Chapter Eighteen
We headed back into the forest. I shuddered, remembering the screeches from the night before but the trees looked peaceful enough swaying in a slight breeze, high above our heads. The humidity had returned with force and I could feel the heat of the sun, punching its way down into the leafy cavern that surrounded us. The water that had soaked my clothes on my way through the waterfall rose off me in waves of steam.
"Did you see anything strange out here last night?" I asked Laurie as we followed Coal through the trees.
"Everything out here is strange," she hissed back. I took that to mean she hadn't seen the shape watching us from the bank and let it drop. Laurie didn't seem to be taking to the changes as easily as I was.
"Are you feeling okay?" I asked her.
"In the physical sense, yes. But other than that... I've left my whole world behind. I don't even know what to think about all of this, I spent my entire life trying to become a Warden and now I know I'll never be allowed back amongst them." She shook her head, looking defeated.
"It doesn't have to be all bad, our world was confined within a Wall before. Now it stretches out without boundaries for us to explore." I couldn't keep the grin from my face as I thought about the possibilities this world presented to me.
Laurie smiled at me. "It makes it a bit easier to take in if I think about it like that I suppose."
"Try not to think about what's ending so much as what's just beginning." I nodded enthusiastically, glad to have cheered her up.
"Speaking of which." She nudged me and gave Coal a meaningful look. "What's going on with you two then?"
"Nothing," I protested, feeling my cheeks turn a violent shade of beetroot. "Besides, he doesn't even notice me," I added, dropping my voice to be sure Coal didn't overhear us.
"He doesn't stop noticing you. I'm surprised he doesn't fall over his feet from staring in your direction instead of looking where he's heading."
"That's not true. And anyway he moves away from me like I'm contagious or something any time I get too close so you're way off," I said, hoping the hurt in my voice wasn't too obvious.
"Well maybe there's a reason for that. Like he doesn't think you feel the same or... he might be in a relationship with someone else at his camp," Laurie said, casting about for excuses.
"I don't doubt he has someone waiting for him," I replied.
"With a body like that," Laurie added as we both checked him out and burst out laughing. Coal looked over his shoulder at us.
"What's so funny?" he asked and we laughed harder. Coal scowled and moved on, picking up the pace so that we struggled to keep up.
The day wore on and the dappled light filtering through the canopy overhead shifted, making our shadows stretch out before us. My feet were throbbing, I yearned for a soft bed and to take off my boots.
"It's not much further, maybe another hour," Coal told us as he took in our clearly exhausted expressions.
I was pretty sure we were holding him up though he didn't say it outright.
"It's getting dark already - is it safe?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at the trees around us.
"It won't be fully dark for a while, it's generally still safe at this time," he reassured me but his eyes, which were darting back and forth around the trees constantly, betrayed his real feelings.
"Last night I thought I saw something on the bank, watching us as we crossed the lake," I said, moving close enough to Coal that Laurie wouldn't overhear. He nodded.
"And did you think that it was aware of us?" he asked, his gaze flickering around even quicker than before.
"I had the feeling I was being watched," I said.
"Damn, I'd hoped it hadn't noticed us," he muttered. "Kaloo!" The big dog turned her head towards us with her tongue lolling to one side. Taylor was still bumping along in the litter behind her. Coal reached out a hand and laid it on her head. "Go home girl," he commanded. After a pause, Kaloo took off into the dense evergreen at speed and disappeared from sight, taking Taylor with her.
"Where is she going?" I demanded.
"She'll get him to safety, can you manage a run?" Coal asked.
He checked his many weapons were all securely strapped down. I evaluated my body, feeling the aches and fatigue from walking for two days straight over uneven ground.
"If it's necessary," I replied, though I didn't relish the prospect.
"Laurie, how are you doing, do you think you can run the last leg?" Coal asked her.
"What's happened?" she asked, her gaze sharpened and her hand moved pointlessly towards her empty gun holster.
"Nothing yet, can you run?" he asked again.
"Yes," she said without pause. It was easy to forget sometimes that Laurie was a trained soldier.
Coal took Laurie's pistols out of one of the many hiding places he had about him and handed them back to her.
"I guess this means I trust you, don't make me regret it," he said, meeting her eye as he released his hold on the weapons.
"You won't, I'm a great shot." She smiled as she fastened them back into her holsters, looking instantly happier than she had all day.
