“Ryde, wake up.”
I open my eyes. Alistair looks panicked.
“What?” I rub my eyes. “What is it?” I follow his insistent stare to the woods.
A guy is standing there, ten, maybe fifteen feet away from us. He’s standing in the bushes. He’s very big, has a beard, and is wearing a baseball cap. He stands there like a tree.
“Get up,” I order Alistair, but my eyes never leave the giant man who has yet to move. “Get in the water.” I nod my head to the creek. “Swim fast, head to the site and just keep walking.”
“No, but Ryde, what about you?”
“Just go!”
The man steps out of the bushes. In two, three steps, he’s at our side, within arm’s reach.
“Can I help you?” My jaw clicks. “Alistair, get in the water,” I tell him again, always keeping my eyes on the man’s calm, motionless face.
I hear my
