Aisha assures me everything will be fine before scurrying off to check-in with Jasper. I hurry to my cabin to dress––even in an emergency I'd rather put on a shirt than stand around half naked.
On my way to the ampitheatre I run into Simon and Todd, and we find our way there together.
The theatre is built into a hillside a little ways from camp. Banks of seats curve in shrinking semi-circles, leading down to a stage area.
In less than ten minutes everyone has gathered in the amphitheater.
Some of the wolves from the lake are still in their trunks, towels draped over their sunburnt shoulders. Others have come back from hiking in their walking boots, with sweat-stained t-shirts.
I keep my eye out for Katie but I can't see her anywhere.
A blanket of low-level panic rests over the crowd.
From our spot at the back I notice more of the wolves in army gear posted at stations about twenty feet apart; they've formed a perimeter around the seating.
"Hey, what's with the Rambo wannabes?" I ask quietly, leaning closer to Todd.
"Pack guards on security detail," he says. "They usually stay out of the way so they don't bring down the mood."
"I heard they have their own cabin somewhere on the outskirts of the property," Simon adds, just as a hush settles over the crowd.
Jasper––who also had the sense to get dressed, and is now wearing a black t-shirt with black running pants, always back!––steps into the center of the platform below.
"Thank you for gathering here so quickly. I won't waste your time, we have just had reports that a rogue has been spotted on the property."
A rogue?!
Agitated whispers and rising voices join to meet the growing wind.
We've all learned about rogues from our parents. They're wolves who have abandoned or been excommunicated from their packs. The separation of a wolf from its pack is such a traumatizing event that these wolves become crazed and violent.
Rogues are hungry for blood, with an insatiable appetite for violence.
All of us gathered in one place like this is, well, it's like setting up a wolf buffet.
"Our security team is doing everything they can to confirm these sightings and apprehend the rogue before any damage can be done. But for them to do their jobs I need your cooperation. So until further notice, I'm asking you all to return to your cabins. Lock the doors from the inside and wait until you receive further instructions."
"What about the run?!" a lone voice calls out from the crowd.
I can't believe our lives may be in danger and some demented, love-sick moron is concerned about going for a run in the dark.
"Until we know it is safe I cannot see how we can continue with the evening's planned activities."
An angry murmur rises from all around. Jasper takes a step back, he looks nervous. Aisha was right. He's only a kid, just two years older than me and here he is dealing with honest-to-the-Moon-Gods life and death situations while trying to quell the overactive hormones of a bunch of randy, don't-know-what's-good-for-them wolves.
"Please," he calls, trying to be heard over the increasing rabble.
"Return to your cabins. We are doing our best to sort this as quickly as possible. If we can neutralize the threat we will re-evaluate the situation, but please, I'm asking for your help."
Just when I think Jasper is about to lose control, the crowd begins to move off. I guess not being mauled to death is more important than running around looking for a snuggle-buddy. Everyone rises and heads toward the cabins.
"Come on, bro," Todd says, gesturing for me to follow. He and Simon have already begun heading back.
But as the crowds flow past me I realize someone is missing.
Someone who wandered off into the forest earlier today. Someone who left because I upset her.
My whole body runs cold, dread seizes my heart like a skeleton hand.
Todd and Simon are staring at me like my skin has turned purple.
"Come on, man," Simon says. "What's the hold-up?"
"Katie is still out there," I say.
The clouds burst as a sky-cracking bolt of lightning illuminates the forest. Not too far away, thunder crashes, shaking the ground.
Todd and Simon called after me when I left, sprinting away from the cabins and into the woods. Let them shout, I thought. I'd rather they think I was crazy than for anything bad to happen to Katie.
I know it's not the smartest move. Running off without telling anyone where I'm going. But there wasn't time before my instincts took over, lifting my feet, and pointing me in the direction I last saw Katie heading this morning.
Even under the dense foliage of the forest canopy, rain still manages to spatter the ground. It's thick, heavy rain, the kind that makes you wonder if the clouds have been saving themselves for a special occasion.
Running comes easy to me again, just like it did during Capture the Flag. I hurtle through the woods at a speed I didn't even know I was capable of, leaping uprooted branches with ease. I thank the blue moon or whatever strange circumstance has gifted me this new athletic ability. Last time I thought it was my determination to beat Jasper that spurred me on, maybe this time it's my desperation to find Katie before...before… I can't even think about finishing that thought. Yes, there is a killer rogue out here. And yes, Katie has been out here all alone for several hours but that doesn't mean...it doesn't mean anything bad has happened.
I wipe a drop of rain––or maybe sweat––from my forehead and keep running. The rain grows heavier as I move further into the dank, dark heart of the woods. I keep my senses as alert as possible, sniffing for even a whiff of Katie's scent.
Mud flies up from underneath me as I dig in and stop suddenly. My eyes have caught on something. A flash of pink in my periphery. I try to think back to this morning. Was Katie wearing pink? Think, Max! You need to think! Why am I so unobservant?
But then it comes to me. Yes! She was wearing pink. A ribbon, to tie back her hair. I spin and run to where I've spotted her ribbon. But I arrive deflated. It's her ribbon alright. Only it isn't attached to her. The thin piece of fabric is hanging from a branch.
