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had large packs harnessed over their shoulders. They looked like models for REI. Whatever they were doing out here, they planned to be here for a while.
    They weren’t close enough to say anything to, but I noticed Cyril’s body stiffened a bit as his pace quickened. I flipped around to check out Athen’s response, and he pointed at his eyes. Then it hit me. These were not hikers. These were recruits.
    Immediately, I began flushing my thoughts to Athen and Cyril.
    “ Do we attack? They can’t be skilled if they’ve just been turned. I know we can take them.”
    Athen responded first. “No need. They’re no threat.”
    “ They’ll all be a threat soon enough,” I challenged. “Why not eliminate a few while we have the chance?”
    “ She’s got a good point,” Cyril offered up.
    “ Or if we are up to the challenge, we could follow them. Find out where Lilith’s little training ground is.” I could feel the energy running through my veins. The level of excitement began brewing inside of me, but I noticed Cyril shut down immediately.
    “ I don’t want to do anything that would ruin our chances of getting Arie back. If something goes wrong while we’re spying, and we can’t get to her, I’d never forgive myself,” Cyril communicated.
    “ I understand,” was all I channeled before a couple of minutes of silence entered our minds rather than the words that were previously flowing so freely.
    The group only looked about 100 yards away now, and they took a sudden veer off the pathway into the forested land. I stopped dead in my tracks, turning to look at Athen. He nodded at me. It was his turn.
    “ I think this is too good of a thing to miss, Cy. If you don’t want to join Ana and I, we get it. We’ve got to go check it out though,” Athen responded.
    Cyril stopped walking and turned to look at us. With his eyes rimmed in red, he looked at me in my eyes and nodded. Putting him through this turmoil made me doubt Arie’s plan. Arie better have been right that this would keep him from going to the dark side.
    “ Some opportunities aren’t to be missed.” A smile began to spread across his lips, as he quickly squinted his eyes closed to make any remaining tears disappear.
    “ Agreed. Let’s get on it,” Athen commanded to us, as he took off in the direction that the fresh minions went. His movements were quick and impossibly quiet. He began his climb up the first tree, as Cyril and I followed behind.
    I managed to stay close to Athen, while we bounced from one Douglas fir to the next. The scent of the crushed needles released into the air as my foot sprung from one branch to the next. The fragrance gave me the extra punch I needed.
    We were getting close. I could feel it. Looking ahead, I saw a dense forest. I couldn’t fathom where this group might be headed, but I hoped it wasn’t too much further before we found what we were looking for. The deeper we went into the forest, the darker and gloomier it became. I wanted to find the group of trainees and bug out quickly.
    Athen stopped and placed his hand in the stop gesture. Cyril balanced cautiously on the tree’s top, careful not to make any sudden movements that would call attention. I looked quickly ahead.
    I scanned below, looking for whatever Athen must have spotted, when I noticed a pile of boulders. One boulder, in particular, caught my eye, as it was shifted into place magically with no one near it. The boulder moved to the left quickly and then sunk into the ground’s surface.
    Sure Cyril couldn’t have witnessed this from his angle on the tree, I messaged him. “Tunnels. They’ve made tunnels.”
    Athen turned around and darted to the tree that I was perched in. I reached for his hand, gently squeezing it to signal it was time for our departure. Nodding his head, he swung me on his back, as we dropped to the forest floor. Cyril landed right behind us, and we took off down the mountain. There’s no way to know how many are in the