For a moment, I thought I did it.
Then she grabbed my ankle.
Panicking, I stomped down on her forearm with my other foot, trying to free my foot.
Her head turned toward me, her mouth opening, her teeth glistening in the cell light.
I kicked repeatedly at her face from an awkward angle, aware it wasn’t effective, while simultaneously trying to shimmy my foot out of my sneaker and out of her grasp. My shoe scraped against my skin roughly, but I continued wiggling my foot back and forth in desperation. Heart slamming against my chest, a rush of relief washed through me as the shoe gave way.. Her fingers began to slip and I wiggled free, my sock falling away with her fingers. I bent to snatch my shoe and she reflexively reached for me again.
Heck with the shoe.
Jumping away, I turned, ready to bolt.
She was faster.
Her fingers once again wrapped around my skin, so ravenously I lost my balance. The ground met my arm before I had a chance to steady myself. I winced upon impact, my broken hand throbbing in pain, the cell phone slipping from my grasp.
The woman let go of my foot, rolling on top of me, mouth open, dribbles of drool fell onto my face. I immediately shoved my hands against her chest to hold her off. The weight of her body pressed down on my injured wrist and I cried out, losing strength. Her teeth sank closer to my face.
I heard my best friend yelling, running.
In the odd ray of light from the phone on the ground beside me I caught a glimpse of her.
She was running forward, toward me.
Clenching my teeth, I gathered as much momentum as I could, shoving back against her sweat-drenched shirt. My knees pressed into her abdomen, for extra support against her.
Her teeth were snapping together, her lips curled up. More dribbles of spittle splashed against my cheeks.
Missy was suddenly right there, leaning over us.
At the same moment the woman became aware of her presence, something wrapped around her throat, yanking her head back.
Missy stood behind her, cursing in grunted noises, struggling to pull her body off me, and keep the woman from turning to her.
What looked like two strings, were cutting deeply into her throat. And as Missy began to drag her tiring body backward I brought my knee up to her chin, and kneed her as hard as I could.
Her jaw cracked, her mouth slamming shut momentarily, then reopening, and a tooth dropped from her gums the same moment she fell limp, inches from where my feet had been.
Missy stumbled forward as the woman’s body dropped, and she fell onto her back, quickly rolling off her. This time a clear, loud curse left her and she kicked the woman in the side, just out of frustration and adrenaline.
She didn’t move.
I snatched the phone beside me and shone it onto her body to check if she was dead. The smallest of movement came from her torso, and I could see she was still breathing, just momentarily unconscious.
Momentarily, I quickly reminded myself and made effort to push myself up off the ground.
We needed to run now while she was out cold.
I began to wonder how far we could get- injured, unarmed and with little cell phone light left, when I happened to glance up in the movement of standing up. My eyes caught on something above us.
Lifting the light toward the tree tops, I almost cried when I saw it.
A treehouse—of sorts—was a couple trees away, and suddenly I knew what to do, how we’d survive the night.
Fingers crossed they didn’t know how to climb. Even still, we could kick them in the face should they dare try.
“Come on,” I said, motioning toward the tree. “Let’s go, before she wakes up.”
“Hold on,” Missy huffed. “I need my shoes.” She still sounded winded from her latest efforts.
“Huh?” Her shoes?
Turning, I shone the light at her and sure enough, she was in her socks still holding two strings. They were shoelaces, not strings. She strangled the woman with her shoe laces.
And then I remembered, I needed my shoe too.
Standing there, I suddenly felt unbalanced. Unevenly walking a few steps to the side, I reached down, snatching my shoe and sock off the ground. I quickly slipped the sneaker over my foot, while shoving my sock into my back pocket. Didn’t feel like wasting extra time to put on both.
“Where’s your damn shoes?” I grumbled, turning my attention back to Missy.
The frustration wasn’t warranted. I should have been hugging her for saving my life, not acting bitchy. But I guess I was still too anxious for the sentiments.
Missy, whether not noticing or not caring, just turned, pointing behind her. She walked away, quietly, trekking shoeless through some weeds.
Blowing out a breath, I worried about the time remaining. How long would it take for her to get to them, to lace them, and then to put them on? Would the woman awaken before then?
But to my surprise, Missy stopped seconds later and reached down. I moved forward, so she’d have better light and again, she surprised me by only lacing the strings through the first holes before tying them together in a double knot. As she straightened out, she tossed the sneakers over her shoulder.
I felt bad for expecting less from her. “Will you be able to climb without your shoes on?”
“Probably better than you will with that hand of yours.”
We both looked down at my swollen, purple hand.
Yup. This was going to suck.
A half-moan, half- groan came from behind us.
Her.
Instinctively I shoved Missy in the back.
Time to go.
We quickly moved to the oak tree.
Small, wooden rectangular planks were nailed to the trunk, ascending upward toward a handmade, weathered platform.
It wasn’t very big, and I hoped it was large enough for the both of us.
