CHAPTER 24Likely the buggy-riding acolytes would return before the evening was over. Plus there was always a chance Mara and the others could be attacked from the opposite direction, so they decided to keep watch overnight, taking turns sleeping and guarding. Diana suggested they only pitch one tent and build one fire, which worked out well because the only clearing they found before it got dark was a small cul-de-sac at the end of a path, branching off the main trail. The space made Mara feel cornered, but their only alternative was to pitch a tent on the trail itself, and that left them even more vulnerable.
After a quick dinner of hotdogs, they sat around the small fire. Mara positioned herself with her back to the tent, facing the path leading out of the clearing. While scanning the d
