Chapter 12: Chapter 11- Escape

Turning back the clock... We return to the story of the bus's survivors.

"Just get on the wagons, everyone!" Lorio yelled as he and Pitter ran behind the people they were escorting.

Many of those already on the wagons looked toward the group as they approached.

Lorio glanced at Pitter, who had an anguished look on his face. "Pitter, there's nothing we can do without endangering more lives."

"I know," Pitter said, clenching his jaw shut.

Lorio, conflicted, continued. "I know you may not want to hear this, but we both know this place is a pressure cooker--"

"Lorio," Pitter growled.

"Four people dying might release some steam... This might be better for every survivor in the long wrong."

"I..." Pitter clenched his fists and shut his eyes. "I know... but still, I refuse to root for someone's death."

"And no one's asking you too. What I'm asking you to do is to see the bright side to every misfortune."

The group reached the wagons. Pitter and Lorio got on the last wagon in the line.

"Mitch, you have a weapon, right?" Lorio asked as he threw bags onto the wagon.

"Yes sir," Mitch replied, pointing at his backpack.

"Good. Ride on this wagon with us!"

Mitch's eyes went to the other two preparing crossbows--Pitter and Rigs. He smirked. "Right... I won't let you guys down," he said, nodding like he was trying to convince himself of his own words.

Right as Lorio took the reigns, one of the teenage girls, Kia, ran to the back edge of the wagon right in front of him.

"Mister Lorio! Where's Mari?"

Paulie scrambled up next to her. "And what about the Concerning Duo--erm--I mean Haunting and Susy? Weren't we trying to save them--"

"They ran off!" Lorio yelled. "Sit in the wagon, people! Boys! Move! We're getting out of here now!"

"But Mari," Kia screamed.

"We'll deal with that later!"

The wagons suddenly started moving, throwing Kia onto her back.

"Whoa there, be careful," Paulie said as he caught her.

"Oh my gosh, thank you!" Kia called back. She gave Paulie a quick hug and separated. "Oh my gosh, can you believe this, Mei? This is like, so stupid!"

"You better believe it is!" Mei yelled back. "If I wasn't hurt, we would totally go back for our girl!"

"Oh my gosh, yeah! No girl left behind!"

Paulie watched the two teenagers fume, a little dumbfounded. 

Jackson rested his hand on his shoulder. "Hey, I know a girl's never hugged you, but keep your head screwed on."

Paulie scowled at his friend immediately. "Don't pretend like you're so cool, Jack." Paulie reclined against the wagon and looked down the path at Lorio. "I can't believe we just left people behind."

"I don't know," Jackson said. He chewed his lips as he thought through what he wanted to say. "These guys have urgency in their voices... and this forest is weird, and those howls are weirder. I think they might have been right."

Paulie groaned. "I... think so too. These guys know what's about to happen. But still. Those girls--we spent all that time helping one. And then we went and lost two others--oh shit, sleazy Kaz is with them. I hope nothing happens."

Paulie and Jackson were not the only two commenting on their situation. Many of the bus survivors were lost in their whispers and thoughts.

 

Mei and Kia--

"Mari was super strong, right, Mei? She'll be okay, right?"

"Oh yeah, I bet Mari's stronger than most guys..." Mei pressed her lips together as a little bit of fear crept into her heart, but the moment she saw Kia's face, she wore a smile. "Yeah, did you see what she was wearing? I bet Mari knows all kinds of rad things. Like making fire and stuff."

"Oh my gosh, do you think she'd teach us how to make fire too?"

"Totally! Why wouldn't she? She's Mari. She's like our girl now."

"Yeah! She's so dreamy!"

The three teenagers wearing hoodies, including the one with the wounded face, who were sitting near the duo said nothing. Instead, they just sighed.

 

Gran, Mr Tolk, Mikos, and the Bus Driver--

The kindly old Tolk groaned as the wagon bumped.

"Don't stop applying pressure, Tolk!" Gran said. His own hands had never once left the rags around the spear. "I swear we're going to save you, and you're going to get to do all the research you want to!"

Tolk forced out a laugh. "Aye, if you want to make it up to me, come be my field assistant. A fit young man like you would be an asset."

