Twilight: Bay City Paranormal Investigations, Book 3

muscle normally would. Just felt tight and sore, and it hurt to put weight on it. Now…” He shook his head, brows drawn together in thought. “I don’t know. It doesn’t hurt, exactly. It burns. It feels sort of like there’s little bubbles bursting under my skin and inside the muscle.”
Sam shot him a concerned look. “That can’t be normal.”
“I know.” Winding the tail of his braid around his finger, Bo met Sam’s gaze. “When we get back to the cabin, I’d like to take a good look at it. What I’m feeling is unusual enough that I’d like for us both to examine the old wound as closely as possible.”
Letting his hand slide down Bo’s arm, Sam briefly squeezed his fingers. “Maybe you should let Dean look at it too. He’s the only one here with medical training.”
“Yes, I think you’re right. I’ll have Dean take a look and give his opinion.”
“Good.”
At that moment, Anne stopped about fifty feet up the trail and nodded toward the trees to Sam’s right. “Okay, this is it. Right here is where the sightings have been.”
Bo hurried forward, with Sam at his heels. Sam noticed the faint stiffness of Bo’s gait and the way his hand rubbed his right thigh, but kept quiet about it. Bo wouldn’t appreciate him interrupting the investigation with concerns over Bo’s discomfort, especially since they’d just finished discussing what to do about it.
“All of the sightings have been at this exact spot?” Bo twisted his braid and stared into the thicket of pines. “You’re certain?”
“Uh-huh.” Moving to stand beside Bo, Anne pointed into the trees. “See that rock there?”
Sam looked in the direction Anne pointed. About twenty feet from the path, a large, smooth boulder rose from a mass of brambles. It shone white in the shadows.
“Yes, I see it,” Bo said. “Have the witnesses all mentioned seeing the creature near that boulder?”
“Yep. Every last one.”
“Hm.” Bo wrote on his notepad, then glanced at Sam. “Why don’t you go ahead and start the video, Sam?”
“Sure thing.” Thumbing the video camera on, Sam centered the picture and started filming. “Dean? Stills?”
“Got it,” Dean called, already snapping photos. “Hey, Anne, what exactly did the witnesses see? Where did they say the…critter, thing, whatever, where did it come from? And where did it go?”
“Everybody said it came from behind the rock someplace, ran through the woods to the left of the rock for a little ways, then took off through the trees away from the path and disappeared. We figure it only seemed like it disappeared because of the low light.” Her face took on a thoughtful expression. “You know what, now that I think of it, it’s kind of weird that everybody saw it go the exact same way.”
“Just what I was thinking myself,” Bo said. “Anne, have you seen it?”
Her eyes took on a strangely furtive look. “No. A couple of the other workers have, though.”
A glance at Bo told Sam he’d gotten the same sense Sam had—that Anne was lying. But why? It doesn’t make any sense. Resolving to talk to the other staff members when he got a chance, Sam filed the information away for later use.
Bo laid a hand on Sam’s arm. “Sam, can you feel anything here?”
“Not right now. Here, take the camera and I’ll see what I can pick up.”
Handing the video camera to Bo, Sam shut his eyes and stretched out his senses. Something wispy and vague tugged at the edge of his mind. Whatever it was, it was nothing like the overwhelming menace and sense of purpose he’d felt in Oleander House or South Bay High.
“There’s something,” he murmured, his eyes still closed. “But it’s very faint. And it doesn’t feel threatening at all. Not like before.”
He opened his eyes and met Bo’s relieved gaze. Bo gave him a wide smile. “That’s good. Why don’t the three of us walk out to the rock? We can take some close-up pictures and video, and inspect the area.” He turned to Anne. “That’s okay, isn’t it?”
“Sure,” she said. “Just watch your step. The ground drops off pretty suddenly a few dozen yards past the boulder.”
“We’ll be careful.” Bo glanced at Dean. “All right, let’s all be on the lookout for anything unusual while we’re walking out there. We’ll check all around the rock, then take video and stills. Got it?”
“Got it, boss.” Bumping Anne’s shoulder with his, Dean moved to Bo’s side. “I’m ready.”
The three of them moved