“I remember,” I said, “this show I saw on the Discovery Channel about how hyenas hunt. A hyena will just walk through a whole herd of animals until it sees the one animal it wants. Maybe it’s a gazelle that is lame or weaker than the others. But when it chooses that gazelle, that is the only one it goes after. It keeps after it without even looking to the right or left. It keeps after it, no matter how fast that gazelle runs. It just keeps after it until it catches it.”

Roger looked at me. “Maddy,” he said, “that don’t sound like you. You saying you gonna give up?”

I shook my head. “No,” I said, hearing how stubborn the tone of my voice was just then and not minding it at all. “I just mean that running away won’t save me. Maumaneeteantass. I am not going to try to run away.”

16

CALLING

YOU KNOW HOW it is when you’ve been uncertain about something. Should I do this? Should I do that?

It doesn’t have to be anything that big, maybe just what top to wear to school or which show to tape and which one to watch live, whether to go to the movies or go for a run. But while you’re not sure what to do you feel all antsy, as if nothing is quite right in the whole world.

I know I’m using dumb examples, but that is how life is sometimes. Lots of little hassles can seem big unless you have something like a real threat to your continued existence to put things into perspective. Then you finally make up your mind and everything seems clearer, as if the sun finally came out again after a week of rainy skies.

That was how it was with me when I made up my mind not to run away, but to find some way to confront whatever it was that was out there. But now that I’d made that decision, I had another problem. What exactly was I going to do?

Roger wondered the same thing. I could tell by the way he looked at me, waiting for my brilliant solution. Which was not forthcoming.

“Maddy,” Roger said, putting his hand up to his chin. “I’ve been wondering about somethin’. Do you think whoever or whatever it is would try to get to you in another way? They already got to Bootsie. Would they try to contact anyone else in your family?”

“Aunt Lyssa,” I said. “Omigod!”

I unzipped my hip pack, yanked out my phone, fumbled it open, and hit the numbers for Aunt Lyssa’s desk at the library. It rang four times, and then I heard her voice.

“I’m not here or I’m on the other line. You can leave a message after—”

I broke the connection and looked over at Roger.

“Want to go there and check on her?” he said.