{"sf1_id":809219,"sf2_id":null,"title":"The Wandering Shadow: Chapter Ten","author":"LucarioZer0","words":5040,"posted_at":"2015-01-19T03:22:00.000Z","tags":["Angst","Canine","Human","Magic","Plot Development","Story Progression","Wolf"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/809219-the-wandering-shadow-chapter-ten","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/view/809219","image_url":"https://www.sofurryfiles.com/std/thumb?page=809219\u0026ext=.jpg","description":"","content":"\n10\nAs the hours\npassed and morning melded into early afternoon a comfortable silence fell\nbetween Will and Jenna. It was rather similar to how their mornings at home had\nbeen, or at least he thought so. Will looked down to his right, where she lay\non her half of the cart's bench seat. He smiled. Odd as it was, he was actually\njust starting to get used to things as they were. He by no means wanted her\ncondition to last, but the previous night had changed his perspective on how\ntheir life was going. Were things bad? Undoubtedly. But they still had each\nother. That made things at least tolerable.\nAs they made\ntheir way down the road that day, Will found himself enjoying the simplicity of\ntraveling. He had always been dead set on settling down and having a family of\nhis own, so he had never given much thought to travel. Even the past few weeks\nhis own worries and concerns had been so heavy on his mind that he had been\nunable to consider much else.\nBut now, with\nhis mind at ease he realized that he had to admit that he liked this nomadic\nlife they had been leading. There was something about the freedom of it that he\nliked. Even if they had a set destination, he knew they could do anything or go\nanywhere in between. \nWill looked back\nover his shoulder at David, who was still in a state of exhaustion induced\nsleep. I think I'm starting to see how he\nthinks a bit, Will thought. The\ndestination may be important, but the journey can mean just as much, sometimes\neven more.\nWill turned back\nto the road, a bit surprised by his own thoughts. He couldn't help but wonder\nif that was just a revelation of his own, or if David's presence in their lives\nwas having an influence on him.\nWill was taken\nout of his introspective mindset by his stomach rumbling. He placed a hand over\nhis midsection and sighed. He smiled sheepishly as he looked back to Jenna. \"I\nthink when we get to the next town we should get some food to carry with us.\nWe've been able to hop from city to city pretty quick, so I didn't really think\nabout it before. If we're gonna be traveling much longer though...\"\nJenna nodded.\nThey would need at least something for the days when they wouldn't be able to\nstop in a city or town. She laid her head down on Will's lap and yawned widely\nas her thoughts drifted. She thought of home, and what may have changed since\nthey had left. She wondered how much longer they would be on the road. She was\nhit by a wave of sadness as she worried that she might not return to normal,\nbut it passed after a few moments as her thoughts returned to the road ahead.\nShe was\ndistracted for a moment when she felt an itch on the underside of her chin.\nWithout thinking she stretched out a hind leg to deal with the irritation, but\nstopped, eyes widening slightly. Jenna had to all but force herself to return\nher hind leg to its original position, instead using her forepaw to deal with\nher itch.\nJenna sighed\nsoftly, too quiet for anyone to hear. Lately she had noticed an increase in the\ninfluence of animal instincts. Little things mostly, like just now, trying to\nscratch with her hind paw like a dog might. It bothered her, and made her worry\nthat she might be slipping further away from being human.\nShe clenched her\npaws just a bit, enough to draw Will's attention Looking down at her he asked,\n\"You alright?\"\nThinking quickly\nshe pushed back into a stretch, trying to make it seem like her tensing up had\njust been a prelude to that action. She then shook her head, and lied back down\nwith her head on his lap once more. Even\nif I could speak to him...I'm not sure I would want to tell him, she thought.\nHe finally seems...almost happy...or at least\nas much as either of us could be these days. I don't want him to go back to\nbeing distant and worrisome. I'll just have to try to ignore these urges...and\ntry to enjoy what little humanity I have left. Who knows how long it will last\nfor?\nJenna looked up\nin surprise as Will pulled on Vincent's reigns, bringing the silvery colt and\nthe cart to a stop. Ahead of them was a fork in the road. Neither direction was\nmarked. They had no way of knowing which road to follow. Will thought for a\nsecond then said, \"We'll need a map to figure out where to go. We're gonna have\nto wake up David.