Chapter 14

Caleb sat on a flat-topped rock, his fingers clumsy as he wrapped a fresh strip of cloth around the shallow gash on his left arm. The adrenaline had dipped just enough for the sting to register, a sharp, rhythmic throb that kept time with his pulse. He picked up a bottle of water, the plastic crinkling in his grip, and took a long, measured swallow. The forest around him felt different now. Maya Rossi had mentioned that the trees here would eventually take on the properties of metal, and...