Being a Hero

Chapter 30

The song for this chapter is "Rangers" by Falling Up.

"Often does hatred hurt itself." –Gandalf

*Kevin's POV*

"That's not suspicious at all," John commented as the car slowed to a stop. There was an empty SUV pulled off to the side of the road facing towards us. Behind it was a huge tree that had fallen across the road.

"How much do you want to bet that's where the jammer is?" Moriah asked.

"We'll know soon enough." Tracy hopped out of the car and headed for the abandoned vehicle with her laptop and a few gizmos she'd fetched from her workshop.

"Hey, careful," Louie whispered, hurrying after her. "We don't know who could be out here or how many."

Moriah, John, and I followed close behind. I spun around as we walked, searching the trees. The forest loomed silent.

Louie shaded the glass of a window to look inside. "This tree didn't fall on its own. A chainsaw's in the back."

"If the car's still here, they're still here, right?" Tracy asked.

"Yeah," John said, using his power to unlock all the SUV's doors. He rested a hand on the hood. "And they've been here a while. Engine's cold."

"I don't like it," Louie said, staring out into the trees. "All the other places—the hospital, Caitlyn, HCS? They were all tactical hits, in and out, and they left no evidence. This shouldn't be here."

"And if they didn't succeed in getting whoever they were here for, why haven't they called us or tried to clear the road?" Moriah asked. "I know they have a chainsaw after that tree fell on the house last year."

"One way to find out!" John exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Hey, Louie, have you ever used a chainsaw before?"

A few minutes later the fallen tree was sawed in half, and John heaved the two halves to the side of the road—one against the SUV's front bumper, and the other behind it, boxing it in. "Whoo! Not gonna lie, I'll be out of energy pretty soon," John admitted. "That took more effort to move than I thought. I should have eaten something before we left."

"The jammer's not here," Tracy reported climbing back out of the car. "Whoever's here must have it on them."

"Alright, let's find them," I said, still eyeing the trees. Something felt...off. The faint groan of wood drifted through the air, making my fur stand on end.

We drove down the cleared road, keeping alert for trouble. Last thing we needed was someone getting the jump on us when most of us were already tired. John cracked the windows to listen for anything out of place. We heard nothing until we reached another roadblock. This one brought us up short, not because we couldn't pass it but because of the sheer strangeness. A blanket of vines with a smattering of young leaves obscured the road.

"What the heck?" John asked, parking the car to approach the vines on foot. The rest of us followed him into the eerie quiet.

"I knew kudzu grew fast, but this is a bit ridiculous," Moriah said, scratching her head.

I crept forward to stand next to John and looked a bit closer. Something dark and wet on one of the vines caught my eye. "Is that blood?"

John looked closer and nodded. "Yeah and still wet."

"There's more over here!" Tracy called from the side of the road. We joined her to see a few more drops on the asphalt.

"How long does it take for blood to dry?" Moriah asked. "This can't be very old."