The monster’s urge to satisfy its ravenous hunger had increased when it caught the faint scent of the strange intruders and was set on seeking them out so it wouldn’t remain unfulfilled, but it was out of its element. The dark corridors had not been too dissimilar to its preferred hunting ground; dark tunnels formed in rock and earth. This area, crammed with growth, blocked its sonar hunting capabilities, making it unable to use its preferred method to locate its prey. The strong scent of some of the plants and trees also made its prey invisible to its sense of smell. It was though not completely hindered; it had its hearing. It turned its head slowly in an attempt to locate its prey. It heard nothing except the sound of flowing water. Its prey must have detected its presence and remained motionless. It would have to flush them out. It moved toward the position it had last detected them.
Jack thought he detected something indistinct moving through the undergrowth, a twisted lurking menace that stalked its prey while seeking the opportune moment to pounce and kill. “I think it’s moving in behind us,” he whispered. He noticed Lucy’s fear-drenched expression. “Are you okay?”
She shook her head slightly. She had never felt so terrified. “Not really.”
Jack knew how she felt. “We should move. With a room this large there has to be another exit somewhere. Shift past me as quietly as you can and I’ll try and keep between you and whatever’s following us.” When he received a nod from the two women, he backed into the bushes to give them room to squeeze by. Jane and Lucy headed through the undergrowth, careful not to disturb the foliage more than could be avoided. Jack, fully alert for danger, followed behind.
Though an occasional rustle of leaves and branches came from behind him, Jack didn’t think the stalker knew where they were, but was searching for them. A glance ahead revealed a branch they would need to duck under. Jane went first, placing her feet carefully between the large trees roots snaking out from its massive gnarled trunk. When she was clear, Lucy ducked and crept forward. Her foot slipped off a root, tripping her to the ground. Though she’d barely made a sound, it had been enough to alert their pursuer.
Jack spun. Something crashed loudly through the foliage toward them. Though the vegetation hid it from his sight, the increasing sounds of its expectant rush indicated it would soon be upon them. He helped Lucy to her feet, ducked under the branch and looked at their frightened faces. “Run!”
Jane and Lucy turned and fled.
Jack stayed. He needed to slow the creature down or none of them would escape. After a quick examination of the low branch, he moved along its length and grabbed hold near its end. When he bent it back toward the trunk, his feet skidded with the strain on the moist leaf-strewn ground. He regained his footing and bent it back as far as he thought possible without it breaking. He waited. His muscles strained to hold the force back while the creature’s noisy approach grew nearer. He would only get one chance. The creature appeared out from the foliage, paused, sniffed the air and looked at its prey. Jack was so shocked by the sight of the monster’s eyeless face, he forgot to let go of the branch. When the air trembled from the beast’s ferocious roar, his senses returned and he released his grip. The monster screeched in pain when the branch slammed into its chest. The force knocked it off its feet and flung it into the bushes.
Jack ran to catch up with Jane and Lucy.
The two women were at the far end of the room, trying without success to slip past the girth of the thick tree that had chosen to plant its seed in this corner. Free from any crew to cut it down, it had seized the opportunity to grow in wanton abandonment.
Jane and Lucy heard the snapping of twigs and disturbed leaf-adorned branches caused by something’s rapid approach. They’d heard the creature’s howls and feared the worst—that Jack had been killed. Both wore fearful looks when they turned to face the approaching menace. Relief washed over them when Jack appeared and shot them a reassuring smile.
Jane’s eyes darted to the undergrowth behind him. “Is it still coming?”
Jack nodded. “I’m afraid so, though I delayed it for a moment.”
“We can’t get to the door,” explained Lucy, on the verge of panic.
Jack’s eyes quickly took in the gap between the trunk and the exit clogged with branches and vegetation; they’d never get through. If they had the time they could break some of the stems to make room, but the monster on their trail made that choice obsolete. He glanced up the trunk and noticed windows set in the wall overlooking what was once a verdant paradise in the ship of hard edged metal and conformity. A thick branch that had sought room to grow had pushed through one of the large windows. It offered them a means of escape. “We climb.”
Jane glanced up the tree to assess the merits of such a plan. Though a difficult climb, she saw it was possible. The many branches offered a series of platforms they could use to climb to safety. “Lucy, you go first.”
Lucy offered no argument. With a hoist up from Jack, she grabbed hold of the lowest branch and pulled herself onto it.
“Don’t stop whatever happens,” Jack told her.
Lucy shot Jack a worried look.
“I’ll be right behind you.”
Jane studied Jack as if he were a painting and one she found particularly pleasing to the eye. Even in moments of sudden and imminent peril, he’d shown exceptional coolness. “Does anything scare you, Jack?”
Jack smiled. “Don’t let my cool exterior fool you. Inside I’m a terrified wreck with panic hiding just below the surface.”
“And yet you hold it all together.” She leaned forward and gave him a peck on the cheek. Yep, it was as she thought—bristly.
With a puzzled frown, Jack asked, “What was that for?”
Jane smiled. “For being you.” She glanced up the tree. Lucy had cleared the first branch. “Are you going to hoist me up, or stand there all day gawping? You give the impression you don’t get kissed very often.”
Jack hoisted her up. “I must admit, it’s been a long time.” As soon as Jane was clear, he leapt, grabbed the branch and hauled himself up.
Though some of the gaps between branches were wide, they were never too far apart to prevent their rapid ascent. When they were little over a third of the way up, the creature emerged from the tall undergrowth. Jack warned the others to be still. Jane paused awkwardly with her body half over a branch and observed the monster below sniffing the tree trunk. At two yards tall, covered in pink creamy hairless skin mottled with green specks, sinewy limbs tipped with claws and a head that tapered into a tusk at the back, it truly was a terrifying vision. Its lipless jaw lined with curved teeth, didn’t hinge open like a normal human jaw, but parted vertically to stretch skin and muscle and reveal the thick saliva dripping tongue that occasionally slid over its wicked teeth in a hungry manner. But what made it even more horrifying was its lack of eyes. Jane wondered how it hunted and managed to move through the forest without bumping into things.
Lucy also watched the monster. She prayed it wouldn’t discover them.
The creature sniffed higher up the tree, gazed its sightless head up into its boughs and emitted a series of clicks back and forth. Like bats, it used sonic waves to locate its prey and the layout of its environment.
Jane’s awkward position was sapping her strength. She didn’t think she would be able to hang on much longer. Though the monster seemed to stare at each of them in turn, it was having trouble distinguishing them from the tree’s rough contours. Apparently satisfied its prey wasn’t in the tree, it turned its evil face away and headed into the bushes. Jack followed its progress by the foliage it disturbed. Jane could remain still no more—she was losing her grip. As quietly as she could, she clambered onto the branch.