Between Shadows (Shadows Saga bk2)

Chapter 17- Wolf Territory

Mara woke up to a generic ringtone on her phone. Her bleary eyes blinking as her brain tried to process where she was. She grabbed the phone off the floor, looking at the name flashing across the screen. 

Torlak.

Mara pushed the button to answer the call and cleared her throat in an attempt to sound at least partially awake. 

"Mara here."

"Are you okay? I got your message and the news is out about the train, it was found in the early hours this morning."

Early hours? It was in the early hours when they had run away from the train to the sanctuary of the small town. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, and I have a car full of people with me. Well, they aren't with me, they are scattered throughout the houses here."

Torlak's voice managed to relax with the confirmation of Mara's relative safety. He had told her that people would be on their way and she would be picked up shortly. When she asked about the other people, Torlak had informed her another train had already been sent and they would be retrieved by noon. 

Torlak had also said the future for the remainder of Mara's trip would be determined later that day. There was no way she was going to make the meeting she was supposed to have that morning, when she looked at the time it was nearly six. It was supposed to be in three hours, and she knew the school was more than three hours by train. 

Mara filled Torlak in on as much as she knew from the night before. He had told her there would need to be a full investigation of the train before they were sure of the cause. It was unusual for anything, even a Nightshade to step in front of a train for a snack. 

Mara didn't voice her fears of it possibly being organized by Zander's group to get to her. Would they go to that much trouble to get to her? He had her in the dream after all, but she had been released almost too easily. Almost right after the end of the dream is when the train had stopped. 

When Mara finally got off the phone she decided she better get up and talk to Mr. Bennett. She stretched her legs out in front of her, feeling the tingling sensation from lack of circulation. She looked up from her spot on the floor wishing she had just caved in and slept on the bed. It looked even more comfortable after a night of back and butt pain. 

Groaning as she finally managed to stand up, Mara staggered as she made her way into the hall and down the stairs. She hadn't expected to see Bennett already up and moving at six in the morning, though she guessed he probably hadn't been able to sleep well either after having his town invaded by nearly forty people. 

The man yawned and took a long swig from the mug he was holding in his hand, the same mug that had held the dried coffee ring just hours ago. Mara made her way down the stairs and cleared her throat so he knew she was coming. 

"Ah you're awake."

"Yeah. I will be leaving here shortly apparently, and another train is being sent on its way to pick up the rest of the people. I gave your contact information to Torlak who will pass it on to the contacts. They will make sure you are notified of an exact time when they have one."

The man nodded and stared at her for a moment, noticing how she looked even worse than him. 

"Want some coffee?" He gestured towards the brewing pot with his mug-equipped hand. 

Mara shook her head and wrinkled her nose, "I don't really drink that stuff."

Bennett shrugged his shoulders as if saying 'more for me' before walking behind his desk.