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“What happened?” Grayson blanched. He shook his head, blinking rapidly and taking a few deep breaths. Clearly, the survivalist training instructor hadn’t been prepared to handlethis.
“It was my fault,” Brett started. “I left the tent for a second—”
“It wasn’t your fault!” Ellie cut him off. “You were taking care of the tracker thatyouhad the brilliant idea to look for in the first place!”
“Tracker?” Grayson asked. His fingers were on his temple now, as if he were trying to hold in all of this information.
Ellie’s chest swelled with pride thinking about how Brett was able to piece it all together. “We couldn’t figure out how the hawk kept finding us. It actually swooped down and attacked Brett when we were in a clearing in the woods. Brett figured out that there must be a tracker on us. He found it. But when he went to send it floating down the river, a man entered the tent and grabbed me.” Tears swelled in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks. She began to shake and couldn’t continue.
Brett stepped over, putting his arm around her before filling in what she was unable to recount. “I had left Ellie my pocketknife just in case. And she stabbed the man in self-defense.”
“Okay.” Grayson nodded slowly. “Do you think you can show us on the map where you left the body so FUCN’A can send in a retrieval team?”
“Noooo…” Brett said, drawing out the word. “Uh, not because I don’t remember the location but because the body was gone in the morning.”
“Which is why I said IthinkI killed someone. We don’t know…” Ellie trailed off, unable to find the right words.
“Dr. Smith,” FUCN’A director, Alyce Cooper, said from the speakerphone, which Ellie hadn’t even realized Grayson had turned on. “His name was Dr. Smith, and we were after him for a while. His body mysteriously turned up this morning. Grayson, get these cadets back to WANC, ASAP.”
“Will do.” Grayson hung up his phone and replaced it in his pocket. He pressed his lips together, deep in thought. “I am glad you two are safe. What an ordeal. Come on, let’s get you back.” He turned toward the waiting truck.
“Did we pass?” Ellie asked, choking back her tears. “Even though we were late getting back?”
Grayson turned back to the pair, eyeing them up. “I’d say you both exceeded expectations. This was to be a pretend assignment. Cadets were to prove that they could survive in the wilderness when in the field but with no real danger occurring. However, you two had to deal with a crisis as true FUC agents.”
A wide smile broke across his face. Ellie was taken aback. Instructor Grayson hardly showed that much emotion in class.
“You both deserve top scores for resourcefulness and your ability to change your plan when necessary.”
Ellie reached out and squeezed Brett’s hand. She couldn’t have done it without him. He pulled her in for a hug, wrapping his arms tight around her. The assignment was over, but everything else between them was just beginning.
