The Extinction Series | Book 4 | Spread of Extinction Ellis, Tara (top 10 ebook reader .TXT) 📖

Nodding, Akuba was already leading the first goat away. “Amisha, will you please go heat up the other pot of stew? And Jess, why don’t you go get some feed from the barn. We need to make sure the animals have their meal, too.”

Jess hung around while Kavish and Slaider helped the other men gather the rest of the animals and belongings, then followed the group as far as the barn. Watching them all head for the fields beyond the Van’s old house, she was even more hopeful that their situation was improving. With the extra help and animals, they could continue to protect the preserve while expanding the production. She’d be content just to have a week or two where she could lose herself in the daily chores and pretend nothing else mattered.

A cricket chirping was the first indication that night was approaching. Jess scrutinized the sky and fading light of another stunning sunset. It was later than she’d thought, and the realization of the looming darkness dampened her improved mood. Kicking at a rock, she moved purposefully toward the barn.

Pushing at one of the large, double-doors, she cringed at the loud creaking sound it made. There was a separate, smaller generator for the barn. It wasn’t running, so the interior was already muddy as she stepped inside. But Jess was used to the dark interior, and didn’t need any extra light to find her way to where the extra chicken feed was stored.

She grabbed a wheelbarrow, and scooped out several servings. After some thought, she added a small bag of grain for the goats. There was plenty of grass left in the field where they would be turned out to graze, but Jess figured a special treat might go a long way to help them settle in.

As she was getting a good grip on the handles of the wheelbarrow, there was an odd thumping noise over near the doors. Jess froze, and slowly turned to study the entry where one door stood open, and the other was closed.

Thump!

She definitely wasn’t imaging it. Something was hitting against the closed door of the barn. It wasn’t big, but rather similar in size to a small bird. It reminded her of a time when a finch kept smacking against her bedroom window.

Thump! Thump!

Jess flinched with each additional sound, and there was also a soft pattering, like whatever it was had fallen to the ground. More curious than alarmed, she crept forward, expecting to find a misguided bat, or perhaps some of the giant moths that sometimes freaked her out with their kamikaze flights near twilight.

Peeking her head outside the door, what Jess saw was so unexpected that she gasped and leapt through the opening while eagerly looking around. Lying on the ground were three large chunks of mango. The same kind of treat she’d spent the last four years handing out to Goldie.

Confused, excited, and a little scared all at the same time, Jess bent over and picked up one of the pieces. “Goldie?” she called tentatively, not really sure if she was hoping for a response. She hadn’t seen the little golden lion tamarin monkey since their last encounter in the backyard over a week ago, when he was eating the rabbit.

While she didn’t hear the telltale chirp or squeal from her old friend, she spotted another piece of mango. It was about twenty feet away, left in the middle of the trail. Her feet seemed to move of their own will, as Jess found herself approaching what she had an overwhelming feeling amounted to bait.

Her anxiety grew when she saw yet another piece, positioned exactly the same way and at a similar distance. Jess glanced back at the barn, then the house where comforting lights were burning in the windows, and then out to the fields where Akuba and the others were. The next piece of mango veered off the main pathway and onto the smaller one that lead to her trail. Their trail, where Jess and Goldie used to spend hours almost every day running and playing.

Jess walked forward and stepped over the fruit without bothering to pick it up. She didn’t need the breadcrumbs. She knew where he was taking her, only she didn’t understand why. Although a primal fear she’d only experienced a few times before in her life burned hot in her stomach, Jess had to know. She had to find out what had happened to her monkey, and she was afraid that it might be her only chance to get any answers. She could at least confirm that he was still alive, and if he was still acting weird. Or, if he’d recovered the same as her dad.

That thought made her step falter, and Jess hesitated.

A high-pitched chittering called to her from the jungle, less than fifty-feet ahead.

“Goldie?” Jess tried again. But she already knew it was him. She recognized his unique sounds the same as she would her father or Akuba’s voice.

The dense canopy of the jungle cast thick shadows over the trail as Jess stepped across its threshold, and that was when she knew it was a mistake. She shouldn’t be there. Not then, and definitely not alone.

Her emotions were a jumble of opposites as Jess took several steps backwards. It felt like her instincts were pushing her to follow the breadcrumbs Goldie was leaving. Except her gut was screaming at her to stop and run away. It wasn’t right, it didn’t make any sense, and she needed to get as far away from there as she could.

The bile rising in her throat finally broke through her trance, and Jess swallowed hard as she spun around and started to run. She’d only made it a few steps when she heard the first shriek.

Skidding to a stop, the hair rose on