Jack gazed up at the two women and whispered, “I think it’s gone. Climb as quietly as you can.”
They resumed their climb.
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
It had been waiting for them.
A howl rung out.
“Climb!” Jack shouted.
Lucy screamed.
Jack followed her point of focus.
The clicker monster leapt from the bushes with clawed hands stretched out and grabbed hold of a branch. Jack didn’t wait around to see more, he climbed and urged the others to move faster.
Her fear of what climbed up to them was all the encouragement Lucy needed. She raced up the tree and soon reached the branch that protruded through the window. Without a pause in her stride she raced across the limb, kicked out the inch thick pieces of jagged glass around the frame and clambered through.
When Jane crossed a few moments later, Lucy carefully picked up the largest of the glasslike slivers and threw them at the Clicker. One piece glanced off its shoulder, opening a rip in its skin. Though it howled, the wound seemed to cause it little concern and failed to slow its climb.
Jane glanced around the large room dotted with tables and chairs. The dim light picked out a room at the back which seemed to be a kitchen area, an indication this was where some of the crew would have eaten—unexpected normality in the chaos. The view of the trees, shrubs and waterfall would have been a relaxing background while the crew feasted. Twenty yards away on the right, Jane spotted an escape route in the form of a door.
Jack scramble along the branch and jumped to the floor.
Jane pointed out the exit. “We can escape through there.”
Jack glanced down at the Clicker. It would soon be upon them. “We need to slow it down again as it knows how to open doors.” He looked at Lucy. “Go find out if the door opens. If it does, wait there and as soon as we’re through, close it.”
Lucy rushed off to do as instructed.
Jane looked at the resourceful man and waited to find out what he’d do.
Jack glanced at the kitchen area at the far end of the long room. He thought there might be knives there, but it was too far away. He tried to lift one of the tables, but it was firmly fixed to the floor. He had more success with a chair. Though heavy, it should do the job he had planned for it. He turned it over so the backrest was uppermost and pointed forward, and lifted it onto the branch.
Without being told, Jane quickly crossed to the other side of the branch and grabbed hold of the chair. She smiled nervously at Jack. “As soon as it reaches the window, we ram it, right?”
Jack nodded. “As hard as we can. We probably won’t kill it, but if we can knock it out of the tree it might break a limb. At the very least it’ll buy us some time.”
Jane and Jack glanced across the room when the door opened. Lucy gave them a thumb up okay sign. Their eyes darted back to the broken window.
The Clicker climbed onto the branch, pointed its face at the broken window and sniffed the air.
Jane and Jack froze.
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
Its sharp claws left a trail of gouges in the bark when it cautiously slunk forward like a grotesque panther. As if sensing danger, it halted at the broken window and directed its eyeless face around the room.
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
It stared at Jane. A globule of saliva dripped from its mouth.
“Over here, you ugly son of a bitch!” shouted Lucy.
The Clicker’s head darted toward the voice. CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! It rushed forward.
With the chair gripped firmly between them, Jack and Jane rushed at the monster.
The edge of the chair back smashed into the Clicker’s chest. It toppled backward and slipped off the branch. Clawed hands lashed out to procure a hold. Its fall halted when they found a grip. It began to climb back up.
Jack snatched the chair from Jane’s grasp and threw it aside, jumped onto the branch, rushed through the window and stamped on the monster’s hands. One of its claws snapped. The creature shrieked with each blow. One claw released its grip. The second quickly followed. It bounced off branches it failed to grab during its plummet to the ground. Twigs snapped when it landed on a bush and thudded to the ground.
Jack peered at the unmoving creature and wondered if it was dead.
CLICK! CLICK! CLICK!
The monster moved.
Jack retreated through the opening and followed Jane’s rush across the room to the open door. It swished shut when they passed through. A swipe of the axe Lucy held ready smashed the button in the hope it would prevent the Clicker monster from opening the door.
They ran.
Max raised a hand to halt his two companions and pointed at the bush off to his right. “Are you seeing that?”
As the false sunlight grew brighter and its leading edge spread across the verdant forest, plants bloomed in its wake. All around them beautiful flowers unfurled their petals to soak up the light. It seemed every species of plant had their own colour scheme; red, blue, green, yellow, orange, purple and black blossoms surrounded them. Their pungent scent, ranging from sweet and sickly to vomit gagging, filled the air. The light and fusion of strong scents acted as a signal for other life-forms to wake and the drone of insects quickly followed.
Theo, Max and Henry continued on.
A loud energetic buzzing came from ahead. Max cautiously pushed aside a branch. The drone came from a large, mottled brown growth―four yards in height and two wide―clinging to the side of a large tree. Theo joined him to observe the oddity. The small head of something—a head that wouldn’t have looked out of place on a predatory dinosaur—appeared at the opening near its base. The small creature crawled out and scampered up the nest into the light and spread two red, bat-shaped wings. Each of its six legs ended in a sharp spike, and the red and black stripes covering its ten-inch long body, combined with the long yellow stinger on the tip of its tail, indicated it wasn’t something you’d want to annoy. Max carefully let the branch fall into place, turned to face the others and whispered, “I think it’s a type of alien wasp.”
“Did you see the size of its stinger?” Theo asked. “I was stung by a hornet once; it wasn’t a pleasant or pain free experience, I can tell you. I imagine a sting from one of those things would be a hundred times worst, and that’s an awfully big nest.”
“I think it’s best we give the nest a wide berth,” said Henry. “The flowers will attract them, so back up a bit, and Theo can lead us around.”
Pollen of varying colours clung to their clothes when they brushed past the flower-adorned bushes. Before long it looked as if they were covered in sugar sprinkles.
The low hum of wings alerted Theo to the approaching bug. He ducked to avoid the bird-sized insect, which except for the sharp teeth and porcupine-like spikes covering the ridge of its back, loosely resembled a dragonfly.
Henry stared at the alien dragonfly hovering in front of his face. Its flapping wings moved so fast they were a blur. Its two beady, black eyes seemed to be examining him, perhaps as a meal or a threat. Henry remained motionless and after a few moments it flittered away. The draft from its wings ruffled Henry’s beard when he turned to watch it leave. “This place is full of amazing creatures. It’s a shame we won’t have time to study them.”
Theo showed none of Henry’s disappointment. “It’s more of a shame that most of them consider us food. It would be a brave man who wanted to hang around to get up close and personal with any of them, and I’m glad to say that man isn’t me. The sooner we’re out of this jungle, the better I’ll feel.”
After a few more steps, Theo turned to his right to investigate a rising buzzing sound. A large alien wasp flew straight at him with an obvious purpose that indicated it wasn’t going to ignore them like the dragonfly. “Incoming wasp. Run!”