I also hoped it was sturdy enough.
Otherwise I had no clue what we’d do.
I nudged Missy to climb first, because I knew I’d probably take longer with my injured hand.
The shoes dangled and bounced against Missy’s back as she climbed one careful step at a time. I heard her grumbling louder with each step.
“What’s wrong?” I shouted, keeping the light shining upward so she could see.
“The wood is really splintered. It’s cutting me. And I can barely keep my feet balanced on these boards.”
Yet, she continued to climb.
And once she got to the platform, she told me to toss the phone.
I didn’t of course. I was afraid she’d miss and it would break, then we’d be screwed.
Another groan sounded, this time louder.
Turning back, I shone the light to the body.
The body was gone.
Shit.
“She’s gone!”
Panicked, I threw the phone up anyway. Missy caught it, though she half-fell off the ledge, before repositioning herself.
I instantly started to climb.
Tears sprouted from my eyes with each new step.
Wood pierced my palms just as Missy said, my broken hand throbbed, and my feet struggled to fit on the small boards.
Pain radiating through my entire arm, I grabbed the wood tighter with my good hand, embedding splinters deeper into my skin to compensate for my weaker grip.
I heard the woman screech in her high-pitch shrill. She was close, but I didn’t dare look behind me.
I reached for the next board.
And the next.
Missy grasped my shirt and helped lug me over the edge onto the platform.
I rolled onto my side. As I had feared, the two of us barely fit up here.
Missy cursed again, and I peered down, following her gaze.
The woman had reached the tree base. She was circling it, but for whatever reason she made no attempt to climb.
At least, not yet.
“Now what?” Missy asked, her voice a hi
gher octave.
I continued to watch the woman pace around the tree, hungrily, and realized she wasn’t circling it because she knew we were in it, it was more like she was sniffing the air around it. As if she could smell us, but she couldn’t find us.
“We stay here until morning and hope she doesn’t figure out where we are.”
Missy sighed beside me. “Then what? What if she’s still circling this tree like a freaking great white? Or worse, she does figure out we are up here?”
“We worry about it then.” I sank backward, tugging at her arm to follow. “Let’s keep out of view to be safe.”
Missy was so wedged beside me, her shoulder digging into mine, it probably would have been more comfortable if she was just sitting on my lap.
“Well this is going to be a long night,” she grumbled.
“Try to get some sleep. Who knows what’s in store for us.”
“Shouldn’t one of us remain on guard or something, isn’t that what they do in the movies?”
“Yes,” I agreed. “I am. I’ll wake you when I get too tired.”
“Oh.” She paused, thinking. “I can take the first watch if you want.”
“I’m too worked up to sleep right now. You might as well.”
“I wonder what time it is anyway?” she mumbled, glancing down at the phone. My eyes followed.
It wasn’t even midnight.
It was definitely going to be a long night.
She grew quiet after that, and I took the phone from her, shutting off the battery.
She looked as if she was about to protest but I told her it was better to preserve what battery we had left.
As soon as I turned off her cell phone, night rushed in around us. And it grew really dark.
It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes when she said, “It’s getting cold…”
“I know.” I was grateful to have her so close to me now, but my body still shook with the dropping temperatures.
“And I can’t sleep… all I can think about is Anubis out there.” She sounded really sad. “I’ll never forgive myself if he’s dead.”
“And I haven’t heard the whistle,” she continued. “It stopped again. And I haven’t heard anymore gun shots.”
“And where are the helicopters? The police sirens? If Jason and Kyle called the cops, why don’t we hear them?”
As the minutes passed, her questions kept coming and the pit in my stomach grew deeper. Now that we were able to rest, the adrenaline rush started to fade away and we started to rationalize the whole night.
“And Spencer,” she said, yawning, after who knows how long. “What about Spencer?”
That was the last thing I heard.
21
The loud, continuous rounds of gunshots suddenly blasted thru the woods again and I woke with a start, my whole body jolting. Unfortunately, my elbow whacked Missy in the face.
“Ow—” She sounded pissed, and entirely groggy.
“Sorry,” I quickly mumbled as my body continued to tremble, my heartrate accelerating in my chest.
Talk about a wake-up call.
It took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the fading darkness. It wasn’t morning yet, but dawn was definitely close.
“How long was I out?” I asked, though I’m not sure why. I know Missy couldn’t actually answer that. I just didn’t feel rested at all.
“Who knows?”
“Anything to report?”
She blew out a breath in frustration. “Same—we’re still stuck in a tree, it’s still not morning, I’m still freezing and I have to pee so damn bad.”
Right.
Yawning, I glanced up, trying to peer through the cover of the oak leaves that sheltered us like an umbrella from most of the sky. “Well it should be light enough soon. Have you heard her lately?” I didn’t make an effort to lean over the edge to check because I wouldn’t be able to see much anyway.
“No, perhaps she finally left,” Missy replied.
