James started to get restless. He stood in the open doorway leading to the tunnel, listening for any signs of Hannah and Ariane’s approach. Aside from the steady drip-drip of rain, everything was silent.“Where are they?” he muttered.Nathaniel shrugged. “I dunno.” The Union hadn’t taken Minesweeper off of their interdimensional control terminals, and he had played at least a dozen games.James’s worry grew the longer he stood in the doorway. “Ariane’s probably having problems getting up the hill,” he finally said. “I’ll run down and help. Stay here.”Nathaniel rolled his eyes and turned back to the computer.When James climbed out of the tunnel, he found everything just the way he had left it: the body leaking blood onto the dirt, the damaged outbuilding, and Nathaniel’s magic splattered everywhere. A soft rain was already washing Hannah’s footprints away.But the further he got from the horrors of the outpost, the more peaceful the forest became. The soft rain had driven all of the animals into hiding, so it was quiet, almost idyllic.He didn’t even feel the angel until the highway came into sight.James stopped on the trail, staring at the scene in front of him.Shock blanked his mind, so that the images came to him in confused fragments: Blood underneath Hannah’s body.
