Chapter 37 - Bigby

"Further still," Percy says, and we continue pushing through the woods. We're an impossible distance from Rosecreek, and it's tiring to even think about Percy carrying humans this far.

It's impossible to think that, this entire time, Percy was stalking and abducting humans under our noses, and it took us months to realize it was him.

When everything settled down, Aris told me about his conversation with Percy. Apparently, his head is still clearing up from his years of being under the serum's influence, and it's hard for him to remember what happened when he was in psychosis. He has flashes of memories, the image of a human, the snippet of a scream, but he couldn't put anything together for a long time.

My paranormal psychiatrist flew out from California to meet with Percy, doing two intensive sessions with him in which he was able to recover some of his memories from that time. It's been two days since the battle with Amon's pack. Percy thinks he remembers a location related to the human disappearances.

We've been walking for more than an hour, going slow so he can stop to see what he remembers. Finally, we come to a small shack hidden in the woods.

"I've been through the woods around Rosecreek hundreds of times," Aris mutters, "I can't believe I've never seen this before."

"We are a long way out," I say, stopping as Percy stalls, putting his hand on a tree and taking a deep breath.

"I don't know if I can go in there," he says, his chest heaving. "I think…I think this might be where I was living."

We all stand and stare at the shack for a moment. It's tiny, and not in very good shape. If Percy has been taking humans this whole time, it's probably not very likely that they're alive and well. I take a deep breath, smelling the air to see if the scent of decay is nearby, but all I smell is cedar and moss.

"Don't worry, man," Aris says, putting a hand near Percy's on the tree. "We know you weren't in your right mind. We'll go check it out."

Since getting the antidote from Rosa, Percy has been slowly recovering, but still doesn't feel comfortable with people touching him. The first time Aris tried to clap him on the back, it made him vomit. According to Rosa, the prolonged experience to the version of the serum Percy had heightened all of his senses, sometimes to the point of overwhelm.

Ado stays back with Percy, standing silently with him next to the tree, and we push forward, opening the creaking door at the front of the cabin and stepping inside.

It's rancid smelling, like the crush of bodies in a confined space, and Aris and I immediately make eye contact. The cabin is small, with a tiny cot, sink, and gas stove. No toilets or modern amenities.

"There's nobody here," Aris mutters.

"Then why does it smell like that?"

We continue walking around the cabin, looking at the little pieces of Percy that are here—a collection of leaves, lined up along the wall. A few tufts of golden hair that Percy must have kept from his last shift before the serum.

A board creaks under my foot, and I step back, before moving forward and putting weight on it again. It creaks once more, and I bounce a little.

"Aris," I say as I crouch down and pull the door open. The rancid smell rolls out, and someone inside lets out a gasp.

Under the cabin, there are roughly two dozen humans staring up at us.

Despite the fact that they're being held captive, they don't look as bad as I would have thought, and as we help them out, they explain that Percy seemed to think he was rescuing them from something, feeding and watering them frequently. When he left and didn't come back, they could ration the remaining water with the hopes that someone would come and find them.

"Bigby," Lisa says, falling forward into a hug with me. I rub her back as she cries, her loud, heaving sobs echoing off the trees when we get everyone outside.

Ado took Percy back to the pack center when we told him what we had found. It wouldn't be helpful for the humans or for Percy to see each other.

"Hey," I say, giving her an encouraging pack. "Let's get you home, huh?"