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both be in a world of trouble for sneaking out of the Nolan house, especially considering how their misadventure had ended.
    Tucker pulled into a parking space in front of the Sheriff’s Department and let out a heavy sigh. “Well, here goes me cementing my reputation as the town nut,” he said as he got out of the truck. “C’mon, boys.”
    Their disappearance had apparently not gone unnoticed by Mrs. Nolan. Leslie woke early, unable to sleep, and had been delirious to discover that Nicholas’ room was empty when she checked on them.
    Nicholas was stiff as he sat in a chair in the waiting area. An officer made the necessary calls over the system to let Deputy Nolan know that his son was at the station.
    Deputy Nolan and his wife burst into the Sheriff’s Department ten minutes later; their house was only a brief drive away. Leslie’s short, honey-colored hair was unkempt, and her blue eyes were fraught with a mixture of fear and relief.
    “Where were you?” Nate thundered as he loomed over them. The deputy was a man of intimidating stature, and though his dark hair was neatly combed, the coarse, week-old beard on his usually bare face was evidence of the strain his job had placed him under as of late.
    Ben hung his head in shame. The polished marble of the Sheriff’s Department’s floor served as a poignant contrast to his filthy Converses.
    Nicholas stood to face his father, but he immediately shrank under Nate’s imposing shadow. “I’m sorry. I was—”
    “It was my fault,” Ben said. “I wanted to investigate the old factory. See if we could find the creature everyone’s been talking about. Nic only came along to make sure I didn’t get hurt.”
    “No, it was my fault,” Nicholas countered.
    “Both of you are grounded forever!” Leslie exclaimed in a rush before she leaned in and embraced her son. “Even you, Benjamin Wisehart!” she said and pulled away from her son to hug Ben as well. “You stupid, foolish boys.”
    Ben felt his cheeks burn hot when he realized Tucker was watching them from a few feet away.
    “Nicholas James Nolan, what were you thinking? ” Nate reprimanded, his tone thick with a disappointment that Ben wished had been aimed solely at him when he saw Nicholas’ shoulders slump in defeat. “We will discuss this when I get home. You go with your mother now. You too, Ben. You’re not allowed to set a toe outside the house, do you both understand me? Not a single toe.”
    Ben and Nicholas nodded in unison. Nate shifted to speak with Tucker. The deputy’s posture was defensive, and Ben was certain the man’s fury was about to extend to his rescuer, even though Tucker had nothing to do with Ben and Nicholas’ foray into the forest. Ben had to speak up.
    “He saved our lives!” Ben said to Nate, who twisted back in surprise.
    “What’s that?”
    “Mr. Tucker, sir. He saved our lives. He’s a hero. He shot it! He shot the Mothman! It was chasing us when we were on our bikes, but he shot it, and it flew off into the woods.”
    Nate looked from Ben to Nicholas and then to Tucker with incredulity. “We’ll discuss this when I get home,” he repeated as he fixed a glare over both boys. “Now go and get cleaned up.”
    Tucker’s considering gaze settled on Ben, who shrugged with unease before he finally shuffled out of the Sheriff’s Department with Nicholas and Leslie. He had no idea what Tucker and Nate discussed, but he knew that by the time Nate finally got home, it was late that night, and Ben had already returned to his house on Cardinal Lane with Caroline. Nicholas told Ben that after they left, a call came in from Jefferson County; the police there had found Grant Harper.
     
     
    POINT PLEASANT, WEST VIRGINIA
    October 2012
    Ben steered the Camaro onto Cardinal Lane for the first time in over a decade and was unsurprised to see that the road he had grown up on had not changed much at all in that time. Just as he had observed during his drive through Main