The Gift of Chaos

14 - Retreat and regroup

It was almost dark when we came near the village, but it hadn't started snowing again. There no sound except for our footsteps crushing the snow. It was so quiet it made me queasy (though my hunger was probably the real reason for that). I glanced at my watch. We'd walked over two hours. I hadn't realised we'd been quite that far, last night... though I'd been busy carrying Lucas to safety, so I hadn't really checked my watch. I had to admit I was glad the path was there to guide me, otherwise I was almost certain I'd have ended up losing us in the woods. Of course, the slow pace we'd been going at was probably also to blame. I didn't mention that to Luke, of course.

As we came closer, I kept listening for sounds of growling or other monstrous noises. I couldn't hear any yet, but I didn't trust it. We hadn't crossed anyone all day. I hoped that was a good sign... I bit my lip. I couldn't believe I'd left them all behind...

I kept an eye open for anything I could use as a weapon. Eventually, I found a large stick, which I gripped firmly as we walked.

"You okay, Luke?" I asked, trying not to sound as winded as I was.

"Yes," he said breathlessly.

I glanced sideways at him. His face was drenched in sweat and he was alarmingly pale. I would have offered to carry him, if I hadn't been about to pass out myself. We had to find some food and rest, soon. There wasn't a soul in sight. The village was probably empty, or close enough, but we had to see what was going on. I was torn between leaving Lucas in a hiding place by himself and keeping him close to protect him if needed. The only problem was if we had to run, he wouldn't be in any condition to do that...

No running, then... I decided. I'll just have to protect him the best I can.

We were just entering the village when a loud growling sound made me leap in front of Luke, an arm holding him, the other raising the stick. It came again, but no sound of movement... I looked around, I clapped my free hand to my mouth to stop myself screaming. It was a miracle I managed to keep hold of my makeshift mass. There, sprawled across the floor in an alley, was an Iceman. He was snoring loudly.

I blinked. I hadn't even thought about whether they slept or not when I'd created them. I could feel Lucas shiver behind me. Before making a single step further, I took a look at the streets. Two Treefots were lying in a corner to the far left, another about ten feet closer to us on the right. About half a dozen Reinbulls had flocked together by the fountain in the main square. The pounding in my ears was so loud it almost covered the sound of the snoring.

"Come on..." I whispered to Lucas.

We carefully stepped past the Iceman. Once we were at a reasonable distance, I paused, trying to decide what to do. In every direction I looked there were monsters. And if we woke even one of them... I didn't even want to think about it. I shuddered.

"Riley!" Lucas hissed behind me.

I turned to Lucas.

"What?"

But he shook his head.

"It wasn't me." he whispered.

I frowned. There was no one here... it had to be Lucas...

"Riley!" The voice hissed again. "Over here!"

Now that I listened, the voice was deeper. I hadn't noticed the first time because it had been a whisper. So there really was someone else... someone who knew us, it seemed. I looked around for any sign of movement. Turning to the right, I gasped.

"Scott!"

Sure enough, there he was. He had opened a window in a house near them and was looking out at us. He had done it so quietly I hadn't heard it. Or maybe that was because of the snoring. Probably the snoring.

Relief washing over me, I ran across the street and flung my arms around him, ignoring the cold stone wall blocking the lower half of my body. Luke followed me more slowly.

"At last!" he said, hugging me tightly. "I was so worried about you two!"

I pulled away and looked him over. He didn't look hurt.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked quietly.

The twins had peaked their heads out the window next to their brother. They were uninjured as far as I could tell, but they looked tiny with their wide eyes and chalk white faces.

"We're fine. The girls are a bit shaken, and we have an unexpected guest, but we'll be all right."

He gestured to a little boy I hadn't noticed. He was younger than Lucas, it appeared, and had darker hair. He was curled up in a corner, his arms wrapped around his knees.

"How about you?" Scott asked.

I glanced over my shoulder at Lucas. He was breathing rather heavily, and he was still very pale and sweaty. He needed food, and fast. He was probably famished.

"Lucas has a broken leg, but other than that, we're okay." I said.

"You spent the night outside in this weather?!" He asked in alarm.

"No, we found the fishing cabin and took shelter there," I explained. "Any idea what these things want?" I asked, glancing over at the monsters sleeping in the street.

"None," Scott answered quietly. "they're not exactly talkative."

I then realised Scott was still holding my hands. We looked at each other for a long moment.

"Oh, uh, you must be starving!" he said, releasing my hands. "Here... it's not much, but..."

He handed us a few granola bars and a bottle of water.

"Thanks," I said earnestly, immediately handing two of the three to Lucas after unwrapping them for him. He immediately bit into them. It was hardly a meal, but it was better than nothing at all. I pulled the paper off mine and tore off a piece which I popped into my mouth.

"Why d'you come back?"

"Well, we couldn't very well leave you!" I whispered. "Did you manage to call for help?"

Scott shook his head with a sigh.

"No, the lines are dead and there's no reception. I imagine our new friends are the ones responsible. Where d'you reckon they come from, anyway?"

"Uh... about that," I began, flushing suddenly. "Well... I think-"

Before I could finish, however, a loud sneeze made us all stop dead. Scott and I exchanged a panicked look. And as we'd feared, there was a deep groan just a moment later, and the Iceman opened its big, blank eyes.