Jack placed a hand gently on her shoulder. “Hindsight is a wonderful thing, but we’re here now and must make sure we survive to tell the tale.” He led them onto the high walkway.
A quarter of the way across, Lucy glanced up at the fading lights. “It’s getting darker.”
“Perhaps it’s a cycle to reflect the passing of night and day, like in the forest room,” Jane suggested.
“But we only left there a short while ago and the lights had just come on. If those lights are in sync with these, it’s a short cycle,” said Lucy.
Before they could ponder the puzzle further, they were distracted by three white lights that appeared below.
Lucy placed her hands on the balustrade and peered at the three figures. “It’s Henry, Theo and Max.”
They all stared at the tiny figures on the path below.
Lucy shouted out Henry’s name. The three men turned, looked up at them and waved. Henry shouted something, but he was too far way for them to understand.
“Try contacting them with the walkie-talkie,” Jack suggested.
Jane grabbed the device from her pocket and pressed the talk button. “Henry, can you hear me?”
They saw Henry reach into a pocket.
Lucy smiled. “He heard.”
Henry’s voice crackled from the walkie-talkie. “I’m so relieved you three are okay. Over.”
“As are we you. We’re heading into that giant building. Jack thinks the curved structure on top might be the control room. We might be able to open the doors so we can get off the ship. Over.”
“The control room is our destination also, so we’ll meet up inside. Keep a look out for anything to use as a weapon. Over.”
Before Jane could reply, hellish screeches rang out. They looked down. Red eyes appeared at the entrances in the large trunk-formation.
“The darkness summons the night prowlers,” said Jack.
The head of a dark form with bright, glowing eyes appeared at one of the openings and turned its head toward the three intruders that had entered their domain. Its snarl revealed glowing teeth that matched the brightness of its red eyes. It slunk out of the opening and speedily climbed down the side of the tree. Others of its kind crawled out from the many openings to join the first on the ground. All rushed toward the three strangers.
Jane screamed into the walkie-talkie. “Run, Henry. Run!”
The three men ran.
From their high vantage point, the worried onlookers followed their friends sprint for the bridge. The flashlight beams jerked erratically during their hurried flight. They switched on their own lights when the darkness grew in intensity and swept the beams over more creatures skulking from gaps in the tree and those already on the path pursuing the fleeing men. The creatures’ bodies were cloaks of wraithlike darkness. It was only their bright eyes and teeth that gave away their positions. It was as if they watched the shadows of invisible monsters rather than actual physical life-forms. When their flashlight beams fell on one it turned them translucent; their skeletons and organs could clearly be seen within. The Wraith creatures moved upright in a hunched-over stance on thin legs jointed in reverse to humans.
When the sound of machinery attracted their attention, Jane, Lucy and Jack dragged their gaze away from the creatures. The nearside of the bridge started to rise.
“That’s not good,” said Jack. “I wonder what triggered it.”
“Perhaps it’s on a time cycle like the lights, to stop the monsters from getting across,” suggested Jane, “but what worries me more is if Henry, Theo and Max will reach it in time.”
Theo cursed when the bridge started to rise. A glance behind at the horrifying Wraiths highlighted in his flashlight brought forth another curse. He noticed Henry lagging behind and breathing heavily.
Henry noticed Theo’s concerned look. “Don’t wait for me,” he puffed.
A few long strides and a small leap carried Theo onto the bridge. Max leapt on a few moments later. They turned. Henry was a short distance away and the scary wraithlike creatures were catching up fast. The rising angle of the bridge caused them to lie down and grip the edge to prevent them from sliding to the bottom.
“Hurry, Henry, you can make it,” encouraged Max. “Grab the edge and we’ll pull you up.”
Henry looked at the edge of the bridge now level with his chest, and worried if his old, tired body could make the leap. The sounds of the monsters drawing closer spurred him on. The bridge was head height when he reached the edge of the path, causing him to be less confident he could make it. To free both his hands, he threw the flashlight over the lip of the bridge and leapt into the air. His fingers grabbed at the bridge edge, they slipped. Theo and Max each grasped one of his arms.
“We have you, Henry,” said Theo, his voice strained from supporting the old man’s weight.
A shriek rang out.
Henry twisted his head. Though most of the Wraiths skidded to a halt and backed away from the river, one leapt with its claws stretched out. “Pull me up!” he screamed.
Theo and Max were not in the best position on the sloping bridge to get the leverage needed to haul Henry to safety quickly. They strained with his weight.
Henry kicked out at the creature, striking a blow to its head. It shrieked and lashed out at him. A claw ripped through his trouser leg. Something leapt from the river, spraying Henry with cold, viscous, briny water. The cold liquid felt like needles pricking his skin. Believing the Wraith’s claws had grasped him, Henry screamed and glanced behind. A gaping jaw filled with long jagged teeth and its beckoning throat was all Henry glimpsed of the monster that had burst from the water. He pulled his legs up as the massive jaws closed around the Wraith’s chest. Blood sprayed him when the creature was bitten in two. When the river monster dropped back into the water with half of the creature in its jaws, a second river monster shot from the water to claim the half falling through the air. Henry placed a foot on its snout and pushed himself onto the bridge. Caught unawares by Henry’s sudden boost, Theo, Max and Henry slid down the bridge, rolled across the ground and lay there panting.
The Wraiths on land howled and screeched when the river monsters appeared, but when they splashed back into the river, the closest Wraiths darted forward and scooped up the water from the wave of stagnant water thrown up.
A river monster erupted from the river and slipped its jaws around a Wraith that had ventured too close to the water’s edge. A Wraith, that had witnessed Henry’s escape, saw its chance to catch those that had fled from them. It rushed forward. Its powerful legs sprung it into the air as the river monster’s jaws snapped shut on its prize. Using the monsters snout as a stepping-stone, the Wraith launched itself onto the bridge and tumbled down its length.
Theo saw the creature and shouted out a warning. Henry, too tired to move, lay there and watched it tumble down the bridge. Theo grabbed his knife and when the Wraith rolled across the ground toward Henry, he leapt onto it and frantically stabbed the knife repeatedly into its chest. Theo was sprayed with the blood spurting from the creature’s many wounds. The creature shrieked and struggled, knocking Theo to the ground. It turned onto its belly, climbed unsteadily to its feet and stared at its attacker. Its snarl revealed its bright, wicked teeth. It took a step nearer and fell forward. Theo stepped back when it crashed to the ground.
Max, surprised by Theo’s sudden and frenzied attack, stared at the creature. “Is it dead?”
Theo stepped forward and nudged the Wraith with a foot. There was no response. “It’s dead.” He wiped the dark blood from the knife on a sleeve and slipped it into its sheath.