Page 118 of The Darkest Hour

“But it was faint. Cigarettes, whiskey, onions. I knew it was a man, probably in his fifties. Not too healthy.”

“How can you tell all of that?”

“It’s just a guess. My nose and I play this game and through the years I’ve figured out how to be correct.”

My heart pounded. “So. . .there’s an older man on this island with us.”

“Yes and no.”

“What the fuck?”

“His scent also reeks of death.”

All hope left. “So. . .he could be dead?”

“I think so. When I try to figure out where his scent is, it only leads to the alarmingly potent scent of death as if. . .there are a lot of dead bodies around him.”

I swallowed hard, picked up the bullet, and rolled it between my fingers. “Discarded bullets from shooting a gun.”

“Yes.” Havoc closed his eyes.

I turned the bullet over, inspecting it closely. “ .50 caliber round. Heavy. Deadly.”

“And far from the ordinary gunfire.”

My breath caught in my throat. “The kind used in high-powered rifles.”

“The kind that can take down large game from a distance.” Havoc turned to me and opened his eyes. “Whoever shot those bullets wasn’t just out here plinking cans. This is serious firepower.”

I narrowed my eyes. “A hunter?”

“Not just any hunter.” He frowned. “A wealthy hunter. The kind who could fly to his remote island to track the sort of game that perhaps is illegal to hunt in the civilized world.”

I blinked. “What are you trying to say, Havoc.”

“I’m not saying anything. The island is saying it for me.”

Cold dread crept up my spine.

I put the bullet down and reached for the tooth next. “A human tooth.”

“A small human tooth.”

My stomach twisted. “A child’s tooth.”

I let the tooth drop back onto the leaf. “And the hair. It probably belonged to a little girl. . .”

Havoc put his view back on the sky.

I couldn’t look at the rest of the items that clearly belonged to other kids.

Jesus. Some sick fuck was out here, hunting kids?

Probably knowing that I had come to the same realization, Havoc sighed. “You should eat.”

“I don’t want to eat anymore. I have no appetite.”

“You need your strength for when we head back to our shelter.”

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