Page 89 of The Tracker's Revenge
Chapter 29
Iawoke to a loud bangas the driver-side door shut. Blaze wasn’t on my lap anymore, and I glanced around in a panic, looking for him.
“He’s back here,” Rosalina said.
He was asleep on my friend’s lap.
“You traitor,” I said, then stretched and squinted at our dark surroundings. “Are we there yet?”
“Yeah, Jake’s checking to see if it’s safe.”
I peered through the front window as Jake cautiously went up a set of wooden steps of what appeared to be a log cabin. Trees surrounded us, and there were no electric lights. The only illumination was a waxing moon.
Eric’s car was parked on the other side of a dirt driveway.
“It’s so dark,” Rosalina complained, squinting out the window. “Can you see anything?”
With her Stale eyes, I had no idea how much she could actually see. “Um, yes, there’s a log cabin, but the windows are dark.”
She made a noncommittal sound in the back of her throat. Just then, Blaze woke up, hopped off Rosalina’s lap, and arched his back, stretching. Suddenly, he leaped into the driver seat, then onto the dashboard, where he took a watchful position.
“That’s an odd cat,” Rosalina said. “My abuelita says cats can’t be trusted. She prefers dogs.”
Blaze blew air through his nose as if to scoff at Abuela Esperanza’s preference in domestic animals. He didn’t glance back, though. He just continued staring toward the cabin, the tip of his tail twitching. He stirred as soon as Jake reappeared, accompanied by Eric.
“It’s all good,” I said to Rosalina, then got out of the car.
Blaze was out in a flash, bounding from the dashboard to the seat I’d just vacated, then onto the ground. I pulled the lever to scoot the seat forward and let Rosalina out. She took my offered hand and stretched out to her full height. Groaning, she pressed a hand to the small of her back and jutted her hips forward.
“Gah, I’m so stiff,” she said.
“How long did it take us to get here?” I asked, wondering for the first time.
“A bit over an hour,” she said.
Not too long at all. For an instant, I’d worried it had taken much longer than that, but it’d just been the right amount of time for a nap. Since I was little, I’d been able to snooze away during car rides. But my siblings? Not so much. They always preferred arguing over stupid stuff.
“All good?” Eric asked, coming to a stop a few feet away from the Camaro.
I nodded.
