Chapter Eight

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Chapter Eight

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!

Clueless' eyes snapped open, and she scrambled to her feet to find herself…nowhere. The newly Awakened dog-walker had never shared her former owner's fear of the dark, but at that moment, lost in a tangle of unfamiliar smells and sounds without even her own eyes to give her comfort, she could almost imagine how Zave must have felt every time the lights went out.

BAM BAM BAM!

There was a pause, and then a faint, muffled voice called out, "Hello? Is anyone down there?"

"Who the hell is that?" Ember's voice demanded from the opposite corner. Clueless heard her shift around, probably standing up. "And how did they find—"

BAMBAMBAMBAMBAMBAM!

"Hellooooooo? Are you people alive in there?"

Clueless heard a soft click, and light flooded the small storm shelter. A lone lightbulb swung lazily back and forth on its cord, first shining on Clueless and then Ember and Norrin. The storm had raged on for another two or three hours after they'd shut themselves in here the night before, but eventually the thunderbird had given up and flown away, taking the worst of the gale with it. The sound of gentler rain could still be heard pattering against the metal door, but Clueless hadn't heard a single clap of thunder since before she'd fallen asleep.

BAM BAM BAM!

The three of them exchanged looks, and then as one raised their eyes to the trap door Norrin had slammed shut the night before. Whoever was up there, they weren't giving up. Apparently coming to a decision, Norrin stepped forward and reached up toward the door—

"What do you think you're doing?" Ember snapped, grabbing the fur on Norrin's arm with both hands.

Norrin tilted his head.

"We can not be seen by humans!" the fox-walker hissed, her bright green eyes bright with anger. "I swear, you spend one day away from the nest, and you become as stupid as her!"

Clueless watched the two of them bicker. What her was Ember talking ab…

Oh.

"But," Norrin said slowly, "what if it's Glenn?"

"Or Zave?" Clueless put in. For a moment her tail began to wag, but then she realized what she had said and tucked the traitorous appendage between her legs. "Or- Or Fey?"

"Does that voice sound like it belongs to any of those people, you troglodyte?" Ember bared her fangs, and Clueless took a step back in alarm. "Listen to me, both of you! With Glenn…gone…I am the alpha here! That means we do what I say, and I say we're not opening that door until that human goes away!"

"He not leaving," said Clueless.

"Just keep your damn mouth shut and he will!" Ember snarled. "He won't keep knocking on a door if he thinks nobody's here."

"Whoever's down there, I can hear your voices," called the man outside. "I'm here to help, so let me in!"

Ember gritted her teeth in frustration. Glaring knives at Clueless as if this were all her fault, the fox-walker spun around to face the wall and think. Up above them, whoever was outside kept knocking and yelling at them. How many times would he have to knock before the door just came off its hinges? Clueless remembered how wildly she would bark whenever someone rang the doorbell at Zave's house. None of those people had ended up harming Zave, so she must have been doing something right. Maybe if she barked a few times at the man outside, he would—

"All right, everyone turn human," Ember ordered. Even Clueless, who was still relatively inexperienced with all these higher human-type emotions, could easily detect the disgust in Ember's voice when she said that. Still, she and Norrin obeyed without question, their fur retreating into their bodies and their faces flattening. Luckily, they hadn't taken off their human clothes. Well, Norrin had torn off his shirt sometime during the night, but all the important stuff was still there.

Once the storm cellar was free of skinwalkers, and only a trio of very awkward looking humans remained, Ember stepped up to the trap door, raised a hesitant hand, and unlocked it.

Immediately, the door flew open and dim sunlight poured in through the opening, followed quickly by a fourth figure.

"That's more like it," said the interloper, brushing dirt off his sleeve. "I thought you people were never going to let me in!"

The stranger was thin and wiry, with short black hair cut almost down to his scalp. His feet were a little too big for his body, and his wispy mustache and goatee looked completely out of place on his otherwise boyish face. He looked at each of them in turn through a thick pair of glasses, and stopped at Clueless, giving her a gap-toothed grin.

What a dork, Clueless thought, then paused in surprise. Since when had she known what the word dork word meant?

