Run & Hide by Beatrix Hollow
20
We were slicing through the forest on the very same trail from yesterday. I realized these men probably killed the cameraman. That they might have been waiting around for the rest of us. I realized Mothman might have saved me last night.
At this point, I had to hope Caspian had managed to get the rangers and that they were about to fumble through the woods, foiling whatever plan these people had.
Saved by monsters. I never expected my life to lead here. I couldn’t wait to tell my family. I could already imagine the smug look on my mom’s face. Although I hoped she’d look surprised at least, to find out monsters were in the world. I let those thoughts keep me hopeful as if it was so simple. Deal with this and later go home to my family. Tell my mom she was right, there was no running. I didn’t care about being wrong right now. I just wanted to be okay.
Loren had tied a long rope to my wrists and held it like a leash. He walked behind me with a swagger and sharp eyes scanning the woods. There was something keener about him than the others. He was smart. Smart, big, strong, and didn’t blink at murder. A man that seemed motivated by greed and pride if I had to guess. So motivated, in fact, that he had peeled the morals from his body like dead, sunburnt skin.
I decided to test out the restraints again. I faked left but then jerked right, flinging myself forward with force. The rope tightened but held, Loren gripping it into a fist as he spat out his chew and tugged me backwards. My feet slipped from under me and my body slammed to the ground.
“Get up,” he said with a sneer. I did, scrambling with my hands tied because the alternative was someone touching me to help me up and I didn’t want one sweaty hand on me.
I rolled onto my knees and pressed up. My breasts were practically spilling out of my gaping tanktop and I looked up to see one of the men eyeing my chest. His eyes snaked up to mine and his lips broke open, his teeth winking at me menacingly.
I got up and we kept walking. The sound of water grew louder. Through the trees on our left, I could see the New River. My eyes trailed down the stream but I couldn’t see anything ahead. Even with the moon out, the mountains hugged the river, casting darkness everywhere.
A loud crack sounded on the opposite side of us, like something hard smacking a tree. The group jerked to a halt, eyes narrowing.
All of a sudden the sound of footsteps, fast and hard on the dirt came from behind us—from the water’s edge. There was a blur of motion as things started happening. Caspian was jumping through the air, fist pulled back. He crashed into a stout guy, his fist slamming into the man’s eye socket. The guy was pushed to the ground with the force of Caspian crashing into him and the punch laid him out cold. His eyes rolled back in his head as his body went slack.
Caspian crouched, kicking out at another guy. His shoes hit the man’s knee. I heard a crack, then a wail of pain. Brandon and Grady were quickly thrown to the ground, shoes pressing into their backs to keep them from joining in their friend’s fight.
Finally, I snapped out of my surprise and turned around, facing Loren, pulling my head back and aiming to crash our skulls together. His eyes swiveled to me and his lip curled up in distaste. He jerked out of my way and my momentum took me forward. He stepped to the side and gave me a shove, sending me sprawling into the dirt.
“Get him!” Loren barked out. Dirt was in my eyes and I couldn’t see what was going on with Caspian but I heard a struggle. I writhed around, trying to get up as fast as I could because I needed to help Caspian.
My vision started to clear and I saw a man had Caspian by the water’s edge. Caspian’s face looked mottled as if he’d taken a few punches to the face. He was on his back, the man over top of him, holding him down. Caspian spat blood in the man’s face, a gleam of pure rage in his eyes.
“You motherfucker,” the man hissed, then he shoved Caspian by the shoulders, submerging his head in the river.
“No!” I cried, finally up and moving towards them. Thick arms came around my middle and then I was flung to the ground again. The air puffed out from my mouth and Loren pressed his boot on my upper back. Half my face smashed in the dirt and I could barely see what was happening. I could see Caspian’s legs kicking, his hips bucking. I could see the man’s hand in the water, holding Caspian’s head down.
The sounds were the worst. The bubbles from under the water of him struggling to breathe. I was screaming, dirt mixing with tears as I felt desperate to stop this. This couldn’t happen. It couldn’t.
The bubbles ended and his feet stopped kicking. I saw Caspian’s arms go from hitting and clawing at the man to flopping on the river’s tiny shore.
A ragged sound clawed up my throat, scratching it. Squirming hopelessness, a cleaving of emotions that was already threatening to rip me in half. This couldn’t happen. I’d thought… I wasn’t sure what I thought but I’d thought Caspian could survive that.
I hadn’t told him I loved him. That’s what he had wanted to hear before, wasn’t it? I was just too surprised at the moment to say it back but it was the truth.
The man kept holding him under, making sure the job was done. He didn’t see what I saw. Caspian’s fingers were curling into the dirt in anger. It left deep gashes because there were claws on the ends of each appendage. I pulled in a breath, hope returning to me.
The man gave a bark of shock as the arms snapped back up from the ground, grabbing on to his shoulders. Caspian's feet shoved at the shore, sending them deeper into the river. The man struggled, trying to throw punches in the water.
They kept moving deeper in, Caspian’s body disappearing entirely. The rest of the group were shouting in confusion, yelling for their guy to keep holding Caspian under. The man suddenly cried out in pain, his eyes flashing with panic.
Clawed, pale blue hands reached up from the water, gripping his face, digging sharp tips into his cheeks until he shrilled, his tongue vibrating in his wide-open mouth. The wounds blossomed in red, then thick rivulets ran down his face like tears. Slowly he was pulled under, hooked into the beast’s claws. His eyes flashed in pure terror until the moment they disappeared, the water swallowing him whole.
Silence engulfed us. Everybody left standing there in confusion and surprise, with no idea what was going on. The water bubbled and a big gush of red exploded upwards from its depths. The river swept the color away slowly.
“What’s happening!” Someone shouted, running towards the water, his boots splashing into the river as he tried to get to his friend. He waded out further until a shape floated to the surface, a whole body bobbing up, the throat ripped out in a frenzy of ragged bite marks.
The man in the water turned back to the shore frantically. His legs moved slowly, the water impeding his progress. His friends yelled at him to hurry. Everyone was confused, not knowing what to do as the situation turned inside out and upside down.
A head poked out of the water, black hair sticking to it. Two reflective eyes shone with the light of the moon. It was like the oxygen was sucked out of the air, everyone's words vacuumed up. Their minds were stalling. I could see it in their eyes, wide and brimming with concentration. Their instincts were screaming to stand still and quiet, to never look away from the predator or attract its attention.
The man in the water fell down and tried to crawl to shore desperately. The creature reached out its clawed hands, fins on its forearms, gripped the man tightly and then began to tug him backwards, back into the water. The man screamed as everyone stood with mouths hanging up, shock seizing everyone’s muscles as they looked at the creature.
The man’s body slowly submerged as he thrashed and wailed. Terror scratched up his throat until it was just gurgling in the water.
“Fuck!” Loren bellowed and everyone finally snapped out of their daze. Their leader's whip-crack voice was just the starter they needed for their shock and fear to grind into action.
"Get to the bridge. Don't shoot it," he spat the last command like he did chew, ugly and impolite.
Loren gripped my arm and tugged me too sharply from the ground. My shoulder screamed, the muscle straining. I yelled but everyone was yelling. Everyone was moving.
They were running.
Running away from Caspian.