Ms . Grigsby nodded , placing a few pine needles across the cloth .
“ The devil looks for those hurt , sick and weak and tempts them to come with him . He only has an acre to trick them . If they manage to get beyond the first acre , they are lost to him , beyond his reach .”
“ But , she isn ’ t dead .”
“ No , not yet , but she ’ s close . She can hear the fingernails of the beast clawing their way in . They want what she has . I ’ m using these as triggers . Scent is the strongest memory enhancer . I hope it works . I hope it entices her closer to us .”
Marcus noticed since the old woman put the cloth across her mouth , the heart rate had steadied on the monitor . He closed his eyes and whispered a soft prayer .
Sarah smelled the scent of pine forests and immediately remembered climbing the pine trees of her North Carolina childhood home . After a day of climbing , she ’ d come back with black tar everywhere from the trees .
“ Do you smell that ?” Riley smiled and said , “ Yes , momma .”
“ I used to climb pine trees when I was growing up . Sometimes I ’ d get so scared when I climbed high in the branches , but I never stopped . I always felt safe there .”
“ I saw some pine trees over there ,” Riley said , pointing toward the high peaked mountain .
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