NorthWest (John Hazard - Book II) (26 page)

He was so focused that he hadn’t sensed the two aliens walking up to his hiding place. They stood directly above him staring down at the pile of leaves and dirt, flexing muscles as their skin was stretching with new growth. They raised their heads and smelled the air around them. Something was not right. They sensed that food was very close by, but nothing could be seen.

One looked at the other and tilted its head as if gesturing at the pile of leaves. Then, without a sound, they dove onto it together, clawing the branches and dirt away. Raj began screaming uncontrollably, and suddenly his bladder let go. He felt the spreading warmth of his urine spreading across his lap as his mind snapped. He screamed again and again realizing full well that he was about to die.

A clawed hand hit his stomach with incredible force, ripping it wide open. Raj was frozen with fear and agony as he watched his small intestine being ripped out and thrown a few feet away. It landed with a wet ‘slup’ sound on a patch of pine needles. He passed out, and was spared the torture and butchery that ended his short life.

Sherri was coming up to the ridge and her heart was pounding in her temples, her lungs burned, and she could swear that she tasted blood in her mouth. For a moment, she thought she heard screaming, but she felt sure it could not be Raj because all four of those creatures were still behind her. No, she must be hearing things, she was sure of it. Maybe it was the shriek of a hawk. She reassured herself with that thought and kept on running.

Suddenly she topped the ridge and, breathless, stopped in her tracks as she nearly fell forward. This was no ridge, but a cliff, a very high cliff overlooking a large valley and a craggy, rocky drop below her. A river trailed through the center of the valley, the swift running water frothing white as it crashed against the rocks. There was nowhere to go. She looked to either side for an escape route but the brush was too thick to run through.

Sherri could hear the things coming. It was as though they were communicating with each other in scraping, shrieking sounds that made her blood run cold. They were getting closer and closer. She looked around on the ground nearby searching for something to use as a weapon. Maybe a branch, but then again, she realized that hadn’t worked for Macy.

Maybe somehow she could manage to lure them to jump off the cliff. After that she could run back the way she had come, check on Raj, and hopefully meet back up with John and Emily. Scanning the area, she could find nothing but a few small sticks lying around. It was just her luck that this part of the trail was mostly dirt and rocks. Rocks, that was her only choice!

As she picked up a couple handfuls of medium sized rocks, she saw a pair of the creatures coming over the ridge right at her. She started throwing the rocks to try to slow them down. “Stop! Come any closer, and I’ll kill you with my bare hands if I have to!” She said a quick prayer and threw one of the rocks narrowly missing the head of one of the aliens. Immediately, she threw the next missile and managed to hit the other one directly in the eye.

It roared as it reached up and clawed at its injured eye. Orange blood began to run down its neck. She had put out an eye!

“Yeah, come on! I’ll put out both of your eyes and throw you off the cliff!” Defiantly she yelled, her voice faltering with false courage. The injured alien was obviously enraged, though somewhat stunned. Arms flailing, it continued to grab at its eye. The other one had slowed its advance. It seemed more cautious, seeing its partner’s eye oozing blood. It shrieked at her and stood sizing her up.

The monsters were closer now, standing no more than ten feet away. They seemed to be weighing their attack strategy as they clicked and growled to communicate to each other.

Sherri stood clutching the remaining rocks in her hands. She had never been so frightened in her life, and she quaked to her very core. There was no place to run, no place to hide. In that desperate moment, she heard her Nana’s voice. “You’ve done well, child. Now there’s nothing more we can do. You can’t hold them back much longer.” Her grandmother sounded calm and seemed close as always when she spoke. “Jump, honey. You have to jump.”

“I can’t survive that, Gran. There’s no way!” she argued.

“We know honey, we know. Don’t be afraid, we will be right here with you.” The voice was soft and reassuring.

“I can’t! Shandre is waiting for me to come home! Who will take care of him?” Sherri was crying as she continued to argue.

“Shandre’s grandma loves him very much,” Nana responded. “He’ll be well taken care of, you’ll see. Come on, honey. There are more of those monsters coming for you, and it will be a slow, painful way to go. Don’t let them take you, child. I promise you won’t feel a thing if you do as we say.”

Gran added, “When I say jump, don’t even think about it, just do it.” Her voice was calming to Sherri.

“Okay, Gran, okay. I know you love me and have always watched out for me. I have to believe there is no other way. Just tell me when to jump.”

The creatures suddenly broke free of their confusion. They closed ranks and began their attack with one leaning forward much farther than the other, turning its head and opening and closing it’s jaws as if taunting her. They were so close now that Sherri gagged as she caught a whiff of their stench.

“Jump now!” and without hesitation, she jumped as far out over the edge of the cliff as she could. The creatures charged and jumped right at her. Since she had jumped just before them, they misjudged the distance and began to shriek as they fell with her over the edge of the cliff.

As they fell together, the seconds seemed like forever. The monsters writhed as their fate became apparent to them. They were clutching at the air, but Sherri felt at peace somehow. A smile appeared on her face as she crashed against the rocks and the aliens splattered next to her.

Back in the neighborhood, Shandre had been begging his grandmother to let him ride his bike on the sidewalk. After his relentless tirade, she had finally agreed – if he promised to wear his helmet and stay off the street.

She helped him unlock the chain on his bike and carry it down off the porch. “Okay, Shandre. Stay on the sidewalk right here in front of the house until I get back out here.”

“Okay.” He put his helmet on and fastened the chin strap that held it in place, then jumped on the seat and began riding down the sidewalk toward the corner.

She’d made a nice glass of iced tea and left it on the kitchen counter while she helped Shandre with his bike. He was a good boy and she figured he would be okay by himself for a few minutes.

