by R. G. Thomas
“Oh no,” he whispered.
“What is it?” Andy asked.
“We have to go,” Thaddeus said without looking around; then, in a louder voice, he added, “We all have to go now. Everyone get out of here.”
“It’s probably just a damn deer,” one of the jocks said.
Thaddeus turned away from the Tangle in time to see Crystal yank one arm free. She balled up her fist and hit the jock still holding her square on the chin hard enough to send him staggering backward before she pulled off the bandana and threw it in the dirt.
“Run!” Thaddeus shouted, wanting Crystal to escape back to the road and hopefully avoid seeing the Bearagon.
But it was too late. With a great crash of breaking tree limbs and uprooted plants, the Bearagon bounded out of the Tangle. It shook plants and leaves off its wide, shaggy head and blinked against the harsh glare of the headlights that put it on perfect display.
“What the hell is that?” Dixon shouted.
“It’s a bear!” another jock shouted.
“Get out of here!” Thaddeus waved toward the cars behind them all. “Drive! Go!”
“Get down!” Andy grabbed Thaddeus and pulled him into the dirt. Seconds later the Bearagon leaped the full length of Dixon’s car and over them. It landed a few feet away, right between Thaddeus and Andy and the rest of the group.
The Bearagon roared and swiped at the panicked jocks and cheerleaders as they scrambled out of its reach and back to their cars. One girl fell, and several jocks stomped on her as they fled in a panic. Thaddeus started to move to help the girl, but Andy grabbed his arm and pulled him around to the passenger side of Dixon’s car. They kept low as they made their way to the front of the car where they crouched before the grill low enough to be able to peer over the hood and through the car at the back of the Bearagon’s head.
Beyond the Bearagon, Thaddeus saw Crystal and Marty dragging the injured cheerleader out of danger. They both stared at the Bearagon as they walked backward, each of them gripping one of the cheerleader’s hands and the girl’s legs dragging through the dirt. Thaddeus was relieved to see that everyone was safe. For now.
A hand gripped Thaddeus’s shoulder, and he jumped and shouted in surprise. Mr. Elder crouched behind them, eyes wide as he watched the Bearagon stomp around and terrorize the kids.
“What is that thing?” he whispered. “It’s not a bear. They don’t have spikes like that along their spine.”
“It’s evil,” Thaddeus said. “That’s about all anyone knows about it.”
“You seem to know a lot about it,” Andy said.
Thaddeus didn’t answer, but he did stand straight up as his attention was caught by the sight of Dixon who held Joy’s hand and was trying to circle around the Bearagon to get back to his car. Before Dixon could get very far, however, the Bearagon caught sight of them and turned. It lifted its lips in a snarl and hunkered down, preparing to pounce.
“No!” Thaddeus reacted without thinking. As much as he disliked Dixon and Joy, he couldn’t let them get torn apart. He put his hands on the hood of Dixon’s car and, with a rush of magic, pushed the vehicle backward and right into the Bearagon. The impact sent the beast tumbling through clouds of dust and giving Dixon and Joy the chance to get to his car.
“Did you do that?” Mr. Elder asked.
Thaddeus looked at Mr. Elder and Andy, who stared back at him. The slamming of a car door made him look away. Dixon and Joy were in his car, and Dixon didn’t even look at them as he turned his car around and sped off down the trail. The flare of headlights revealed Mr. Winslow standing by his car, staring at Thaddeus with wide eyes as Crystal and Marty wrestled the unconscious cheerleader into the back seat.
“Dixon the Dick left us here to die!” Andy said.
“My car’s still here,” Mr. Elder said. “Come on.”
Before they could take a step toward Mr. Elder’s car, the Bearagon stepped in front of them. The headlights from Mr. Elder’s car silhouetted the beast as it stalked toward them.
“We’re cut off,” Andy said.
Thaddeus tried to think of something more he could do, and carefully, so as not to reveal any more of his abilities. Before he could come up with a plan, however, Mr. Elder grabbed him and Andy each by the arm and pulled them toward the mass of plants that made up the edge of the Tangle.
“Are you sure you want to go in there?” Thaddeus asked as they closed the distance to the Tangle.
