Chapter 19 Apparently, I Hate Trees #3
The pine crashed into the trees behind it, creating an impossible tangle of branches. Somewhere within that leafy cage, the creature shrieked, thrashing furiously to get free. I’d probably bought us a few minutes, but the thing would be out soon. I turned and sprinted after my friends.
They hadn’t gotten far. About twenty yards east, they’d stopped to wait for me, and they were now staring open-mouthed at the chaos I’d caused in the trees.
“GO!” I yelled.
Together, we kept running.
Between gasps of air, Benny asked, “Did you…just knock…that tree…over?”
I didn’t have the lung capacity to answer.
As soon as we crossed the line of mati pendants at the border of the Wild Zone, my body gave out.
Zuri and Benny caught me on either side as my knees buckled.
Harper draped me over his shoulders in a fireman’s carry—where had he learned that?
Then, somehow, he managed to run with me for at least another minute before we all collapsed, just inside the edge of the woods.
When I tried to sit up, my hand pressed against a smooth marble slab like a gravestone. As my vision cleared, I saw it was engraved with the word soteria. I didn’t know why someone had decided to commemorate the goddess of safety here, but I’d take it.
We waited breathlessly, watching the woods to the west. I was sure the monster would swoop down on us at any moment. Surely no blue glass charms could stop a thing that powerful from having its vengeance. It would rip us limb from limb. Then it would probably destroy the whole camp.
Instead, nothing. The forest had fallen silent again. I didn’t understand how, but apparently the creature really could not, or would not, leave the Wild Zone.
I let loose a sob, exhaling all the pent-up terror in my chest. Next to me, Harper was shaking, his face buried in his hands. Benny and Zuri both looked shell-shocked, swaying on their feet, staring at me in disbelief.
“What in Tartarus was that?” Zuri asked. “I looked back and…that entire tree…?”
I managed a weary shrug. “I’m a child of Ares. We’re strong.”
Benny shook his head. “Not like that. I’ve never seen another Ares kid do that.”
“I guess I take better vitamins?”
Harper looked up like he was deeply offended, and then he started to laugh.
The sound was contagious. The rest of us joined him, until we were all sitting in the brambles, helplessly and hysterically giggling.
There was no good reason for humor. We’d almost died. We’d failed to find Grant and Silas. Somewhere along the way, I’d even lost Grant’s shoe, so we had no solid proof he’d disappeared in the woods.
But we were alive. For the moment, that had to be enough.
“You know you saved our lives,” Zuri told me. “Like, for real, for real.”
“Yeah,” Benny said. “That was so reckless”—he pounded the grass with his fist—“but a serious hero move.”
I grinned and sat up taller.
I’d done something right for once. And the others had noticed. Not only that, but they’d waited inside the Wild Zone for me—like real friends would.
“It’s too bad we can’t tell anyone about it,” Harper said.
“Except Chiron.” I squared my shoulders. “And tomorrow, one way or another, I’m going to find a way to talk to him.”
The others studied me, almost like…they were impressed? I do one good thing, and suddenly I’m acting overconfident.
I didn’t know if Argus would be successful in bringing back Chiron, but if he failed, I’d just have to find another way. That centaur and I were going to have words.
“In the meantime,” I continued, “at least we know more about the creature. It’s vicious. It’s fast and strong. It definitely could have kidnapped Silas and Grant.” I looked at Zuri for confirmation and she nodded grimly.
I could tell she was shaken by what we’d seen, maybe even more than the rest of us, but I wasn’t going to push her for information. Whatever past experience she’d had with the monster, if it was the same monster, she would have to tell us in her own time.
There were still so many questions: Was that cave the creature’s lair? If so, why did it only seem to move through the treetops? Why were random items scattered around that clearing? And most importantly, were Grant and Silas still alive?
I looked at Harper. “Is your new bracelet giving you any problems?”
Harper lifted his arm and studied the leather strap. I wasn’t sure when he’d put it back on his wrist, and that fact made me uneasy.
“Nothing so far,” he said. “Do you think…I summoned the monster by picking it up? You know, like it came after you and Grant after you found the ring?”
I didn’t love that idea, but it made sense. “Then why would the monster take Silas?”
Harper shrugged. “Maybe he picked up something too.”
Benny’s expression was troubled. “We went into the woods thinking we’d give back Katie’s ring. Instead, we made a withdrawal. If the monster collects items, we’ve probably made it even angrier.”
Zuri plucked the string of her bow. “I wonder what that bracelet does. Hopefully nothing too dangerous.”
I held out my hand to Harper. “I can take it for you and look into it, if you want. I’m already carrying danger in my pocket anyway.”
Harper cradled his strap-wearing wrist against his heart. “Thanks, but I found it. I’ll figure it out.” His voice sounded tense, so I simply nodded.
“Let us know what you learn,” I said.
Benny got to his feet. “I just hope the harpies are still in a food coma. Come on, let’s get back to camp.”
By the grace of the gods, we managed to slip past the harpies and make it to our cabins unnoticed.
Once I was in bed, sleep eluded me. I rolled to my side and stared at Grant’s bunk, imagining him there. I thought about the sneaker I’d found, and the vision of him wavered.
After everything I’d seen tonight, it was possible he hadn’t made it. Silas either. That monster in the trees could have carried them away and gobbled them whole. I wished I knew if they were at least alive. My instincts told me they were, but my instincts were unreliable.
Then my brain made the inevitable jump to Mom and Olivia. They were “safe for now,” I’d been told, but that was days ago. Were they still okay? I would do anything to bring them home.
But for the time being, all I could do was wait and worry and hope the next day would bring some answers.