The Valley

by Annie Graefnitz

  My eyes slammed shut and I nodded, unable to speak.

  I could feel him lifting his feet again testing the line. His grip around my waist tightened and he took a few steps backward.

  Oh No! Oh No! Oh No!

  Without a warning, we were hurtling toward the edge. I felt him push off with as much force as he could, and then we fell. My voice escaped my throat at the highest spine tingling pitch possible. My scream was coming from somewhere deep inside that I didn't even know existed until that moment. It echoed through the air as we fell. My legs and arms automatically clenched tighter together. Jay would be lucky to make it through the end of this flight not squeezed in half. The line above tensed, whipping the strap I was holding back toward my face barely grazing my cheek, choking off my scream. I just narrowly escaped punching my self in the face. I opened my eyes quickly and saw a blur of Jay's smiling face before I snapped them shut again.

  “I told you,” I heard him say through my gasp for air. But I didn't respond; all I could focus on was the line that seemed to be holding us...for now.

  “You must open your eyes,” he whispered.

  I was still too terrified to move a muscle, even an eye muscle. But curiosity opened them despite the fear when I heard a spitting sound. Although my hair was tied back, more and more bits came loose and were whipping around my face, some stragglers sticking to Jay's face in the process. I reluctantly peeled my right hand off the strap and tucked it behind my ears.

  “I'm sorry,” I said, grabbing the strap again.

  “Look around, it's amazing.” Jay was still holding on to the top of the strap, but his body seemed more relaxed, like he wasn't struggling at all to keep the both of us upright.

  I forced myself to take advantage, as he was doing, so I peeked out of the corner of my eye to my right but all I saw was the devastation whizzing by under our feet. A better look from above it all reinforced the fact that it would have been impossible to cross on foot. I looked back at our launching point, where the path had ended, but it was difficult to see in the disappearing sunlight and mist. There was absolutely no going back now.

  I then twisted slightly, craning my neck a bit over my shoulder to see Jay's view.

  The entire landscape contradicted itself. The breathtaking shoreline was distantly visible again, sparkling in the dwindling sunlight. At the same time, the heavy mist that blanketed us in the trees before had settled, protecting the jungle that lay beneath us.

  My eyes closed again, but not out of fear. This time, I let the wind sweep over my face and hair and I felt free; all inhibitions (and harnesses) aside, I was flying. I felt with certain confidence that Jay would not have to tell me to open my eyes again because for the first time since Will's kiss, I felt alive.

  I was laughing, not faking or half-heartedly, but truly laughing. Irelynn would have a stroke if she saw me. “This is insane!” I laughed louder throwing my head back.

  “Whoa!” Jay's arm slipped from my back but he snapped up and grabbed me again. His startled crystal blue eyes locked on mine and we both froze. The corner of his mouth curved up. “That was close.”

  “Yah,” I mumbled, looking away from him and his hypnotic eyes.

  The terrain below was melting back into a normal, or what I assumed was normal, state because a spotty tree top canopy was forming, and the line started to descend as we sailed more deeply into the trees.

  I was about to ask Jay if he saw the end yet, but something caught my eye. As our feet lowered to mere inches above the treetops, I saw movement in the trees higher up the mountainside. Some thing was running, keeping pace with us. It was too hidden for me to see exactly what it was; occasionally a form was visible through the treetops. Whatever it was, it was huge and possibly human in form. But that was impossible; there was no way anyone could move as fast as we were through the trees.

  "What is that?" I screeched at Jay when I could easily make out a very extraordinarily hairy human head. He quickly glanced in the direction I was pointing but by that time we were deeper into the trees and figure was gone.

  "Bah!” He let go of the line and wrapped both of his arms around me as his legs dropped from underneath and landed on the ground. We continued to be dragged by the line while Jay struggled to get his footing. The trees that had been blurring by became clearer as we finally came to a stop.

