by Perrin Briar
They came to a fork in the road.
“Should we split up?” Aaron said.
“Not on your life,” Bryan said. “We stick together, no matter what.”
“Wait,” Cassie said. “What’s this?”
She was looking at something on the wall. She put her fingers to it.
“It’s an arrow,” Zoe said. “Do you think it points to the way out?”
“Or to a trap,” Bryan said.
“There’s only one way to find out,” Zoe said. “Besides, I want to get out of here as quickly as I can. This place gives me the creeps.”
“You and me both,” Bryan said.
“Let’s follow it,” Aaron said. “We haven’t got anything to lose. We’re hungry and thirsty and we need to get out of here if we’re to feed ourselves.”
They entered the tunnel the arrow pointed at. It wound around a slight bend before coming to another fork. They searched, and after a little time, discovered the arrow on the opposite wall to where they had found the first one. Clearly they shouldn’t expect the notations to be in the same location at all times.
At each fork in the road, they had to search. Sometimes the signs were covered in overgrown moss, or washed away by rain, or too high or low for them to see clearly. Wherever they were heading, they were getting closer to it.
“What confuses me the most are the machines we found,” Bryan said. “The pods. It’s too much of a coincidence they have nothing to do with the other one we saw in the pirate world, don’t you think?”
The air suddenly smelled fresh and clean. They didn’t realize the tunnels and caves brought a certain mildew scent with them, damp, thick and earthy. They’d been in them for so long they’d grown accustomed to it. It wasn’t altogether unpleasant, but it wasn’t exactly Chanel either. They didn’t need to follow the arrows any longer. They could just follow their noses. The view that welcomed them took their breath away.
The sun was warm on their faces and illuminated rolling green hills with blooming wild flowers. The world was bright and yellow and shiny. In the middle distance to their left was a dense forest. Before them, a huge shimmering lake that fed into the caves to their right. And there was a town, only the church steeple visible over the woodland.
The family filled their lungs. They couldn’t have been happier to be out of the dingy caves.
“Where shall we head?” Cassie said.
“Toward the town I think,” Bryan said. “We can find food and shelter. And they might know a way out of this place.”
“Or we might end up being on the menu,” Zoe said. “We should be careful.”
“If they’ve got churches they should at least have some semblance of technology and development,” Bryan said.
“If we head out now we might get there by nightfall,” Zoe said.
“Then what are we waiting for?” Bryan said.
They stepped into the thigh-high grass and began to traipse through it. Aaron lowered his hands to brush against the soft clumps of seeds at the top of each blade.
GRRRRRRR
The sound was low and barely audible, but it sent a shiver up each family member’s spine, bringing a chill that reached from the bottom of their feet all the way to the top of their heads. They turned in unison to identify the cause of the sound.
A small flock of birds pulled up out of a nosedive and rose high into the sky, flapping to climb at a steeper angle. They seemed to notice something odd about the cave entrance they had been rushing toward.
Standing almost out of sight, with the majority of its body hidden inside a cave, the great beast that had pursued them was now perched, waiting for them to emerge. It had given away its position, perhaps by accident in its preemptive excitement, or on purpose, savoring the chase yet to come. But it hadn’t run for them, not yet.
And then its body tensed, its legs coiled, and its head bent down, in line with the creature’s long spine.
“Not again!” Aaron said.
He turned and ran before the others reacted. But they were all off the starting block before the great beast was. There was no more time to take in the view, no more time to breathe in the fresh air. They needed to hurry toward the town and hope someone there would take pity on them.
Judging by their latest brushes with world locals, there wasn’t much chance of that.
16.
THE FAMILY had unknowingly experienced a series of small lucky breaks. The first was they had already made it around the curve of the lake, and the beast would need to traverse this area too if it was to catch them. It gave the family a small, but not insignificant, head start.
The second impact of emerging on the opposite side of the cave system was the monster hadn’t been able to spot them until they were already halfway to the forest.
The final lucky break was the monster being unable to stifle its growl. It would have undoubtedly been in a much stronger position had it not, but there was no way to take it back. It had shown its hand, and now it had to make up for it.
It was certainly making the best attempt it could at doing so. Its legs were long and muscular, and it stretched them to their full length to catch up to the family.
The family tore across the vast expanse, pumping their already exhausted and aching limbs, toward the thick copse of woodland that bordered the town. The monster’s crashing footsteps thundered and grew louder, until the earth was shaking and the trees cracked and snapped under its weight as it plowed through them.
“This way!” Bryan shouted.
He turned, taking them at a right angle, out of the range of falling trees that fell like ancient Roman pillars, crashing at their feet. The smashing continued, the pounding of heavy footsteps never ceased, but now it was behind them, sinking away.
The family never stopped, never ceased moving, but Bryan was always aware of the scene they were leaving behind them. Once the crashing stopped, Bryan skidded to a halt.
“Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop!” he said.
“Why are we stopping?” Cassie said through heaving breaths.
“The monster,” Bryan said. “It’s stopped.”
