2031
Jacinda stood at the pump, waiting for it to finish. The cold was made all the worse by the strong knife like wind cutting into her ears and neck. Still, she didn't wait in the cab where it was warm. It was kind of nice being alone for a moment. Not that Jill talked her ear off. Truth be told, she did most of the talking.
She looked up and saw the clouds moving quickly across the pale blue sky. The strong wind seemed to muffle out the sound of anything else. She thought about the hunt they had been on for the last few days. Just waiting and waiting. Which was part of the hunt, she knew. You have an idea where your quarry has gone and you stake it out, waiting for it to show.
Thing was, it seemed to have disappeared. And that was even more literally true with the skinwalker. She didn't even know how often it needed to feed. Did it hibernate? What kind of prey did it prefer? According to Jill, the kills that had snagged Hosteen's attention were apart by months or weeks.
They had been here in Page for a week. It was a nice town, as things went. But they had hit up every restaurant in town. Every diner. And dancing at the Top Deck. She did enjoy that. After that first visit, they didn't have any further troubles. And while she danced with men too, she felt funny now dancing with Jill. Not bad funny. Just...like she was nervous or had an upset stomach. She wasn't sure what that was, since she had never, not once in her life, ever felt that before. So there was that.
But they also hit the Blue Coffee Pot every morning, too. It had been a tease at the beginning, but Jacinda had been right. There was definitely a vibe there between Sasha and Jill. And for some reason, try as she might, it bothered her.
Thankfully, when she and Jill were together, Sasha never came up. As quiet as Jill had seemed, now she was animated and spoke freely, often sharing her knowledge of the region. The geology of the Colorado Plateau. This whole area had been underwater millions of years ago, with pressurized magma leaking through fissures and hardening into plugs. Later, when the Pacific plate running east slammed into North America, crumpling part of the continent upward to create the Rockies, a massive shift lifted part the Colorado Plateau high into the air. Over time, erosion stripped away the softer rocks and sediment that had once been under water, leaving the hard volcanic plugs jutting out into the air, Over eons, wind and rain twisted and shaped them into the monuments that dotted the land.
The way Jill spoke, Jacinda could almost see it- the massive crash, the mountains raising- though in reality it had taken millions and millions of years. But that was her gift. Teaching. She heard stories about the Navajo and the Hopi and the endless wars between them. The ancient Anasazi who suddenly disappeared into thin air. The Sacred Mountains. Terrible stories. The hero, Chief Manuelito, and the Long Walk forced by American soldiers, bodies of the young and the weak dropping right and left. Their stand at Canyon DeChelly. And she heard personal stories that broke her heart, of stolen kisses and careful attempts to find affection and love.
So maybe Page itself was getting boring. But she didn't mind, exactly. Being with Jill definitely wasn't. Still, she wanted to leave. Maybe go somewhere new. Somewhere that didn't have a Blue Coffee Pot. Nothing was happening here anyway.
But they had a job to do, despite her cabin fever. Today they were heading south on 89 about 60 or 70 miles to Cameron. A nice place, Jill said. The turn off there took you took the Grand Canyon, if you wanted drive the extra 30 minutes. The blotter had mentioned a coyote attack. It was as close to what they had been looking for as anything else. Not that she had hopes though.
Eventually they were on the road and Jill had selected the music. Jacinda didn't mind. She had chosen some ambient sounding hip hop. Jacinda wasn't a fan in general, but this stuff had some complexity to it. Lot's of jazzy beats. To be honest, she could really see herself listening to this while having a drink or smoking a joint, it was that relaxing. She sneaked a glance at Jill. She was staring peacefully out the window, seemingly lost in thought.
Then Jacinda looked at the sky. The clouds had come in heavy the further south and higher in elevation they went. They were dark and angry, reaching all the way to the mountains in the distance. She was glad they had brought their bags. Standard MO, but still. "Looks like there's a storm coming."
Jill roused and looked. "Huh? Oh. Yeah. Snow. It'll get worse the closer we get to Flag."
Another wild goose chase. Jacinda frowned, realizing the truth. "You know, it's been over a week and a half. I think we may have been wrong about the skinwalker. Or at least that it wants to play. It's gone to ground somewhere. We need to come up with another angle. Maybe we should head back to talk to your father again. There's gotta be something else we can use."
For some reason, Jill's face dropped. Idiot! And now she felt terrible. Jill didn't want to go home. Jacinda switched off the music and hesitantly, she reached out and touched her hand. Her voice was soft. "Hey. I'm sorry. I just..." She trailed off, uncertain what to say. Back to prison, Jill! Another thought occurred but...nah. Too soon. Or maybe not?...but how could she broach it? She hadn't had a partner since Regan. She'd worked with teams but they were always loosely formed and disbanded after the hunt. Imagining Jill going back home, though, now that she'd seen her free..."You know...after this hunt...maybe we could do others together."
She had just stepped off a cliff and didn't realize it until the words had come out. She flustered. "Just something to think about later," she said quickly. Jill looked at her as if studying her. Suddenly she was very aware that she held her hand still. "How about this," she jumped in, afraid of anything she might say. "Let's check this out in Cameron and if it doesn't pan out, you take me to Flagstaff and show me...around." She blushed. She had been going to say Show me a good time. Heh. Old habits.
Jill smiled at her and she reddened. "I would really like that," she said into the quiet.
She pulled her hand away slowly, already missing the warmth.
Relax, Jacinda. You've made a friend, that's all. It's just new to you. She did relax then, realizing the voice was right. She was always guarded. With everyone, But men especially. She enjoyed them, but on her own terms. But there were never feelings. Not since Regan. Feelings were avoided. That had spilled over into what might have been friendships. I guess Jill slipped passed those guards.
"Well let's check it out, then. And then see about those mountains ahead." She also turned the music back up. Yeah, it was definitely growing on her.