In Between Seasons

Chapter 49

Waiting for the end to come sounds so dramatic, and it is, because when the end comes, it is dramatic. That's the way The Fall had happened, people knew it was coming. People prepared for it, but it didn't make it any less powerful when it hit. Hunter lived through this once before, and his patience of the inevitable eventually wore off on me. The winter months quickly faded into an unseasonably warm spring, and I passed my time waiting for the next fall to come.

I prepared for it.

I stared outside the window as I pulled my sneakers on. It had been raining for a few days now, but today the sun was shining enough to have dried the ground. I slipped the knives on beneath my shirt and headed for the door. I wanted to grab the gun, but I had no place to put it where it wouldn't show. I would have to wait until the evening to train with Hunter on that.

I reached the bottom of the steps and prepared to launch myself off of them when the door closing behind me caught me off guard.

"Hey, Kate," Mara greeted me.

I looked over my shoulder at her smiling figure.

"Hey," I replied, turning to face her. "What's up?"

She narrowed her eyes at me. "I could ask you the same thing."

Her blonde hair had grown out, and she pulled it into a small bun at the nape of her neck. It was still short enough that strands stuck out and framed her face. She crossed her arms, and I noticed the tone of them. She always wore long sleeve shirts, so I never noticed how they mirrored my own until that moment. Mara uncrossed them and placed them behind her back as she leaned on her toes.

"You've been MIA for the past couple of weeks," she commented as she stepped forward and sat at the edge of the deck.

I looked at the sky before plopping down beside her. "It's been so nice—I didn't want to waste it being cooped up inside all day."

"Me neither," Mara admitted. "I haven't been around here much either."

I cocked my head at her as we swung our legs in time with one another over the edge. "What have you been doing?"

She returned my look. "What have you been doing?"

I swallowed as the pressure of the knives around my waist cut into me. I looked down and was relieved my shirt was loose enough they didn't show.

"Working out, you know...running and such."

She shot me a glance from the corner of her eye as she smiled off into the distance at the exact spot where I trained each day.

"Me too," she replied.

"So you haven't been around Ames and the clan recently?" I asked.

Mara blinked at me. "I guess you haven't been paying much attention either." I shook my head, and she continued, "About two weeks ago Hunter sent Chris out on a mission. The warm weather warranted it."

My body froze.

"A mission?"

Mara nodded. "Hunter didn't tell you?"

I swallowed. Hunter and I didn't talk about the missions he sent the Hunters and Trackers on. It was a sore spot for him, so I left it alone. The fact that the warm weather warranted it made my body go cold, and I felt the goose bumps rising on my flesh.

"I must've missed it."

"Anyways, Amy's been pretty unbearable since."

Her expression, wide eyes, parted lips and raised brows made me laugh.