Shandre loved the feeling of freedom he had when riding his bike. For a boy his age, this was as good as it got. He had promised to stay in front of the house, but when he reached the corner, he forgot all about it and made the turn. A few houses down the road, his grandmother’s words came back to him and he swung wide up into someone’s lawn and made a U-turn. He pedaled back toward the corner hoping to get back home before his grandma came back out.

As he came up to the turn, he thought he saw some money blowing across the street. It could be a dollar bill, or maybe even more. It made his heart race thinking about what he could do with that money. Quickly he calculated his options. Could he ride out there, grab it, and get back on the sidewalk before his grandma could see him? Or should he let that money just blow down the street for someone else to pick up?

It didn’t make sense to leave it. He would just have to be quick and then explain to his grandma that the money was on the sidewalk. That’s right, it was on the sidewalk and all he had to do was pick it up! He had one wheel over the curb when he heard a voice yell, "Shandre! You stop right there!” Was that his grandmother?

“Dang!” He was gonna be in trouble now. Immediately, he rolled to a stop just before his back tire came off the curb and onto the street. No sooner had he stopped than a large cement truck came around the corner and blew past. The driver was blowing the horn and driving faster than any vehicle should have been going through this neighborhood.

Shandre could feel the stiff wind as it ruffled his shirt. He looked around for his grandmother. He knew he was in for a tongue lashing. He sheepishly looked up to face her, but she wasn’t there.

If it wasn’t her, then who was it? Maybe his mom was back! She must have come home from her trip earlier than she expected. A big smile spread across his face until he realized that now he was really going to catch it for almost riding into the street. But no one was there. Shandre didn’t see his mother, or his grandmother.

“Shandre, baby, don’t be afraid. Something has happened, and I won’t be coming home.” This time he was sure that it was his mother. He could feel her love radiating through his body like he did when she was hugging on him. “Honey, I want you to know that I’ll always be with you. I’m with my Nana and my Gran, and we will all be here to protect you. Now get on home, honey, and stay off the street!”

Shandre was confused and he looked around. “Mama?” He took off his helmet. What did she mean? She wasn’t coming home? He felt confused, but the voice was gone.

A wisp of perfume, the kind she loved to wear, drifted by in the soft breeze. He hung his helmet on the handlebars of his bike and pushed it in the direction of his grandmother’s house. She was there, frantically calling for him.

Fifty

Emily was exhausted. Her mouth was parched and her body was screaming for rest. They had not had a drop of water since early in the morning, but they didn’t dare to stop knowing the aliens were still in pursuit.

John was determined to get Emily back home safely. He would lay down his life to do so, and this came as a surprise to him. In just a few short days, he had grown more than fond of her. She was so different from every other woman he had ever met. It seemed that protecting her might involve standing between her and the gnashing jaws of certain death.

For all he knew, the rest of the team had already been eaten. He couldn’t worry about it right now. Instead, he stayed focused and alert, prepared to kill or be killed, if they were attacked.

The well-travelled trail they were on appeared to be headed down to the river below, and John was thinking if they made it there, they would be close to finding their way out. “You see that river… down there… Em? I’m thinking… it might lead us… back… to civilization.”

“But you said… we shouldn’t follow the water… I’m confused,” she commented between breaths.

He was short of breath too, and speaking was difficult. “I know… but I was talking about streams. Large rivers like that… almost always end up passing through a city or town.” It was likely the river could lead them to some inhabited area, reservoir or at least a ranger station. Hope seemed within reach, and he caught his second wind.

“I hope so… I can’t go… much farther… My chest… is going to burst!... At least… there’s water!” Emily’s voice was raspy, and she was having trouble getting her words out.

Suddenly, out of the trees came a howling shriek. John felt his heart drop into his shoes, and he paused to look back. About a hundred or so yards behind them, he could see more than a dozen creatures coming through the tree line. They must have stumbled across some kind of animal because they were beginning to circle something intently. From his vantage point it was hard to tell what it might be.

Several of them began fighting over something, rolling on the ground. Perhaps they were eating one of their own. John could only hope they had resorted to such cannibalism.

“We gotta push it, Em! We might gain a little time cuz it looks like they are turning on each other, but those fuckers are almost on us now at that distance. I just can’t tell.” He was still scanning the wooded area up the hill from them and stopped to take a large gulp of air. “We gotta make it to the river!” He turned to her then and found that he had been talking to himself. He wasted no time catching up to her.

Emily hadn’t stopped to see what was behind them. She was desperate for a drink and stayed focused on the water ahead. She was steadily jogging her way to the river. When John reached her side, he could see how tired she was. Her face was red with exhaustion.

“They stopped fighting amongst themselves and they’re gaining on us! We gotta get out of here! Come on, Em, let’s get to the water.” If she could just keep going, they still had a chance to survive. “They’re catching up!” he repeated.

She was too winded to respond but gave him a look that seemed to say, ‘As if I’m not trying!’ and he reached for her hand and kept running.

“Just… tell me… you have… a plan!” He could hear her wheezing with every breath. Without hesitation, he squeezed her hand and nodded affirmative, knowing full well he had no plan.

They forced themselves to pick up the pace, which was much easier now that they were running downhill toward the river. As they stumble down the bank, it wasn’t long before Emily was kneeling down at water’s edge guzzling the water she had cupped in her hands.

“I’m going to see which way is best. You keep an eye out for those things behind us!” John set about looking for some place to cross to the other side while Emily watched the hill behind them, scanning for the oncoming aliens.

It was hopeless. There was no way to cross the river and John felt sure that running down the bank would not get them away from the aliens far enough or fast enough. He picked up some rocks and thought about throwing them at the bastards. Tossing one up at the hill to see how far he could reach, he doubted he could hold them off for very long. He was tired as hell.