago.” Rabbit closed her eyes.
If the girl had died in this bed that recently, there should still be some sign of her passing, but Ruri couldn’t smell even the smallest hint of death. “Is this the same mattress she was found in?” She directed the question at Mr. Shockley, who looked down at his hands.
“I’m afraid so. There were no fluids on the mattress, so we left it.”
“I see.” She studied the offending mattress a little longer.
“Anything else, Miss Smith?”
“Not right now.” She stared at Mal for a moment, willing her to understand what she’d discovered. Or rather the lack of anything she’d discovered.
Mal didn’t appear to notice and went back to grilling Rabbit. Over the next fifteen minutes they established that Shejuanna hadn’t acted sick, hadn’t eaten anything strange, and had participated fully in the physical conditioning that seemed a staple of life at camp. Occasionally, Shockley would have something to add, but mostly he let Rabbit talk. He didn’t seem concerned that she might let something slip. Finally Mal sat back and looked at Shockley.
“I think that’s everything I need from Miss Romero.”
“Very good. Rabbit, head on back to class.”
“Yes, Mr. Shockley.” Rabbit crammed the knit cap onto straight black hair and didn’t wait to finish pulling on her jacket before trotting out the door.
“Is there anything else you need to take a look at?”
“Nothing here,” Mal said. “How often do you take your campers outside the fence?”
“They go for long runs only once a week, with the way the temperature is right now. In warmer weather, they go out two to three times a week.”
“Is there a chance Shejuanna picked something up in the woods?”
“I suppose anything is possible,” Shockley said. “The staff keeps a close eye on them when they’re outside the fence, though.”
“We should still take a look. Is there any way you can mark the typical routes your campers run? Say on a map.”
“Absolutely.” He stood and headed for the door. “I’ll be right back.”
“Do you have Shejuanna’s things around? We need to gather samples and eliminate them as a possible vector.”
Mr. Shockley pointed to a footlocker barely visible under the bed. “Her family hasn’t been up to collect her or her things. Everything she had is in there.”
“Very good. We’ll take a look.”
He hesitated for a moment, but when it was clear Mal had no more requests, he continued out the door.
“What do you think?” Mal asked when he was out of the room.
“I don’t think they’re hiding anything. Everything seems legitimate. Shockley is a little overenthusiastic, but there’s no indications he has something to hide.” Ruri hesitated.
“What is it?”
“Shejuanna’s bunk.”
“I was going to ask you. You seemed really interested in it.”
“It doesn’t smell right. There’s no way anyone died in that bed, especially not three days ago. Either they switched out the mattress or something else is going on. And it wasn’t a new mattress. It smelled like someone had been using it. I don’t know if it was Shejuanna or not. I can check her stuff against the mattress to find out for sure.”
“Good call.” Mal chewed over her revelation. “I didn’t expect that. We need to figure out if that’s the right mattress.”
“And if it is?”
“I wanted to take a look at the corpse anyway. It should still be at the morgue, but I imagine not for much longer.” Mal straightened, her mind made up. “Why don’t you check out the mattress again, then we’ll take a look around the perimeter. I was going to say we should check the woods, but that can wait for another day. The morgue will be our next stop after the perimeter. I’ll keep an eye on the door while you sniff out what’s going on with the bed. You should probably shift.”
Ruri tried not to roll her eyes but wasn’t as successful as she could have been.
With a grin, Mal reached out and punched her upper arm. “I saw that. Guess I shouldn’t be telling you how to do your business.”
“I think I can handle it,” Ruri said, her voice so dry it was a good thing there were no open flames nearby.
Mal fished the long wooden case out from under the bed. She rooted around for a minute, then tossed a T-shirt over to Ruri. “Will that work to get her scent?” At Ruri’s nod, she headed for the front door of the barracks. “Just hurry. I don’t want anyone catching us. I’ll send him off, then let you out.”
“Okay.” It could get dicey, but she trusted her mate to be true to her word. At least Mal wasn’t telling her that she couldn’t help. It was progress, however small.
