passage He hurried over to it shining the beam in hoping it was a side tunnel It wasn’t The flashlight picked up a dead end only a few feet in Still it might give them someplace to hide In here he said to Tyler As his friend passed Gabe pulled open Tyler’s backpack and took out the umbrella I don’t think it’s going to rain in there Tyler whispered Gabe didn’t answer he just pushed Tyler to the far wall Crouch down he whispered The boys wedged as close to the ground possible and Gabe opened 10
the umbrella in front of them and turned off the light The shuffling snorting sounds grew louder and Gabe could feel Tyler shaking beside him He couldn’t see anything at all in the complete darkness of the cave Gabe held his breath as whatever moved through the darkness grew close and sniffed A low growl vibrated through the umbrella handle Gabe closed his eyes and waited for the attack to begin 11
chapter 2 BUMP IN THE NIGHT The tour bus parked in the hotel lot couldn’t The tour bus park have been any flashier Gabe doubted the small northern Arkansas town deep in the Ozark Mountains saw buses like that one very often Red dripping letters spelled out Bump in the Night on the midnight blue bus Bump in the Night was the name of a popular cable television show about ghosts aliens and monsters Near the back of the bus a huge face grinned at them It was Ace Rollin the show’s host Aren’t those the guys who hired all of your crew Tyler asked For once he was riding in the front seat of their small van Gabe suspected his brother had regretted that seating plan miles ago 12
Ben spoke between clenched teeth Yes Tyler didn’t seem to notice Ben’s tension as he bounced in his seat Why are they here They’re looking for the Ozark Howler Sean suggested Same as us It doesn’t matter Ben said He wrenched the wheel sharply nearly throwing them into the nearest parking space I’ll go check in then I have to call my contact at Wild Hope He was out of the van and slamming the door before anyone could speak Wild Hope was an organization dedicated to stopping the trade in exotic animals as pets The people at Wild Hope believed the Ozark Howler was really an escaped pet Gabe hoped the Howler wasn’t a pet He wanted the Monster Hunters to find evidence of real cryptids mystery creatures not just lost pets That bus is so cool Tyler said jerking Gabe out of his musing Do you think Ace Rollin is 13
