Chapter 17: Switchback

CHAPTER 17: SWITCHBACK

Yupp, that is not happening. Staying as still as possible, I motion for the others to do the same. My eyes linger on the girthy trunk, bright green vegetation and dark oak wood. Time seems to drag on while the massive living tree passes beyond us. We breathe a collective sigh of relief and huddle close as the thumps slowly fade into the distance.

A shroud of darkness quickly settles over the forest floor leaving us clinging to each other as night truly sets in. Mike may have slept soundly and Cody got some rest, but John and I tensed at every distant sound. Eyelids twitching I look into John’s bloodshot eyes in the morning light and nod. Without so much as a whisper, John and I wake Mike and Cody, hand out food, and lead them opposite the direction of the tree ent.

We follow the passage left towards the ridge line that we lost sometime yesterday. Big Mike walks with his axe over his shoulders, and if it wasn’t for the quietness of the group I’d swear he’d be whistling. Cody walks ahead, eyes always watching the depths of the forest while he steps near silently along the greenway. John's stumbling form straggles along and I force myself to keep an eye on him. My body isn’t nearly as bad, yet I feel both sluggish and drained.

As we March on, John and I keep an eye out to gather some additional plants. He even found some wild leaks in a small indent in the forest floor. Well, he thinks they're leaks. I internally shrug. As long as they're not poisonous I’ll take a change of diet. My only complaint about gathering things is the feeling of being watched.

Ever since the long night, a sensation lingers on the back of my neck. Like I’m alone in the dark and something lies at the edge of my perception. I’m not the only one on edge, Cody’s lead on the group has shrunk and his eyes dart between the trees. John and Mike both seem to be spared from our paranoia, the first being too tired to put energy anywhere else and the latter still walking without a care in the world.

The morning proves slow and steady under the feeling but soon we stop for lunch.

As food is passed out I can't help but stay distracted, a burning itch spreads into my bones and my gut twists without obvious cause. Even as I chew the meat I keep my bow steady in my off hand. The second we start moving again the pressure eases but doesn’t abate.

The day continues uneventfully and I find myself wondering if I’m just that spooked from the tree ent. Sure, it was blatantly magical and fucking massive, but am I really that freaked out about it? I take a couple deep breaths and try to empty my mind in an attempt to calm myself down. I fail to completely silence my thoughts but as afternoon turns to evening I finally feel the tension snap.

It's in that calm that I heard it. A sound. Nearby shuffling. John’s face flashes in sudden worry, “What’s going on?” Cody and I both have our bows drawn pointing in different directions. Vegetation moves and leaves shudder. The sound shifts, and I focus. Packs drop behind me but I don’t dare look away from the forest edge. A flash. I loose. My arrow flies into the foliage near a massive trunk.

A thrumming roar echoes out, the sound resonates like a signal. Within moments, I’m already releasing a second arrow as a massive form leaps from the hillside. A flash of grey-brown fur and an elongated body passes before my eyes as a third arrow slams on target. Moving faster than any animal I’ve ever seen, a giant wolf pounds its legs into the ground before me. With a sideways leap and a fourth arrow I dodge the incoming mass and roll into a crouch. John is almost bowled over by the beast but I hold its attention.

The wolf stands taller than me on all fours, it’s fangs the size of my forearms, and it's dark eyes watch in a predatory focus. Three of my arrows are plunged deep into its body. The wolf presses its form low to the ground with its head tilted up. It watches me as I hold my bow taut, both waiting for a chance.

I catch glimpses of Mike and Cody splitting the focus of another wolf in the distance. John is looking around, seemingly lost in the midst of the sudden combat. My voice vibrates in my chest but before I get a chance to call out to him the wolf makes its move.

I’ve just gotta hold on, I think as the several hundred pound beast leaps from its spot towards me. The second it’s airborne I let loose my readied arrow and dodge to the left. It’s tumbling after me, massive paws scrabbling at the dirt beneath, as I scramble to stand. I dive face first towards the belly of the beast. Barely making the distance as the monster tramples over me. The wolf’s paws smack into my shoulder and slams into my hips as it races over my body.

I struggle to my feet and toss my bow aside as the wolf lets out a fearsome roar. Ripping my spear from my backpack I brace and find John slamming his down in concert next to me. The wolf leaps, we crouch down and pull at the spear. A massive weight crushes down on us and a whimper escapes the monster's throat.

A rush of copper fills my nostrils as a warm sensation flows down my body. My aching shoulder and hip cry out as the wolf’s gigantic form presses down on me. I’m already reaching for my knife when I realize the wolf isn’t moving. I glance towards the others and see the two just finishing up with their own work.

With considerable effort between John and I, I’m freed from the clutches of the wolf’s inanimate form. “Never thought I’d get trapped under a massive fucking wolf,” I grimace, while fetching my mostly intact backpack and scattered arrows.

“That was incredible to watch. Before I even knew what was happening you and Cody had your arrows trained on them and I’m so sorry for you having to take on that thing essentially alone.” John's face morphs from a glowing excitement to a cringe as he helps me retrieve the spread out supplies.

Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

“It’s fine, let’s just pick these up and see about skinning that thing,” I shake my head at the boy as I check over my bow. Seems fine, no notches or even scratches in the wood, and the string hasn’t frayed. I set the bow down nearby with my pack, and draw my knife.

