“But we’re not going to do that, right?” Kara asked.
“Nope. Well not all of us anyway.” She looked around the group, as though deciding how to split them up. Daryl didn’t envy her. Did she split Nathan and Davies up? Or throw them in the deep end from the start?
“I’m going with the theory that the strongest scent we’ll find will lead to the forest side, so Kara, Simon, you two take that path.” They both nodded and moved closer to one another. “When you get in scent range, if you detect more than one of Jenn’s team, then make as much noise as you can to create a distraction and try to lure them away from their post. Hopefully we can overwhelm whoever’s guarding the other sides and get through.”
“And if we only sense one?” Simon spoke up this time. “Because that’s why you’re not keeping us all together, isn’t it?”
Rachel smiled at him, all teeth. “Yes. If I’m wrong, then you two should have a great chance at getting through, while we have our hands full.” She looked around them all. “Any questions? No?”
she said when no one spoke. “Then let’s do this. Good luck everyone.”
There were three scent trails leading into the forest, one stronger than the others. Daryl easily picked out the six shifters who’d used it. He wondered if Jenn had had some of them double back and go another way like Rachel thought, or if they were all waiting at the end of it. Only one way to find out.
Kara and Simon set off along the main one, while the rest of them followed Rachel to one of the others.
She stopped at the start of it. “Jenn’s scent was on the trail Kara and Simon took, but also this one.” She pointed at the third one. “I think some of her team doubled back on both of these and then took the main one. And I think these two lead to either the water or the open space and hopefully are only guarded by one or two of her team.”
“Does it matter which one we take?” Daryl asked. He already had his theories, he wanted to hear Rachel’s.
“I don’t think so. If either one or both ends up leading nowhere, then we take the other trail. If it leads to forest, water, or open space, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” She shrugged as if to say,it is what it is.
Daryl thought much the same. If anyone waited for them at the end of this trail, they were only a shout away from the rest of their team anyway. He hoped there were enough scents in and around the forest that they didn’t get picked up before they were in range. The wind was almost non-existent today, and they were heavily sheltered by the trees, hiding scents from both sides. Should make things interesting.
“Enough talking.” She pointed ahead. “Let’s go.”
THE FOREST WAS thicker than Daryl had first thought, and bigger too. He’d expected a twenty-minute jog through the trees, at most, but in some places the branches were so low and heavy, they had to pick their way through carefully. The thickness of the forest went a good way to muffling the sounds around them, and the eerie silence, broken occasionally by a twig snap or a birdcall, started to feel oppressive.
Daryl rolled his shoulders and shook off the feeling.
They tried to be as quiet as possible, watching where they walked—but every now and again someone stepped on a branch or rustled a pile of leaves. Daryl winced when it happened but held his tongue.
Through all the scents in the forest, he couldn’t smell any of Jenn’s pack other than what was on the trail. How far away could they be?
Rachel fell back to jog alongside him. “They can’t be much further, can they?” she whispered.
“Wouldn’t have thought so. No chance they’ve led us on a wild goose chase?” Daryl didn’t think Jenn would risk losing two members of her team in the hope Rachel would follow them. Especially since her scent was amongst the ones they were following.
Rachel was about to answer when those in front came to an abrupt halt. She beckoned Daryl to go with her and rushed to see what had happened. As soon as they reached Nathan, Daryl realised what had stopped them.
The scents had disappeared. One moment they were as strong as before, the next, gone. As though they’d been plucked from mid-air. Daryl stepped closer to the huge tree on his left-hand side.
It was almost like . . . He looked up, andoh.He nudged Rachel and pointed upwards to where a rope ladder had been stowed amongst the high branches. A narrow walkway connected the trees going off a ways in front until Daryl couldn’t follow it.
“Could we get up there, d’you reckon?” The bottom branches had been removed, the first one sitting about ten feet from the ground. Daryl reckoned he could probably reach it with a leg up.
“Yeah maybe.” A flash of something white on the side of the tree trunk caught his attention, and he walked over to pluck a piece of paper pinned to the bark. “But that might be a moot point.” He handed the paper to Rachel.
“Shit,” she whispered, then read aloud for the benefit of the others. “‘Out of bounds for chasing team. Failure to comply means a forfeit and cooking/cleaning duty for the whole two weeks.’”
Rob walked closer, glancing up at the tree. “So we can’t go up there?”
“Do you want to cook and clean for every meal while we’re here?” Rachel asked, and Rob
grimaced.
“And we’d automatically lose,” Daryl added. Now they were in the middle of it, Daryl wanted to win. No way was he losing to Jason. The loser was the first to wear the blindfold tonight.
Rachel studied the note again. “Assuming it’s authentic.”
