“Joseph,” I whispered, “there’s a yellow-eyed thing out there.” I pointed to the eyes, grabbing his head and aiming it in the creature’s direction. “The fire, Careen said it scared them.” Joseph’s body went rigid and he jumped out of the sleeping bag like a spring.
We woke the others and together we stoked the coals, throwing kindling and logs on until it was roaring, our skin looking golden in the flames. Behind the statue of the man with the outstretched hand, I saw the flick of a long tail and black and white stripes. I heard scuffling. I drew breath in slowly, weighing up the threat. My eyes searched the darkness anxiously and found several pairs of yellow eyes floating like a disturbing set of stringed lights about fifty meters from where we were.
“Can you see that?” I pointed in their direction.
Joseph nodded, jaw tight, looking unnaturally magnificent in his shredded shirt. The fire glazed his skin gold, his muscles tensed and ready to fight.
The eyes were joining with other eyes, forming a semi-circle, closing in slowly from the western side of our campsite, like a ring of candles, flickering as they blinked. Apella panicked and darted behind Alexei, the whip of her grey shirt the only evidence she was there. I watched her in disgust, the desire to throw her to them was hard to suppress. We burned everything in sight, watching the flames climb higher and higher. Our faces and hands charred red from the heat but we couldn’t step back. Deshi and Joseph armed themselves with the knives. I waited to see Careen striding forward, spear in hand, but she wasn’t there. I gulped, horrific visions of her torn-up body sprawled somewhere clawed at my mind. Where the hell was she?
The eyes stalled at the sight of the fire, there was a faint cry like a ‘whoop’ and then a chorus of whoops filtered through the air above our heads. Slowly the eyes edged away from sight. Whatever they were, there were at least thirty of them and my guess was there were probably more. Joseph’s hand curled over my shoulder and I set my head down on it. “We can’t stay here,” I whispered, feeling the panic ease with his touch. He squeezed his hand and nodded, eyes distant.
As the grey morning approached, we were shocked to discover how close they had come while we were sleeping. All around us were the remnants of our belongings, things dropped as they were dragged off into the night. These elusive creatures seemed intelligent and organized. Unlike the wolves, they hadn’t just destroyed things; they had taken items of interest and discarded others.
I was just about to start searching for the grisly remains of Careen, when I heard a loud thump and she came strolling out of the wooded area to the east of our campsite, eyes bright. Her attitude was casual, unfettered, and she was surprised that we were angry at her, or even that we worried about her safety.
She admitted she had seen the creatures approaching and had jumped up into the closest tree, spending the night there.
“Thanks a lot for the warning,” I said, glaring at her.
She shrugged, unconcerned. She was used to looking after herself. It seemed a very foreign idea that she should assist anyone else. I thought back to her behavior when we first met, suspecting it was less about heroics and more just the fact we were between her and her kill.
“Next time, it would be good if you could let us know there are animals stalking us before you scale the nearest tree.” I tried to say it calmly but it came out sounding more biting.
She looked at me, her eyebrows drawn together like I had just snatched a sweet from her hand. Tucking her hair behind her ear and cocking her head to the side, she chirpily replied, “Sure thing!”
I looked at her like she was something other than human. She was so strange. I didn’t like the idea of being holed up with her over winter.
As we packed up, we noticed Alexei had lost his reader. The grey box was missing as well. I wondered why the animals would want with that. I imagined them preparing meals and it made my hairs stands on end. This place was starting to really give me the creeps. It was definitely time to leave.
Hessa cried out and I felt a pang of anxiety, wondering how we were going to feed him.
Deshi searched frantically for the box, with Hessa tucked under one arm, the baby screaming until his face went ashen and his lips were purple.
Careen turned around and retrieved the box from under a flat, grey rock at the base of the tree she had dropped down from. “Are you looking for this?” I took a step towards her, my feet pressed hard against the earth, ready to tear her throat out. But Joseph’s arm was in front of me, blocking my path. “Let it go,” he muttered through his teeth.
I did, just this once, noting she was someone to watch closely.
Deshi snatched the box from a baffled Careen and quickly prepared a bottle for the screaming child.
As Deshi fed Hessa, I took up the capsule and made some adjustments. Attaching one-foot long, pointed spears to the top part that encased his head. It made him look like he was wearing a crown, but it would protect him from any animal jumping down on him.
Sadly, we had lost most of the clothes we had found and I didn’t want to go back to get more. There was one shirt left which I offered to Joseph. It was too big for me. He thanked me and removed his torn t-shirt. I made an idiot of myself, swallowing a gasp at his well-muscled chest. When he pulled the shirt over his head, I turned my back to him. I didn’t want him to see me blushing.
“All right, Jo,” Deshi smirked, as Joseph did up the remaining buttons. “We all know you’re gorgeous. Stop showing off and start moving.” He clapped his hands together smartly and flicked his head away from the campsite.
We made our way back to where we had left the train tracks two nights ago. We moved quickly, the urge to explore was gone. Apella was still unsure and Alexei had to half-drag her as she continually swiveled her head around, looking in doors and searching rooftops for evidence of people.
We followed the tracks out of the city and headed south-east, deciding to put at least a day’s walk between us and the yellow-eyed beasts before looking for a place to shelter. Joseph scooped me up in his arms before I had time to argue.
“You look tired,” he said
“Gee, thanks. You know? So do you,” I said, poking at the dark circles under his eyes.
He pulled his head away from my touch and grinned. “Yeah well I’m bigger and stronger. I can cope better.”
“The way I’m going I’ll be bigger than you by mid-summer!” I joked.
He laughed. “Hmmm, you are getting a bit heavy.” He pretended to drop me, catching me at the last second.
I squirmed unenthusiastically. “Well then, put me down.”
He paused and shook his head, blond curls settling into their delicate weave. “Nope,” he said as he took big strides, leading the way.
I put my head on his chest, the pressure of the last few days squeezing me like a concertina, making the air around me soft and dozy. I was pleased with my decision. It was going to be hard. Hard, hard work, Mr. Gomez would say. But it felt better knowing we had a purpose, a strategy. I knew my knowledge of building was going to be useful. I could help. I could do something other than grow fatter and more uncomfortable every day. I listened to Joseph’s heartbeat, deep in his chest, and I pushed the doubt down with it. Pushed down the feeling I could be wrong, that it would be too hard. We had to keep moving forward. We had to try.