It's not bad news, I try to tell myself. It could have snagged on this tree and come undone. What it does mean is I'm on the right track. Katie came this way.
I lift my nose in the air and try to sniff her out but all I get is an overwhelming stench of soil and rotting foliage. I have to keep running.
Making out the blurred line of a path in the mud I pick up my pace and follow it. The rain has turned into an all-out maelstrom. Heavy droplets smack into my face, soaking my clothes and blurring my vision.
I spot the ravine from yesterday and think about slowing down but I can't, Katie needs me. Without hesitating, I prepare myself to make the jump and just as I'm about to take off I hear my name.
"Max!"
I skid to a stop, and turn to find Katie standing behind me with all her limbs attached, completely alive and untouched by the rogue.
"What are you doing out here? You're soaked?"
Tears spring to my eyes but are quickly washed away by the continuing downpour. I run over to Katie who is standing beneath a rocky outcrop shielding herself from the rain.
"You're okay," I gasp, taking her in my arms and pulling her into me. The feeling of her on my chest, the tangible, solid force of her sends shivers of relief through me.
"I'm fine," she says, a little confused. "I'm wet now thanks to you, but I'm fine. I was about to hike back to camp when it started raining so I thought I'd just wait it out."
I look into her crystal clear eyes and touch her face. She looks at me like I'm being super weird.
"What's going on?" she asks. "Why are you acting like...like you've just seen a ghost?"
"Back at camp...we were swimming...and...emergency meeting...and…" "What, Max? What's the emergency?" Katie's confused expression becomes one of concern, graduating into full-blown worry. "Why did you come out here to find me?"
"Jasper...called an emergency meeting," I say, still trying to catch my breath. "And there's a...on the loose...a...a…" "A rogue?" Katie asks as the color drains from her cheeks.
She isn't looking at me anymore. She's looking over my shoulder.
"How did you know that?" I ask, terror creeping up the back of my legs like a pair of lizards.
"Because...look…" I turn around slowly but back up quickly when I see what Katie has been staring at. Standing on the other side of the ravine is the rogue. It's in its wolf form and probably the largest animal I've ever seen. Bigger than my dad even! His dark, matted fur is sticking up in clumps, interspersed with patches of raw, scab-ridden skin. His ribs are visible and his eyes sunken into his skull. Rain is pouring over his long, crooked muzzle, a white scar marks his cheek; there's a sickly yellow tint to his eyes, and his fangs drip with thick, gooey saliva.
He stares at us from across the crevice, waiting for us to make a move before he pounces.
I reach behind me and find Katie's hand, and we grip each other tightly.
The rogue is snarling, staring at us like a starving beast who's just spotted dinner. Lighting crashes overhead and he snaps his jaws.
"You have to go," I say before I even know what I'm doing.
"No, Max, we can fight him if we shift."
"That thing will tear us in half before we even manage the change."
Shifting is fast, considering the sheer amount of anatomy that needs to be rearranged. But in the few seconds it takes for us to go from humble, sweet-looking teenagers to ferocious wild animals, the monster across the ravine will have leaped over here and turned us into kibble.
"I'm not leaving you."
"Just do it," I say, hissing through clenched teeth. "I can outrun it."
"You can't," Katie says, fighting back tears.
"I can, this messed up blue moon shit is giving me super speed.
Okay? I'm the freaking Flash. But you need to run back to camp and get help. Maybe I can keep ahead of him until someone comes."
"No, Max…" My entire body is trembling with fear and adrenaline. I feel like my heart is about to explode, but it's my fault that Katie is out here. It's my fault that she's in this situation to begin with. And as scared as I am, I'm determined to get her out.
"When I say go, you run back to camp, got it?"
"What about the ravine? The jump! You'll never make it."
"Yes, I will." I squeeze her hand one last time. "Go!"
I pull away and dash for the ravine, and the second I run the rogue leaps into the air with all the ferocious energy of a beast on a mission.
One quick glance behind me, to check that Katie is on her way to safety, then I pick up speed and sprint toward the ravine.
I push off with all my strength, leaping into the air. The rogue watches me as I crescent moon over the gorge, landing safely on the other side.
There's no time for me to savor my victory because the rogue is close, running at full pelt. I dash into the forest while he changes direction to follow. For every step I take I can hear his sick, wheezing pants, and for every sharp intake of air I take, I hear his feet pounding the soil.
For a while, I manage to keep a good distance between us, but the landscape becomes harder to traverse. Rocks jut out of the soil, roots curl around them like greedy fingers, moss and mud make secure footing hard to find. And finally, I tread in a rain-soaked puddle and feel my legs go out from underneath me.
I tumble forward, rolling across the uneven ground and coming to a halt.
I scramble backward, trying to get up on my feet but it's no use.
There's no time left.
The rogue growls, its pale, droopy tongue slopping lustfully about in its mouth, then leaps at me.
Time slows down as I brace for impact, for the crushing weight of the rogue as he pins me to the ground.
I scream as he crashes down on top of me and his claws pierce my skin. He rears back then plunges his fangs into my neck.