“We stand a better chance of getting away from that thing with some cover,” Mr. Elder said.
The roar from right behind them seemed to punctuate Mr. Elder’s words. Before Thaddeus could think about it further, or come up with any protests, they all plunged into the narrow spaces between the plants.
Chapter TWENTY-ONE
IT WAS dark inside the Tangle. Very dark. And cooler and damper too. Leaves, branches, thorns, stems, and twigs scratched them from head to toe. Vines hung heavy in some places, and Thaddeus lost all sense of direction as they fought their way through. The Bearagon roared as it crashed into the Tangle behind them, but Thaddeus was heartened by the fact that it was much larger than them and would have a harder time getting through the overgrown plants.
“Here,” Mr. Elder whispered with a tug on Thaddeus’s sleeve. “Let’s cut off at an angle to get away from it.”
Thaddeus let Mr. Elder go first, Andy followed, and then he took up the rear. If the Bearagon got much closer, he could use magic unseen by them to push the beast back. Mr. Elder handed his flashlight back to Andy to free up his hands as he parted branches and vines and leaves for them to move through. He proved to be very adept at finding the best avenue for them, and Thaddeus could tell they were making good time as the sounds from the Bearagon slipped farther and farther behind. As they traveled deeper into the Tangle, Thaddeus wondered if they should perhaps start angling back the way they had come.
“How far are we going?” Andy asked. “Won’t we be trapped in here by that thing?”
“I want to make sure we’re far enough away from it before we start back the other direction,” Mr. Elder said. “Not much longer now.”
Thaddeus plodded after Andy, mindlessly pushing aside branches, leaves, and vines. The endless dark green walls all around them, coupled with the chilly air, lulled him into a daze. There had been no sounds from the Bearagon for a while now, but Thaddeus realized he had lost all track of time without the ability to see the sky above them. He kept walking, following behind Andy and the narrow flashlight beam that peeled back a small bubble of the thick darkness around them. It all blended together in a blur, and it felt like he walked through a dream.
Sometime later—it could have been an hour, a day, even a week, for all Thaddeus knew—Mr. Elder pushed through large, shiny leaves that grew up from mounds of dark, rich earth, and they stepped into a clearing. The clearing was as long and wide as the high school football field, and the Tangle formed a living wall all the way around it. Moonlight shone down, illuminating the soft grass and reflecting off the glassy surface of an oblong pond.
“Water,” Andy said and trotted off across the clearing.
Thaddeus remained beside Mr. Elder and looked around the edges of the Tangle. Had no one ever made it to the center before? And how had they managed to find a way through the dark and tangled mass of plants to the center in such a short amount of time? Had they also lost the Bearagon?
“It looks safe enough,” Mr. Elder said. “Come on. Let’s get a drink and look around.”
Thaddeus followed Mr. Elder out into the clearing. He walked slow and turned his head back and forth, trying to see everywhere at once as he kept a watch for any threats. Large, round bushes filled with flowers dotted the clearing. The flowers were big and still open even though it was nighttime. Thaddeus figured these were the flowers Dixon had wanted them to bring back out, and he wished Teofil was there to tell him what they were called.
Sudden pain pulsed from the cyst on the back of his neck, and
Thaddeus grimaced but kept on walking across the clearing. He thought about the risk he had taken to save Dixon and Joy from the Bearagon by pushing the car into it, and wished now that he’d let the monster get to them.
It would have solved at least two of your problems, the voice said. Dixon’s bullying and the Bearagon once the townspeople hunted down the animal that killed two high school students.
Upon reaching the pond, Thaddeus dropped to his knees alongside Andy, who was using his cupped hands to lift water to his lips.
“It’s so good,” Andy said around gulps. “I’ve never tasted water this good.”
Thaddeus put a hand in the pond and gasped at the icy temperature. “It’s so cold!”
“It must be fed from an underground spring or aquifer,” Mr. Elder said. “I’ve heard there are a few around Stoker’s Mill.”
Thaddeus swallowed several handfuls of water and then washed dirt from his face, wincing when the cold water touched fresh scratches.
“You said you live out this way?” Thaddeus asked Mr. Elder.
