Escape from Eden (Original Series book 2) (7 page)

T
he ground
beneath my feet continues to bounce. The vibration shakes free several leaves from the canopy above us. They fall slowly to the earth, unaware of the approaching danger.

“Everybody off the trail!” Jerry says. “Hurry! Get under the trees, wherever you can hide. And turn off your lights.”

No one hesitates. I dive to my left, close to where Link disappeared. I barely manage to squeeze between the base of a thick, mossy tree and a patch of tall ferns. Just before I shut off my light, I search the tree line for the others. Layla and Renny have wedged themselves inside a big leafy bush. Branches are bowed back and sticking in every direction. It can’t be comfortable.

I don’t see Smoke or Jerry, but it’s not them I’m worried about. I catch a glimpse of Tank’s shoulders. He’s managed to hide part of himself behind a tree, but he’s simply too big to conceal entirely. I just hope that whatever’s coming at us is going fast enough that he won’t be seen.

My light is the last to go off, plunging us into a heavy darkness. It’s broken up by a few random spots of moonlight that have somehow found their way through the gnarled mess above.

When the sound of heavy, galloping footsteps matches the pounding motion on the ground, I cling to the earth, my nails digging into cold, wet dirt. Whatever’s coming is huge, and by the sound of it there are several of them.

My breathing quickens, and I don’t know whether to close my eyes tight or keep them open. I search the darkness hoping to see someone else, but I am alone.

Just then a hand takes hold of my calf, making me jump.

“It’s just me,” a voice whispers.

I gasp for air. Link squeezes his way up to me pushing aside branches and dirt.

“You okay?” he asks.

“A little freaked out is all,” I say. Darkness masks his face even though he’s only inches away.

Link’s hand fumbles in the dark until it finds mine. He gives it a gentle squeeze. If only I could see what’s coming I’d feel better.

The sound and rumbling grows increasingly worse until I think the creatures are right on top of us, and yet I still don’t see anything. I squint my eyes thinking it might help me see through the black when all of a sudden a flash of gray passes directly in front of me. It’s followed by a gust of wind that chills my skin. I quickly bring my hand to my mouth to keep from screaming.

Not even a second passes when several more creatures come crashing by. Because I can’t see much, I can’t tell their size, but by the way the ground is thumping and by the amount of dirt swelling into the air and into my lungs, they must be massive. Link’s hand leaves mine and comes around my back to pull me closer to him as if he might protect me should one of the beasts veer off the path.

“What are they?” I say in his ear, almost yelling to be heard over the stampede.

“Brines, I think.”

My mind races until the image of a Brine surfaces in my memory. They are similar to elephants in size and appearance, but lack an elephant’s gentle temperament. Their long, pointed tusks are enough to frighten anyone, but they are nothing compared to their razor-sharp bottom teeth that come up and over their top lip by at least a foot. Should just one of them discover our presence, we could be in a lot of trouble.

I hold my breath almost a full minute as the Brines run past us, but as the last one goes by and the sounds of their heavy steps slowly fades, I exhale. It’s the only sound I hear until several moments later Jerry says, “I think it’s safe to come out now.”

I carefully maneuver my way from my cramped hiding spot. Link is right behind me. I turn my light on low, keeping the beam toward the ground. The last thing we need is attention.

Renny and Layla come out of their tangled shrub together. Layla is pale and she’s wiping her mouth with the back of her hand as if she just vomited. Tank steps out from the other side of the trail and says, “I wouldn’t mind fighting one or two of those.”

“I’d pay to see you do it,” Smoke says, his voice low and off to my left. I don't dare shine my light on him.

Jerry turns his light on low too. “Was the tunnel open, Link?”

"Collapsed solid, but maybe if we go another hundred yards, it will open back up."

"Let's hope so," Jerry says. "Back in formation."

"Let's jog," Tank says, and before anyone can argue he takes off, disappearing into the dark.