Now several tens of feet away, Cody and Mike start on their own wolf. John waves a thumbs up to them and earns one in turn. I approach my wolf and methodically remove each arrow, careful not to destroy them. I only lost one in the process and soon enough I’m having John brace the body of the wolf as I pry out the spears. It seems that both spears shattered through the sternum and pierced the major organs of the massive beast. Pulling the spears out releases copious amounts of blood, and grants me a startled yelp from the nearby orator.

With an eye roll I drop the beast and pull the boy out of the way. Then with my back pressed to its side we turn the monster onto its back. Knife in hand I slice through the thick skin from collar bone to pelvis. With a few quick cuts I separate the guts from the cavern and pile them nearby. Blood coating my new clothes I continue my work. Severing the bones in the limbs is the most difficult part but with effort and John's reticent help I pull them from their sockets. With another line down the legs I separate the bones entirely, pulling the ligaments free as I do so. Leaving the paws in the hide I pull the hide over the bottom of the wolf. Slowly working it free from the carcass.

With another heave we turn the beast over and pull the pelt to its face. With a few extra slits through the skin we finally pull it free. I set it aside and have John go over the fleshy back with my knife, making sure he has it right. Then I step back to the hunk of meat and stab deep into the roof of its mouth. I work the knife back and forth until I get good leverage on the fangs and with a solid pull I rip them clean from the body.

I place the fangs into the hide and roll it up like a sleeping bag. Using spare reeds I wrap it tight to prevent it from unspooling. “How about you carry this for me?” I ask my mild mannered helper.

“Umm sure, where do you want it?” He picks it up after pulling on his backpack.

I pull the pelt from the boy and strap it to the bottom of his backpack. The thing almost comes down to the back of his knees, but I figure he can port it around.

“Ummm…” he mumbles.

“Just like that. Come on, let’s go check on the others, it’s getting late.” I turn him towards Mike and Cody, and soon enough we’re on them. “How’s it going?” I watch as they strip sections of meat from their wolf and set it over a fire near the edge of the pass.

“Fantastic! We’re having fresh meat tonight!” Mike calls out while pressing some of the cooked meat into his mouth.

I take a handful from the man and sit down next to him, followed shortly by John. My aching hip twinges as I take a seat, but I force myself past the budding tears and dig into the delicious smelling meat. Even without spices the meat tastes like heaven. “Damn, yeah I get why you’re excited. This is way better than Kyp.”

“Mmmhmm,” he almost moans as he shovels more food down his gullet.

Cody eats quickly and efficiently, never focusing on the food for long before checking the surroundings. Between him and I watching while we eat, I finally begin to relax while John and Mike seem to have taken it a step further. John takes his time, savoring each bite while trying to keep his hands clean. Mike on the other hand chows down like its a speed eating contest. I try not to focus on him as he gorges himself.

We quickly finish eating and press on a mile or so down the road before night hits in earnest. Setting up around the roots of a tree we leaveMike and Cody on watch. With the tense day behind us I quickly drift off to sleep, John pressed up back to back with me.

As morning passes we venture on. The clearing is still going and it isn’t until around noon we come across the ridge. “Damn, that’s something,” Big Mike says as we look out over the cliff side.

The pass doesn’t just end at the ridge, but morphs into a switchback running down the face of the cliff. There seems to be sections to stop at at each end and a small platform in the center of each section. At least the top couple we can see from here. My eyes following the ridge line I see a forested slope. Passing down, sidestepping the cliff face entirely, maybe another ten miles out.

“There’s no way this is natural,” I let out, earning nods all around. With a heavy breath I ask the question, “Do we take the obvious path down or venture deeper into the woods and try to side step it?”

“Down,”-“Down,” Big Mike and John pipe up immediately, the latter motioning forward as he does so.

“Cody?” I glance at the lithe dark skinned man.

With a shrug in response he signals us to follow and soon we’re winding our way down. The path is long on each switch and barely has a gradient. I wonder if whomever made this was transporting something. The path is only about half the width of the clearing above, but has space for a car to pass smoothly. The switches themselves each have a small cave dug into the wall, seemingly where people would camp out.

We trudge along, each switchback faster than the previous and by evening we’re halfway down. In the distance, giant flying creatures swarm. We watch as a few of the smaller ones tear a large one apart. They snap up what meat they can before letting the body drop.

One lets out an ear piercing shriek as its eyes settle on our small expedition. The flock turns, the flying dinosaurs flapping their massive wings.

“Run?” John’s voice squeaks as the pterodactyl looking monsters swarm towards us.

“Run.” I nod and the four of us take off, sprinting for the next switch.

We barely make it a hundred feet before the flock is upon us. Each monstrosity is at least person sized. I push John out of the way as one’s talons snatch at him. Another dives down, claws slashing across my arm as I’m in turn yanked by Mike. Watcher is leading the charge, the man dodging each swipe, until a wing smacks into his lower back. He flies forward, turning the momentum into a roll and pushing back into an uneasy sprint.

Mike picks John up, ducking under the jaw of another passing beast. With a moment of reprieve we continue our sprint. Coming up on the cave, the flock comes in for another dive. I slam my body into the cliff face, as one of the monsters bounces off the ground.

I feel a tug and glance up. I’ve been grabbed. A few feet from the ground, I grab my knife and stab it into its foot. A high pitch scream like the sound metal shearing against itself echoes as I’m thrust to the ground. I land hard on my knees, my shoulder dripping blood from the talons. I push myself up, and barely make it to the cave entrance as the flock comes by for another pass.

Throwing myself into the cavern, I’m dragged back by John and Cody. I force myself to look at the opening, I see a haggard Mike push a boulder into the entranceway. His large form heaves the massive rock and forces it into place as a makeshift door.

-chapter break-