I reached the road to town and slowed the horse to a trot, once again orienting myself. It was next to impossible to tell cardinal directions during a storm, but I recalled my trip to Fighting Badger's and kept an eye out for the tree.
I rode along until I found what I sought: the tree followed soon by the red flag atop a hill. It was slanted at an angle, pushed over by the wind.
Veering off the road into the grasslands, I gave the horse its head so it was able to find the best path. Lightning arced across the sky nearby, and I jumped in place, once again suspecting I was either screwed or screwed if I didn't finish the mission Carter sent me back to complete.
The horse's pace slowed. I tugged my phone out of my pocket to check for messages.
You can't fix history in one night.
"But we can in a matter of days?" I asked aloud, perplexed. "No more secrets, Carter. Four other girls!" I wasn't able to fathom what he was thinking sending me back after the other girls disappeared. Did he even know what happened before I showed him the picture from the well? And why didn't he come back, if people kept disappearing?
Unless they can only send us one way. The errant thought made me feel sick to my stomach. It was a better explanation for why Carter himself hadn't come back to change history or why he didn't know what happened to the girls.
No. I can't believe that about him. Though I really, really wished I'd had an empathic memory chip when we first met. Had the other girls had this skill? If so, how did they not figure out their danger until it was too late?
Carter had called some of what they did to me experimental. I shivered, horror sinking into me as I realized the enormity of what I'd learned this night.
I couldn't trust Carter. Or the people around me, aside from John and Nell. Whoever had killed the other girls was probably coming after me next, and I had no idea who that was. I had managed to contain the unease about being sent back in time, gloss over what Carter had done because he was my only link to the future. But maybe, he knew about the others, and maybe he lied to me because he was waiting for the same thing to happen to me.
My chest seized so tightly, I hunched over the horse's withers and neck, struggling to breathe.
Three bodies. I had found three bodies and learned that someone was hunting down and killing off misplaced time travelers like me. Carter knew.