We keep a steady pace stopping only when Link needs to check the tunnel, but each time we return with him, we are disappointed. The tunnels can only be traveled on for a short distance before we have to return to the animal-made path.

"We can't keep going back and forth like this," Tank says. "We're wasting time."

"I agree," Link says. He has a cut on his cheek, probably from scrambling through the vines coming to or from the tunnel. This forest is the most unforgiving natural place I've ever encountered. My arms have their own cuts to prove it.

Jerry pinches the bridge of his nose. "Fine."

We take off running again. For the most part, the forest is quiet. An occasional rumble on the forest floor, or a loud moan gives us pause, but not for long.

"Just up ahead," Jerry says.

My running picks up when I hear ocean waves crashing to shore. It's the most glorious sound I've heard in months. Behind the others, I burst free from the woods and onto a rocky beach. I don't mean to, but I giggle a little. A salty breeze ruffles my hair, and I inhale deeply. Best smell in the world. I sigh a breath of contentment and joy.

"Hurry!" Jerry says, ruining the moment. He's scrambling over boulders just up ahead.

Light from the full moon illuminates the beach in a silvery haze, but shadows cast from large rocks make it difficult to find sure footing. Ahead of me, Layla slips and takes a hard landing onto her back. Renny helps her to stand, but she is unable to move as quickly.

I catch up to them and ask, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Layla mutters and picks up her speed. She's noticeably limping on her right foot. Renny keeps his hand firmly on her back.

I catch movement off to my right near the edge of the forest. Peering into the darkness, I squint to get a better view. A tall, thin shadow darts from the forest, but disappears behind a rocky mound. It’s human-like in appearance, but with arms and legs that are disproportionately long compared to its core.

"Keep moving," Smoke says as he hurries by me.

I run alongside him. "Did you see it too?"

"Something's following us."

I pick up my pace, but I'm slowed by Layla and Renny. Layla's already running as fast as she can with her injured ankle. Renny keeps his hand on her, but he's scanning the tree line as if he has seen the figure too.

Doing my best to maintain my footing, I risk a few glances back to the forest. This time I don't see one creature, but three. Tall and thin, mere wisps of shadows that seem to disappear and reappear within the moonlight. These
things
are not familiar to me in any way. I can't recall them from past conversations or any textbooks I've ever read. This scares me.

Smoke glances behind him. I do the same. Two more of the slender humanoids are scampering over the rocks behind us, their long arms stretching out before them like the elongated shadows from a dying sunset. At their tips, razor sharp nails glimmer in the moonlight. I may not recognize these things, but I recognize their behavior—they are a hunting pack surrounding their prey.

"
W
e need to go faster
, Renny," I say to him. I don't dare yell for Tank; he’s too far ahead to come back and help. Along with Jerry and Link, they are climbing to the top of a small, rocky hill. The other side must be a steep drop off to the ocean.
Where is the submarine?

Layla groans. "I'm trying, really I am. Why don't you three go ahead? I'll catch up."

"No way," Renny tells her. "I'm not leaving you, but I am going to pick you up."

Before she can protest, he scoops her up and throws her over his shoulder. She opens her mouth, but quickly shuts it when she spots the creatures. I know she can see them because her face has gone as pale as the moonlight.

"How much further?" I whisper to Smoke.

"Just over that ridge."

I peer up. Jerry has disappeared over the edge, but Tank and Link stand at the top, two dark angels guiding us to safety. They both have blades drawn in each hand, and they’re staring over our heads. I don't dare turn around just yet to see what they are looking at.

"Almost there," Renny says, his breathing ragged. He nearly loses his footing on the slippery rocks, but I steady him just in time. He repositions Layla over his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," she says. The glimmer of a teardrop falls from her cheek to the ground.

"Hurry up," Tank whispers. "Move!"

