35. Jack
THIRTY-FIVE
JACK
The next morning Jack, Marcus, Sloan, and Aareth walked over to the Ahab house to find a note on the door that read:
Dear Guests,
I’m sorry I can’t personally be here to welcome you this morning. I need to go take care of my sister. Food is ready for you on the table as well as a list my father compiled of who the creature has attacked, people who have seen the beast, and where the last attack took place.
Be safe,
Abigail
Aareth opened the door slowly, almost as if he expected an ambush. When he didn’t see anything, he walked inside and took a seat at the table. “Does anyone else get a weird feeling from this family?”
“Most definitely.” Sloan voiced what they were all thinking. “Today, we’ll find out what.”
Breakfast was a modest meal of eggs, bacon, and fruit. Abigail had already set the table for them neatly with folded napkins at each place setting and an arrangement of flowers as the centerpiece.
Jack brought himself back to reality as his mind drifted to Abigail and the conversation he’d had with her the previous night.
“Jack, are you listening?”
“Ummm… yeah, Dad, sorry. What—what did you say?”
“Why don’t we let Sloan and Aareth talk to the eyewitnesses and check out the last murder scene. You and I can take a walk in the woods surrounding the town and see what we can find. Sound like a plan?”
Jack nodded, once more aware of his surroundings. Sloan hunched over the list Elijah compiled, Aareth turned the combination of gears on his electric gauntlets, and Marcus was just finishing his meal.
“Okay, Marcus, Jack. I know I don’t have to tell you to be careful, but I feel like I still need to tell you to be careful.
” Sloan looked up from the paper. “We’ll meet back here for dinner, six o’clock.
Keep your eyes open. There’s a long list of deceased city members here.
We can be sure of one thing already; this thing knows how to kill. ”