  My wobbly legs found the ground and I let go of Jay. I couldn't believe we made it. The lingering exhilaration of the flight left me with a permanent smile.

  "Sorry about the landing," he joked, unbuckling himself from the harness. "What were you looking at?"

  I remembered the hairy head and stole a look behind me, shivering. "I think I just saw Bigfoot.”

  His eyebrows pinched together. “What?”

  Obviously I wasn't used to this much adrenaline because it was making me hysterical. “Nothing,” I mumbled. “Now what?”

  “Now we walk.” He smiled and picked up his bag.

  “Oh no, I forgot about my bag! It's by the four wheeler way up there!” I pointed in the direction we had sailed in from.

  Jay’s lips pursed and then he shrugged. “It is too late now, I’m sorry. Anyway, I do not think you will need it.”

  I silently named the items in my bag I would very much need, for example, my passport so I could get home. The map I didn't need anymore because Jay helping, but there was money in there. I dropped my head in defeat.

  Jay put his hand on my shoulder. “Do not worry. You will be okay. I will get you there quickly. It is not far from here.”

  My chest tightened when I heard him. Not far? It was closer than I thought it would be and I wasn't ready for what I had to face. I would either find my family or Will and his killer friends. I wasn't ready to face him, even with the vial in my pocket.

  “Jay, I have to confess something. About why I'm here I mean,” I said, unable to look at him.

  “You are meeting someone, yes?”

  I nodded. “I am, but there's more. I didn't tell you all of it because I honestly didn't think you would come this far with me. But I think you should know.” I managed to raise my eyes to his for a second before the guilt pulled them back down to the ground. “Something might try and stop me before I can get there.”

  His hands dropped to his sides. “Stop you?”

  “I-I mean something doesn't want me to get there and it will do whatever it takes to keep me away. I don't want you to get hurt.” I winced at the last part. “So you can go now. Just point me in the right direction and I'll go.”

  “How would I get hurt?” he asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice as he tilted his head to the side.

  Well, when I said hurt, I meant killed. But I didn't know what good telling him that would do. I couldn't risk him going back to town and announcing that there were killers in the jungle. I didn't want to risk anyone else's safety more than I had already. Jay had to go and I had to convince him that I would be fine out here. Frankly, I wasn't too sure how I was going to do that when I couldn't completely convince myself of that.

  Having failed at fabricating an excuse to get him to leave me, I had a feeling there wasn't any explanation that would stop him from helping me other than the truth. I didn't want to freak him out, yet. He needed to tell me how to get to the village before he bailed.

  I clasped my hands together. “Please, Jay. Just show me the way,” I pleaded into my fists.

  He folded his arms and stared at the ground as if it would give him an answer. I wondered if he was contemplating my plea to give me directions or if he was going to just leave. I hoped he would do the first and then the next. Either way, I would have to figure out a way to thank him for his help so far. But that would have to wait until after I reunited with my family.

  “I will still take you my-.” He waved his finger at me to halt my automatic rejection of that plan. His gentle voice hardened with resolve. “I will take you myself and on the way I can show you how to protect yourself from whatever it is that
might stop you.”

  How could he possibly teach me to protect myself? He didn’t even know what we needed protection from. In a short amount of time, could he also teach me to find the strength to not only protect myself, but to face my former – whatever he was to me – and end him?

  “No! Really, you have to go. Just tell me how to get there and then go! Please. You don't know what's out there.”

  A curious squint in his eyes appeared and then his eyebrows lifted. “And what is that?”

  “MONSTERS!” I blurted. I tried desperately to keep my mouth shut, but the truth was spilling out whether I wanted it to or not. “Bad people, Jay, very bad people. And you could get hurt, or even killed. I can't do that to you because you are innocent and I shouldn't have brought you here. I'm so sorry! Please go back, please!”

  My confession didn't seem to rattle him because he spoke as if the conversation we were having was a casual, everyday chat. “You want me to leave you here, by yourself in this place with no protection. I cannot do that.” He shook his head slightly.

