21

By early evening, the Founder's Festival had settled into a different rhythm.

The families with young children drifted home carrying prizes and cotton candy.

The craft booths began packing away delicate pottery and handmade quilts.

Strings of warm white lights blinked on one by one above Main Street, casting a golden glow over the sidewalks.

Music floated through the square as a local folk band took the stage beneath the gazebo.

The mountains surrounding Black Hollow disappeared into deep blue shadows.

Emily stood near the edge of the park with a paper cup of hot cider warming her hands.

She watched couples dance beneath the lights while friends laughed around picnic tables.

She hadn't expected to enjoy herself this much.

Her phone buzzed.

One bar of service.

Just enough.

Mom Calling

Emily smiled and answered.

"Hi, Mom."

"There's my girl."

Sarah sounded relieved.

"I've been trying to call all afternoon."

"The festival has been crazy."

"I wish I could see it."

Emily slowly turned in a circle as she described everything.

"You would love it."

"The whole town decorated."

"There are musicians on every corner."

"I spent the morning leading a nature walk."

"You did?"

"I was terrified."

Sarah laughed.

"You?"

"Terrified?"

"I know."

Emily laughed too.

"The kids made it easy."

"I'm proud of you."

Emily smiled.

"I met almost everyone in town."

"I'm glad."

"And..."

She hesitated.

"What?"

Emily looked across the square.

Kael stood near the conservation booth helping two volunteers fold tables.

"I've made some really good friends."

Sarah heard the softness in her daughter's voice.

"That makes me happy."

"It does?"

"Of course."

"You've always had a way of finding good people."

Emily watched Kael laugh at something Noah had said.

"Yeah..."

"I think I have."

After they said goodbye, Emily slipped her phone back into her pocket.

For reasons she couldn't explain, she suddenly missed her parents.

She made a mental note to send them pictures later that evening.

---

Across the square...

Kael was loading folding chairs into the back of a truck.

Noah tossed another stack beside him.

"You've looked over here six times."

Kael frowned.

"I have not."

"You have."

"No."

"You absolutely have."

Lena walked past carrying a box of decorations.

"I counted eight."

Kael sighed.

"You two are exhausting."

Noah grinned.

"And yet completely correct."

Kael glanced toward Emily again before catching himself.

Noah noticed anyway.

"You know..."

"What?"

"She keeps looking over here too."

Kael didn't answer.

He simply closed the truck tailgate.

---

Emily wandered toward the conservation booth.

"You guys need any help?"

Kael looked up.

"We're almost finished."

"I don't mind."

She picked up a stack of folded signs before anyone could stop her.

Noah leaned toward Lena.

"See?"

"What?"

"They're both incapable of standing still."

Lena smiled.

"Some people show they care by helping."

---

It took another twenty minutes before everything was finally packed away.

Melissa stretched her arms overhead.

"I think that's everything."

The conservation volunteers slowly drifted off toward the restaurants lining Main Street.

Emily looked around.

"So..."

"What happens now?"

Noah answered immediately.

"The bonfire."

"The what?"

Lena smiled.

"Town tradition."

"Every Founder's Festival ends with a bonfire near Crescent Lake."

Emily's eyes brightened.

"That sounds amazing."

"It is."

---

The walk to the lake took about fifteen minutes.

Nearly half the town made the trip together.

Children carried flashlights.

Teenagers laughed as they skipped stones into the river.

Neighbors greeted one another as though they'd all been family for decades.

Emily walked beside Kael.

"I've never lived anywhere people actually know each other."

He smiled.

"It has advantages."

"And disadvantages?"

He laughed quietly.

"You can't keep a secret."

Emily smiled.

"I've noticed."

---

Crescent Lake reflected the moon like polished glass.

A massive bonfire had already been built near the shoreline.

Logs nearly six feet high waited in the center of a wide stone fire ring.

Families spread blankets across the grass.

Someone passed around marshmallows.

The smell of cedar smoke drifted across the water.

Emily looked around in awe.

"This is beautiful."

Kael watched her expression.

"I'm glad you came."

