Lannie Butterworth's Arc

Chapter 2 of 4

Morning came, and Lannie found the hedge crushed flat near the shelter's entrance. A heavy boot print sat in the dirt. Inside, George Silkweaver huddled against a stone, shaking. Lannie's stomach went cold. Someone had come close. She pulled out her phone and opened the ring camera app. The footage played. The gym teacher stood at the hedge, scanning, then stomped down hard before walking off. Lannie saved the clip. Evidence. She found Oliver Beetles by the first grade door, bug shirt and all. "I need a watcher during gym class," Lannie said. Oliver nodded once. "I'll log every move," he said. "He won't see me." Outside the fence, the stray orange and white dog was sniffing the grass. Lannie crouched and offered half her sandwich. "Guard the hedge," she whispered. The dog sat down beside the gap like he'd been waiting for the job. She still needed to hide the crushed spot. Lannie carried over the small wooden garden sign from the planter beds and staked it in the broken gap. Leaves draped. From the path, it looked like the sign had always been there. By lunch, the shelter was hidden, watched, and guarded. George Silkweaver stopped shaking. But Lannie kept glancing at the old greenhouse past the field, its glass dim under vines. If the boot came back, she'd need somewhere new.