Griffin Rock's Secret: A Cody Burns Fanfiction

Chapter 9

     The rope scratched against the back of Cody's neck as he hung suspended from a tree branch. His arms were pinned to his torso, and his legs dangled a few feet from the ground. Cody could feel the phone pressed against his stomach inside his jacket, but he couldn't move, so the phone was simply there to taunt him. The man Quarry had bound him tightly, though Cody had given him a solid kick in the chest as he did so.

     The robot tiki faces had flown off in different directions, and Cody could only assume that they had been ordered to find the creature. He didn't know where Quarry was, but Cody was sure he was nearby. He squirmed in the bindings, but they were tight and firm. He spun a little to the right as the rope creaked from the movement. The sun was hitting Cody directly in the face now, and he squinted at the bright afternoon light.

     A large slab of raw meat lay on a large rock underneath Cody in the small clearing that he was hanging in. The tree branch the was supporting the rope bent slightly, and he stiffened instinctually. The cloth around his face tickled his nose, and he felt the tingle of an itch start to form. The gag was annoying and really unnecessary, because no one was going to hear him in the middle of the forest. He swung a little bit as he shifted in the bindings.

     He missed his family. He really hoped that they would be able to figure out he was missing by now, and be able to find him soon. Sure, they fought a bit, but he knew they cared for him. The smell of sulfur lingered in the breeze that blew in.

     Sulfer? Cody wondered where the smell of sulfer was coming from. A growling sound came from somewhere just beyond the clearing, and everything clicked in Cody's mind.

     The creature stepped out from the trees, its massive build weaving through the small foliage towards the rock beneath Cody. Its tail whipped back and forth as it spotted the meat, and it was close enough that he could see saliva dripping from its fanged mouth. The smell of sulfer emitted from its mouth as the creature snatched the meat in one lightning fast motion and gulped the slab down.

     The tree branch bent and creaked dangerously as Cody closed his eyes, emitting a muffled whimper as the creature pulled on the rope. He could hear the bellow-like breathing, could feel the hot breath on his face, could feel his heart slamming into his chest from fear. Then, just as Cody thought he was about to die, the rope was cut loose, and he hit the ground with a thud. Simultaneously, the creature let out a roar as the sound of a gun fired.

     Cody's eyes flew open, the creature staggering with a large tranquilizer dart in its neck. Its fire-like eyes were wide and Cody could see his scared reflection in them. Quint Quarry stepped out from behind a bush, the tiki robots following. The four robots surrounded the creature, then formed a large force field around it. The dart was still in the creature's neck, and as it floated in the bubble, it's eyes closed. Quarry laughed.

     "Now that's a catch if I've ever done one!" He turned to Cody, who was still lying on the ground in shock. "Now, what to do with you?"

     He walked over to Cody, but as he bent down to grab ahold of the boy, a searing heat washed over both of them, causing Quarry to back away, and Cody to snap back into reality. The creature was snarling sluggishly, free of the dome, the robots lying partially melted on the ground. The matted fur was partly burnt, and gave off a sickly sort of smell, but the sulfer smell and fireball that exploded near the two caused them both to get into action.

     Cody tore of the gag and took off running blindly into the woods. Another fireball, much smaller this time, whizzed past his head, and he yelped in surprise, a tree igniting as he ran by. Adrenaline was on an all time high, and Cody raced through the trees, the late afternoon light guiding his path. He couldn't hear much over the pounding heart in his ears and his gasping breaths as he ran blindly for his life.

     A rough hand grabbed at his shoulder, knocking Cody off balance. He stumbled, tripped, and fell, ripping a hole in his pant's knee and a sharp stick stabbed into his right hand, which started bleeding. He tried to get up and run, but Quarry slung an arm around Cody's chest, pinning the child to himself, who screamed again.

     "Guess we'll just have to try again, aren't we?" Quarry growled between grunts and he hoisted a squirming Cody off the ground.

     "Lemme go!" Cody yelped, twisting and bucking in the stronger man's grip. He managed to get an arm loose and elbowed Quarry hard in the nose. There was a loud "argh!" from Quarry as he released the boy to grab his nose. Cody fell into the dirt, picked himself up, and ran deeper into the trees. He plunged his hand into his jacket pocket and felt the phone still sitting in the pocket. His right hand was stinging badly as he gripped the phone in it.

     He splashed through a stream, soaking himself from the waist down. As he sprinted under a stone cliff, Cody tripped over a rock as he looked behind himself, trying to see if Quarry was still following him. He hit the ground, rolled under a bush and lay there, quietly gasping for air. His chest was burning, and his sides were cramping from the panicked run. His knee stung, but as he pulled out his phone, he saw that his right hand was bleeding badly. His cargo pants were dirty and torn, his boots caked in mud, and his face was dirty and scratched in the reflection of his phone.

     Cody turned on his phone and looked at the battery. 2%. He gave a groan, fatigue setting in as his adrenaline started wearing off. He stood up, put the slightly bloody phone in his pocket, and started walking, unsure of where he was heading. Quarry still hadn't shown any signs of following him, which was starting to set the boy on edge.

     As Cody started to turn a corner near a cliff, he heard heavy footsteps from the other side. In a panic, he turned around and started to run. A hand landed on his shoulder, and he yelled out in fear.

     "No! Let me go!" Cody screamed, his voice failing at the end. The hand pulled Cody around so he was forced to turn around and look into a familiar face.

     "Cody, it's me, son. You're safe, no one's here to hurt you," Chief Burns pulled his shaken, injured son to him, letting his own tears fall as he held his son. Cody froze as he heard his dad's kind voice. His body was exhausted, but that didn't matter as he fervently hugged his father. He was so relieved to be safe at last with his dad that he didn't realize Chase leaning over him.

     "Cody, your hair is burnt. What happened?" The police bot asked, carefully outlining a line on the left side of Cody's hair. Chief Burns took a look at the line, then pressed the com link.

     "I've got Cody. I want everyone to meet me at the firehouse. Dani, get the medical stuff ready. Cody needs some patching up." The chief looked at Chase. "Can you drive through here to the main road?" Chase nodded and transformed in the police car. Chief helped Cody inside, then jogged around to the driver's side. He got in, and Chase started off for the firehouse.