Chained - Everything you know is a lie...

by Susanne Valenti

Chapter Thirty Six

  The truck was sitting where we'd left it, covered by the camouflage tarp. It took us a few moments to spot where it was hiding, shrouded in the shadows. Coal pulled the tarp off and we all jumped in. Kaloo still hadn't made an appearance but Coal reassured me that she would turn up.

  Alicia threw the truck into reverse and we started the bumpy journey back towards the road. She cranked up the heating and I wrung my hair and clothes out as best I could, trying to force some feeling back into my numb limbs. I threw my coat down into the footwell with everyone else's; it was too wet for it to have any prospect of keeping me warm anymore.

  Coal scooted across the middle seat to sit next to me and threw his arm around my shoulders. I sighed, relaxed back into the chair and rested my head on his chest, shamelessly taking advantage of his body heat. After a while I was able to stop shivering and I let my eyes fall closed.

  The bumping and jostling of the truck was strangely reassuring and I felt myself begin to drift off, listening to the steady thud of Coal's heartbeat. We were safe at last.

  My thoughts drifted and I was running through the forest, my feet gliding rather than touching the ground and my hair blew around me softly. I was chasing something and as I turned a corner, I saw that it was a huge cat with golden fur and a long mane.

  "It's a lion," a deep voice informed me as I reached a hand out towards the beautiful monster.

  The cat opened its mouth and let out a deafening roar.

  My eyes snapped open and I saw a huge, yellow vehicle careering towards us between the trees to the left of the truck. It had a big scoop on the front of it, lined with ridges like teeth. I caught a glimpse of wild eyes behind the steering wheel.

  Coal's arms were wrapped around me and I cowered into his embrace as the scoop closed the gap and smashed straight into the side of us. It flipped us over as easily as the wind blows a leaf.

  The truck tumbled over and over and I slammed heavily into the roof and back into the seats. Coal was wrenched away from me and flung over to the other side of the cab. Laurie was screaming and it was all I could do to try and cover my head. The windows smashed, littering us with glass which scratched my face and arms where the skin was exposed.

  I was thrown like a rag doll back and forth. Finally, the rolling ended and Coal was launched back towards me. The truck skidded to a halt on its roof as it hit a gnarled tree trunk. We were propelled around as the truck rotated. I tried to grab hold of anything to stop myself from sliding amongst the pile of broken glass.

  Coal was on top of me and he hissed in pain as he rolled aside and pulled a long slither of metal from his thigh.

  "Are you okay?" he asked me.

  "I think so," I said, doing a mental check and not feeling anything too serious. I tried to catch my breath and ignore the thin trails of blood running down my arms.

  "Then move." He shoved me towards the shattered window and I pulled myself out on my stomach, wincing as more pieces of glass found purchase in my skin.

  I rolled aside and Coal followed.

  "Over here," Laurie beckoned from behind a tree a little further into the surrounding woodland.

  We scrambled over to her and caught our breath.

  "Alicia?" Coal asked but Laurie shook her head.

  "She was thrown through the windscreen, I think I saw her get up though."

  There was a thick thorn bush next to us and Coal shoved his way inside, holding the foliage back to let us in too. We sat still, holding our breath as the first Creeper came into sight.

  Laurie had blood running down her face from a wound somewhere hidden in her hair. She wiped it away from her eye and pulled a pistol into her lap.

  "Tick, tick, tick, boom," a scraggy looking female muttered as she circled past our hiding place.

  We could see several more of them inspecting the truck which was lying on its roof in a small clearing.

  Coal was glaring about, searching for a sign of Alicia amongst the greenery surrounding us.

  "What do we do?" I breathed but he hushed me with a signal from his hand.

  "My feet will find you little sneakers!" another Creeper called out from the top, or rather the bottom, of the truck where he had clambered up to get a better view.

  Very little they said actually made any real sense, they used grunts and screeching as often as words.

  I couldn't make out much to either side of us through the dense hedging but I could hear them scurrying around, searching for us. My stomach muscles clenched and I gripped the hilt of one of my knives.

  "Burn bushes!" One of them, who seemed more capable of coherent speech, screeched from across the clearing and they all started howling and yammering with excitement. The Creeper on top of the truck's belly started jumping up and down, slamming his fists into the metal and kicking at the exhaust pipe until it came free.

  He kept smashing at the metal until oil poured from one of the burst pipes. The smell of it wafted across and caught in the back of my throat. I resisted the urge to cough and pressed my hand over my mouth.

  A spark went up on the other side of the truck and thick, grey smoke started to billow all around us as the damp vegetation resisted the flames.

  "What are we going to do? There's so many of them," Laurie whispered, wide eyed. She had both of her pistols drawn but they were pressed into the dirt by her feet.

  "I'm thinking," Coal replied, his eyes still moving constantly, trying to locate his sister.

  "Maybe we should just run?" I suggested. Coal shook his head and started tapping the tip of his knife against his knee.

  I looked at Laurie, unsure what to do. The knife had started to pierce the fabric on Coal's trouser leg and I reached over to still his hand just as the first drops of blood spilled out.