\"\nBoth looked back\nat the illusionist, who appeared to be undisturbed by the cart's stopping. The\ntwo exchanged a glance then Will jerked his head, motioning for her to go rouse\nhim. She gave him a look that asked 'Why me?' Will smirked. \"I woke him up last\ntime.\"\nJenna grumbled\nand hopped into the back of the cart, deciding she didn't feel like trying to\nargue. Since when is waking someone up\nturn based?\nJenna tilted her\nhead as she looked David over, trying to decide the best way too wake him. A\ndevilish glint entered her eyes as she thought of what could be an amusing way.\nShe lowered herself just a bit, then sprung off the bottom of the cart onto\nDavid, bouncing back off him almost immediately. David cried out in a mixture\nof shock and pain, rolling onto his side and clutching his stomach.\n\"Ahhaha...what the hell?\"\nWill burst out\nlaughing. Between David's reaction and the smug look on Jenna's face he\ncouldn't help himself. David gave Will an incredulous look. \"Are\nyou--ugh--actually laughing at this? Come to...think of it, are you actually laughing?\nDon't think I've heard you laugh before.\"\nWill cleared his\nthroat, bringing himself under control. \"It uh...it has been a while since I've\nfelt like laughing. Too much serious stuff going on, I suppose.\"\nDavid pushed\nhimself back into a sitting position and groaned. \"Well that's lovely. Glad\nyou're so damn amused...but why the hell is your bitch jumping on me anyway?\"\nJenna sat up\nperfectly straight, staring at David as though she were a noble who had just\nbeen horribly insulted. He withered under the gaze of her emerald eye, doing\neverything in his power to avoid looking at her directly. After a moment she\nlet out a huff, stood up, and returned to the seat beside Will, making sure to\nsmack David in the face with her tail as she went.\nWill had to\nfight the urge to start laughing again, restraining himself only because of the\nlook on David's face. Will cleared his throat again. \"We uh...she woke you up\nbecause the road splits here. We need your map so we can figure out where we're\nheading.\"\n\"Bloody\nhell...couldn't you have been a bit gentler about it at least? Honestly.\" In\nspite of his complaints though David started rooting around in his pockets,\nuntil after a minute he produced the many times folded paper, stretching\nforward just enough to hand it to Will.\nWill took the\nmap with a nod. \"Thanks. You can feel free to go back to sleep if you want.\"\nDavid crossed\nhis arms with a 'humph' and sat back against the side of the cart as Will tried\nto decipher the map. He still felt tired, but he didn't really feel like going\nback to sleep. Can't honestly say I feel\nI'll get much sleep with these two around anyway, he thought.\nSeveral minutes\npassed and--after figuring out that they needed to follow the right fork of the\nroad--Will urged Vincent forward setting them in motion once more.\nAs the hours\npassed David generally ignored Will and Jenna, trying to find ways to keep\nhimself occupied. This proved rather difficult, as even the scenery was\nsomewhat bland. There were mountains to the north, and that was it other than\ngrass and trees. It was the nice kind of day that he--were he on his own--would\nhave passed simply by sleeping, perhaps in the shade of one of the trees\ndotting the side of the road.\nI\nused to have such a nice, easy, simple life, he\nmused. Then these two come along and\nsuddenly I'm traveling to hell and back all just to turn a wolf back into a\nwoman. I mean honestly. If I had known that day I was going to wake up and get\ndrawn into this mess of theirs, I rather think I would have stayed--\nHe was taken\naway from his thoughts as his attention was drawn by movement in the corner of\nhis eye. He looked back at the road behind them, narrowing his eyes. Had he\njust imagined it? Or had he really seen that shadowy blur? David turned back to\nface the front of the cart and quietly said, \"Will.\"\nWill looked\nback, quirking a brow. \"What's going on? I thought you were asleep with how\nquiet you were being.\"\nDavid shook his\nhead. \"No. I...I think that...something...may be following us.\"\nWill and Jenna\nexchanged skeptical looks before Will asked, \"What makes you say that?\"\nDavid hesitated\nbefore explaining. \"See...as an illusionist and thief, I'm rather used to\nsneaking about and deceiving people. I'm also rather adept at spotting others\ntrying to do the same. Sometimes I can just feel it happening, kind of like a\nsixth sense. I've had this itching feeling that we've been followed for a while\nnow, but I didn't talk about it. Figured I was just being paranoid. But just\nnow I saw...something moving behind us. Like a shadow.