Ruri left the shirt on a chair, then poked around until she found the showers. There was no reason to shift in the middle of the common area where the girls who bunked there would have to clean it up. The fluid from the change would be easier to clean here.
“Hey, Mal, I mean Miss Tipple, we should make sure we run the showers before we take off. I’m about to leave some traces that can’t be avoided.” Ruri pulled off her clothes and stacked them in a small pile in the corner.
“Good point.” Mal grinned. “I’m glad you keep me around for my opposable thumbs.”
“And other things.” She spared a quick glance at her mate over her shoulder as she readied herself for the wolf, who was strangely excited to emerge. She barely had to coax her out. Ruri dropped to all fours as her muscles cramped all at once.
“Oh god—” She barely had time to gasp before her muzzle had lengthened past the ability for human speech. Fluid burst from her gums as teeth lengthened and shifted. The fur rippled from her skin in a continuous wave from her nose to her tail, pushing more liquid from the skin. Not having had the time to brace herself, she toppled awkwardly to her side when the change abruptly ended.
“Are you okay?” Mal hissed from the doorway. She spared a glance for Ruri, then went back to watching for Shockley.
Ruri whuffed quietly in assent. She scrabbled to her feet, finding it challenging to get a grip on the slick porcelain tiles. Globs of fluid stuck to her fur and she shook herself with contained violence. Mal was far enough away to avoid being tagged with the spray. She’d learned through experience to give Ruri room. The fluid from the change wouldn’t hurt her, but it was sticky and viscous and the Hunter didn’t appreciate having to clean it off.
Ruri made her way back to the bunks, then sniffed the floor by Rabbit and Shejuanna’s bunk, getting a flavor for the two girls. Rabbit’s scent was dry and light, reminding her of snake scales. Shejuanna’s scent wasn’t as distinct, having had days to dissipate. It was strange: darker, of the depths of the forest and blooming flowers. An odd combination. Ruri stood still, rolling the girl’s scent over her tongue as she panted. She stuck her nose in the shirt on the chair and got another whiff of blossoms and loam. Satisfied that she had a read on the dead girl’s scent, Ruri sat back on her haunches and looked at the top bunk.
“Shit, I didn’t think of that,” Mal said from where she stood. “No sight of him yet. I can lift you up.”
The wolf’s annoyance at the suggestion matched Ruri’s. She shot Mal a look of disgust and leaped to the top bunk, landing gracefully.
“Message received.” Amusement danced below Mal’s serious response.
If Ruri had been in skin form, she would have shaken her head.
Mal turned her head, then opened the door. “There you are,” she said as she went out the door. Ruri felt exposed in the middle of the large bunk room, standing on top of the bed. Still, Mal said she would keep him out and she could only trust that she would.
Time to get back to work. She bent to inhale the covers. Shejuanna’s scent lingered here, though the detergent on the sheets confused the scent somewhat. It was even more floral. Ruri stuck her nose into the sheets, inhaling deeply. The smell of flowers clogged her nose, overwhelming all other scents until it was difficult to make out anything else. They sneezed violently, trying to drive the invasive scent from their nostrils. It didn’t work. Ruri felt like she was being drowned in an avalanche of petals. The wolf had also had enough, and she jumped from the bed. Pawing at her nose, Ruri tried to clear the cloying smell.
Finally, something else came through. Mal stood next to her, and her scent filled her nostrils, soothing them both.
“Is it hers?”
Ruri nodded.
“Then why doesn’t it smell like her death?” Mal stared out a nearby window. “It doesn’t make any sense, unless there’s something about where she actually died that they’re trying to hide. The photos showed her on the bed. I’ll have to ask the coroner if there’s any evidence she was moved. Let’s get out of here.”
Ruri and the wolf were in complete agreement on that front. Best to leave the scent of flowers behind. Damn humans and their need to perfume everything to the edge of beyond and back. Ruri waited while Mal retrieved her clothing. The Hunter turned on the showerheads above the worst of the fluid from the change while the wolf made her way to the door, still following Rabbit’s scent. Rejoining her, Mal opened the door and she stepped out into the cold. It didn’t penetrate the wolf’s fur in the least. She lifted their head and inhaled deeply, the crisp wind washing away the final remnants of flowers. She turned to follow Rabbit’s trail. It led away from the rest of the compound. Ruri stared at the nearby fence. Why would Rabbit head that way when she’d been told to go back to class? She doubted very much class was being held in the woods.