“Well—let’s not climb down until we know for sure.”
“Uh…duh.” Missy’s sarcastic response made it clear she couldn’t believe I ever had to say that. But with her, I never know sometimes.
I just knew I wasn’t in the mood for her complaining. “Why don’t you try to sleep a little longer? I’ll finish the watch.”
“No. It’s still my turn,” she grumbled. “You barely slept.”
“It’s fine. I’m fine.” Actually I felt pretty shitty, but whatever.
She didn’t seem convinced by the way she offered again. However after a few more reassurances on my end, she finally placed her head on my shoulder and attempted to fall back to sleep.
It didn’t take her long.
The jumpy tremble to my hands finally stopped. My heart was returning to normal, the longer I sat there, safe for the moment, in the waning night. The jolt from waking was leaving me, but I still remained anxious and alert.
I waited for more gunshots, that didn’t come again, wondering all the while if Jason was out there and if those gun shots were his, or Kyle’s. I couldn’t help but wonder about Buck, and if they found him. And if they did, did they shoot him? Or save him?
I sat a good portion of the night with my eyes drawn to the tree tops in hopes of seeing a helicopter.
None came.
There had still been no sirens.
I was beginning to wonder if Jason truly called the cops. Or had he just said that to me and Missy to get us to leave?
The pit in my stomach was coming back from earlier. I trusted Jason, but now I felt sick with worry because what if that is exactly what he did. After all, hadn’t I lied to him about being confident I knew how to make it home from Kyle’s, just so he wouldn’t have to show me the way and travel back to the trailer alone with Buck and others out there.
I was tempted to turn on the cell phone and check to see if there was any service—or if Jason had tried calling me back. I wanted to listen to the voicemails too, but my right hand was so swollen and throbbing, and Missy was using my left shoulder as a pillow.
I tried flexing my fingers outward anyway, but quickly stopped. The pain immediately radiated up my forearm, and I cringed, biting back a curse.
Come on morning, I mentally shouted. I just wanted to get home.
Hell, to a doctor for that matter.
And I really, really wanted to call Jason.
Another cold shiver ricocheted through my body, as a light gust of wind blew through the branches. One lone leaf spun down onto my lap. I blew it off.
The sky above us continued to lighten, improving the range of my vision. I could now make out the outlines and shapes of things further away.
Silently, I sat there, adjusting my eyes, fighting with the rapidly increasing weight of my eyelids.
I knew I had to stay up.
I blinked.
No, I have to stay up.
I blinked again.
The sounds of wildlife faded in and out, muffling together.
I was cold and I had to stay up.
I had to…
“Dee!” Missy was suddenly screaming my name. I couldn’t see her, but she sounded so panicked. Everything was really fuzzy, and I blinked my eyes, trying to focus. I couldn’t figure out why she was yelling.
“Dee!”
There it was again. My name. Missy’s voice.
“What?” I groaned, my voice thick and unrecognizable.
“Dee!”
This time everything started rocking back and forth, like I was standing on a ship in the ocean in the middle of a raging storm. It was dark. It was cold.
Maybe I was.
“Damn it, Dee!” Again another wave hit. Back and forth I swayed, back and forth. Where was she? Was she on this boat with me?
I was about to call her name back, when an excruciating pain electrocuted through me.
I yelled, and the foggy darkness lifted instantly.
I woke to Missy staring me in the face.
“Sorry. I’m so sorry,” Missy said, apologizing repeatedly. “I didn’t know how else to wake you.”
“So you squeezed my broken hand? Seriously, what the hell!”
The pain was almost unbearable. How freaking hard did she grab it?
“Well I tried shaking you awake a couple times. You weren’t responding. You were really starting to freak me out, Dee.”
When she said she tried waking me, it suddenly occurred to me I fell asleep…on my watch.
“Ohmigod, I passed out… shit.” My heart bounced to my throat with anxiety.
“Yeah, and you were out…out. I couldn’t wake you for anything.”
“Ugh, I’m so sorry.” What the hell was wrong with me? That shouldn’t have happened. Something bad could have definitely happened.
Missy shrugged it off. “Just tell me you’re okay, ‘cuz my heart is pounding.”
Yeah, mine too. “There’s no reason to worry about me. I just fell asleep.” But if I was being honest with myself, I did feel a little weak and still so damn tired.
I shifted away from her, leaning carefully toward the edge of the platform. I peered over, still cradling my arm. I surveyed the ground as thoroughly as I able too, but I didn’t see one sign of the woman.
“I’m going to go down to be certain.” It was the least I could do for falling asleep on patrol.
“Not without me, you aren’t. I’m over this damn tree.”
So, we waited about five more minutes before actually descending. In the meantime I continued to look around. And from up in the branches I could see pavement in the distance. It was a bit far, but it was definitely recognizable. I pointed it out to Missy, and for a moment we both sighed with relief.
Dead Friends Series (Book 2): Dead Friends Running Page 12