Untraceable

Epilogue

Three days later…

Life is short. Be sure to make your mark.

~

I stand out in the hallway of the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service building just outside town.

Les steps out of an office. “Sorry for calling you in here, Grace. I guess it’s standard procedure.”

My nerves jitter and twitter. “It’s okay, I understand.”

“They’ll call you in a couple of minutes.”

Before he turns away, I grab his arm. “Les, did you find out about Carl?”

Les bows his head. “Yeah. He didn’t make it. The wounds were too severe.”

My hand clasps over my mouth. “Oh no. Does Wyn know?”

“He and Skyler were with him at the end.”

Just then, we see Wyn exit the room next to us into the hallway, his hands stuffed in his pockets. His frazzled hair juts out in all directions and puffy, dark circles under his eyes make him look as though he’s been awake for weeks. He doesn’t even look like the same person. I’m used to seeing him smile, but now, he’s frowning. I’ve never seen him so broken.

I race up to him. “Wyn, are you okay? I heard about Carl. I’m so sorry.”

He stops for a second and mumbles, “And I’m sorry about your dad. He didn’t deserve all this.” Then he pushes me aside and walks past me in silence without another word.

I pace myself next to him. “Thanks. It was awful. I tried to call you a few times but you never picked up.”

Wyn keeps his eyes down and continues moving. Like a robot, every step is the same distance and the same pace.

I squeeze his arm and try to tease him a little to crack through the barrier he’s forced up. “You know, you can’t ignore me forever.”

He suddenly spins around and glares at me. “The hell I can’t. You’ve ruined my life.”

I stop in place, shocked at his strong reaction. “Wyn, I didn’t know Carl was involved, I swear. I tried to talk to him. But he was … crazy.”

He stares at me blankly with dark gray eyes. “Well, you would know.” His voice is cutting and cold. He takes in a breath and stares forward at the door.

My lip quivers. “Wyn, I had no idea who was behind all this. I thought it was Les.” I stop. Really, I just want to hold him and tell him I care about him and that we’re going to get back to where we were before all this happened. That everything will be okay. “Carl is the one who betrayed us all.”

He faces me and looks sad. “I know how he feels.”

“Wyn, you’re my best friend, and I know you cared about Carl. But he made his own choices.”

He shakes his head, and his eyes swell with tears. He gets a little choked up and forces out some words. “You think this is about Carl?”

I glance up at him. My heart is aching for how much pain I can see he is in. He loved Carl. “Isn’t it?”

Wyn looks at me as if he doesn’t know me. Like he can’t figure me out. “I know what Carl did. This has nothing to do with him.”

I stare at him and shrug. “Then what is it?”

He throws his head back in frustration and yells. Everyone turns to look at us. “God, you’re still lying to me. You just can’t help yourself, can you?”