Across from him, Ember's face had turned red. "E- Excuse me! I don't remember inviting you inside!"

"Hm? Oh, right," said the dork. "Sorry, I figured I wouldn't need to be invited in, seeing how this isn't your house."

Ember gaped at him, and without another word the stranger pushed his way farther in and began to rummage through one of the cabinets. While things were quiet, Clueless took a minute to study him further. Confusingly, and not at all fitting with the rest of his image, he had a hunting bow strung across his back, and right beside it hung a quiver full of arrows. On his waist were sheathed a wicked looking machete and hunting knife.

"And just how do you know this isn't our house?" Ember demanded, finally finding her voice.

"Because the people who own this house are dead," said the stranger, busily sorting through the canned goods in the cabinet. "You're obviously from that plane that crashed yesterday."

Clueless gasped. "Plane! Where? Is close?"

The stranger looked at her in surprise. "Did she hit her head or something?"

Ember bared her teeth at him, which Clueless thought was much less intimidating when she was in human form.

"What the hell," she asked slowly, "do you want?"

"Well, obviously I'm here to help." The stranger paused, holding up a can of premade chili. "Ooh, jackpot! This'll taste great when we make camp tonight."

With a growl, Ember slapped the can out of his hand.

"Oh," he said, staring blankly at his empty hand. "Are you, like, vegetarian or something? Sorry."

Ember grabbed him by the shirt and brought her face threateningly close to his. "What makes you think I want help from a hu…from you?"

"Why wouldn't you?" he asked, completely nonplussed.

Ember looked like she was on the verge of exploding. She pushed the stranger away, throwing him into the cabinet and spilling cans all over the floor, before making for the door.

"I do not want, nor do I need, your help," she yelled over her shoulder. "I'm more than capable of keeping these two idiots alive until we find…you know what? You don't need to know who we're looking for! Come on, you two!"

She hoisted herself up into the daylight, and Norrin followed right behind her.

"Sorry," Clueless said, giving the stranger an apologetic smile. "She mean to everyone."

With that she lifted herself out of the storm shelter and back into the outside world. It was brighter out here than it had been the day before, but the sky was still covered in clouds. All that was left of the torrential downpour from the previous day was a cold, wet mist hanging in the air. The smell of the freshly passed storm was almost overpowering, but beneath it Clueless could detect the scent of human. Lots of humans. But they were old scents, like whoever had left them had been gone for days, maybe weeks. She remembered what the stranger had said about the owners of the house being dead. Was that really true? And even worse, did that mean that the entire town was dead? The mere thought made Clueless feel weak in the knees.

"Listen," Ember was saying to Norrin, apparently not caring if Clueless heard. "Glenn was in the other part of the plane when it broke in half, and I'd bet my tail that he survived the crash. He's too good to die like that. So we just have to find the crash site and we'll find him."

"And Fey," Norrin rumbled. "And Zave."

"If we're lucky," growled Ember, "those two are dead and gone so they can't hurt our pack anymore."

The look Norrin gave her was disapproving, but he didn't argue.

"That thunderbird is still out there," said the stranger, poking his head out of the cellar. "You guys won't last a day without me!"

"As if a shrimp like you could do anything against a monster like that!" Ember yelled at him from across the yard.

That comment seemed to finally get through to him, and he gave her an indignant look. "Yes I can! I'm a—"

"What are you going to do? Be live bait?" Ember turned and began to march resolutely toward the woods. "I told you, we don't need your help, so why don't you go screw yourself and leave us alone?"

The stranger was silent. Looking guiltily back at him for a second, Clueless set off after Ember—who abruptly stopped. The fox-walker stood at the treeline for a long time before, her face burning, turning around and marching back over to where the stranger waited.

"Where did the plane crash?" she demanded.

The stranger brightened. "I can show you! It's just a—"

"Where. Is. It?"

"Oh, I…I just thought…" The stranger raised his hand and pointed eastward. "About nine miles that way. But—"

"That's all I wanted," Ember cut him off, already heading in the direction he'd pointed. "You two, come with me or get left behind. And you," she turned to give the stranger a venomous glare, "don't follow us!"

NEXT CHAPTER: 1/01/2025