John barely slept.
Not because he was afraid.
The ranger station was secure enough, and nothing had approached during the night.
But the woman's warning kept returning to his mind.
*The monsters are running from something.*
There was something about the way she had said it.
Not like a rumor.
Not like a theory.
She knew.
John opened his eyes before sunrise.
The room was still dark.
Around him, the others were sleeping.
He quietly got up and stepped outside.
The morning air was cold.
Mist covered the forest floor, and thin rays of sunlight were beginning to appear between the trees.
The Soul Raven was already awake.
It sat on the roof of the ranger station, watching the forest.
John looked up.
"You never sleep?"
The bird tilted its head.
"Yeah, that's what I thought."
He walked toward the edge of the clearing.
Yesterday's tracks were still visible.
The woman's footprints.
The party's footprints.
The large wolf-like creature's tracks.
John crouched.