“So?” Zoe said. “Isn’t that a good thing?”
“Not if it’s looking for us, knowing we changed direction,” Bryan said. “If it can hear us, know which direction we’ve come, it might cut us off from the town.”
Zoe peered through the foliage. She could make out a tall wall made of tree trunks. Between the woodland and the wall was a wide clearing. She thought she could spot a moat too, but she wasn’t certain.
“Are you sure?” Zoe said. “It doesn’t look far.”
“It doesn’t need to be far for the monster to get us,” Bryan said.
“Did you see what was on its back?” Aaron said.
“I was too busy running away from its razor sharp jaws, funnily enough,” Cassie said.
“Looked like some kind of metal box,” Aaron said. “It’s weird, don’t you think?”
“So what do we do?” Zoe said.
“We creep through the woodland,” Bryan said. “He might double back to check on where we’ve gone.”
“So we should keep going,” Zoe said.
“Unless he decides to try and cut us off,” Bryan said. “He has a fifty percent chance of choosing the right direction if he does.”
“Then we should continue in this direction,” Cassie said. “Creeping, like Dad said. That way, even if the monster tries to cut us off, he can’t, because he’ll think we couldn’t have come this far. He’ll think he made a mistake and try to go back and check the other direction.”
“He’s not a man,” Aaron said. “We don’t know his intelligence level. He might not think anything at all.”
“We can assume it’s relatively high,” Bryan said. “You can tell by the way he hunts, by the way he’s always ready to surprise us in whatever we decide to do. I think Cassie’s right. That seems like the best course of action to me.”
The family crouched down
and crept through the woodland on their forearms. They made a little noise, of snapping foliage and skittering of rodents in the undergrowth, but the monster was far enough away that it wouldn’t have heard them.
But the monster was on the move too.
Its footsteps were softer, quieter, but it was at a disadvantage: its sheer size made it impossible for it to creep, hindered by the woodland as it was.
Birds cawed and broke into the sky, flapping. It gave some indication of where the huge monster was. The family kept going, heading through the undergrowth, and though their legs ached—they were now in a squat position for forty or fifty minutes—they never stopped. The town was visible to their left, always there, tantalizing and close, but yet so far.
They were slow, but silent. They were moving, and that was enough for now. The woodland began to grow thin, and the family were losing their protection.
“We’re going to have to make a break for it,” Bryan said. “For the town. The gates aren’t all that far away. We can get to them before the monster can get to us. Plus, it’s probably still looking for us in the wrong part of the wood.”
“What if the town doesn’t open their gate to us?” Zoe said.
“What if they do?” Bryan said.
He let the opportunity hang before them, tantalizing like golden fruit.
“Our only other choice is breaking out and hoping the monster isn’t looking in our direction while we head toward that other woodland over there,” Bryan said. “If he does, then we’ll be in exactly the same situation there as we are here. But if we’re successful, and he doesn’t see us, then we can camp out there, survive till he leaves, and then make a break for it.”
“But he might camp out here too,” Zoe said. “We’d have no way of knowing. And then we’d have to run even farther to get to the town. I say we go for it now, while he’s still confused and looking for us.”
“Me too,” Cassie said. “I’d rather get it over with.”
“Aaron?” Bryan said.
“Let’s do it,” Aaron said. “I’ll die of exhaustion, but let’s do it.”
“Then we’re really doing this,” Bryan said.
He too thought it was the right decision, but it wasn’t without its risks. They would need to ensure—as best they could, in any case—that the monster was as far from them as possible so they could make the best dash they could.
The family approached the clearing’s edge, on the side closest to the town. But they didn’t step out far. They had no intention of revealing their position any sooner than they had to.
The woodland was silent, as if waiting and watching with bated breath the scene about to unwind before them. There was a wide clearing between the family and town. They could see figures on the walls. The family waved at them, but the figures apparently couldn’t see them, and continued to watch and point at something farther away in the woodland.
It was the monster, Bryan thought. It had to be. Or at least, what the monster was doing to the woodland. They in all likelihood couldn’t see the monster yet, hidden by the trees as it was. Which was at least some good news. From this angle it was impossible to see where the monster was. It was clearly still there, its heavy footsteps pounding the earth like a drum.
Bryan tried to think back to how loud the monster’s footsteps were when it was chasing them. The whole cave seemed to shake when it chased them before, but they were not in the caves now. It was difficult to gauge how far away the monster really was.
Bryan wished Rosetta was there. She was his right hand man. She knew what he wanted and needed before he himself did. She would have had a computer program on her laptop to input the details so it could tell them precisely how far the monster likely was. But she wasn’t there. They were alone with their own supercomputers—their brains. But they had been corrupted by emotions and would likely give faulty readings.
“Remember to keep going,” Bryan said. “If you fall over or twist your ankle or get out of breath, it doesn’t matter. You can heal later, recover later. But you have to keep going. Okay?”
They all nodded, Zoe and Cassie hopping on the spot and doing some stretches.