  “Why won't you just leave? What is wrong with you?” How could he simply shrug off what I just said? His complete disregard for his own safety was quickly transforming my fear for him into growing frustration. I could feel my entire body simmer as I tried to stifle the overwhelming urge to just shove him hard and run. Unfortunately for me, I was a terrible sprinter. His saddened, gold stained blue eyes waited for me to finish fuming.

  “I know this place well, you do not. Even if I were to tell you the right direction, you would not be able to find it.”

  “Like you knew about the path?” I chomped down on my lips and grabbed his hand. “I'm so sorry. That was incredibly rude and I didn't mean that, I don't think before I speak sometimes. Well, most of the time actually. I'm sorry.”

  He looked at my hand and his face flushed again.

  I dropped his hand and tried one last time to appeal to his self-preservation side. “Look, I know that you are probably thinking that I've just walked straight out of Crazytown and this chivalry thing you're going for is really admirable, but you're not understanding what I'm telling you. It's no exaggeration when I say there is a strong possibility we could be killed.”

  He looped the strap of the bag around his neck and gave an effortless push sending it over his shoulder to land against his back. He looked oddly disproportionate, as if the fat bag might tip him back at any moment.

  “I understand you,” he murmured and started walking.

  There was no point trying anymore...and now I felt as if I'd just kicked a puppy. I jumped forward trying to catch up after he was about twenty steps further into the trees.

  I was unable to speak to him while the emotions clashed in my mind. I was angry. As if I didn't have enough to worry about, now I would be responsible for him, too. And I was worried, no--sick to my stomach; what would happen if we were intercepted before we reached my family and the others? I wanted to make sure Jay made it out unharmed, but I would settle for making it out alive.

  10

  We trudged through the jungle, the only sound created by our feet crunching the greenery and the occasional huffing of my oxygen deprived lungs. I let him get a few feet ahead of me before I would stop and rest my hands on my knees. He continued on, fluidly moving over various brush and an occasional fallen tree as he walked. When I regained my breath, I hiked quickly to reach him before he disappeared.

  He stopped in front of me and shucked the bag off. “Are you thirsty?”

  Truthfully, I was dying to rip the lid off that water bottle, but I was so beat and so shaky from lack of normal exercise that I felt nauseated. I couldn't even speak, and if I tried, he would have to use the water to clean off his shoes.

  He eyed me curiously. “Do you need to rest for a moment?”

  I nodded, drawing in deep breaths in through my nose.

  He pulled a small yellow flashlight from the pocket of his bag and handed it to me. “You will need this soon. It will get much darker than it is now.” He turned and looked at the path ahead of us. “It is also going to get very thick and it is very difficult to see the camp.”

  My heart squeezed in my chest when I looked ahead. They were in there somewhere. It had come too fast. I would be nothing short of overjoyed to see my family soon, but I wasn't ready for whatever else might be waiting.

  “I will show you some things now that may be helpful for you.”

  Could he not see that I wasn't really up for learning battle skills at the moment? I leaned against a tree, looking away from the trail and back to him. He ignored my irritated expression.

  “These, eh, people. How many do you think will try to stop you?”

  “I don't know,” I mumbled. “One for sure.”

  His mouth twisted. “How will they try to stop you?”

  “Again, I don't know. I'm not even sure there will be anyone there. I just – have a feeling.”

  He breathed out slowly and raised his eyebrows. “Okay.” He reached back into his bag and brought out what looked like a brown baseball and walked toward me.

  “What's that?”

  He passed it from hand to hand and as he neared, tossed it to me. “It is a bomb.”

  “Whaa!” I instinctively pulled my hands back and covered my head with my arms. The ball landed at my feet. I peeked from under my arms at the harmless wad of dark green grass resting in a pile of what I hoped was mud.

  Jay laughed and reached down, plucking it from its resting place. “Don't worry, there has to be more of an impact with the target for it to explode.”

