Chapter Thirty Five
We ran so fast that it felt like my feet were off the ground more than they were on it. We tore through the damp undergrowth heading for the bridge, Laurie taking the lead. Our boots slipped and stuck in the thick mud but we ploughed on, heedless.
A flash of lightning threw the forest into sudden and brilliant definition, followed immediately by thunder that rumbled loudly above our heads.
Enormous drops of rain began to hit us and within moments we found ourselves in the middle of a torrential downpour. I was drenched instantly. My hair was saturated and the cold, which had seemed harsh before, took on a penetrating chill that pierced me to the core.
The forest floor became a torrent of water and mud that flowed up and over my boots. Little rivers formed on the huge leaves and tumbled their way to the ground in mini waterfalls.
"I can see it," Laurie called from the front of the group and we put on a burst of speed.
There was no sound from the surrounding forest beyond the splashing and splattering caused by the tide of water. It thundered off of every surface and made it impossible to hear anything else.
The water fell so heavily that it obscured my vision too. Shadows loomed and threatened to become any kind of terrifying thing. I had no idea how Laurie could know where she was going.
We burst through the trees and skidded to a halt in front of the bridge. It was huge and reached out over the abyss like a pointing finger. Vines had snaked their way up and around the supporting struts. The metal floor of the bridge itself was pocketed with holes and rust, the crumbling mess of what remained in place looked ready to fall apart. We paused and stood staring at it while the heavy rain pounded against the bridge so hard that it vibrated.
"There's not another, better maintained bridge around the corner is there?" I asked, pushing my drenched hair back over my shoulders.
I was shivering and my fingers were trembling. Water ran over me in a never ending cascade and I couldn't imagine feeling warm again.
"Let's just take it slowly, there's no sign of the Creepers yet." Coal stepped forward and placed a foot tentatively onto the bridge. It held. He took another step and then another. "Come on, it feels fine," he called back to us as he continued cautiously forward.
Alicia went next taking a different route on the other side of the bridge, using the metal barrier as a support. Laurie clapped me bracingly on the arm before setting her own route. I bit my lip to try and stop my teeth from chattering.
I stood with my feet in the mud, looking back at the menacing forest for signs of the Creepers. The rain blew aside, momentarily giving me a clear view of the trees.
A flock of birds suddenly took flight from the forest to my right and I watched their quick ascent until my lashes filled with drops of rainwater.
I looked back at the bridge. The others were just fuzzy shapes in the mist. I pulled my boots from the sticky mud which sucked and pulled at them in resistance and started to follow.
The metal felt flaky and insubstantial under my boots but it didn't seem to be about to give way any time soon. Each step I took made the bridge vibrate and the gravelly texture under my feet made me slip.
I was more than used to heights after living in the city and was almost pleased to have a familiar danger to face. I picked up the pace and jogged to catch up with the others. The vibrations thunked through the metal structure beneath my feet but the bridge held firm.
Coal had stopped ahead of me and was waiting half way across the bridge.
"What's the holdup?" he called, the rain tried its hardest to stop the sound of his voice from reaching me.
"Just making sure we aren't being followed yet!" I yelled back as I closed the distance between us.
Coal started to get something out of his pack. It looked like he was unwinding a coiled wire, but it was hard to make out through the haze of falling water. My teeth started to chatter harder and I reached out to take hold of the barrier next to me while I waited for him to finish what he was doing. It was slick and smooth under my numb fingers and I knew that if I fell there was no way I would be able to maintain a grip on it.
Strangely, the thought didn't scare me. I would happily take a plunge into that abyss over a lethal encounter with a Creeper.
I glanced over the edge at the huge drop below us. Years of living in the city had made me immune to any fear of heights and I regarded the view with interest. The valley, filled with greenery of every shade, stretched away beneath me. Where the hills rose up again on either side, they kept climbing until they disappeared into the low hanging clouds and were hidden from view.
"What are you doing?" I asked, moving closer to Coal.
I had to raise my voice to nearly a shout to be heard over the rain that clattered noisily against the metal bridge.
"Making sure they can't follow us." He attached the wire to a brown block wrapped in plastic and placed it by the supportive strut, next to the barrier.
I peered back over the bridge to the bank we had just vacated, looking for signs of movement.
Coal crossed the bridge and placed another identical brown block by the support on the opposite side. He jogged back to join me and we ran to the far side of the bridge together where Laurie and Alicia were already waiting. He uncoiled the rest of the wire behind us as we went.
"What are we waiting for?" I asked through my chattering teeth.
"I have to finish this," Coal said.
A look passed between him and Alicia that screamed of trouble. He was still fiddling with the wire.
A strong wind gusted around us and the rain was driven across the valley in a sheet, increasing our visibility.
A shriek announced the arrival of the Creepers and I watched in horror as around thirty of them poured from the trees. Their greasy hair was flying out behind their filth-smeared bodies as they ran bare foot through the mud, showing no signs of slowing down for the bridge.
Their screams of rage blended together to create a terrifying song of dread. It made me want to run and hide and do anything at all except stand still and watch them come for us.
I took a step back, then another but Alicia reached out and grabbed my arm to stop me. I glared at her but she wasn't paying any attention, just maintaining an iron grip on my wrist.
"Come and get us!" Coal roared at them and he burst out laughing as they teemed onto the bridge, screaming their defiance at us.
I was sure he'd gone mad, or maybe he knew it was no use and we were dead anyway. I tugged at Alicia's grip on my wrist again but I knew I wouldn't be able to outrun that hoard.
"Buh-bye," Alicia laughed, waving at them with her free hand as Coal slammed his fist onto the detonator.
A deafening boom went up from the bridge. A flash of orange light bloomed into a fireball high above our heads and a wave of hot air blew around us, making my hair fly back and warming my face uncomfortably for a moment. It was so hot that the rain sizzled out of existence in a cloud surrounding us for a few seconds.
I stared in some kind of state of disbelief as my brain struggled to process what had just happened. For a minute I'd known that I was going to die. I'd known it so certainly that I was having trouble admitting that I was still very much alive.
Coal and Alicia were whooping and cheering and I couldn't help but join in. Coal grabbed me and spun me in a circle before setting me back down on my feet and throwing his arm around my shoulders as we watched the devastation unfold.
A cloud of grey dust billowed up and lumps of metal were thrown into the air only to plummet down into the valley below. I caught a few glimpses of Creepers being flung down too and laughed with relief.
The dust cleared and I could see the mangled edge of the bridge, still attached to the rocks in front of us, and a similar lump on the other side of the gap but it was too far to jump. A cluster of Creepers, howling with frustration, lined the opposite bank baring their teeth and snapping their jaws at us.
A
huge, filth-smeared man with a bare, heavily muscled chest covered in scars stepped forward. He shook a filthy mane of black hair back from his face, splattering water outwards like a dog shaking its fur. He raised a hand and pointed at us.
"You're dead already," he snarled and the sound carried across the abyss between us as if he were standing just feet away. "It's just a matter of time." He turned and headed back into the forest, followed by the others. The wall of rain fell harder than before and obscured our view once again.
"Is that their King?" Alicia asked, looking to Coal for her answer.
"Looks like it. We should move, I don't think that's them giving up somehow," Coal said and he turned to head into the forest, releasing me as he held his assault rifle ready.
"Do we know where the truck is?" Laurie asked, looking from side to side as she tried to get her bearings.
Alicia flipped out the GPS. "Follow me," she said. She stomped into the cover of the trees, shoving huge leaves aside as she went.