\"\nWill shook his\nhead. \"I'm sure it's nothing. You're probably right about being paranoid. Mix\nthat with how tired you are...I'd be seeing things too. After all, who would have\nany reason to follow us? We're not rich or important, and as far as I know\nneither Jenna nor I have anyone who would wish us any harm. Can't say the same\nfor you, but still.\"\nDavid nodded\nslowly. \"Maybe you're right. I still feel rather uncomfortable though.\"\nWill shrugged.\n\"I wouldn't know what to tell you. Besides, even if someone is following us,\nI'm sure we could deal with it should they show themselves.\"\nDavid looked\nless than reassured. \"I hope you're right mate, I really do.\"\nAs they\ncontinued along the road David found he was continuously looking back, part of\nhim hoping he would see something, part of him hoping he wouldn't see anything.\n***\nThey could see\nthe lights of Nice on the horizon when night fell, and thus agreed to stick to\nthe road until they reached the city. Arriving at the city at that late hour\nthough meant that everything had already closed its doors for the\nnight--including inns and hotels--leaving the three of them to spend the night in\nthe cart.\nWhen morning\ncame they split up, David going to the port to find if any ships would be leaving\nsoon for Alexandria, while Will and Jenna set out to do some shopping. Along\nwith purchasing some nonperishables as food supply while on the road, Will made\na point of getting a bag of peppermints, the memory of their trip across the\nAtlantic and his accompanying seasickness haunting him with the thought of\ntheir upcoming crossing of the Mediterranean.\nTheir shopping\ndone, Will and Jenna made for the port with the pace of a leisurely stroll. Odd\nas it was they felt no need to hurry. It was a rather interesting change for\nthem, all things considered. Maybe, Will\nthought, we've just become used to this.\nWhen they\narrived at the port it took but a few moments of searching to find David,\nstanding against the cart, waiting for them to appear. He grinned as they\napproached. \"I was wondering what you two had got up to. It's a good thing\nthere weren't any ships leaving an hour ago, or we would have missed them.\"\nWill shrugged.\n\"We weren't in any hurry. Did you find any ship's leaving today?\"\nDavid smiled a\nbit wider. \"That I did, as luck would have it. And, it's even big enough that\nwe can hang onto Vincent and the cart.\"\nDavid patted the\ncolt's flank affectionately. \"It'll be leaving this afternoon around two\no'clock, so we have some time. The ship in question is called the 'Summer\nWind'. It'll take us straight to Alexandria.\"\n\"Good. How long\nwill the trip take?\"\n\"'Bout three\ndays, assuming fair weather and no extenuating circumstances.\"\nJenna's ears\nsplayed. Three days seemed like a bit too much. Like Will she found herself\nfeeling less urgent, but at the same time it she had hoped for a faster pace.\nWill sighed.\n\"Three days huh? Well, it could be worse. Did you actually buy our way onto the\nship yet? Or were you just waiting for us?\"\nDavid smirked.\n\"We can get on the ship, yes. But do you really want to know whether or not I\npaid properly?\"\nWill shook his\nhead. \"I...you're right, I don't think I want to know.\"\nWith their plans\nset they had nothing to do but wait until they could board. When the time came they\nmade their way through the port to where the Summer Wind was docked, first\nensuring that Vincent and the cart were properly loaded into the cargo hold\nbefore they boarded the ship themselves. The ship was larger than any Will or\nJenna had traveled on so far, designed for comfort as much as transportation.\nThis was made\neven more apparent when they found their room. It was a bit on the small side,\nbut was decently furnished with two beds and a nightstand between them, leaving\nthe opposite wall to be occupied by a simple dresser and a door, through which\nwas the room's adjoining bathroom.\nIt was no luxury\nsuite, but it would be fine for the three days.\n***\nTheir first day\nand night on the ship was largely uneventful, with everything running smoothly.\nWill and Jenna spent most of their time in their room, avoiding attention as\nbest they could.\nTheir second\nnight on board the sky was clear and there was a full moon out, nestled among\nthe glowing silvery clouds of stars. The simple beauty of it was irresistible,\nleading Will and Jenna to sit out on the deck, enjoying the serenity of the\nstars and the sea.\nJenna's tail\nwagged happily as she looked at the sky above. Somehow the scenery made her\nfeel at ease. There was something about it that made her feel almost normal\nagain. Then the moment was ruined by a strange sound tearing through the night.