“I do. Like I said, I was coming home from the store when I saw the group of you turn down this road. It’s a very narrow road, and mostly hidden from the main highway, so I had never really noticed it before. I’ve heard about the Tangle, of course, most everyone in town has heard about it. I never thought I’d be running for my life through it tonight, but I’m glad I decided to investigate.”
“Me too,” Thaddeus said. Pain throbbed through his neck and head again, making him grimace.
“Are you hurt?” Mr. Elder asked. “You made a face.”
“It’s nothing,” Thaddeus said before he looked at the plants all around the clearing. “How are we going to get out of here?”
“Find our way back, I guess,” Mr. Elder said.
“My phone is dead.” Andy had finally drunk his fill of the clear, cold water and was looking at his phone.
Thaddeus pulled his flip phone from his pocket and held it up, sighing as the message NO SIGNAL displayed on the small screen that glowed a weird yellow green. “No signal.”
“No surprise with that crappy phone,” Andy said.
“Manners, Mr. Harkin,” Mr. Elder said, then looked at his own phone. “I have no signal as well. And the compass app isn’t tracking at all.”
A sound from across the clearing sent Thaddeus’s heart pounding. He noticed a large clump of vines and flowering plants near the far corner that looked dark and sinister in the moonlight. Shadows lay heavy beneath the plants, but Thaddeus thought he saw some movement behind the greenery. Before he could ask if the others saw something too, a figure emerged from the thicket and stood looking around, hands on hips.
“Someone’s over there,” Thaddeus whispered.
“Really?” Mr. Elder asked.
Thaddeus got to his feet. His fists clenched tight, and the cyst throbbed in time with his pulse. There was something off about this figure, something he didn’t trust. Who was it, and what were they doing in the middle of the Tangle?
The figure turned its head, and Thaddeus saw moonlight gleam off a long, white beard. For a wild moment, he thought it might be Leopold, or Leopold’s spirit, but then he realized that even from that distance, he could see that the man was too short for that. When the figure caught sight of them, his reaction was instantaneous. He gave a loud shout of surprise and pointed in their direction.
Before Thaddeus could move, several vines snaked out of the Tangle and coiled around his legs.
“Run!” he managed to shout, before the vines pulled him off his feet.
“Oh my God!” Mr. Elder cried, reaching for Thaddeus’s flailing hands.
The vines hauled Thaddeus out of his reach, dragging him across the ground as they tightened around his legs. He attempted to conjure spells, but his magic didn’t seem to work. Anger and fear expanded exponentially within him as the cyst throbbed and the soft grass of the clearing sped past beneath him.
Then, as suddenly as he had been grabbed, the vines released him. His legs thumped against the ground, and he let out a heavy breath. Scrambling to his feet, Thaddeus ran back to the pond. He looked over his shoulder to make sure the vines, or even the Bearagon, weren’t pursuing him. It wasn’t until he was a few feet from the bearded figure that he realized the man had crossed the clearing. Thaddeus stopped and stared at the strange man. He was short and squat, standing only as high as the middle of Thaddeus’s chest. Moonlight cast shadows beneath the man’s heavy brow and large nose. He wore a pointed hat covered with patches and mended with a variety of stitching, and from beneath it long white hair lay over his shoulders and tumbled down his back, mixing with his equally long white beard.
“We don’t mean you any harm,” Thaddeus said.
“Gah!” The man’s voice was deep and phlegmy, and he pointed a dirty, stubby finger up at him.
Thaddeus looked over the top of the man’s head to where Mr. Elder and Andy stood side by side watching their interaction.
“Did he say anything to you?” Thaddeus asked.
“Gah!” the man said again, only louder.
“Shh,” Thaddeus said. “There’s a wild animal nearby.”
“That’s all he’s been saying,” Mr. Elder said. “It seems to be all he’s been able to say for quite some time.”
Thaddeus was about to ask what he meant, when there was a rustle of plants from the opposite wall of the Tangle behind Mr. Elder and Andy. Before Thaddeus could shout a warning, three figures stepped out of the undergrowth and stood looking around. Even in the pale light of the moon, Thaddeus recognized them, and his breath caught in his throat as emotion overwhelmed him.