“What is it?”
Ruri didn’t respond, couldn’t respond. She put her nose down and inhaled Rabbit’s scent. The notes of snake were more intense, pushing away the light and dry overtones until the snake was dominant. That was exceedingly odd. People’s scents didn’t change like that, not usually. Something was going on. They stepped out onto the packed snow. It was time to find out what Rabbit was up to.
Chapter Seven
Mary Alice hadn’t expected Ruri to hang a left out the door. There was nothing to grab onto aside from her tail, an option which she doubted would have been well received. The wolven bounded over a low snowbank and into snow marred by lines of footprints. Those met up with more footprints. There was quite a path worn into the snow around the inside of the fence. The guards made rounds there frequently, it appeared. Ruri kept her head down, nose hovering above the ground, and followed the path for a short way, then stopped. She looked back at Mary Alice, then stared pointedly at the fence. Mary Alice joined her but couldn’t see anything. With a look that could only be one of exasperation, Ruri leaned forward and nosed at the chain links. They shifted. Instead of being attached to the post, someone had been careful to cut the links where the damage wouldn’t be noticed.
Mary Alice pulled back the fence and Ruri eeled her way through the opening. Mary Alice, her five-foot-three frame being closer to that of their quarry, followed easily, replacing the cut fence as best she could behind her. When she turned around, Ruri was already quite far down the trail, following a narrow path of footprints that disappeared into the underbrush.
Mary Alice hustled to catch up with her girlfriend. The woods were quiet around them. That in itself wasn’t unusual. When Ruri was around, the forest often seemed to hold its breath as the animals who called it home went to ground to avoid attracting her attention. Something about the silence felt more watchful than she was accustomed to, though. Her hand strayed to the hilt of her katana; she cursed when she encountered only fabric. Of course she didn’t have the sword; that would have been difficult to explain to Shockley.
“Ruri,” she hissed. “Wait up.”
Ruri flipped an ear back toward her but kept going. If anything she picked up the pace. Mary Alice swore under her breath and hustled to catch up to her.
“If you want to go poking around out here, you should really wait until I can get a weapon.”
Ruri sniffed and glanced at her ankle without stopping. Sure, she had a knife strapped there, but that wasn’t going to help much against anything large. Of course, anything they came up against would also have to contend with an angry wolven.
They continued further, following the trail that by now only Ruri could pick out. The snow under the trees was harder for Mary Alice to read, and it was old enough that it had been tamped down in places by the relentless freeze-thaw cycles of winter. Ruri didn’t hesitate and showed no sign of pausing. Whatever she’d found, she was determined to pursue, and all Mary Alice could do was follow along.
Fifteen minutes into their unscheduled hike, Ruri stopped. She perked both ears forward and stared deeper into the woods.
“What is it?” Mary Alice crouched next to her and strained her eyes to see what had finally stopped the wolven. “I don’t see—” A flash of movement stopped her mid-sentence. Something slipped between the trees up ahead. It was grey, and if she didn’t miss her guess the same shade as the sweats worn by the kids from the camp. “Ah.” What are they doing out here?
That was likely the same question that had motivated Ruri. She moved her hand over to caress Ruri’s chest for a moment before moving slowly forward. It was harder to stalk when snow covered the ground and obscured sticks that would break underfoot, but the snow also muffled those same sounds. She moved as quickly as she could to close some of the gap between them and the figure ahead. She didn’t want to tip whoever it was off. Ruri flowed soundlessly over the ground and around a small stand of trees to her right, keeping pace easily. As they got closer, Mary Alice was surprised to see that the figure wasn’t alone. There were two other teenagers a little further on down the path. The one they’d seen first was the tallest of the bunch, the other two were shorter, one by quite a bit. Straight dark hair hung down her back.
