Ravenous

   I chanced a glance over my shoulder. The awkward movement caused me to go slightly off balance. My foot landed awkwardly, I was thrown off balance as my ankle twisted out from under me. A startled cry escaped me as I pitched forward, slipping back down the hill. Cade reached out, snagging hold of my wrist before I fell to far. He held me for a long moment, his eyes blazing into mine as my mouth parted slightly.

   “You’re clumsy,” he muttered.

   “You’re fast,” I retorted as he helped pull me back to my feet.

   His hand tightened upon me or a brief moment before he started pulling me forward again. Abby and Je

   We raced past walls, covered in myriad colors of paint. Cade took the lead, dodging tires, sacks of sand, and buildings with ease. My legs were begi

   He disappeared around a corner before swiftly reappearing. I stopped before him, laboring for breath as I bent over to rest my hands on my knees. “We have to keep moving.”

   I knew he was right but all I wanted was to sit down and rest my weary, shaking legs. I took a deep breath and forced myself to move. Abby looked about ready to collapse, her dark hair was matted to her face with sweat and grime; her dark eyes were red rimmed, wild with fear and exhaustion. I thought Je

  Cade pulled a gun from the waistband of his pants; his dark eyes were intense as he handed it to me. My hand shook as I took it from him; it was the same gun I had used before. “Do not fire it unless it becomes absolutely necessary.” I frowned as my attention turned from the deadly weapon, to him. “It will only bring more of them.”

   “More?” I breathed as Abby stepped closer to me. His attention turned toward the woods. A shiver crept up my spine, the hair on my neck rose as I turned slowly to survey the quiet forest. They were out there. My skin crawled with the realization; I took an involuntary step back. Cade seized hold of my hand, wrapping it around the gun as he squeezed me tight for a long moment as he tried to infuse me with his unwavering strength.

   “This way,” he whispered.

   We followed him as he moved swiftly and with relative ease through the course. A sign, painted in different colors, readJUNGLE COURSEand had an arrow pointing down a path. We followed Cade out of the cleared area and back into the forest. These woods had been transformed into a forest that was not from the northeast. Moss had been draped from the trees, I brushed it aside as it fell over the pathway enshrouding it with an air of mystery. Vines hung from limbs and crawled over the trees lining the small path. Some of them were as thick as my calf, others were small and thin. They climbed up the trees, entangling with the leaves and threatening to choke the tree. Ivy grew over the pathway, crawling over the dirt before slipping into the woods and into the trees. Fake birds and monkeys were propped up in the trees; I spotted a couple of jaguars, a few boas, and other snakes hidden within the landscape. I had never been here before, but I was momentarily fascinated by the atmosphere they had created. I probably would have been shot instantly as I would have been far more preoccupied with trying to find the things hidden along the pathway and in the woods.

   Cade suddenly stepped off the trail and plunged into the woods. He pushed aside vines and moss as he moved. We followed behind, trying to stay as quiet as possible as we moved as swiftly through the dense woods as we could. Cade stopped near a large locust tree; he glanced briefly around his eyes narrowed as he surveyed the woods. I didn’t know what he was doing, but he seemed certain of something as he turned to the right and started walking again.

   A twig snapped behind me. I jumped, instinctively raising my gun as I spun toward the source of the sound. I saw nothing amongst the vegetation and trees, but something was there, I knew it. I could feel it in the marrow of my bones as every primitive instinct I had came screaming awake. Cade was at my side, his hand gentle on my arm as he pushed it lightly down. He placed a finger against his lips, shaking his head at me as he gestured for me to remain quiet.

   He pulled me back, searching the forest as we moved. He pulled me up, halting me at the base of three intersecting pines that had nearly grown together in the dense woods. He bent; grabbed hold of something and lifted it up. I watched in amazement as he lifted the forest floor into the air. It took a moment to realize that he was actually holding a large piece of plywood that had been creatively, and convincingly, covered with dirt, leaves, pine needles, and sticks. “In,” he whispered gesturing to Abby.

   She stared at him in disbelief for a moment before bending low and climbing into the small hole the plywood had covered. Je

   ‘You?’ I mouthed.

   He shook his head as he pulled a long, wicked looking knife from the holster at his side. I remained unmoving, uncertain. I shook my head as he pointed at the tree again. I couldn’t leave him down here, unprotected, vulnerable to the things hunting us in the shadows of the forest. He was beside me suddenly, his hand on me waist as he pushed me toward the tree. “Climb.”

   “You can’t stay down here.”

   He grasped hold of my hips and lifted me up. I didn’t have time to protest, time to fight him. “Climb Bethany. Now.”

   I swallowed heavily as I grabbed hold of the tree and began to pull myself swiftly up. I looked back to find Cade watching me from the ground, his head tilted back to watch me for a long moment before turning away. I almost jumped back out of the tree, almost threw myself from the leafy bowers, but I grasped hold of the limb and pulled myself up. I would have a better shot from up here anyway if I had to take it.

   Halfway up the tree I shimmied out to the end of a thick branch and flattened myself against it in order to blend in with the thick foliage surrounding me better. I searched rapidly for Cade but he seemed to have vanished within the thick “jungle” surrounding us. My heart hammered, a crushing sense of panic began to descend over me, where had he gone? How had he disappeared so swiftly and silently into the wilderness surrounding us?

   I was about to move forward when that thing crept into the clearing. I froze, my fingers curled into the limb, bark bit under my fingernails. Horror and fear tore through me in equal waves that left me shaken and on the edge of falling out of the damn tree. It was hideous. It was terrifying. It was a combination of every nightmare I’d ever had and yet I’d never in my life imagined something so appalling could exist.

   It was not overbearing and cumbersome like its bigger brothers. No this was the size of a small Great Dane. It was oval in shape, its legs arachnid in appearance as it stepped slowly forward before taking a small step back. It’s chelicerae like mouth clicked as it took another step forward. Unlike its older brothers, this thing had no blood in it, it did not look like a bloated tick and it was opaque in color. But it was not opaque enough that I couldn’t see the throbbing pulse of what I assumed was the twisted creature’s heart. Strange, twisted things were wrapped in circles close to the monstrosity’s hideous mouth. They contained a black, viscous material that seemed to sift and flow within the vein-like circles but didn’t move out through its body.