They turned in unison and broke into a run, back into the thicker forest, scurrying around a huge tree. The three huge animals yelped their strange barks in response, and Tick could hear the heavy thumps of their footfalls in pursuit.
Sofia pushed into the lead, throwing herself forward through a tangled knot of bushes between two trees. Paul followed her, then Tick. He turned his head to see the first animal barrel around the wide trunk of the oak, slipping in the leaves as it tried to get its footing. Its yellow eyes flared, like two small suns buried in the dark red glow of its huge body.
Tick looked away, throwing his strength into his legs, running, ignoring the branches ripping at his clothes and skin. “Go, go, go!” he shouted.
They tore through the forest, Sofia dodging and sidestepping, finding the best route, slowly making her way in a wide arc to the left, back toward the city. Paul lumbered as he ran, gripping his hurt arm, leaning forward at a dangerous angle as he pushed ahead. Tick took up the rear, knowing the enormous monsters at his back could rip him to pieces at any second. He could hear their breath, their pounding footsteps, their steady growls.
More sounds entered the fray, crashing and breaking all around them, louder and closer than before. Tick didn’t dare look, but it sounded like entire trees had been snapped in two. The ground trembled, as if dozens of the creatures had showed up to join the hunt, flanking them, surrounding them—jumping through the branches above them.
“Faster!” he yelled.
The trees thinned again, signs of the city ahead jumping into view. They were only a few seconds from breaking through the forest edge and into the street. Tick suspected something prevented the glowing creatures from entering the town—he had no idea what, but he didn’t care; they were almost safe.
They ran on, the deafening cacophony of sounds filling the air like a sonic whirlwind. Splitting wood, cracking, breaking, crashing. The roars and screams of the creatures pursuing them. The thumps of their footsteps. Above it all, a steady rumble shook the ground, as if lightning had struck nearby, thunder splintering the world around them. Tick didn’t understand what was happening. Doubt filled him; how had they made it; how had they outrun the beasts?
Sofia broke past the last line of trees, Paul and Tick close behind. They didn’t slow or look back, running at a full sprint until they had reached the far side of the wide road encircling the city. Once there, panting and heaving for breaths, hands on knees, Tick turned to make sure they were safe.
Despite his exhaustion, despite his racing heart, despite his need to suck in as much air as possible, his breath caught in his throat. He straightened, eyes widening.
“What . . . the . . .” Paul managed between gasps of air. “What . . . how . . .”
Across the street, past the narrow area of small trees leading to the thicker forest from which they’d just escaped, a huge bulk of mangled wood rose toward the sky, dozens of feet high, countless trees smashed into a coiled mass. It looked like a large section of the woods had been liquefied and squeezed together, twisted together, then frozen into a hideous swirl of matter. In several spots, some of the creatures that had chased them were trapped in the wall of wood, as if they’d been sealed in hardened tar right before escaping. One of the animals’ legs twitched.
It was just like what they’d seen in the woods by Tick’s home, right after the bizarre attack from Mr. Chu, when a deer had been trapped in the strangled structure of entwined trees.
Tick’s mind emptied, void of thoughts. The two incidents had to be connected, but not even a hint of understanding cowered in the darkness of his head. Confused, he thought it must have something to do with Reginald Chu. Breathing heavily, relieved but uneasy, he turned away from the ugliness in the forest and looked at his friends.
“Someone please tell me what just happened,” Paul said, his eyes still glued to the massive lump across the street.
“Wish I could,” Tick said.
“We have the weirdest lives in the universe,” Sofia said.
Paul finally broke his gaze, lifting his broken arm a few inches, testing his injury. With a wince, he lowered his elbow back into the cradle of his other arm. “I’ve gotta get to a hospital.”
“We don’t have time,” Sofia said.
Paul let out a bitter laugh, but didn’t say anything.
“What do you mean?” Tick said. “We have to find him a doctor.”
Sofia pointed to her watch. “It’s already four-thirty. We only have thirty minutes left.”
“But—”
“Tick,” Paul cut in.