"Anythin'! Just please don't give up."

"Wouldn't dream of it... Not when my dream has gone unfulfilled..."

The former tour guide, Mikos, placed his hands on Tolk's shoulders. "Yes, please don't die, Tolk! The tour wouldn't be able to survive--"

"Seriously," the bus driver barked. "That's what you're worried about?!"

"No!" Mikos stammered back. "I'm worried about tons more! Like--like the girls that got lost in the woods--"

"Because it'll be bad if that gets out?!"

"No! Not just that! I can be worried about many things at once!"

The bus driver scoffed. "Ridiculous..." He looked out into the forest as if he was searching for something. "It doesn't take a genius to figure out that we're fish in a barrel here."

Tolk forced out another laugh. "My good man--are you well? Were you not injured too?"

The perpetually frowning bus driver looked at Tolk, but when he saw the good man's own smile, his expression softened. "Don't worry about me." He patted his gut. "This old beer belly kept me safe. Just a little bruised, but still good to go."

Tolk laughed. "Good! Wouldn't do for us old boys to fall so quickly. Let's show them that we can still keep up."

"I'm not that old... I'm just in my forties..."

"Oh wow! You're younger than me! I'm 62!"

Certainly, if one was to look at the two, they would think that Tolk was the younger one.

 

Gregorio and Cassandra--

"Are you sure you're okay, Greg?" Cassandra asked.

Greg was lying on his side in the first wagon, a pained smile on his face. "I'll be okay. My back's just stinging."

"Thank you for saving us... Gregorio--"

"You don't have to thank me anymore, Cassandra. Just focus on staying safe and helping anyone if they need it."

"Of course! I promise I'll do my best! You don't have to worry about a thing! Oh! I'll ask that Reio person if he can check your bandages again!"

 

Ryza, Hari, and Lorio--

Ryza sat with her back to Lorio. She was facing the child, Hari, and the others riding the wagon. Namely, Rigs, Pitter, and Mitch--the ones readying their weapons. Her gaze went from them and then to the child with her hands pressed between her thighs. She then looked over her shoulder slightly.

"Lorio. The ones that ran into the forest."

"Pray for them, but be ready to never see them again."

"Are your woods that bad?"

Lorio's head did not move at all. He just kept facing forward. "There are no words to describe the horrors that lie hidden within these woods. Dusk is their time, and once that time comes, these woods are theirs. Those are the rules of this place."

"And what exactly are these horrors? Can you really not try to give me something that's not vague?"

"Please, I don't want to jinx us. Just accept that this place is dangerous for now."

"We're talking about the forest... But what about this town of yours?"

"If you listen to the advice of the people who have lived here longer than you have, it'll be better for everyone involved." Lorio glanced back. "My advice: Follow the rules this place imposes, and you'll be just fine. You can have a safe and quiet life here."

Suddenly, a howl unlike all the others traveled up the path, causing every single person who heard it to visibly shudder. Even the mighty Ryza started sweating. She trembled, her gaze frozen, and pointed down the path they had already traveled.

Pitter turned around, breaking the fear-induced trance Ryza had gotten stuck in.

"Lorio! We're out of time!" Pitter yelled. "It's twilight!"

"I'm counting on you guys!" Lorio shouted back. He raised his voice further. "Everyone! Hold on, and don't panic if you value your lives!"

The rescued started a clamor as the howls turned to rabid barking.

Paulie poked his head over the edge of the wagon and looked down the path. "Holy heck! What is that!?"

"Paulie! Pull your head back!" Lorio yelled. 

Rigs and Pitter scowled while Mitch went pale.

"Here they come," Rigs said, taking aim.

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"Aye... I always forget how tired I am of seeing these mutts," Pitter replied.

Running up the path, in hot pursuit of the wagons, were two hairless, long-legged hound-like beasts. Their snouts were long and pronounced, their ribs were showing against their tight dark gray skin, and their eyes were white and lacked pupils. These things were in an unfathomable sprint, with nothing in their sights but their pray. 

The shocked survivalist, Mitch, could tell from a glance that neither creature's limbs possessed joints or muscles that could reasonably allow such jarring otherworldly motion.

