A World in Ruin

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

            I awake to a rustling in the bushes.  My eyes shoot open as I get up into a crouch so I am still hidden.  I poke my face through the bushes and look around.  There is nothing there.

            I roll my eyes and I am about to lie back down when the rustling happens again.

"It must be an animal," I sigh to myself.

            A deep throaty growl echoes through the night and shakes the ground.  I can hear my breathing becoming heavier as I silently stand to warn Tara and Dustin.  When I am firmly on my feet I can see Tara and Dustin creeping over to me, I guess they heard it too.

"What was that?" Tara whispers once we all reach each other, fear clearly showing in her voice.

"I don't know."

            Right as I speak the growl sounds again, but this time it sounds closer.  The bushes to my far right shake as something jumps out.  I can hear Tara scream to my left and before I can think I am grabbing them and running.

"Run!" I yell at them.

            We sprint away from the creature and into the darkness of the woods.  I feel tree branches scratching and whipping against my face as I run for my life.  I can hear Dustin and Tara panting behind me as we run faster and faster.

            I feel the force of something on my arm and I am spun around.

"Climb a tree!" Dustin yells to me.

            I look behind him and see the dark shadow moving closer and closer.  I quickly climb the tree while Dustin climbs around the other side.

"Tara!" I yell, "Where is Tara?!"

            I look back to the ground and see Tara climbing our tree.  The creature is gaining on her as I scream for her to hurry.  Her right foot slips on the trunk and I grab her arm before she can fall.  The creature jumps up and claws her leg.  Tara releases an ear-shattering scream that shakes my whole body.

"Dustin!" I scream.

            He climbs over to me and throws a spear into the creature's side.  It falls down hard but instantly gets back up. 

            I hoist Tara up into the tree and look at her leg.  There are deep gashes along her calf that are bleeding profusely.  I rip off a piece of my shirt and tightly tie it around her leg.

"Put pressure on it," I say.

            She bites her lip hard and nods her head.  She winces as she pushes hard against her calf and she lets out a soft whimper.

            I look down at the creature that is pacing below us and finally get a good look at it.  It is the most disturbing thing I have ever seen. 

          It looks like some sort of mutated human.  Its face is so distorted that only the nose, eyes, and lips are the clearly visible human parts.  His eyes are bright yellow and they shine in the moonlight.  Its lips are curled back into a snarl showing its razor sharp teeth that look like they have been filed into little knives.  Its body is hunched over so it runs like an animal.  The spine of the creature is curved in a disturbing arch as it walks around on its hands and feet. 

          Its hands and feet are far from human though.  Instead they look like lions claws instead of fingers coming out of its hands and feet.  As it walks around, its sharp claws leave deep gashes in the dirt below us.