Hawkins looked into her eyes, still fighting the urge to pick up the rifle. He’d made a horrible first impression with this … girl when they’d first met. He was determined to do better this time. He just hoped she wouldn’t tear his throat out.
“You think you’re better than me,” she said. “Everyone who comes here is the same. You’re all afraid of us because we don’t look like you. But that’s fine. You should be. We’re stronger, faster, and smarter than any of you.”
The tone of the girl’s voice had taken on that of a teenage temper tantrum, and Hawkins decided that’s what it was. So he didn’t argue, he just listened to her vent. But then her tone became darker. She slinked back into the shadows so he could only see her yellow eyes. “I don’t want to know you.”
“Wait,” he said.
She moved farther away. “I don’t want to be your friend.”
Hawkins stood. “I’m sorry.”
The panther-girl closed her eyes and disappeared. Her last words lost the edge and sounded sad more than anything. “You’ll be dead soon, anyway.”
The trees above shook, and then she was gone.
Hawkins searched the jungle. She was gone.
While he took consolation in the fact that something other than the goats didn’t want to eat him, he now had even more unanswered questions. Nothing I can do about that now, he thought, and stood.
“Hello!” a voice called. Faint. In the distance. Behind him.
Hawkins spun around and climbed up the hill, back toward the old lab.
“Where is everyone?” the voice called.
Hawkins paused at the fence, wary of the cameras. Bennett was there, walking across the wooden bridge with a severe limp. The goats gave him an unusually wide birth, which was probably a good thing. Bennett didn’t look so hot, though his face perked up when he saw Hawkins by the fence.
“Hawkins!” Bennett said a lot louder than he should have. He gave a wave and hobbled across the clearing. “Hawkins, thank God!” He tripped when he reached the fence and Hawkins had to catch him.
“Where are the others?” Hawkins asked.
“I—I don’t know.”
“What happened?”
Bennett’s eyes turned down. “I’m … not sure.”
“You were in the lab last night,” Hawkins said, trying not to let his impatience show. Bennett was injured, and shook up, but he was also the only one who might know what happened to the others. “Bray is gone. Drake is gone. All of our equipment is gone. The lab has been cleaned out.”
Bennett didn’t look up as he spoke softly. “I ran.”
“You what?”
“Ran,” Bennett said. “Into the jungle. When that thing showed up I didn’t know what to do! I saw you go down. I wouldn’t have stood a chance. So I ran. Hid in a tree overnight. Didn’t come back out until just now.”
Hawkins sighed. He was frustrated with the kid, but understood. Bennett was right. If he’d stayed, he would have been killed or taken with Joliet. He gave Bennett a pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, kid, you did the right thing.”
Bennett began to shake, maybe from fear, maybe from adrenaline.
Hawkins took hold of his arms, which felt stronger than he would have guessed. “Bennett, you’re okay. You’re safe.”
The shaking got worse, and Hawkins worried the kid was having a seizure. But his eyes looked clear. And afraid. Wet with tears. Hawkins wasn’t exactly a fatherly type. He didn’t have those instincts, and they were never modeled to him by his father. Instead, he channeled Howie GoodTracks. “Life is full of hardships. Horrible things sometimes happen. People we love die. But in the end, it’s all heat for the furnace.”
Bennett stopped shaking and locked his eyes on Hawkins. “What?”
“Bad things refine us,” Hawkins said, completing the metaphor. “Make us stronger, so that we can overcome the challenges in our own lives. That’s what’s happening here. For you. When we get off this island, you’ll be a stronger person. A better person.”
Hawkins cringed inwardly. When GoodTracks spoke similar words to him it was because they were putting down a lame horse, not running for their lives on an island populated by killer chimeras. He doubted even GoodTracks would have something wise to say about their current situation. His mentor understood nature like few people, but there was very little natural about the island. Still, the words seemed to have done the trick.
Bennett relaxed a bit and gave a nod. He offered a lame smile. “Easy for you to say. You’re already pretty tough.”
Hawkins smiled, though it was purely for show. “Wasn’t always.”
Bennett braced himself against a palm trunk. “So, what are you doing? What’s your plan? You have one, right?”
Hawkins noted that Bennett wasn’t including himself in the questions, but didn’t point it out. “Following the trail.”