"Stay close, shout if you start to get left behind," he said as he turned away from us.
"Okay," Laurie and I replied together.
With that he took off, forcing his way through the resisting forest.
Roots and fallen branches littered the forest floor. While they had been a nuisance when we were walking, when running they were just plain dangerous. Vines and leaves slapped my face and tugged my hair as we pushed on and I didn't have the energy to keep knocking them aside.
The dim light didn't help either and within moments my fear had turned into aggravation. I concentrated on Coal in front of me and Laurie's deep breaths behind.
Ten minutes passed and all I could feel were my lungs and legs burning in protest. My feet were so numb that I only noticed the ground when I started falling towards it. I stumbled again and again but somehow didn't actually hit the dirt.
The same snarling that I'd heard from the night before cut the air somewhere behind us.
"Is that what we're running from?" I gasped between breaths, pressing a hand to my side to try and sooth a stitch that was screaming at me to stop.
"Yes," Coal replied. He didn't even sound out of breath which made a little voice in the back of my head groan at the thought of what a sweaty mess I was.
"It didn't sound too close," I managed.
"Let's just hope they're all together then," Coal said. I noticed that he didn't say whether or not that was very likely but he pushed forward harder, increasing his speed again.
"How - many?" Laurie panted.
"Twenty. If we're lucky," he said.
"What are they?" I gasped.
Another screech cut the air, this one was much closer.
"Cougars," he said simply, like I should have known.
Somewhere off to our left I heard two creatures fighting with each other. The sound of snapping jaws reached me and I tried not to visualise the size of the teeth that could make a sound like that.
We stopped any attempt at talking and just ran, fast. A vine whipped my cheek hard enough to draw blood. I was just glad that it missed my eye. The last of the daylight disappeared and we were shrouded in darkness. Moonlight hung in silvery patches between the trees wherever it could find a big enough gap in the canopy and I used it to navigate my way over the unfamiliar terrain.
A shriek went up that sounded like it was directly above us and I couldn't help but look to see what it was. A huge, hulking shape was moving swiftly through the treetops. I caught a glimpse of golden fur as it jumped from branch to branch.
Excited squealing and growling broke out around us and I saw more shadows moving in the branches, easily outstripping our pace.
The sounds were like many voices of a single being and I had no doubt that they were all in eager anticipation of an easy meal.
"Don't stop, we're nearly t
here!" Coal shouted above the agitated noises of the creatures surrounding us.
The branches creaked in protest as the animals bounced back and forth amongst them. The sounds of claws ripping into the wood as they took off again put my teeth on edge.
We pushed even harder. Sweat beaded my forehead and my legs felt like jelly beneath me. Adrenalin was the only thing that was forcing my limbs to move.
Coal was pulling away from us with his longer legs and knowledge of the forest to help him. I huffed air into my screaming lungs, trying desperately to match his pace. He looked left and right, again and again as though he expected an attack at any moment. I couldn't help but follow suit, searching the deep darkness that surrounded us for a sign of the monsters who were hunting us.
A large patch of moonlight gave me a glimpse of more golden fur and a powerful body that sprang in and out of sight on strong back legs. I was left with an impression of a creature built similarly to Kaloo and yet very different at the same time.
A tree root snatched my foot from beneath me and I was flung forwards. I collided with Coal. We were both sent sprawling onto the ground and I tumbled aside as Coal tried to right himself as quickly as possible. Laurie kept her feet and unholstered a pistol in one smooth motion as a creature leapt from a branch above us and launched itself straight at Coal.
Its huge front legs reached forwards, massive paws lined with razor sharp claws that were rounded like fish hooks aimed for Coal's chest. Its face was contorted in a snarl, revealing huge canines and a massive mouth, big enough to rip a man's head off in one bite.
The deafening boom of Laurie's pistol firing sounded. The animal was thrown aside by the bullet. A thin line of smoke trailed from the gun barrel as Laurie aimed the weapon again, ready to take out any others that made a charge at us.
A howl of pure rage went up from the rest of the hunting pack who had filled the trees and empty spaces all around us. The darkness was alive with the sounds of the huge creatures.
Coal was back on his feet and I jumped up too, drawing the shotgun from my back and pumping a round into place. Movement on my right caught my attention and I swung the gun up, pulled the trigger and sent another creature flying back away from us with a bang. I'd forgotten the recoil in my panic and the gun slammed into my stomach, winding me.
