As Bryce and Abel took the winding road up to the lake, they couldn’t help but notice the landscape; the rolling hills, the beauty of the pines stretching toward the sky, the gray cloud cover—and a stench that made them both breathe through their mouths. They knew it was coming from the thing they were in search of—the fallen. They could tell he was almost within their grasp. This would be where their stories would either come to an end, or they would receive praise from their father for a job well done.
The road was narrow, leaving no room to pass other vehicles, so they were forced to stay behind an old, beat-up truck, barely going the speed limit. Meanwhile, the stench was pushing them to their wits’ end. They knew they were closing in on the fallen and his human. They had stolen a tru
