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close and wrapped his arms around her, and she could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He was just as scared as she was.
    Her dad lowered his voice to a whisper. “Get down. Now.”
    They listened to its approach. Through the dark it came closer and closer to their position, as if it knew exactly where they were. As if it stalked them.
    “I found my flashlight,” Conor said. “I’m going to try to scare it away.”
    “Wait a minute,” Bree’s dad said softly. “I see it.”
    Bree scanned the bog, and a light appeared against the night, hovering above the ground. It disappeared just as quickly. The bog went dark again. Bree assumed another cloud blocked the moonlight, but she didn’t dare look away to check. Not when that thing was coming at them.
    A light returned, penetrating the space directly ahead of where Bree had last seen it. The light bobbed repeatedly as it moved across the bog.
    “That’s a headlamp,” her dad said.
    Bree blew out a deep breath, and her muscles started to relax, relieving the cramp that had formed in her thighs.
    Whoever it was, they moved quickly, swishing through the knee-high grass. Conor turned on the flashlight and popped to his feet just as the person ran wide of their position and sprinted to the unattended hand. Bree caught a glimpse of the person’s face.
    A woman.
    Bree jumped up and gave chase without thinking about the danger of the bog.
    Despite the bog’s uneven surface, the woman reached the hand quickly. When she bent down to scoop it up into the bag that hung around her neck, Bree took a flying leap and tackled the woman. They both went down hard and landed on the hand. The hand snapped.
    In one fast move, the woman threw Bree off her back and rolled away. The impact shifted the headlight so it aimed away from Bree’s face.
    Bree froze for an instant.
    She couldn’t believe it.
    “ Kelsi? ”
    Kelsi sprung up. Bree reached for Kelsi’s ankle, but missed. Scrambling to get to Kelsi, Bree looked up just in time to see Conor making a move, so she scooted out of the way.
    Like a linebacker, Conor threw himself at Kelsi. Kelsi sidestepped and brought her knee up into Conor’s groin. Conor dropped to his knees, groaning; the flashlight fell on the ground next to him.
    Bree’s dad got down on elbows and knees to protect the hand, bending his body over it like a turtle’s shell.
    A quick step to her right put Kelsi behind him. Bree grabbed Conor’s flashlight and jumped between her dad and Kelsi. “Get away from him,” she said with her arm cocked back.
    Kelsi stepped forward, but Bree tightened her grip on the flashlight and adjusted her stance. “I swear,” Bree said. “One more step and I’ll bash your head in.”
    “You wouldn’t dare,” Kelsi said.
    “Try me.”
    Kelsi glanced behind her and said in a menacing voice: “Stay away from the hand or you’ll be real sorry. And I’m not the only one you’ve got to worry about.”
    She turned and fled across the bog.

Chapter Eleven
     
    Bree swept the flashlight beam across the bog. “She’s gone.”
    “You sure?” her dad said.
    “Yeah, I’m sure.” She lowered her shaking arm. “I can’t believe Kelsi tried to take the hand. What does she want with it?”
    “I wish I knew.”
    Bree helped her dad so he could get up without touching the hand.
    “Are you alright Conor?” her dad said as he rose.
    Still bent over, Conor spoke through clenched teeth. “Never been better. What about the hand? I heard a loud snap.”
    Bree’s dad examined the hand quickly. “It looks like it’s only a broken finger or two. Thankfully, everything else seems intact.” He picked up the hand and cradled it like a baby. “If you can walk, let’s get out of here. I’ve had enough of this bog for one night.”
    Conor turned to him. “I’ll call the Guards.” He dug his cell out of his pocket and dialed. A moment later he finished his call. “They said they’ll check the site in the morning, but we’ll