Tread Softly

Начало книги

Cheryl heard it again — the soft, dry crunching sound that a foot might make in leaves. This time, it was very close.

She lay rigid in her sleeping bag, barely daring to breathe, gazing straight up at the dark slanting wall of the tent and telling herself to stay calm.

It's probably just an animal. Maybe a deer. A few days ago, camped in a meadow below the pass, they'd been awakened in the night by a deer wandering near their tent. Its hooves had crashed through the foliage, snapping branches and shaking the ground. Bambi the Elephant, Danny had called it.

This was different.

This was stealthy.

She heard it again, flinched, and dug her fingertips into her bare thighs.

Maybe something falling from a tree? Pinecones? They could make sounds like that, she supposed. Plenty of wind out there to shake them loose.

That's it. That has to be it. Otherwise, somebody is standing just outside the tent, and that can't be.

Читать дальше →