We scramble up the slippery rocks. As soon as we reach the top, Renny sets Layla down and together they slide on their bums into what looks like a manmade cove. A section of the rocky cliffs has been blown apart just wide enough to build a covered dock. The roof over the dock has all kinds of plants growing on top to match the nearby terrain. No one flying overhead would ever suspect what lay hidden beneath the bushy foliage.

Before I follow after Renny and Layla, I glance one last time behind me and count at least five of the slender shadows extending their long legs toward us. Clustered together, they look like a giant spider scurrying over the rocky beach.

"Out of time," Smoke says.

He grabs me and together we slide down the slope. Link and Tank are behind us. Tank is so big that he practically creates a landslide. Small pebbles hit me in the back.

"Sorry," Tank says.

At the bottom, Jerry is holding the submarine hatch open as Layla climbs inside.

"Get this thing going and quick," Jerry tells Renny before Renny disappears inside after her.

I jog up to Jerry, my feet pounding on the wooden dock.

"What's coming?" Jerry asks. His eyes are scanning the top of the ridge.

"I don't know. I've never seen anything like them. Tall, thin creatures. Sharp claws."

A cold wind picks up, chilling my already goose bumped flesh.

Jerry glances over my shoulder. "How much time do you think we have?"

"With the way those suckers are moving," Link says, his face noticeably flushed even in the dark, "two minutes at most."

Jerry turns to Smoke who is messing with some sort of electronic box at the end of the dock. "Smoke! Get inside and help the other two. We need to leave now."

Smoke spits a wad into the water. "Coming."

Jerry turns back to Link. "See that red lever where Smoke was just at?"

Link glances down at the end of the dock and nods.

"Pull that when we get this sub running and after everyone has gone inside. It unhooks the sub from the dock. Got it?"

"Got it!" Link says.

"We should only need another minute or so." Jerry hurries into the hatch after Smoke.

"I'll go over here," Link says and jogs to the end of the dock off to the left.

I move near Tank, who is blocking the entrance to the dock, and unsheathe two daggers from my boots.

"Do you know what those creatures are?" Tank whispers to me.

"I don't and neither does Jerry."

"They must be super smart to stay undetected for so long. Be careful, Sage."

"I will." I keep my eyes on the ridge, moving them slowly back and forth. For a moment, the dark silhouette of a rock seems to grow, but I must've imagined the movement, because there's nothing there now.

I glance away for a fraction of a second when the submarine's engine roars to life. Ocean bubbles boil up all around it.

"I've got a bad feeling," Tank says. "We better get out of here soon."

Link inches his way toward us, his eyes never leaving the ridge. "Anyone else seeing shadows move from the corners of their eyes?"

"I've thought that a few times," Tank says. "My eyes tell me we're safe, but every other part of me is screaming that we're under attack."

Just as he says it, the shadow of a small bush seems to stretch, but then returns to normal.

"There!" I point halfway up the rise and squint.

"I can't see anything," Link says.

A few pebbles bounce down the hill as if someone or some
thing
had dislodged them. They stop near my foot. I crouch low into a defensive position, my knives raised high.

"We're ready," Layla whispers from the open hatch. "Let's go!"

I let out a breath I had been holding, but before I can turn around, a thin wisp of shadow cuts through the darkness and slashes at Tank's leg. Tank yells and drops to the ground. The creature is gone before I have a chance to react.

"Are you okay?" Link asks.

"That thing got me good," Tank growls.

"What's going on?" Layla asks. She moves a little further from the opening of the submarine.

"Can you walk?" I ask. I lift his arm over my shoulders. Link does the same on the other side. Despite his heavy weight, we manage to help him to his feet, but the moment he takes a step, he collapses again.

"That bastard shredded my calf muscle!" Tank says and grunts.

My eyes drop to his leg, and I gasp. It's much worse than I thought. The skin on the back of his leg is filleted open and chunks of muscle fibers are twisted and torn. But worse is the copious amount of blood pooling at his foot.

