13

32. Locket

"We need to get out of here right now." Nina hurried in the cave, out of breath. Her clothes are soaked from the rain, water drips from her hair, and mud stains her pants and feet. "I ended up walking a little farther to the north and I heard hybrids from far away. I didn't realize how far I could hear with this hybrid super hearing thing." Idris and I stood up and gathered all of our belongings right away. "I ran as fast as I can here but I know it won't be long until they get here so we need to hurry. We can't go north because that's where they're coming from."

No questions and protests. Nina led the way as we all rushed out of the cave. It's still pouring rain and there are lightning flashing in the night sky, but we have no choice but to keep going. At the sound of thunder, I glanced at Idris, who's running ahead of me, right after Nina. He didn't stop running, but I could see that he was trying his best to ignore it.

Trees after trees, we sprinted through the woods, not knowing where to stop. After going four miles, that's when I started hearing barks. I had forgotten to kill the fire at the cave, and no doubt those creatures are great at tracking us, so it wasn't a surprise that they caught up so easily.

"This way!" Nina exclaimed, turning to her right. At every turn we made, the barks were starting to sound more clear and louder, meaning they are not too far away from us. At least, a mile or two away. Nina continued to make some twists and turns, attempting to lose the hybrids on our tail, but then suddenly she made an abrupt stop. "Shit."

Idris, Nina, and I observed the thin hanging bridge made of wood. Beneath the bridge is a river, looking different from the first one that we saw. This one is wider and it looks to be much deeper. The distance from the bridge to the river is way too big that I don't even want to think about it.

"Go! Go! Go!" I urged the two as my eyes caught one white furred wolf coming towards us.

Nina quickly but carefully began to cross the bridge, and Idris followed not too far behind. Meanwhile, I decided to buy them time and face the pack of hybrids that are coming for us. There are three of them. Backing one step, I pointed the iron spear towards the hybrid closest to me while my other hand reaches inside my backpack for a truxol.

One hybrid made the first move to jump on me, causing me to act on instinct and stab it with the tip of the spear. Though as I did, the other two wolves tackled me down, landing my back at the base of the wooden bridge. Because my backpack was open, a few truxols and syringes had fallen out, and the iron spear is stuck on the other hybrid, leaving me weaponless. Not defenseless. I kicked the hybrid that was about to bite my leg, causing it to slip from the railing and fall off the bridge. I didn't waste time watching the wolf hit the river as I turned to the other hybrid. However, the hybrid's focus was no longer at me, but at Idris and Nina.

"Move!" I screamed for them to hurry up while reaching for a tranquilizer from the backpack. "Hurry!" For the short second that I looked away from them, I heard the sound of a wood snapping and a loud scream that can be heard from miles away. Looking up in panic, I saw pieces of wood falling from the bridge, and Nina desperately clinging onto Idris' hand to stop her from falling.

As Idris began to pull her up, the hybrid behind them growled and darted towards them. I jumped after the hybrid as fast as I could, gripping on a syringe full of tranquilizer. Just as the needle pierced through one of the wolf's leg and the hybrid's aggressive posture died down, I heard more pieces of wood from the platform breaking apart. Before I could scream for Idris and Nina to run, the hybrid in front of me suddenly fell downwards, just as the woods that he's standing on had snapped in half. The same thing happened to where Idris was standing: the wood beneath him broke in half.

"NO!"

I watched as Idris and Nina fell from the disintegrating bridge, landing hard on the river below. "Fuck." They have to be alive. They have to survive that. They can't not make it out. It was just a fall. The waterfall that Idris and I jumped from Hunters Hollow was higher and he survived. He'll be okay. They'll be okay.