“Thanks for your concern, as usual,” Paul replied, his voice strained. “Let me break your arm—see how you like it.”
Sofia huffed. “I was in the train too.” She held up her hands, shook them. “Don’t see anything wrong here, do you?”
“It’s gotta be up there somewhere,” Tick cut in, trying to prevent an all-out war between his two friends. “Just keep walking.”
They did. Over huge roots, under branches as thick as three men, through thorn-spiked bushes, past swampy pools of sludge. Scraped and bruised, Tick felt his thin hopes vanishing altogether as trees gave way to nothing but more trees. The forest thickened; the animal hoots and howls increased in volume; the air darkened with shadows. Nothing gave the slightest hint they were approaching a city or any kind of civilization whatsoever.
All the while, Paul’s grunts and groans made life miserable for everyone—worrying about his condition seemed almost as bad as being in the condition itself.
“Hey, something’s up there!” Sofia shouted.
Tick stumbled on a rock hidden under a pile of wet, clumpy leaves. They’d gone so long without anyone speaking that Sofia’s words startled him. He grabbed a thick vine, which saved him from hitting the ground, but rubbed a nasty sore spot on his palm as it slid through his fingers.
“What?” Paul asked through a tight breath, the one word taking all his effort.
“A light,” Sofia answered, pointing, then moving in that direction, just slightly off the course they’d been following. “It’s definitely a light—a couple of them. I think it’s a building!”
Tick’s heart soared, his weary pessimism from just seconds earlier vanishing. “Let’s go!” he shouted, rather pointlessly. Even Paul’s step quickened with renewed strength.
The three of them slipped past a thick wall of foliage and rounded a huge oak. Ahead of them, the trees thinned and signs of Circle City were everywhere. Tick could even see a couple of people walking along the great round road bordering the town.
“We did it!” Sofia said, then stepped forward, ready to start running. But something crashed down from the branches above, landing right in front of her. Sofia shrieked and jumped back, almost knocking Paul to the ground.
Tick stared ahead, his mind battling between fear and curiosity.
A thick, heavily furred animal crouched before them on all four legs, its slimy nostrils sniffing as it bared a mouth full of white fangs. Its body resembled a bear, but its face looked more like a wolf’s, yellow eyes glaring from a narrow, elongated face. Drool dripped from its jaws and teeth; a low growl rumbled deep within its chest.
But what caught Tick’s attention was how the creature glowed—a deep, eerie red that rippled along its fur like small waves on a pond. Each strand of hair shined, as if optical fibers charged with pulsing lava sprouted from the creature’s skin.
“The glowing monkeys,” Tick whispered.
“Radioactive demon bears,” Paul replied, a little louder.
The animal took a step forward, its eyes focusing on Paul, then Sofia, then Tick. Its nonstop growl gurgled and grew louder; its mouth opened wider. The thing seemed to have a hundred teeth, all sharp and pointy.
Tick yelped when something crashed to the ground to the right of the animal, then another to its left. Two more creatures, looking as vicious and hungry as the first. But they all stayed where they’d landed, studying the three humans.
“What do we do?” Tick asked, not caring how shaky his voice sounded.
“If we run, they might pounce on us,” Sofia said.
Paul didn’t say anything, cradling his swollen arm, his tight face drenched in sweat.
“If we don’t run, they might pounce on us,” Tick replied.
The lead creature barked, a loud yelp that rang through the air like the sickening, desperate plea of an injured dog. In the distance, something called back, then another, then another—eerie, ringing wails echoing through the thick forest.
How smart are these things? Tick wondered as he felt his brief spurt of curiosity quickly igniting into all-out panic. There was nothing they could do—nothing!
Creaking and crashing sounded from behind them, twigs and branches breaking, leaves and foliage swishing as large things moved closer. More of the creatures.
“We have to do something,” Tick said, not bothering to whisper anymore. “Before we’re surrounded.”
“Turn and run,” Paul grunted.
“Can you do it?” Sofia asked.
“Got to,” he replied.
“On the count of three,” Tick said, “turn and go in a wide circle to the left. Head back around toward the city.”
Sofia shook her head. “Maybe we should split up.”
“No!” Tick said, surprised at how quickly the word came out. “On the count of three, together.”
“Fine, to the left.”
Heat surged through Tick’s veins, his heart skittering. “One . . . two . . .”
“Three!” Paul screamed.