It was Teofil. And Astrid and Dulindir stood to either side of him, Dulindir’s hair glowing with reflected starlight.
Sudden pain bristled along the back of his neck, so bad it brought Thaddeus to one knee. He clapped a hand over the cyst as he looked up at the strange man who still stood before him.
“Thaddeus?” Mr. Elder said. “Are you all right?”
Before Thaddeus could answer, he heard Teofil’s voice from across the clearing. “Thaddeus? Is that you?”
The strange, short man snapped his head around at the sound of Teofil’s voice. He let out a squeak of surprise and then ran across the clearing as fast as his stubby legs could carry him, back to the dark clump of plants from which he had first emerged. Once the man had vanished inside the plants, Thaddeus managed to get back on his feet. He pressed a hand over the throbbing cyst and stared across the clearing at Teofil. “What are you doing here?”
“Thaddeus, come over here,” Mr. Elder said. He had turned to be able to look between Thaddeus and Teofil, Astrid, and Dulindir, and now he motioned for Thaddeus to stand beside him.
Emotions tussled within Thaddeus as he approached Mr. Elder and Andy. He was glad to see the friends he trusted with his life, but he was also angry that they had shown up here. There had apparently been some kind of investigation going on that Teofil had seen fit to keep from Thaddeus. What had once been simply the sting of rejection now soured inside Thaddeus to something darker and more twisted. He felt a slick anger whipping through his belly, and it clouded his thoughts.
They don’t deserve to know the secrets of the Tangle. They are deceivers, all of them.
“Is that Home School Baby Beddy-by Time?” Andy called.
The three new arrivals stood where they were, assessing the area and situation. Astrid ignored Andy as she called out, “We’ve been tracking the Bearagon, and it led us here. Teofil and Dulindir got us through the woods.”
“It’s called the Tangle,” Andy shouted, then pointed toward Dulindir. “Is that some kind of glow-in-the-dark wig?”
“Why are you here?” Teofil asked, ignoring Andy and looking right at Thaddeus.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but we were brought here,” Thaddeus said. “We saw the Bearagon. It chased us into the Tangle.”
“Why don’t you three come over here?” Mr. Elder
called to them. “Away from the edge of the woods? That monster could appear at any moment.”
“I think we’re in a good spot right here,” Teofil replied, then pointed to the place where the strange man had gone to hide. “Who was that?”
“We don’t know,” Thaddeus said. “He was here when we arrived.”
His statement triggered some fevered whispering among Teofil, Astrid, and Dulindir. The sight of them working like that, all in tune with one another’s thoughts, made him feel even more snubbed. He wanted to lash out at them, to send them flying back into the Tangle and leave them there, lost and afraid.
If you did that, then they’d know how you’ve been feeling.
The power thrummed in his arms and gathered in his palms, but it felt different now. Where before the magic had a warming sensation, this time it felt cold and prickly, as if tiny slivers of ice flowed just beneath his skin.
Before he could decide how and if to use his magic, the Bearagon crashed out of the Tangle near the spot Thaddeus, Mr. Elder, and Andy had emerged. They all shouted in surprise and fear. The Bearagon roared and lowered its massive head to charge toward Thaddeus, Andy, and Mr. Elder. Dirt and grass flew up behind it from the force of the monster’s rush.
Thaddeus stood rooted to the spot, eyes wide as he watched the Bearagon close the distance. He knew he should move or use a spell to protect himself, no matter that Andy and Mr. Elder stood by his side. And the two of them seemed equally stunned and unmoving at the sight of the Bearagon bearing down on them.
“Look out!” Teofil shouted.
The sound of Teofil’s voice broke through Thaddeus’s paralysis. He started to run to Teofil, but was stopped in midstride by Mr. Elder gripping his arm and pulling him in the opposite direction, away from his friends. The Bearagon pounced into the space where they’d been standing and spun to face them. Andy had fallen to one knee in his haste to escape from the Bearagon, and now the monster stood right behind him, its powerful jaws parted to reveal sharp teeth as it panted down the back of Andy’s neck.