Rigs's hand fell on Mitch's shoulder. "Keep your head on. Everyone is counting on you."

"M-me-"

"Just shoot at them, one after the other. When you see their eyes turn red, you'll have between 5 to 8 seconds to shoot them. One good shot makes them wince and stumble." 

Rigs took his position on the wagon and took aim while Mitch looked on.

"H-Hey! Hold on! We're just going to aim at the ones chasing us?! What if we get ambushed? What if they're ambush predators?! There could be more about to cut us off."

Pitter shook his head. "No. The twilight's hounds only 'chase.' They will never appear ahead of a party, only from far behind." He looked at the hounds. "Problem is, they're fast. They'll be on us quickly. So, Mitch. If you've got a gun, then please use it."

Mitch stumbled backward in response to Pitter's kind gaze. "S-so, I don't have to worry about the sides? Just the way we came?"

Pitter nodded.

Mitch, seeing the stalwart man's response, sucked in air and kneeled at the wagon's edge, his pistol out. "Okay... Wish I had brought my hunting rifle, but this will do." He pulled out a magazine from his belt's pouches and slammed it into place with no hesitation. "I can wait until they get closer?"

"We won't be in danger of an attack until their eyes glow red," Rigs replied.

"Glow red... and then I'll have 5 seconds at least? If that's the case... I'll be able to do this."

Rigs chuckled. "At least there was a marksman among the group... Will that gun last?"

Mitch smirked. "The manufacturers guarantee this gun will be able to shoot at least 700 times in its lifetime. I've only shot with it 32 times."

"I'm dancing on the inside, boys!" Rigs laughed.

The hounds showed just how speedy they were as they gained on the wagons. Mitch aimed at the first of the two hounds and fired.

Two loud shots echoed through the forest. Mitch's bullets pierced right between the creature's eyes, causing silver blood to spray everywhere. The beast's legs went stiff, and it tripped, getting left behind in the dust, howling in pain as it did.

"Excellent, Mitch!" Pitter said as he shot the second. "That's two down, but we've got more waves coming!"

Mitch looked down the trail and saw another four tearing out from the depths. "Shit. No double tap, it seems," Mitch muttered as he took aim once more.

 

Over in the second wagon--

"Oh my gosh! Mei! They're shooting at something!" Kia cried.

"Hey, you! Peter--"

"My name's Paulie."

"Yeah, yeah, what's going on!?" Mei yelled.

"Paulie looked back at the path. "Some creepy shit's coming for the wagons--"

"Paulie! Keep your head within the wagon!" Lorio yelled. "You want to get it lopped off or something?!"

"Ack--right! Sorry!" Paulie said, ill at the thought.

Jackson looked around and then at the treetops. "The whole forest--it feels so different. Like it's alive--"

"Oh my gosh!" Kia said, slapping Jackson's back. "Stop saying such creepy things!"

"Oh, uh, sorry--"

"Hey!" Mei barked. "Stop scaring Kia!"

"Uhh," Jackson said, going paler. "I think you're the scarier one."

"What'd you say?!"

"Stop fighting!" Lorio yelled from the other wagon. 

"Oh my gosh, guys!" Kia blurted out. She scrambled to the wagon's edge and stared into the forest intensely. "Look, look, there are blinking eyes! They're, like, hiding in the woods!"

Suddenly, Paulie, Jackson, and Mei all poked their heads out over the edges.

There, in the shadows cast by the trees, were dozens of pairs of glowing silver eyes.

Kia and Mei's mouths had dropped while Paulie was raising a brow. "What the--"

"People! Pull your heads back in!" Lorio yelled, fed up. 

The idiots ahead of him scrambled away from the edge, apologetic.

"Holy shit--do you people not understand what's going on here?! Just keep your hands and heads inside the ride at all times!"

Lorio's voice echoed up to the first wagon carrying Mister Tolk and the rest.

"Something going on? I heard something about eyes?" Mister Tolk said.

Gran looked into the forest and clenched his jaw tighter. "There are silver eyes looking at us. I think there are people in those woods."