I coughed, trying to stop the spasms in my abdomen as I pointed the gun at a rustling bush in front of us. I took a shuddering breath and tensed my muscles, ready for the kick this time as I pulled the trigger again.
A screech confirmed I'd hit my target and the leaves on the front of the bush fell apart like a pile of green confetti. A sharp, bitter smell from the shredded foliage reached my nose.
We were surrounded. Shapes moved fluidly in the shadows, bigger than a man though they moved around on four strong legs. I caught glimpses of huge white teeth highlighted by the light of the moon.
Constant flashes of gold or tan marked out the creatures' glossy coats amongst the darkened woodland. The snarling faces of the animals were dominated by their mouths. They had small, beady eyes that darted back and forth as quickly as they jumped in and out of sight, and round ears that nestled down on top of their heads.
I pumped another round into place, and put my left hand on the hilt of a knife.
"We need to get through there." Coal pointed ahead where the forest was thick with movement.
"How?" Laurie asked, frowning. She had a pistol in each hand now.
He didn't reply but pulled an assault rifle from his back and took a step in the direction he had indicated. The creatures seemed to understand the threat and began to surge forward from every direction all at once.
We moved together, put our backs to each other and opened fire. The creatures jumped, pounced and twisted, trying to get close to us and managing to avoid an annoying amount of our limited ammunition.
Again and again the sound of gunshots rang out. My arms ached from the impact of the recoil. I pumped my final bullet into place. A movement from the corner of my eye made me look up in time to see another beast leap from a bough high above our heads. I pushed backwards as I raised my gun, making the others move aside in the same second that I pulled the trigger.
My bullet hit the target but the body was still falling straight towards me and I didn't have time to get out of the way. I collapsed under the weight and was pressed into the moss-covered ground. I could barley summon enough energy to stop its weight from suffocating me. I was trapped.
A huge set of jaws surged towards my face as I tried to claw my way free. I could do nothing apart from close my eyes and hope it would be quick.
A gunshot sounded off so close to my head that I heard my left ear pop then nothing but a loud ringing. Coal was standing above me, he raised a foot and kicked the heavy creature off of me just far enough that I could escape.
My shotgun was empty so I stowed it away and threw all of my knives one by one from my position on the ground. I wasn't able to hit a single target as the animals surged back and forth quicker and quicker with excitement and anger.
Then a new sound punctured the night air, breaking through the shrieking. It was a long, low howl and it was clearly being made by a different type of animal. The attacks against us paused for a moment as heads snapped around to point in the direction Coal had wanted us to take.
"Hold your fire!" Coal shouted just as Kaloo leapt from the forest, fangs bared, hackles raised and leaving havoc in her wake.
She was magnificent, jumping, snarling and snapping at our assailants. Her long, sleek fur blew in the wind as she bounded confidently back and forth taking on the whole pack without the slightest sign of fear. The shrieks and growls changed marginally and the pack's attention shifted away from us.
"Move." Coal's arm was on mine and he propelled me back onto my feet and sent Laurie and I flying forward.
We ran again, somehow finding another reserve of energy to push us onward. After a few moments, we burst from the trees to discover a collection of buildings not unlike those Taylor and I had explored outside The Wall. These buildings weren't old and in disrepair though, they were sleek and well maintained. The windows were all barred with thick, metal shutters and all but one of the houses was locked up tight.
The door of the building directly ahead of us was wide open.
A beautiful girl was running straight towards us brandishing a machete. She had long, white-blond hair that flew out behind her, sparkling in the moonlight almost as much as the lethal looking blade in her hand.
"Go!" she shouted, barely sparing us a glance as we flew past and through the door into the house.
I collapsed, gasping, on the floor and watched the view back through the doorway as Kaloo appeared between the trees, pursued by a group of the enraged animals.
The girl spun, her hair flying about her like a silver cloak and ran next to Kaloo through the door, which Coal slammed shut behind them. He snapped a heavy metal bar down to reinforce it just as the sounds of large bodies smashing into the building filled the air.
I held my breath, waiting for them to find a way inside. The metal shutters screeched as they ran their claws along it but the house was locked down firmly. We were safe.
Chained - Everything you know is a lie... Page 18