Free Forging Day (Crucible of Change Book 1) by Noelle Alladania Meade Page B

“Hey, sis. Vaccinate this!”
     

 
Report 2
    Interoffice Memo
     
    To:Dr. Wxxxxx
    From:Dr. Hxxxxx
     
    Oh my god! I told you he was losing it. Dr. Fxxxxx is locked in his lab. There are flying rats in the hallways. We can’t cut the power. Why aren’t those boneheads from Special Forces doing anything? Can’t they break down the door? If you don’t come out of your office, I swear I’m going to have them break down your door. Come on. Hide under your desk later.
     
    To:Dr. Hxxxxx
    From:Dr. Wxxxxx
     
    Screw you! I’m a chubby walking teddy bear. I’ll hide under my desk if I want to.
     

 

Chapter Seven
    Campers, We Are Leaving!
     
    I really wanted to get out of here, but this night wasn’t quite done with us yet. With my amazing new vision, I could easily see a young boy standing on the dark road just outside our camp. “Who’s there?”
    Seth, Wendy’s oldest son, rushed into our campsite. He had one of those small dragons on his shoulder, but this one was looking around and making crooning noises. His eyes got huge when he looked at us, but his need outweighed his surprise. “You’re still here! Mom says we need Berto. Something got my dad and his leg is hurt real bad.”
    While Berto got his medical kit from the van, I grabbed my archery gear. “Let’s go,” Berto told Seth.
    “I’m going with you!” I told him. “You can’t go alone, and someone needs to stay with Kat and Tessa.”
    “I’ll stay,” said Mikah. He got his own archery gear out of the van as we left with Seth.
    Last time we went to the pavilion loop, it was a short walk in broad daylight. While I could see everything as clear as day, I still jumped at every shadow.
    Seth kept his flashlight aimed at the ground and was practically running. “You have to hurry!”
    Wendy was ghost pale when we got to her camp. Mike had a blood-soaked towel wrapped around his lower leg and his lips were grey. Berto was all business now. “Wendy, I need your help. You can do this.”
    Ignoring Mike’s muffled groans and focusing on the forest around us, I put the light to my back and moved a little way into the darkness. With an arrow nocked but not drawn, I scanned the night for anything coming this way. Wendy hadn’t said what got Mike, but it attacked his leg, so I kept a watch close to the ground.
    There was a flash of movement, and a small snarling creature hurtled toward me. I got off one arrow. It went wide, and the creature was on me. It wasn’t big, but its leap knocked me to the ground. It was one of the small wolf-like creatures from the sheep-stealing competition.
    I got an arm between me and the creature just in time. It kept those flashing teeth away from my throat, but its claws were shredding my forearm. Grimly ignoring the pain, I desperately felt around for one of my other arrows. I snagged one and drove the arrow deep into one of its glowing yellow eyes. The thrashing finally slowed and then stopped. The remaining eye went dim. I threw the body off me, clutching my torn arm tight to my chest and trying to staunch the bleeding.
    I lay there, panting, eyes squeezed closed, and finally forced myself to get up. Snagging my bow with my good hand, I staggered back to the camp. “Berto, when you’re done there, I have another customer for you.”
    I dropped onto the bench of the picnic table and willed my head to stop spinning. My ears were ringing, and everything sounded far away. Seth was great. He got another towel and wrapped it tightly around my wounded arm.
    “I got it,” I gritted out. “It’s just past those trees.”
    Seth dug a stick into the embers of their campfire and grimly walked toward where I’d gestured, carrying his makeshift torch. He looked like a whole different kid from the little boy I’d seen at dinner in another life.
    “Seth, please stay close. We don’t know how many more there are.”
    He came back with the body and dropped it near the wood pile. He confirmed my guess. “That was one of