Free Fire in the Woods by Jennifer M. Eaton Page A

mess before Dad came in.
    A day’s stubble marred Dad’s square jaw. He rubbed his swollen eyes and looked up at me. “How’d you get home?”
    Oops.
    “Oh, umm, Mrs. Baker dropped me off.” Score one point for Jess. I was turning in to a half-decent liar. Felt like crap about it, though.
    He slumped down on a kitchen chair and held his forehead.
    “Dad, are you okay?”
    “I’ve had better days. Thanks for cooking, pequeña .”
    I scooped together a taco for each of us and sat down. “So, what’s going on?”
    He chewed and swallowed. “I talked to Grandma. She’s still going to be here Thursday morning, but she’s going to pick you up and the two of you will be on the next plane to Florida.”
    “But…”
    He raised his hand up. Why did that always stop me dead in my tracks? “They’re not dropping this investigation. They’re making evacuation plans for all the neighboring towns.”
    “What? Why?”
    “For the worst case scenario.”
    I set my tortilla shell on my plate. “And what are the chances of having a worst case scenario?”
    “Slim, but not impossible.”
    He stared at the bitten end of his taco. His mind seemed far away.
    David was a freaking kid for goodness sake. What were they making such a big deal about? Unless it wasn’t David at all. Maybe they were afraid of the same person David was hiding from. I wiped my hands on a napkin. There were just too many possibilities. Too many maybes to try to wiggle around. I wanted answers, and the guy sitting beside me had them.
    “Okay, cryptic-talk time. If there was something wrong, which there probably isn’t, would it have to do with the plane crash?”
    His lips hinted at a grin. “Yes.”
    I jumped, surprised by the swiftness of his response. Good. He was willing to play. “And they are afraid of what…fuel leakage? Radiation? What?”
    “None of the above.”
    “So they really are looking for someone?”
    The sudden flex of his neck muscles told me ‘yes’.
    “You’re kidding. How dangerous could one kid be?”
    He raised an eyebrow. “Kid?”
    Oops. “Well, you know. Maggie and the rumor mill. Are they really going to evacuate everyone?”
    His face remained blank. “Not everyone. Just the civilians.”
    “That’s crazy.”
    The set of his jaw told me he didn’t agree. “I just don’t want you anywhere near here.”
    “Dad, you just said the chances of them evacuating us are slim.”
    He shook his head. “Jess, I wish I could tell you more, but I need you as far away from here as you can get. Do you understand?”
    Wow. He used the ‘Daddy loves you’ voice. That’s pulling out the big guns. Something in his eyes told me not to argue, like this was bigger than both of us. “Okay. I’ll pack a bag. But you need to get some sleep or you’re gonna die of sleep deportation or something.”
    “Sleep deportation?” He grinned.
    Hell hast frozen over…the man actually grinned!
    “You know what I mean.”
    “I will, sweetie. I promise.”
     
    ***
     
    I rolled over in my bed, my face sinking into a soft pocket in my pillow.
    Grandma’s. Ugh.Maybe I could talk her into taking me to the everglades or something so I could take pictures. That’s one day covered. I supposed Universal Studios was out of the question. She wasn’t even close enough to a beach to enjoy the weather. What a lousy way to end the Summer.
    A cool tremor ran through my veins as the hair on my arms stood up. My stomach lurched and I started to sweat. Every sense I had sprung into hyper drive. My ears heard the smallest of noises—the clock ticking downstairs, the light hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen, the crickets outside my window, and someone—breathing. Yes. I definitely heard someone breathing, and—a presence. My skin crawled as I imagined beady eyes watching, leering.
    Mustering all of my courage, I rolled over, ready to laugh at myself. Instead, I screamed as a silhouette of a man moved toward me and covered my mouth. I