\nJenna's ears\nflattened. The sound was low and mournful, with a sort of feral beauty. It took\nbut half a second for Jenna to realize the sound was emanating from her. She\nwas howling at the moon.\nShe stopped\nimmediately and looked over at Will. He was staring at her, eyes wide with\nworry and surprise. He didn't know what to say. It occurred to him then for the\nfirst time that she might be starting to lose herself to more wild instincts.\nSeeing the\nvulnerable state she had so quickly fallen in to, Will acted just as fast,\nkneeling down and hugging her tightly. She whined quietly and nuzzled him,\nburying her face between his shoulder and neck. After a moment or two he\nwhispered, \"Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine. I promise...we will get\nthis sorted out...somehow.\"\n***\nLogan sneered.\nHe was so sick of watching them. He had followed Keller and the wolf across two\ncountries and an ocean already. All he had seen the whole time was what seemed\nto be endless moping and futile attempts to undo what likely couldn't be\nundone.\nAs he peered\naround the corner at them, embracing on the deck of the ship, he felt almost\nsickened by the display. He turned away, deciding that it was time to 'speak'\nwith Carmina again.\nIn the time\nsince she had changed him, he had grown used to the mental pressure that came\nfrom the connection between them. He had made a habit of using this connection\nto keep her informed of anything that seemed significant, or that he thought\nmight change what she wanted from him.\nLogan started to\nreach into the depths of his mind, trying to latch onto the connection. Finally\nit came to him.\nWhat news do you have for me?\nIt was less like\na voice in his mind and more like her stream of consciousness crossing his own,\nlike he was thinking her thoughts. They felt different, yet familiar at the\nsame time. When he answered he spoke aloud, a habit he had developed to keep\nhis own thoughts organized during these conversations. \"They are still\ntraveling Mistress. They have some new lead that they think will allow them to\nchange her back.\"\nAnother one?\n\"Yes. Someone in\nEgypt. A friend of the other man who is traveling with them.\"\nWhat troubles you about that? I can feel\nyour...concern.\nLogan nodded.\n\"Yes...well there won't be quite as much space to hide while following them\nthere.\"\nYou will find a way.\n\"Of course\nMistress. I thought you may also wish to know that the wolf seems to be losing\nsome of her grip on her humanity. Is that--\"\nIt's a normal part of what I've done to her. Don't\nbe concerned over it.\n\"Very well then.\nAnd what of this person they think can help them change her?\"\nI highly doubt he could do anything, but remain\nwatchful. It may be something you will have to...deal with.\nLogan nodded\nslowly. \"I...believe I understand. There is one more thing.\"\nHe felt a burst\nof irritation before the reply came.\nWhat is it? I can't have all my time taken up by\nyou, you know. I still have a great deal of planning to do.\nLogan gulped.\n\"It's just...as time has gone on I've felt my body start to...weaken. As though I\nwere hungry, or tired. Yet I cannot rest, and food does nothing to abate these\nfeelings.\"\nHe felt a cruel\nsort of amusement cross their mental connection.\nHave you not figured it out yet? You are still\nthinking as a human. But you are far more now. Humans are no longer your\nkind...they are your prey. You in undeath must feed upon the energy of the\nliving. Simply follow your instincts.\nHe shook his\nhead. \"I...I don't understand.\"\nNo reply came\nthough. Their connection had been closed, only the subtle mental pressure of it\nremaining.\n***\nThe next day\nJenna's mood showed little improvement. Will did what he could to comfort her,\nbut as they lay on the bed they shared in their room, he grew to wonder if there\nwas anything he could do to make her feel any better. It was almost like she\nhad reverted back to how she had been after she first changed, or--perhaps more\naccurately, he thought--how she had been in London after they found that Anita\nwas unable to do anything for them.\nIt used to be he\nalways knew how to make her feel better when she wasn't herself. But now that\nshe literally wasn't herself, he found it increasingly difficult to find ways\nto lift her mood. He longed for the days when he could make her happier with\njust a hug and a few soft words.\nAs the day wore\non he found himself being drawn into her mood, beginning to experience a\nprofound sense of depression. By sundown he had gotten to a point where he was\nready to give up. As he stood at their room's window, watching the light fade\nfrom the world as the sun dipped below the waves, he decided to try one more\ntime.