Courage
1

The sun was coming up overthe treeline, warming the interior of the car. Dean slipped out oftheir coat and pushed it behind them into the back. They drummed thesteering wheel nervously, expectant of the fork in the road thatwould lead them to Courage.

Dean wished for the nthtime that week, that the radio was working, but like so many parts oftheir old Mustang it had caved to old age. The silence was drivingDean slowly insane, at least that's how it felt. The ringing of theirphone startled Dean and fussy fingers reached for the breast pocketof their shirt.

“Yeah?“ Deangrouchily inquired of the caller.

“Good morning,boss. I have more information on the bus situation. You wanna hear?“

Dean rolled their eyes.“Please,“ they answered, the sarcasm practically dripping fromtheir lips.

“'Kay. That girlwho tweeted, Nancy, I called her parents. They told me the trip is akind of reward for a project those students did. They enactedhistorical moments for kids with Down Syndrome. The teacher, a Mr. -wait a moment – Lockhart promised them a reward and the kids askedif they could go to Courage. They're all seniors and they said theywanted some timeout before the exams. The students made thearrangements and nobody thought about looking up the place. You getwhere I'm going with this?“

“Thrill seekers?“Dean guessed, but was aware of other possibilities Terri's researchsuggested.

“At the veryleast. So, what do you know about Courage?“

“Apart from theinhabitants being werewolves? Not much. We hunters steer clear ofplaces like that, unless the killing gets out of hand.“ Dean pickedup a notebook from the passenger seat and held their phone betweenshoulder and ear while driving with the notebook perched on thewheel. Not the safest way to drive, but Dean was used to doing it.

“Well, hold on toyour knickers, this is good. They got a website and all for tourists.You can book rooms at the inn, they recommend hiking trails. It alllooks really legit and they even got recommendations of people whoallegedly visited there. Each one saying how nice the inhabitantswere.“

“You gotta bekidding me.“

“Nope. And I gottasay, as far as these kind of pages go, it looks pretty good. I bookedyour room at the inn using the site. The page has been up sinceNovember last year – coinciding with the elections of a new mayor.Whatever that means, I guess you'll replace out.“

“Will the kids bestaying at the inn, too? Or is there another place?“ Dean asked,not really interested in politics.

“They rented acouple of cabins by the lake. According to the website, it's close tothe woods. Either these kids are very stupid, or verystupid, you know? Should I be doingmore digging on the place?“

Dean thought for just asecond. “Nah, I figure, I go in, push everyone back onto the busand get outta there.“

“Armed to theteeth, of course.“

“There's notelling what these animals will do to stop us. At least, I have themoon on my side for one more night.“

“Good luck, boss.“

Dean merely huffed a replyof sorts and hung up the phone.

Ten minutes later, Deansaw the inconspicuous sign leading off the main road: Courage 5Miles.