Page 26 of Salvation

Anna nodded, remembering the teary phone calls. She’d reassured Sarah as much as she could because she knew it would somehow work out. And it had.

“I guess Soren asked Todd to keep an eye on me when he was gone…”

Anna chuckled. “A little like now?”

Sarah’s smile was thin, her face strained. “I guess. Anyway, I got to know Todd pretty well.”

Anna listened eagerly for her cousin to say something like,He’s perfect for you!

“But… well…”

What? Anna wanted to shake the words out of her. What?

“Todd is Teddy’s f—”

Whatever Sarah was trying to say got cut off by a short, sharp bark. Something between a howl and a snarl. They both stepped back, scanning the hill to their left.

“What was that?” Sarah cried, pulling on Anna’s arm.

Something moved behind the trees, and a pair of bloodshot eyes flashed at them through the leaves.

Anna’s blood ran cold. “Is that a wolf?”

Sarah clutched her arm. “Back up slowly. Stay close.”

They’d had their share of animal encounters in the past, but something about this beast seemed different. The eyes that darted between the two of them were the eyes of a predator, not an animal caught by surprise. It lowered its muzzle and stepped forward, snarling openly.

Anna had never had a wild animal approach her. Most fled the second they spotted humans. The bears she and Sarah had occasionally seen in Montana had quickly turned away, disinterested, and even the bobcat they’d once stumbled across had quickly decided to retreat.

This animal, though, stalked forward, one deliberate step at a time, showing its fangs.

“Maybe just a coyote?” she asked out of the corner of her mouth.

“Wolf,” Sarah murmured, her voice full of dread.

Anna didn’t know there were wolves in Arizona, let alone big, nasty ones. She hooked elbows with Sarah and leaned down to pick up a stick. For now, she kept it at her side, but if the wolf came any closer, she’d brandish it and yell. That always worked, right?

The wolf stepped closer, snarling, and a stream of saliva dripped from the corner of its mouth.

“Is it rabid?” she whispered.

Sarah’s body was stiff and tense. “Not rabid. Something worse.”

What was worse than rabid? Anna didn’t want to find out. She raised her stick and opened her mouth to shout.

What came out, though, wasn’t just a shout. It was a roar. By the time she realized it wasn’t coming from her, she was sprawling across the ground. Sarah pushed her into a dive as a massive shape barreled out of the woods behind them and made for the wolf.

Anna rolled, and everything blurred. Then her knee knocked into a rock, and Sarah grunted beside her.

Todd. Her first thought was that Todd had raced up to chase the wolf away. But since when did Todd — quiet, reserved Todd — roar like a lion and tackle wild animals with his bare hands?

“Come on! Run!” Sarah urged, pulling her up.

They sprinted back down the path. Anna threw a glance over her shoulder but couldn’t see anything amidst the trail of shaking branches left in the wake of whatever had chased down the wolf. Both had raced out of sight behind the ridgeline, but another roar sounded, along with a ferocious canine snarl.

“Jesus, what was that?”

“A wolf,” Sarah said, taking huge, leaping bounds.

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