He quickly responded. “What is it?”

There were no headlights up ahead—the sound was too distant. But she and the lieutenant stood still, listening carefully, until they heard it again—the sound of the four-wheeler picking up speed and then slowing down. What is he doing? she thought to herself.

She held down the button. “It’s a four-wheeler,” she responded to Warren.

She listened again, and continued to hear the same sound, until headlights started to appear, moving closer. They then abruptly veered off the trail, deeper into the woods.

Then suddenly, they heard a scream.

Lieutenant Daniels looked over at her, wide-eyed.

Tara quickly held the radio to her lips. “We heard a scream. We’re going after it.”

“I’m on my way,” she heard Warren reply as she hooked the radio to her hip, turned it to silent, and reached for her gun.

Tara and Daniels bolted down the trail.

They sprinted closer, as they heard the scream again…

And then again…

It was a woman’s voice, and it sent a shiver down Tara’s spine. This is it, she thought.

But all of a sudden, the woman’s voice burst into laughter.

Tara and Daniels slowed down and shared a quick glance. They both knew it was not the sound of a victim. They steered off the trail, pushing through brush, as more voices and laughter could now be heard. They saw light from a campfire in the distance.

They broke through to a clearing and all eyes turned to them, the eyes of teenagers.

Tara reached down for the walkie-talkie.

“False alarm,” she said into it.

She placed it back on her belt and turned to the kids.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be out here right now? Have you not heard what’s been going on in these woods?” she asked.

They all stared at her like deer in headlights, as one of the boys tried his best to casually conceal the boxes of beer sitting next to him with a blanket.

“Do your parents know you’re out here?” she asked. She looked up at the four-wheelers, parked around the campfire.

They all stared at her for a moment longer before one of the boys opened his mouth.

“Yeah, our parents know we’re here.”

It was clearly a lie. His voice shook as he spoke and he took a look around at the group as if seeking approval. The girl sitting next to him nodded her head to confirm his words, but then she looked down toward her feet, letting her hair fall over her face, which had suddenly began to blush.

Tara sighed and told them all to call their parents. They each lifted their heads up, wide-eyed, clearly terrified by her demands.

“You guys cannot be in here, do you understand?” She looked at each one of them, right in their eyes, until one by one their gaze cowered back to the ground.

***

Moments later Tara was standing by her car. She had already said her goodbyes to Lieutenant Daniels. It had been a long night, and after she thanked him, she told him he could head home.