At that, the others in the first wagon who could move stared into the forest, eyes filled with curious and amazed wonder.

Mister Tolk's eyes went wide. "Silver eyes?" He groaned as he lifted his body up. "Gran. Please, help me."

"Tolk? Hey, be careful--"

"Gran! Please! I need to see! Your tenure as my research assistant begins now, lad!"

Gran gulped and helped Mister Tolk sit up. The moment he saw those silver eyes in the woods, his expression loosened. "A-Amazing." A mystified smile soon took hold. "They really are here..."

"Tolk?" Gran asked, utterly confused.

Before Tolk could say anything else, a shrill shriek erupted from the second wagon, followed by Kia and Paulie's panicked voices.

"Mei! No, get off her, you bad bird!"

"Shit! Where'd this thing come from?! Jackson, give me a hand!"

Lorio roared at the top of his lungs, unable to do anything but steer and watch the chaos unfolding in the wagon ahead. "You guys! You've got to get that thing off her right now! Hurry!"

Paulie lunged for the large black bird flapping wildly against Mei's face while Kia tried and failed to grab its legs. Mei's cries and screams were muffled as her limbs flailed about.

"Quickly, you idiots!" Lorio yelled.

"Oh my gosh, we're trying!" Kia screamed back. She struggled with the bird's slippery wings while Paulie kept struggling with the bird itself.

"Damn, why is it so stubborn?!" Paulie yelled while Jackson pulled at the bird and plucked feathers.

One of the hooded teenagers got onto his knees. "Move!" he yelled as he pulled out a pocket knife and jabbed the flailing bird between its wing and body.

It let out a long screech, its head pointed skyward, its pus-filled, milky eyes on full display.

"Eewwww!" Kia cried.

"Ack-god!" Paulie said, falling backward. "I'm gonna vomit!"

The teenager grabbed the bird by its neck and jabbed it repeatedly, desperately intent on not puncturing the eye. Jackson grabbed the bird's body the moment he noticed it went limp and threw it off the wagon quickly.

"Good job, boys!" Lorio yelled, Ryza white as a ghost next to him. "Check on the girl!"

Kia was already on it, cradling Mei's head. "Mei! Mei, are you okay?"

Paulie turned Mei's head to the side, and the blood started pouring from her mouth as she coughed. "The bloody bird messed her up good!"

Mei's face was a gruesome sight, with numerous cuts and thin black barbs protruding from her skin. Her tongue had been pecked at like it was a worm hiding in the soil, and her eye like it was a berry hiding in a hole. That area around her right eye was so bloody the poor girl couldn't open it anymore.

Paulie looked back at Lorio. "She has so many things sticking out of her face, Lorio! What should we do?!"

"Pull the barbs out quickly! We'll disinfect the wounds when we're back!" he screamed over to bangs and barks.

Ryza pulled Lorio's shoulder and made him look her in the eye. "Hey! What was with that!? Your boys were talking like the dogs were the only thing we had to worry about. Why didn't you warn us to watch out for birds?"

Lorio wore an annoyed look. "Because I didn't think someone was going to get dive-bombed by those things! There weren't supposed to be birds here today!"

Ryza recoiled. "Birds weren't 'supposed' to be in a FOREST?! Are you mad--"

"Yes! I am! I'm driven mad every day, in fact! Look around! Hairless mutts that don't stay down, mist that moves like it's alive, shit watching us from where we can just barely make them out, and blasted, bloody birds that dive-bomb kids on bad days! This is what madness looks like! Welcome to your new mad life!"

Lorio wrestled his shoulder from Ryza's grip and snapped on the horse's reins, urging them to speed up. "Gunner trio! Don't let me down! Pitter, keep an eye on birds from above too! Someone neglected to tell us that they screwed us over!"

"Aye!" Pitter yelled back.

He and Rigs shot at another two hounds that had gotten too close to their wagon.

"We're almost out of the forest!" Rigs yelled. "Mitch, don't worry about birds! Just keep shooting--oh, shit!"

Mitch looked further down the path. The crazy beasts were one thing, but he never expected what had appeared and was gaining on them.

"Is that... Is that some kind of freaky guy riding the freaky dog?!"