\nTurning away\nfrom the window he walked over to their bed, sitting beside her. Jenna looked\nup at him for a moment then put her head back down on the bed, not really\ninterested in what he was doing. She--like him--was at a bit of a loss. She had\nhad little moments when animal instinct had taken over before, but never\nanything so powerful. It scared her that just a month after losing her form she\nmight be starting to lose her mind as well. She couldn't help but wonder how\nmuch she might have lost another after another month.\nHer mind was\nbrought back to the present by Will's voice. \"I was thinking, maybe we should\nleave the room for a while. We shouldn't spend our whole day here. Not to\nmention that neither of us has eaten all day. I don't know about you, but I'm\npretty hungry.\"\nShe didn't\nrespond at first, not quite ignoring him, but not acknowledging him either. But\nas she lied there something about what he said began to work its way into her\nmind until she could no longer ignore the hunger gnawing at her stomach.\nWith a grumble\nshe hopped off the bed and went to sit by the door, looking at Will\nexpectantly. He resisted the urge to laugh, thinking, I should have thought of that sooner.\nWill stood and\nwalked over to her, opening the door just wide enough for the two of them to\nslip out. They headed aft to the ship's dining hall, finding it surprisingly\nlacking in occupants, with only a few scattered seats filled. Will got their\nfood, and they booth took a seat at a small table in one corner of the room,\ndoing their best to ignore the looks they were getting from the other dinners\npresent.\nThey were--to\ntheir mild surprise--joined by David part way through their meal, the\nillusionist pulling up a chair to their table. \"Rather glad to see you two out\nof the room. Does this mean I'll be able to go back there tonight without being\ndrowned in depression?\"\nJenna offered a\nshort growl in response before returning to her food. Will could certainly\nsympathize with the sentiment behind it. \"Do you have to be quite so\ninsensitive?\"\nDavid shrugged.\n\"I'm just getting a bit tired of you two acting like every thing that happens\nis the end of the world. Honestly, you would think you two would be somewhat\nused to it by now.\"\n\"This isn't\nsomething you just get used to. It never gets any easier. Everything that goes\nwrong is just a reminder of what we're dealing with. Sure, sometimes we can\nignore reality and do our best to enjoy what we do have. But then, the moment\nwe let our guard down, something else happens that just makes us remember--\"\nWill was\ndistracted by a mournful whine from Jenna. It occurred to him that what he was\nsaying likely wasn't doing anything to make her feel any better. He placed a\nhand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. She looked up at him then nuzzled his\nhand, accepting his simple apology.\nDavid cleared\nhis throat nervously. \"Right...well...er...I suppose that even though I don't really\nunderstand how you're feeling about your...circumstances, but I should try to be\nmore...sensitive, yeah?\"\nWill looked at\nhim with a bit of surprise before offering a nod to acknowledge his concession.\nHe turned back to Jenna and had another moment of surprise as he realized the\nsorrow seemed to have gone from her eyes. He could she still wasn't quite all\nright, but there was some improvement.\nShe was feeling\nbetter mostly because she realized that through the whole day Will had been\ndoing everything he could to help her through her depression. Her tail waved\nback and forth slightly as she thought, I've\nlost so much, but I still have him. And he won't stop trying to make me feel\nbetter. I'll always have that.\nA short while\nlater they left the dinning hall behind, planning to return to their room to\nget some extra sleep, knowing they would likely have a busy day ahead of them.\nThey found their way blocked though by a cluster of people, both crew members\nand passengers. It was clear to Will that the mood of the crowd was a somber\none, and from what he could glean of the crowd's murmuring, something was vey\nwrong.\nWithout waiting\nfor Jenna or David, Will started working his way to the center of the group. He\nwas stropped short by a member of the crew. \"I'm sorry sir, but we can't let\nanyone get any closer.\"\nWill rolled his eyes\nand reached into his bag, producing his I.O.M.E. badge and showing it to the\ncrewman. \"Can you let me through now?\"\nThe sailor\nhesitated for but a moment then nodded. \"Yes, of course.\"\nHe stepped aside\nand Will was greeted with the all too familiar sight of someone grieving over\nthe body of someone they cared for. In this case it was a man a few years\nyounger than Will, sobbing over a woman with platinum blonde hair who--outside of\nthe stillness of death--seemed unharmed.