  I pushed the dizziness to the side as far as I could. “Some bomb.”

  He laughed again. “They must be thrown hard, like a pitcher at a baseball game.” He threw an invisible fastball at the tree next to him and then turned to me. He glanced quickly at the ball still in his hand and then held it out for me to take it from him.

  I let out a short laugh. “Um, no. I would seriously hurt myself with that thing. Six-year-olds can throw better than me.”

  His hand thrust forward again. “I am sure you can do it. Just throw it as hard as you can.”

  “No, you're not getting it.” Lost in translation maybe? Because I couldn’t throw – at all, and even if I were to throw my entire body weight into the toss, it would land two feet away. So lobbing the weird mud-bomb-ball in the middle of an attack and actually hitting a target was highly unlikely.

  “That thing would be very helpful to you. But, maybe you are not ready for that yet. I think this would be better.” Jay dropped the ball back into his bag and shuffled his hand around until he had a found what he was looking for, a foot long hollow stick. I was wondering if he was going to pull out an umbrella next and float away like Mary Poppins. He placed the stick in my hand.

  I stared at it, confused, before telling Jay that he was out of his mind. “You're crazier than I am if you think I am going to hit someone with this! He's way too huge for me to beat him to death.” Not to mention that having any physical contact of any kind with Will right now would complicate my efforts to kill him.

  My teeth gnashed together. I was angry at myself for wavering again. I needed to get over that, like within the next five minutes because according to Jay, we were very close. Will was not the man I thought he was and I had to remember that. It was imperative that I maintained control of my thoughts and emotions.

  But if I completely fell apart, I had the vial as back up. I reassured myself that I would use it, but only if I absolutely had to. I was a little wary about how my body would react to the sparkling blue liquid. I guess I should have asked Tom exactly what was in that vial that would unlock my hidden strength. That strength I would need, body and mind, if I was going to help my family.

  I gripped the stick and swung it sharply through the air causing a howl to escape from the end of it. “On second thought, this might do.”

  Jay was now chuckling louder than before. He grabbed he stick from me. “No, not lik
e that. Use this only if you have distance between you and the other person. This has more of a, um, precise hit.”

  He stuffed his hand into a pocket that was low on his pant leg and removed what looked like a small tortoise shell compact. Odd thing for guy to have. He tucked the stick under his arm, holding it tight against his body.

  He carefully held the compact in front of his face and with his hands and slowly, very slowly opened it. A high-pitched squeal pierced through the air. My hands quickly covered my ears as he held steady and reached with his thumb and forefinger into the small opening.

  “Ah!” Jay sucked a short breath through his clenched teeth.

  “What is that?” I shouted over the noise.

  His fingers pinched a miniature shrieking silver spike, he snapped the compact shut and shoved it back into his pocket. He then yanked the tube from under his arm, wedged the spike into the end and flipped it around so that the empty end was pressed against his lips. His chest puffed out and in one quick movement, he breathed in through his nose and blew it back out his mouth through the tube.

  Whoosh!

  Instantaneously, the squalling ended. It was so fast, I didn't see where the spike landed but I could hear the splitting of tree bark in the distance. Jay looked triumphantly in the direction he'd shot it. How he could see where it went in the dwindling light was beyond me.

  “Jay! What the hell was that?”

  He happily mumbled something in Spanish and walked toward the tree.

  “I call it a Stunner. It is loud so that it will attract the attention of your target, and draws him in. And then it’s silent. He never knows what hit him.”

  I followed his footsteps and stood behind him as he admired the newly fractured tree limb. The spike had wedged deep into the side of the tree, leaving a sizeable crater around it. I reached up to pluck it out, but Jay swiftly slapped my hand away.

  “Ouch!”

  He grabbed my hand. “You do not want to touch that after it has hit its target. It is very, very poisonous.”

  “You said that thing would just stun someone, Jay. But it just murdered a tree.”