I look up at Link. "They deliberately took out our strongest warrior."

He doesn't say anything back, but his face is white.

"Let me help," Layla says. She has left the safety of the submarine. If I thought Link and I could manage Tank, I would tell her to go back, but we need her help.

More bubbles suddenly rise up around the submarine. If we could just get there, we would be okay. We could leave this place and all the dangers it holds.

"Screw trying to carry me," Tank says. "I'll crawl. Just watch my back."

I turn around and face the darkness that Link is already watching. Layla stays next to Tank offering encouraging words. He only has to cover about thirty feet and then somehow climb into the sub.

"What's the hold up?" Jerry's voice says behind me, but then he must spot Tank because he asks, "What happened?"

I don't dare turn around. Shadows seem to be shifting all around me. One darts out from the darkness.

"Watch out!" I say. I slash my knife at the moving figure just as it reaches for Link. The knife slices into thick flesh. The creature wails a high-pitched cry and melts back into the darkness.

"You might've just saved my life," Link says, breathless and staring at me.

I lower back into my fighting position with only one thought in my head. "We can hurt them."

"We need you out here, Renny," Jerry says. His voice is muffled like he's yelling into the sub.

"What's going on?" Renny asks when he sticks his head outside the submarine.

"We're under attack," Layla says. "Help us get Tank in."

There's a shuffling of sounds behind us as Jerry and the others grunt and pull and push Tank into the sub.

"Try not to put any weight on that leg," Jerry says. "You're losing a lot of blood."

Another shadow slips from the blackness. Both Link and I swipe at it as it darts by us, but just as I bring my arm back, another dark form appears and sinks its claws into my arm. The knife falls from my grip and clatters against the rocky ground. Blood warms the skin on my arm all the way to my fingertips.

"Sage!" Link says.

"I'm okay, stay focused." I continue to stare into the darkness. I still have one good arm.

"Get the others!" Jerry calls from within the sub.

Tank must finally be inside. I breathe a sigh of relief through my clenched jaw. Clenched because I'm trying really hard to ignore the pain radiating from the cut on my arm.

"Link, Sage," Layla calls. "Let's go!"

"Back up slowly," Link says, his voice low. "Watch your sides."

I take a step backward, then another. I'm almost to the dock. Shadows are all around us whispering in the wind. Layla approaches my blind side, her weapons drawn.

"Almost there," she says.

A long shadowy tendril stretches low from the darkness—much too low for me to reach in time. It hooks the bottom of Layla's pants and jerks hard. She screams and falls to the ground, her fingernails clawing into the dirt as the shadow attempts to drag her into the black.

"Layla!" Renny cries. His footsteps slap against the wooden dock toward us.

I drop to the ground and grab her arms. Link lunges forward to attack the shadow pulling Layla away, but another creature rakes his claws against Link's side, dropping him to the ground.

I grind my feet into the dirt to keep ahold of Layla. The creature attempting to pull her away is incredibly strong. My injured right arm doesn't help. One of Layla's hands slips from mine.

"I can't hold her!"

Renny jumps over me and grabs Layla just as I lose my grip entirely, but another shadow emerges from the darkness and claws at Renny's back. His screams of pain fill the night and seem to last forever. This time it's Layla clinging to Renny.

Link struggles to his feet and reaches behind his back. He swings the gun forward. The gunshot is loud in the small cove but effective. The shadows squeal and retreat. Link fires two more times.

"No!" Jerry yells. He's running toward us on the dock. "I said no guns!"

His feet come to a screeching halt when he sees Renny face down on Layla's lap. She is sobbing uncontrollably while cradling Renny's head.

"We have to move. Now. " Jerry scoops up Renny.

Just then the ground beneath our feet begin to rumble.

"They know we're here," Jerry whispers.

"Who?" Link asks. He's helping Layla to her feet.

"Every creature on this island, and now they're coming for us."