Sharon’s Wolves(73)

He nodded. “I’ll organize that. You go find your parents. Make a plan. I think Wyatt and Isaiah are right.”

She squeezed his arm and spun around to follow the rest of the members of her community and Sojourn’s citizens out of the auditorium. Were they crazy to follow the directions of two total strangers? Even Jackson seemed to think the Arthur brothers’ words held merit. Instinct?

It took only a few minutes to exit the building. The giant hodgepodge of attendees were in groups all over the now-cracked parking lot. A loud siren blared nearby, making her throw her hands over her ears to block the noise. She scrunched up her face. The rumbling and shouting inside the auditorium had kept her from hearing the warning siren until that moment.

Her father grabbed her forearm as she stepped outside. Jazmine and Mary ran in their direction also. The entire scene was surreal. Women screamed all around her. Men shouted.

Her father jumped onto the hood of the nearest car and stuck two fingers into his mouth to let out the loudest whistle she’d ever heard.

Sharon’s mother, Carlie, ran toward her and wrapped her arms around her in a hug. “What’s happening?”

Sharon smiled at her mother. Of course everyone in the shifter community would count on her to be in contact with Cooper. She prayed she didn’t let them down. And then she lifted her face and briefly brought her father up to speed.

Her dad grabbed a megaphone from the mayor. The moment the siren turned away from them to blare in the opposite direction, he took control. “Everyone, may I please have your attention.” When the noise level subsided to a dull roar, he continued. “The tremors we all felt were not the result of a larger earthquake.”

“What the hell was that then, wise guy?” Pastor Edmund shouted in retort. “Don’t you think I know better than anyone what we’re facing here? God’s wrath. Plain and simple. Our Lord is furious with the way we have permitted those among us who do not take His word seriously to destroy our towns. We must repent. We must prepare for the worst. The end is coming.”

Sharon couldn’t believe what an idiot the man still was. Moments after the ground stopped shaking, he was ready to go to war.

The siren spun back in their direction, forcing her dad to pause and wait until the loud noise dissipated again.

The mayor stepped forward and got in Pastor Edmund’s face. “I’m only going to say this one time, Edmund. Shut the hell up, or I’ll have you arrested.” He didn’t wait for a response before turning toward Sharon’s father once again.

“Folks, the rumbling we just experienced was the beginning of volcanic activity, not an earthquake. I have just received word from seismologists in the area. We need to mobilize and notify every man, woman, and child on these mountains to flee for safety.”

“Did you say a volcano?” Jazmine asked from Sharon’s left. Mary was at her other side.

Sharon smiled at the picture they presented. A glance around showed no evidence of Jackson and Jazmine’s parents anywhere in sight. Who would walk away from their own children at a time like this?

At his next opportunity, her father spoke again. “It’s more urgent now than ever. We need to band together, put our differences aside, and fight to save lives. There are five mountain passes in the immediate vicinity and a vast section of land across the western side of the reservation. If everyone would divide into six groups, we can divvy up the remote homes off each major road and cover more ground faster.”

Sharon watched her father in awe as he called out the names of each mountain pass and the road to the reservation, pointing to six gathering spots. People raced to different corners of the parking lot as indicated. Not everyone was willing to help, but it seemed most people rushed to fight to save their neighbors.

She lifted onto her tiptoes to find Jackson and saw him setting an older woman on the ground next to a distraught man. She was crying, but appeared to have fared better than some. A trickle of blood ran down her forehead.

Jackson waved at Sharon and then held up two fingers while nodding at the auditorium.

She nodded back, assuming he had two more people to assist before he joined her.

Isaiah jogged toward them. Almost before he reached their sides, he spoke. “Who is the farthest out?”

Melinda answered that question. “The biologists from the college. They’re near the Josiah peak. They don’t have cell service.”

“How many people?”

“Roughly two dozen. Mostly students.” Melinda stared at Isaiah with the same expression Sharon imagined she sported on her face. These men were not real.

Sharon half expected them to dissolve in front of her and disappear into thin air.