Monday morning came like rolling thunder. It was hard to believe it had only been a week since she got home. Macy and Adam had been at the house since Friday's disaster. They were still processing everything. Kim had spent her nights in her very uncomfortable bed. She hated it. But Macy wanted to sleep in her room, so she swallowed the discomfort. But it was 3 a.m. Macy was out like a light. And Kim needed some moonlight.

  She slipped out of bed carefully, not wanting to wake her friend. Climbing onto the roof, she felt a familiar presence. She hated how her heightened senses made her worry that she was less than human-hated how they made her act strange. Even the courage that replaced her anxiety made her anxious about where it came from. But she wasn't surprised to see Sarah sitting on the highest point of the roof, dressed in leather and blue jeans, eating jerky.

  "I guess we should talk," Sarah said.

  Kim went over and sat down beside her, resting her head on the other girl's head-like they had at camp so many times, especially when Sarah had done something stupid. "I love you, you know?" It was how she always began a serious chat.

  Sarah began to cry quietly.

  "Sweetheart, my head isn't what it used to be," Kim said softly. "I don't want to talk. I never want to talk anymore. So I'm not gonna try to pull it out of you." She looked around at the dark treetops and the moon hanging huge overhead. "But getting up here-that was impressive."

  Before Kim could say more, the smell of Sarah's jerky hit her like a wave.

  "Oh my lord, give me some of that!" She instinctively snatched a piece from the bag. Sarah let her take it without protest. If heaven had a taste, it was beef jerky. "Was this made by angels?"

  Sarah managed a small, watery smile. "It's kind of like donuts for carnivores. Not good for you. Not the best treat even. But it's on every street corner."

  Kim looked down and realized she'd eaten the whole bag. "I have more," Sarah said quickly, reading the apology in Kim's eyes. "Thomas gets it by the case when we hang out."

  "I mean... Wow!" Kim sat up straighter. The meat seemed to work some kind of magic on her body-warmth spreading through her chest, her muscles waking up. "This is the first thing I've eaten since I got home that tasted like..."

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  "Yeah, I smelled that slop Jill makes. Wow, it's gross. I think they have it in capsules. But to be honest, you have a forest right there. Just eat a deer and get a shower."

  "What?" Kim asked, confused. But being confused by Sarah wasn't new.

  Sarah took a shaky breath, staring at the jerky wrapper like it might help her find the next words. "Kim... do you remember what happened at camp?"

  "Camp games, crafts. Tammy being a bitch. Oh, and almost getting eaten by what could be some ancient hunger demon... I mean, the last bits are blurry. But the rest is still there."

  "It wasn't an ancient hunger demon," Sarah said, voice small.

  Kim shrugged, trying to keep it light even though something cold was stirring in her gut. "I mean... You kind of jump all over the place, kiddo. One minute you have magic jerky and ominous stuff to say about my diet. And now we're onto camp and my attack. And I just want more jerky."

  Kim knew this was classic Sarah-darting from subject to subject when she spoke. Emotions a little erratic. Finding her in odd places. Particularly when she was upset. But tonight the jumps felt heavier, like Sarah was circling something she was terrified to land on.

  "Kim..." Sarah sighed, the words coming out like they hurt. "I don't... I mean... Look, my family, we're... not human."

  Memories flickered-being woken in the dark, the growling, the voice that sounded like Sarah but wasn't quite right. Something important. Something about Sarah.

  "Are you wendigo too?"

  Sarah twisted her face in disgust. "No!"

  Kim shook her head slowly. "Kiddo, I don't know what you're trying to tell me. But I'll wait until you're ready."

  Sarah's shoulders started to shake. "I'm the monster that attacked you," she whispered. "I'm a werewolf."

  She started crying profusely-big, ugly sobs that shook her whole body.

  Kim stood up fast. Her blood ran cold. The thing in the woods. She had been looking for Sarah. Sarah's voice changing. She stepped back. Not afraid, never afraid, but ready. Instinctively braced.

  Sarah just sat there, crying helplessly, arms wrapped around herself like she might fall apart.

  Kim felt as torn apart emotionally as she had been physically when she was attacked. Her mind screamed this can't be real, but her body remembered-the growls, the teeth, the voice pleading "get away." And yet here was Sarah, the same girl who'd once cried because she broke Kim's favorite camp mug, now sobbing like the world was ending.

  "Kim... they did something to me," Sarah managed between sobs. "It's not supposed to get that bad."

  Compassion won the day. She had loved Sarah for years. She had been slapped by her. Bitten by her. Growled at. And that was before she was attacked. Sarah could be a nightmare. But never a monster.

  Kim crouched back down. "I love you, you know." She held out her arms.

  The younger girl melted into them, crying against Kim's shoulder like she might never stop.