Chapter 28

Being unobtrusive and unremarkable in every way was the key to blending in. The first thing hunters looked for were loners. Folks living off the grid or in the depths of the woods were dead giveaways. Folks living in tight communities where everyone was in everyone’s business was just as bad, as nosy neighbors could unintentionally give away monthly camping trips.

The key then to being just a normal warm-blooded American family was to thread the needle. Sub-urban property with lots of land and privacy, but still within decent school districts. Members of various scouting organizations and outdoor clubs so as not to be unusual to be gone for a weekend or two. NRA membership with a dozen rifles, hunting licenses, and monthly gaming trips to bag a deer or two. Anything that said ‘self-sufficient’, ‘capable’, and more than a little leery of the government.

Natalie’s home was a shrine to all those ideals and more, with animal skin rugs, mounted deer heads for trophies, and a backyard full of chickens, rabbits, and goats. The property extended for several acres into the tree line, with neighbors who routinely fired off rounds at practice targets in their own slice of the forest. It wasn’t unusual for neighbors to host impromptu get togethers, but no one batted an eye if someone wasn’t around.

Natalie stared listlessly out her bedroom window, watching the snow melt and fall from the pine trees under the noon sun.