  "I can't leave Alicia. If I knew where she was I might be able to form a plan." He started to look up towards the treetops as if he might find her there.

  Five bushes around the clearing were crackling away now, aided by the oil from the truck. It was only a matter of time before they lit ours. Groups of Creepers waited by the burning bushes to grab anyone who tried to break free.

  "Use us, form a plan with us," I urged him in hushed tones. "Alicia will help as soon as she can see what we're doing."

  Coal frowned at me for a moment before looking up again. There was a towering tree above us with leaves so densely packed that it explained the lack of other growth in the clearing below.

  "We need to go up." He pointed. "Those roots reach into the other edge of this bush. We'll have to go quickly to avoid them spotting us."

  "What if they do?" Laurie asked.

  "Don't stop, if we can reach some high ground we can use the guns to keep them down and hopefully find a way out of here." He glanced around once more for Alicia.

  "Maybe we'll be able to spot her from up there," I suggested, laying my hand on his arm.

  "Okay, I'll go first. Let me get up there and then I can help pull you two up quickly behind me." He set his jaw and started to push through the thorny embrace of the bush towards the tree.

  It was painstakingly slow work. We had to move carefully to avoid making the bush tremble and give us away. Thorns tore into our clothes and tangled our hair. Several times we had to help each other to get free of them, resorting to cutting our way out with our knives.

  The roots of the tree were huge. They twisted and braided together, forming a sort of cage which knotted with the edge of the thorn bush. We pushed our way into a dip that had formed beneath them. There were small gaps and holes above us which we used to check on the Creepers. At the base of the tree trunk, there was a hole big enough for us to squeeze through.

  Coal turned to look at us and gestured that we should wait while he went on up, I watched him push through the roots and bit my lip. My grip tightened on my knife as a shadow passed our hiding spot but it moved away without incident.

  I shifted closer to the hole Coal had disappeared through and saw
him perched on a branch high above us. He motioned for me to follow and I sheathed my knife before squeezing up next to the colossal trunk.

  I pressed myself close to the rough bark and checked around cautiously to see if any Creepers were approaching. The clearing was on the other side of the tree and we were draped in the shadows cast by the overhanging branches. The rain had finally come to an end and all that remained was the constant dripping of the newly drenched woodland.

  I looked up and saw a branch just above my head. Taking a deep breath, I jumped and caught it. I heaved my weight upwards and tried not to make too much noise as my feet scrambled for purchase. Finally, I was on the branch and I looked up again to see Coal reaching down for me. I gave him my hand. This time I practically flew up to the next branch as Coal tugged me skyward, his shoulder muscles bunching with the effort as he set me on my feet and pressed me back against the trunk.

  Laurie was right behind me. Together we started to climb up into the green canopy, putting a barrier between us and the circling Creepers below.

  We came to a stop on a high branch overlooking the clearing, and started our search for signs of Alicia.

  I caught sight of something that could have been silvery hair and leaned out to get a better look. I moved onto my toes, reaching as far as I dared. A sudden gust of wind blew through the treetops making the branch beneath my feet sway violently and I lost my balance.

  My hands flew out and I grabbed a small twig which couldn't hold my weight and snapped, the sharp end digging into my palm. My arms spun wildly before I fell heavily onto the branch below, sending a scattering of debris tumbling down to the ground.

  I wrapped my arms and legs around the thick limb and the bark scraped my cheek. I held my breath and opened my eyes to peer down into the clearing.

  A Creeper stopped in his tracks and looked at the pile of leaves and twigs that I had dislodged. He turned and slowly looked up at the tree where I shrank into the branch, hoping he couldn't see me.

  I trembled as the Creeper stepped closer to the tree and crushed the fallen leaves under his filthy bare foot.

  He inched closer, gazing with sharp eyes between the leaves surrounding me, hunting for a prey that he was moments from discovering. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move at all. All I could do was wait to be found, knowing what that would mean.

  A cry went up across the clearing and was quickly joined by another and another. The Creeper below me turned and scurried towards the sound.

  I stood slowly, my hands still shaking, and moved back along the branch where Coal and Laurie were hiding by the colossal trunk.

  Coal reached for me and pulled me to him as I closed the gap between us. I buried my face against his chest before turning back to see what had distracted the Creepers.

  They had formed a circle on the other side of the truck and were scrabbling to get into the middle of it. A large, square jawed female was shoved out, clutching at a bleeding wound in her stomach. Soon another, this one a small male, possibly even a child, fell aside with a gash on his shoulder. The excited cries turned to howls of rage as the Creepers piled together and more and more wounded appeared.

  A very human scream of frustration broke through the noise as the Creepers drew back and hovered around the clearing again, shifting from foot to foot.

  The huge male from the bridge, with his greasy curtain of black hair, stepped from the middle of the remaining Creepers in the circle, dragging something behind him.

  "Come out now, or we kill her!" he shouted, glaring around the clearing and dragging a body forward through the dirt.

  His hand was full of long silvery hair and he used it to drag her forward. Alicia.