"So am I."

---

The town mayor stepped forward.

After a brief welcome speech, he handed a lit torch to the oldest resident of Black Hollow.

Frank.

The elderly man Emily had met while helping decorate.

The crowd grew quiet.

Frank slowly walked toward the towering stack of logs.

He smiled.

"My father lit this fire."

"My grandfather before him."

"And his father before that."

He touched the torch to the waiting kindling.

Within seconds...

Flames climbed skyward.

The crowd applauded.

Children cheered.

Warm orange light danced across every face gathered around the lake.

Emily stared into the fire.

Something about it felt...

Ancient.

Almost ceremonial.

She couldn't explain why.

---

Several hundred yards away...

Hidden beyond the glow of the bonfire...

Jonathan Mercer lowered his binoculars.

"They're all here."

The younger hunter nodded.

"Almost."

Mercer frowned.

"Who's missing?"

She scanned the crowd again.

"The stranger."

"Adrian."

Mercer's expression hardened.

"Find him."

---

Much closer than anyone realized...

Adrian stood among the trees.

He wasn't watching the fire.

He was watching the forest beyond it.

His head slowly turned.

He had heard something.

A branch snapped.

Too heavy for a deer.

Too deliberate for a hiker.

His expression changed instantly.

"They're moving."

---

Emily accepted a roasted marshmallow from Grace.

"I haven't done this since I was ten."

Grace laughed.

"Then you're overdue."

Emily carefully slid the marshmallow between two graham crackers.

Before she could take a bite—

Every dog near the bonfire suddenly began barking.

Not playful barking.

Sharp.

Urgent.

Heads turned.

The music stopped.

A deep howl echoed from somewhere high in the mountains.

Another answered.

Then another.

The sound rolled across the valley.

The hairs on Emily's arms stood up.

She looked toward Kael.

His relaxed posture had vanished.

He was perfectly still.

Listening.

Noah slowly stepped closer.

"So they finally showed themselves."

Kael's eyes never left the dark tree line.

"Not them."

"What?"

He spoke so quietly only Noah heard.

"Something else."

---

The wind shifted.

Kael caught a scent.

Smoke.

Pine.

Human.

Then...

Blood.

Fresh.

His heart dropped.

"Lena."

She was already looking at him.

"You smell it too?"

She nodded once.

"It's close."

Emily noticed the silent exchange.

"What's wrong?"

Kael forced his expression to soften.

"Probably a wounded deer."

Emily nodded uncertainly.

"If you're sure."

He wasn't.

Not even close.

---

Then it happened.

A terrified scream shattered the night.

Not from the bonfire.

From the forest.

A child's scream.

Every conversation stopped instantly.

Parents turned toward the sound.

The mayor shouted,

"Everyone stay together!"

Another scream.

Closer this time.

Emily instinctively took one step toward the trees.

Kael immediately caught her arm.

"Wait."

"What if someone's hurt?"

"I know."

"We have to help."

His silver eyes searched hers.

"Please."

There was something in his voice she'd never heard before.

Fear.

Not for himself.

For her.

Then a little boy burst from the tree line.

He couldn't have been older than eight.

His clothes were torn.

He stumbled into the firelight sobbing.

"They..."

He gasped for breath.

"...they took my dog."

His mother ran forward, pulling him into her arms.

"What happened?"

The boy pointed toward the darkness.

"There was..."

He struggled to breathe.

"...something in the woods."

The entire town fell silent.

Every pair of eyes turned toward the black wall of trees surrounding the lake.

No one noticed that, without a word, Kael, Noah, and Lena had instinctively moved into positions that placed Emily in the safest part of the crowd.

No one except Adrian.

From the shadows, he watched the three of them form an almost unconscious protective triangle around her.

He closed his eyes for a brief moment.

"It's starting."

Behind him, somewhere deep in the darkness beyond the lake, something large moved between the trees.

Not once.

Not twice.

But several times.

As if multiple unseen figures were circling the edge of the firelight.

Waiting.

Watching.

Choosing the right moment to step into the open.