Sam folded her score sheet and shoved it into her pocket. She looked at her team, and said, “Are any of you picking up on anything around here? I’m sensing a certain anxiety. I can’t explain it any better than that. Something is pending. I don’t think that it has anything to do with us, though. I just have this eerie feeling.”

“There was a lot of scurrying around earlier,” Slick volunteered. “We’re without a helicopter if that means anything. The workhorse,” she said, referring to the helicopter they rode in on, “brought tons of supplies yesterday. Today the other one is gone. That’s never happened before. At least since we’ve been here.”

“The cable car is still here. They were working on the shrubbery and clearing away debris from last week’s heavy rain,” Zoe said. “That means we aren’t totally cut off from the outside world.”

“Maybe company is coming. And,” Hawkins said dramatically, “I’ll bet you my boots it’s a night visit. After lights out.”

“That’s a sucker bet,” Sam said thoughtfully. “I for one would like to know who’s coming to the party.”

“Oooh,” Kayla said shivering. “This is exciting. Are we going to pretend we’re at summer camp and do the old spy routine and cause mayhem and disorder?”

Hawkins looked at her with disgust. “With all those vicious dogs patrolling the grounds? I-don’t-think-so.”

Sam’s eyes narrowed. It brought another question to her mind. Why was it that she and Hawkins were never bothered by the dogs on their nightly workouts at the wall? They both knew the dogs were out there, stalking, watching but never coming close to the wall. On more than one occasion she’d seen Alpha’s yellow eyes watching her from the perimeter of the wall, but he’d never interfered. That alone was not only puzzling but scary.

“It really is none of our business who comes and who goes around here,” Hawkins said.

“To be informed is to be knowledgeable,” Sam said, getting to her feet. “We still have forty minutes till our next class. I’m going for a swim.”

Pappy strode into the kitchen to snatch some cookies to go with his cup of coffee. His steel gray eyes softened when he smiled at the man chopping vegetables. “How’s it going, Pop?”

“Good, son. Real good. I’ve been busy planning my menu for your late-night guests. Not too heavy and not too light, right?”

Pappy laughed. “Right. She had a perfect score, Pop. She as much as told me my face was on the target. She shredded it to hell and back. That woman hates my guts. She won’t even look at me. Alpha likes her. Do you believe that?”