\nBeside them\nstood a man who--based on his uniform--Will guessed was the captain of the ship,\ntrying to appear dignified and sympathetic at the same time. He quirked a brow\nas Will approached and asked, \"Who are you then? Some relative of theirs?\"\nWill shook his\nhead. \"No. I'm with I.O.M.E. I thought I would offer my assistance.\"\n\"I see. Do you have\nany forensics skills? We have yet to discover the--\" he stopped for a moment,\nlooking to the grieving man, then lowering his voice to say, \"The cause of\ndeath.\"\nWill nodded. \"Limited.\nMy skill set is more directed toward raids...making arrests...that sort of thing.\nBut I could probably figure it out, given some time.\"\n\"Good.\" The\ncaptain knelt beside the grieving man, and Will could just barely hear him say,\n\"Mr. Erics, this man is an I.O.M.E. Officer. He'd like to take a look at your\nwife. He might be able to figure out what happened to her.\"\nErics looked up\nat Will, his eyes bleary and his cheeks wet. Will did his best to look as\nthough he felt sorry for the man's loss. After a moment or two Erics nodded and\nstepped away, allowing Will to get to the woman's body. Will knelt down and began\nhis examination.\nHe was no\ndoctor, but he did have enough knowledge to know how a person's body should feel. But it was immediately\napparent that her case was far from normal. A corpse would still retain it's\nwarmth for some time after death--up to several hours depending on the\nenvironment. But she was cold, as though all the heat had been sapped from her\nbody. A few moments later he found something else odd: there was a series of four\nsmall puncture wounds on her neck.\nWill stood,\nhaving gotten all he needed from her. He stepped over to Erics and crouched\nbeside him. \"I need you to tell me what happened, if you can.\"\nErics nodded. \"I\nuh...we were...god...we were just t-taking a walk on the deck. Thought it would be\nnice. It's a beautiful night...you know?\"\nWill nodded. \"I\ndo. Go on.\"\n\"R-right. So we\nwere...just walking...then...something...something hit me from behind. Everything went\nblack. I...I g-guess it knocked me out. When I came to...Violet was...she...she was--\"\nWill placed a\nhand on his shoulder. \"I understand. You don't have to say any more.\"\nWill stood and\nturned to the captain. \"I believe I know what happened. Things here match the\nprofiles of certain...scenarios documented by I.O.M.E. in the past. So...with the\nnecessary conditions met...I do believe I'm authorized to tell you that the\nperson behind this probably isn't human.\"\n\"Excuse me?\"\n\"I can't tell\nyou much. But you're going to have to trust me. Now I want you to listen\ncarefully. I want you to gather up every passenger and crew member on board,\nand keep a careful eye out for anything that moves like a shadow. The killer\nlikely won't strike again, but it can't hurt to keep everyone together--and more\nimportantly out of my way.\"\n\"Out of your\nway, officer?\"\nWill nodded. \"Yes.\nThe next part of my job here is to try to bring down the killer. It'll be\neasier if I don't have to work around the crew and passengers.\"\n\"Right...I\nunderstand. If there's anything else you need...?\"\nWill shook his\nhead. \"No. That should be it. Oh, there is one other thing.\" He lowered his\nvoice as he said, \"You're going to want to move the body, mostly so Erics will\nmove. The killer won't likely return, but if it does then someone on their own\nwould be an easy target.\"\nThe captain\nnodded his understanding and set off to do as Will had instructed him. Will sighed\nheavily then turned and walked back through the crowd, this time with far less\ndifficulty as the people seemed to part before him.\nOn the other side\nof the crowd Jenna and David were waiting for him, the former looking somewhat\nconcerned. David--though looking more disinterested than anything else--asked, \"So\nwhat's going on then?\"\nWill hesitated. \"Well...someone\nhad died.\"\n\"Ah. Well that's...unfortunate.\"\n\"It's worse than\nyou know. It was murder...and the killer wasn't an ordinary human.\"\nJenna and David\nboth looked confused when he said that. David asked, \"What does that mean,\nexactly?\"\nAs Jenna looked\nat Will, she saw him less sure of himself than he had ever been. He seemed\nnervous, and unwilling to say what was on his mind. Finally--after a few minutes\nof silence--he finally said, \"It mean's we're dealing with an incredibly\ndangerous situation. Everyone one on board might be. I've already got the crew\nof the ship working to gather everyone on board into one place so they'll be\nout of our way.\"\n\"Out of our way?\nWhy do we need them out of our way?\"\nWill took in a\ndeep breath. \"Because...we're going hunting.\""}