Chapter 23
Hae weaved through the crowd on quick feet.
Grace strained to see through flashes of light from the rides what he could be chasing. But he was too fast, and with each stride he was leaving her farther and farther behind.
“Hae! Wait up!” she called after him, but he either didn’t hear her or didn’t care as he ran to the edges of the carnival.
“Hae, where are you going?” Grace was out of breath from running, but she didn’t stop.
Soon they were beyond the lights and noise of the booths and games, approaching a thin patch of trees adjacent to the neighboring subdivision. Hae had stopped there, scanning the sparse tree line.
Grace finally caught up to him. “Hae, let’s go back.”
He didn’t answer.
Grace followed his line of sight to the dark shadows. She didn’t see anything, but still a shiver snaked down her spine. Was it instinct telling her something was out there?
“Hae.”
He clasped a hand over her mouth, pointing at the tree line.
Her body shook ever so slightly as she looked.
Two pale things weaved in and out of the trees.
Tall and thin. She would almost have mistaken them for men, but for the way they moved. Like their muscles were too stiff to work smoothly.
Hae moved forward to block Grace with his body.
One of the things lurched closer, opening its mouth in an angry snarl that revealed teeth sharpened to terrifying points.
“Grace,” Hae said. “Run.”