The Last of Her Kind

Tracking the Spider

The flickering glow of the fire cast ominous shadows across the front of the library, but also gave him enough light to see by. Sliding the key into the lock, Darren let himself in, closing the massive door behind him.

It was only a minute later that he heard the wail of sirens, and another police cruiser showed up, followed by the fire department. Their efforts were valiant, but Darren knew there were no survivors to be found. Moving deep into the library, he dug around, looking for maps in the reference section.

It didn't take him long to find the one he needed. Pulling the slip of paper out of his pocket, he found a spot by one of the large bay windows and used the light of the fire to navigate. The coordinates went to some place in Oregon, so he ran back to the reference section to find a state map, then came back. Looking back outside, he saw that Louise now stood on the sidewalk, clutching tightly to her brother as the world burned down before them, the steeple now collapsing into the building. A crowd was gathering, and he hoped nobody got the bright idea to use the library as a command center or anything similar.

Tracing his finger along the state map, he frowned. The coordinates were in the middle of a large state park, Deschutes National Forest. In the middle of nowhere. It made sense, from a certain standpoint. Wherever this was, it was remote, and people would be unlikely to go there. He folded it up and slid it into his back pocket, then picked up the US map and looked over it.

"Not the roads, not the roads." It would make more sense for Ana to take a car, but she had left on foot, and he doubted she even knew how to drive one. If anything, she would be hitching a ride. But how and where? Train maybe? The nearest tracks were north of here, and they went into Washington. No, hitching a ride on a train made little sense.

Moving his finger along the map, he left to grab a pen, and then came back. If she stuck to wilderness, there were a couple of paths that made sense if she knew they might follow her. He drew a few possible routes, then looked at the map again. She was likely headed to Interstate 84, so where would she get on?

He tapped his fingers. There were two possibilities, but how quickly could he get there?

"If it was me, I would go here." Dwayne leaned over and tapped one of the towns just outside the forest. "Keep to the woods and then catch a ride."

"Nah, fuck that. She's got the advantage of terrain if she sticks to the woods." Hayden sat across from Darren, his feet up on a chair. "Think about it. How quickly can she move, anyway? Bet she can jump straight up in the air, maybe twenty feet."

"She'd be vulnerable along the highway though. Lots of open land for her to traverse. I bet she hitches a ride here." Dwayne took the pen from Darren and circled the town again.

"Fuck that. Straight line." Hayden leaned forward and took the pen from Dwayne and scrawled a path along the topography.

"Not a straight line," Little Mike added. He stood at the window, the eerie light of the fire illuminating the books behind him, but not Little Mike himself.

"It's a metaphor, you dick." Hayden made to throw the pen, but Dwayne took it and gave it back to his brother.

"Looks like you got some choices, little brother."

"Yes." Darren stared at the map, feeling the minutes go by. The front door of the library opened, and heavy footsteps echoed through the library. He knelt down, hiding beneath a table.

"Darren?" It was Sheriff Walters. Darren stood and saw the sheriff searching for him, his body illuminated by the flames outside. "Where are you, son?"

"Here." He waved, and Walters joined him. "She's headed to Oregon."

"But why?"

"Um... family, I think."