Read Online Out of the Shadows by Timothy Boyd - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Timothy Boyd
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to the fallen child, the spider beast quickly gaining on us. As I reached down to help her up, I fired multiple shots into the fiery mandible of the hulking arachnid. It howled and stumbled backward.
I lifted Mary from the ground, and she clung fiercely to me, wrapping her arms forcefully around my neck. I kept one arm around her, and I ran, trying desperately to pick up lost time.
I didn’t know how much farther I could go. I was no longer in the shape I had been in when I was an active-duty police officer, and I’d recently abused my body with booze and sleepless nights. My lungs ached, and my heart begged for mercy.
The forest stretched on and on, a never-ending prison of exhaustion where we would be forced to run until our hearts exploded in our chests. It was all a twisted game of survival to see who would be the last to die. And I would make sure that Mary won the game.
“It’s slowing down!” the little girl exclaimed.
Glancing quickly over my shoulder, it looked as though the giant was finally beginning to succumb to the torturous fire overwhelming it. Ok, hold out a little longer, and then we’ll just have the huge blazing forest to survive , I thought, half cynically and half optimistically.
Ahead of us, Yoshi suddenly stopped moving, as if he hit some sort of wall and couldn’t go any farther. “Shit!” I heard him cry out, and I watched as his limbs struggled awkwardly to move, but he didn’t go anywhere.
And then I saw it. The strands of the vast web of filaments that were intricately woven in between the trunks of two trees. Within moments, a score of spiders descended the web that Yoshi had disturbed, and they scurried busily over his body, trying to reach an entry point. “Get out of here!” he commanded.
“Yoshi! Oh, my god!” Deb cried, her hands over her mouth in shock.
“Just go!” he pleaded with us.
Suddenly, Deb screamed in surprise, and I spun to see a single creature wearing a red evening gown bite into Mama’s fleshy arm, a stream of blood squirting from where her teeth had punctured the skin. Without thinking, I raised my gun and put a bullet through the head of the creature that had been lucky enough to escape the bar blaze. Mary clutched tighter to my neck, trying to block out the chaos around her.
Everything was silent for just a moment as the three of us exchanged knowing glances with one another, finally recognizing that it was likely none of us would survive the night.
“Deb,” Yoshi said calmly, unable to move as the mass of spiders headed toward his mouth. “Go with Nick.”
Her face was pale as she looked at the bloody wound on her arm. I reached for her shaking hand and led her along, past her lost friend. We continued on our way as the giant fire spider finally crumbled to pieces on the forest ground while the rest of them began spinning Yoshi into a preservative cocoon, saving him as a snack for later.
We fled farther into the forest, farther away from the busy spiders, farther away from the flaming inferno, and farther away from lost friends and fading memories.
* * *
When we had traveled as far as our weary feet would allow, we ended up in a decrepit neighborhood a few miles away from downtown Franklin. Having lost track of time long ago, I figured we had about three or four hours left of twilight before the sun would rear its ugly head and escape would become improbable. Deb was growing pale and sweaty, sickness beginning to take over. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about it, nor had Deb asked me to leave her behind. Mary was slipping in and out of sleep on my shoulder as I continued to carry her.
While we were walking, we had come across some abandoned cars. One had had a window open. I had retrieved a T-shirt from within and had torn strips of fabric to wrap Deb’s arm. Now, the blood soaked through, and there was really nothing more to be done.
“Bear,” Deb panted, her exhaustion and infection both
I lifted Mary from the ground, and she clung fiercely to me, wrapping her arms forcefully around my neck. I kept one arm around her, and I ran, trying desperately to pick up lost time.
I didn’t know how much farther I could go. I was no longer in the shape I had been in when I was an active-duty police officer, and I’d recently abused my body with booze and sleepless nights. My lungs ached, and my heart begged for mercy.
The forest stretched on and on, a never-ending prison of exhaustion where we would be forced to run until our hearts exploded in our chests. It was all a twisted game of survival to see who would be the last to die. And I would make sure that Mary won the game.
“It’s slowing down!” the little girl exclaimed.
Glancing quickly over my shoulder, it looked as though the giant was finally beginning to succumb to the torturous fire overwhelming it. Ok, hold out a little longer, and then we’ll just have the huge blazing forest to survive , I thought, half cynically and half optimistically.
Ahead of us, Yoshi suddenly stopped moving, as if he hit some sort of wall and couldn’t go any farther. “Shit!” I heard him cry out, and I watched as his limbs struggled awkwardly to move, but he didn’t go anywhere.
And then I saw it. The strands of the vast web of filaments that were intricately woven in between the trunks of two trees. Within moments, a score of spiders descended the web that Yoshi had disturbed, and they scurried busily over his body, trying to reach an entry point. “Get out of here!” he commanded.
“Yoshi! Oh, my god!” Deb cried, her hands over her mouth in shock.
“Just go!” he pleaded with us.
Suddenly, Deb screamed in surprise, and I spun to see a single creature wearing a red evening gown bite into Mama’s fleshy arm, a stream of blood squirting from where her teeth had punctured the skin. Without thinking, I raised my gun and put a bullet through the head of the creature that had been lucky enough to escape the bar blaze. Mary clutched tighter to my neck, trying to block out the chaos around her.
Everything was silent for just a moment as the three of us exchanged knowing glances with one another, finally recognizing that it was likely none of us would survive the night.
“Deb,” Yoshi said calmly, unable to move as the mass of spiders headed toward his mouth. “Go with Nick.”
Her face was pale as she looked at the bloody wound on her arm. I reached for her shaking hand and led her along, past her lost friend. We continued on our way as the giant fire spider finally crumbled to pieces on the forest ground while the rest of them began spinning Yoshi into a preservative cocoon, saving him as a snack for later.
We fled farther into the forest, farther away from the busy spiders, farther away from the flaming inferno, and farther away from lost friends and fading memories.
* * *
When we had traveled as far as our weary feet would allow, we ended up in a decrepit neighborhood a few miles away from downtown Franklin. Having lost track of time long ago, I figured we had about three or four hours left of twilight before the sun would rear its ugly head and escape would become improbable. Deb was growing pale and sweaty, sickness beginning to take over. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do about it, nor had Deb asked me to leave her behind. Mary was slipping in and out of sleep on my shoulder as I continued to carry her.
While we were walking, we had come across some abandoned cars. One had had a window open. I had retrieved a T-shirt from within and had torn strips of fabric to wrap Deb’s arm. Now, the blood soaked through, and there was really nothing more to be done.
“Bear,” Deb panted, her exhaustion and infection both
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