“Shall we go?” Zoe said
“Yes,” Bryan said.
“Now?” Cassie said.
“Yes,” Bryan said. “Now.”
17.
THEY PUT themselves in fate’s hands. They prayed the monster was looking in another direction, but from their current vantage point, it was impossible to know.
The family broke from cover, lengthening their strides by extending their arms. Bryan was out front first, but it would be Zoe before long. She was the strongest runner out of the group, followed by Bryan and Cassie—Bryan for no more reason than he was bigger and naturally muscular. But even Cassie would overtake him eventually. Aaron was the slowest. They all knew it, but they wouldn’t slow, not now.
There was a commotion on the top of the town walls, the men moving and cajoling one another. A few turned to run, hopefully to relay messages to open the gates. At this distance they wouldn’t recognize the family, wouldn’t know they weren’t part of the township, that they were strangers from another world. They would be more likely to open the gates in such a situation.
The gates weren’t being opened yet. But there was still time. They could open the gates enough for them to slip through at the last moment. But would they?
They hadn’t been followed yet. The monster hadn’t seen them. They were doing okay.
“Open the gate!” Bryan shouted.
He was sure they couldn’t hear him, but it made him feel better all the same. He waved his arms, signaling for them to pull the doors open. The men on the wall looked at each other. There was shouting. The men were doing something, and Bryan hoped to God it was something in their favor.
They were a good distance from the woodland now, and Bryan was sure they could reach the gates and enter before the monster had a chance of getting to them. They had a head start, in addition to whatever advantage they had managed to get for themselves by creeping through the woodland. Surely it would be enough.
Not necessarily.
The foliage exploded, and a giant sack of meat flew from it. The monster, out in the open, was even larger than Bryan had thought. It had thick scaly skin mottled grey, brown and green in color, seeming to shift and change as it moved beneath the sun. It was rough and craggy, with large flakes of dried skin like paper hanging off it. Its eyes were small soulless black holes, like a shark’s, set beneath a thick brow, turning them into dark shadowy pits. They sucked in every ounce of bravery you might have had.
Bryan daren’t spend much time looking over his shoulder. It didn’t matter what the monster looked like. All that mattered was getting to the door with plenty of time to spare.
Cassie was beginning to pull away from him now. He didn’t mind. Let her go first. So long as they all reached the gate before the monster, it didn’t matter.
Bryan could even hear Aaron behind him, gasping and wheezing. He was impressed he managed to keep up with him. Or maybe Bryan was just slower than he thought he was.
The monster growled a low groan that bounced off the solid timber walls. It was angry, hungry, desperate to complete whatever horrific process it had begun deep in the caves on its spindle-like torture device.
A ringing bell went up from the church steeple, loud and piercing. The town was being warned the monster was out and coming at the town.
But still the gates had not opened.
“Open the gates!” Zoe shouted.
“Open the door!” Cassie screamed.
Was there a secret password? Something only the town members knew? Was this going to be the end of the family’s story here, deep beneath the world?
The monster’s footsteps thudded on the earth, gaining ground. Unimpeded, it was far faster than a man could run, and at greater distances to boot.
There was movement in the gate. Not the gate itself, but a doorway Bryan hadn’t even
noticed was there. It began to open. His heart fluttered with hope.
He pumped his arms harder, his legs finding new strength. All he had to do—all any of them had to do—was get inside the town, through the door, and they would be safe.
Zoe crossed the drawbridge first, passing through the door without stopping. Cassie was next. Bryan risked a glance over his shoulder at Aaron. He was some way behind, a dozen yards, and flailing fast, struggling to keep up.
The monster was gaining, leaning forward with its tail and head fully extended. It was going at full tilt, determined to snap up at least one tasty morsel. The ground shook like an earthquake was striking. If Aaron stumbled and fell, it would be over for him.
Bryan didn’t slow, didn’t stop. Aaron didn’t need the distraction. He needed to focus—so did Bryan. He wasn’t safe yet either. Bryan crossed the drawbridge and threw himself through the door, catching hold of its frame and using it to turn himself around so he could slam the door closed the moment Aaron was through.
Then a scream came from the other side of the door.
Bryan’s heart stopped. He turned to look through the door, his heart in his mouth. Had the monster caught Aaron?
Aaron slammed into Bryan, knocking him back. He’d just been bellowing, shouting at the top of his voice to get his body to cover the final few yards to the door.
The door slammed into place, followed by all the locks. They weren’t enough to keep the monster out, but then, it was unlikely to fit through the doorway in any case.
The family was through. They were safe. For now. Bryan wasn’t even aware of the hundreds of staring eyes looking down at him as he ignored his own advice to Aaron and lay on his back, gasping for air.
Right then, he didn’t care what the locals were like, what they wanted to do with him. He was safe. His family was safe, and that was all that mattered.
18.
THE LOCALS were silent for the longest time, uttering not a word. They stared at the family, who lay panting on the ground. Zoe could see the questions on their faces as clear as if they were written in ink.