Taken Over

   I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and bowed my head. I needed a moment to think, to be, to draw upon the courage I felt slipping rapidly away. Just breathe, I told myself over and over again. Just breathe.

   Heat bathed over me. I opened my eyes, blinking against the sudden influx of light that flared against my irises. I gasped softly; momentarily frightened that it was the same bright light that had burnt the others alive. I forced my gaze upward, a strangled cry escaping me as I realized the sun was no longer blocked out. The ship was still visible over the tops of the trees, but it had moved on to scan another area of the forest, leaving behind its monsters to scour after us.

   “They’re going to try and box us in,” Lloyd said softly. “Move parallel to each other, squeezing us together, and eventually pi

   “What do we do?” Je

   Lloyd glanced rapidly around, and then heaved a big sigh. “You’re not going to like it.”

   “Just tell us,” Bret said impatiently.

   “We double back.”

   My mouth dropped, my head snapped toward where we had come from. “But there are even moreof them back there!” I hissed.

   “They don’t expect us to go back that way though. They think we’re still ru

   “Lloyd…”

   “I told you that you wouldn’t like it. If we keep going this way they’re eventually going to squeeze us. If we go back we may be able to skirt them completely. We’re going to lose time, but it’s the only way.”

   I glanced at the snapping treetops. They were a good two hundred yards away, but Lloyd was right they were moving inward, narrowing in on a point further ahead. A point they expected us to be at, as did the ship. I shuddered, my fingers dug tighter into the bark. It was only that, and the aching pain in my arms, that caused me to realize I was still clinging to the tree. I released it slowly, sighing in relief as I dropped my stiff, deadened arms back to my side.

   I rubbed my wrists tiredly before me; my gaze scoured the forest for some escape other than what Lloyd was suggesting. “Can we stay here?” Je

   “Once they meet up, they’re probably going to double back.”

   “But we’re going to be back that way too,” Bret said softly.

   “Not if we can cut across somehow, get back to an area they’ve already been through. We need to get away from them and make our way to the hospital.”

   “That’s a big if.”

   “If we stay here we die, and that’s a definiteif.”

   I slid down the tree, needing a moment to sit, needing a moment to recoup some of my waning strength and energy. “We should rest for five minutes, eat quickly, and then go,” I said softly. “We’re not going to have many other opportunities. We’re going to have to move quickly on the way back and we need the energy boost.”

   “Oh God,” Je

   Bret draped his arm around her shoulders in an effort to soothe her. “It’s no one’s fault, we all agreed to this,” I told her, my growing sense of urgency making my tone brisker than I had intended.

   I pulled my backpack forward and tugged out a box of cheerio’s. Making a bowl with my dirty t-shirt I dumped some into it. There was a time when I would have balked against eating from something so dirty, now I gave it no further thought. I placed a couple handfuls on the ground for Barney who eagerly accepted the meager meal. I rubbed his ears gently as I passed the box to Je

CHAPTER 7

   It was nearly impossible to see once night arrived. A storm was looming, clouds had begun to roll in around sunset, they now blocked out whatever light the moon might have provided. I strained through the dark, surprised to realize that I was able to make out far more details than I had expected in the inky night. Apparently we had been spending so much time moving at night that my eyes had become accustomed to seeing better.

   And apparently I had also become more adapt at moving through the woods. I wondered briefly if Darnell’s training, and the fact that we had been living like forest creatures for the past month, had finally helped to break me of some of my clumsiness. Either way, I’d only tripped a few times and miraculously hadn’t fallen yet. Lloyd pulled out the GPS, consulted it briefly, and slid it back onto his belt. We’d been walking for hours but I had no idea where we were, not anymore. By now my blisters had blisters, and they were all angry and hurting.

   “We’re almost back to the main part of town; we can cross under cover of darkness, and hopefully be back at the state forest by sunrise.”

   The last thing I wanted was to go back through that damn ghost town again but I kept my fears to myself. We were all scared, voicing my fear wasn’t going to help us any. I kept my attention focused on my feet, trying to see where I was putting them to stay as quiet as possible. I ended up walking into a tree.

   Lloyd shot me a dark look as I uttered a muffled curse and the tree shook slightly from my impact. Bret was biting his lip as he tried not to laugh, Je

   “Seen what?” I muttered, angered and embarrassed by what had just occurred. I had been doing so well tonight, but apparently my clumsiness was more ingrained than even I had realized.

   “Your inherent grace.” I scowled at him. “You watch your feet, and I’ll watch the trees.”

   I couldn’t argue with that as he led me through the forest. I was ok with keeping my head down anyway, there wasn’t much I wanted to see right now. And in all honesty I thought that if he led the way I might actually fall asleep for a bit while walking. Though I doubted it was possible, I was exhausted enough to find out for sure.

   My mind went blank, I zoned out as we moved. I was too tired to think about anything other than putting one foot in front of the other. I was pretty sure I was nearly asleep when Bret stopped moving and I walked right into him. “Sorry,” I mumbled as he righted me.

   “It’s ok.”

   I blinked rapidly, trying to clear my blurry vision and the sleepiness clinging to me. I shuddered involuntarily and couldn’t stop myself from taking a swift step back. We were back at the main road. The buildings, and their ruined remains, sprawled out before us; there was still no sign of life. All I could think of was every picture of all the old ghost towns I had ever seen. All it needed was tumbleweed rolling down the street and the creepiness of this town would be complete.

   “We stay low and we move fast.” Lloyd was checking his gun as he spoke the words. His jaw was clenched tight, his gaze hard as he turned his attention to me. Beneath his hardened exterior I could sense his fear. I licked my lips nervously; my exhaustion vanished with the realization that Lloyd was terrified. He’d hid his fear well all along, but now it was blazing brightly from him. “We’ve made it this far.”

   What he didn’t say, but I knew, was that we were lucky to be here, lucky to have made it this far. But how long could that luck hold out for? How long could we continue on fumes and chance?