"It's much easier to just live alongside it. The world is meant to be lived in, not controlled." He spoke with passion and I agreed with him. I reached across the seat and took hold of his hand. He stiffened for a moment and then relaxed, leaving our hands entwined and looked back outside.
Chapter Twenty Six
The roads continued to narrow until we were travelling down what amounted to little more than a dirt track. Eventually we reached a place where the trees were too thick to find a route through anymore and the truck rolled to a stop.
"I don't think the truck can go any further," Alicia called from the front seat.
"Okay, it looks like it's time to move on foot from here then," Coal replied, jumping out.
I picked up my pack, opened my door and hopped down. Coal caught me and set me firmly on my feet as I sank several inches into a thick layer of mud.
"Thanks," I muttered. I hoped he was being polite rather than actually thinking I was so useless that I couldn't make it out of a car unassisted.
Big clouds rolled across the sky turning it grey and muting the light beneath the trees. It cast everything in a kind of dim glow. Hunter pulled up behind us, half of his unit were perched in the truck bed looking distinctly windswept. He hopped out too and strode towards us through the river of mud.
"This is where we part ways. Your GPS will lead you to the bunker. I think you should be able to take a straight route on flat ground for the first few miles but you'll have to go over more difficult terrain from there. We'll head west to start those distractions and meet you back at the edge of an old town over to the east of this area by dawn tomorrow. I've saved its coordinates in your GPS for later," Hunter said. He gave each of us a quick one-armed hug before turning back to his truck, revving the engine and reversing back up the trail. We watched as his truck disappeared before preparing to head on ourselves.
Coal jumped up into the truck bed and quickly handed out fresh bottles of water and some food supplies. While we packed them away he unfurled a big tarpaulin. It was the same colour as the surrounding forest and textured to look like dead leaves. He spread it over the truck which, when coupled with the camouflage paintwork of the truck itself, made it very hard to spot.
"Let's get going then," Alicia said, holding the GPS out to guide us.
It was so dark under the cover of the trees that Alicia got her torch out and flicked it on. We crept forwards, trying not to cause too much disturbance as we advanced closer and closer to the green dot marked on the GPS.
It was a tense journey. We squelched our way forwards through the gloom and I spent time checking my weapons were all in place and easily accessible.
The shadows between the trees promised of menacing things lurking within but the forest stayed calm around us.
"It's quiet out here," I said to Coal, my own voice low.
"It's Creeper country. Nothing goes near them if it's smart enough. Even the trees seem unhappy here," he replied, his voice quiet too.
"So I take it we aren't smart enough?" My hand moved to touch my pistol for reassurance.
"Coming here was not a decision I made lightly. Let's just hope the distractions work and the Creepers stay well away from us," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"What should I do if we see one?" I tapped a finger along the row of knives at my belt. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven-
"Run. Shoot if you can, but there's never just one. If you see one and it hasn't seen you, just get the hell away."
"Where to?" That hadn't been the answer I was expecting. Eight, nine, ten, plus one in my boot and one strapped to my right forearm. Twelve.
"Anywhere."
The air felt heavy, dripping with moisture that ran from the branches above us and splashed to the ground. It was cold, a kind of cold that ignored how thick your coat was and made a beeline for the centre of your chest.
A sudden flash of light split the darkness in half and I dropped into a crouch. Laurie did the same next to me. My eyes darted back and forth into the gloom between the trees. After a beat I looked to Alicia and Coal who were staring over at us, their mouths slightly open with shock. It lasted for a fraction of a second before they started to smile.
"Haven't you ever seen lightning before?" Alicia asked, her eyes sparkling with humour.
"What?" I asked, slowly standing a little straighter and relaxing the hold on my gun. I glanced at Laurie, feeling embarrassed but just as I did so a huge crashing, rumbling sound filled the air and I ducked down, clapping my hands over my head, sure that we were under attack.
Alicia almost laughed out loud while Coal covered his mouth to try and hide his amusement. Even Kaloo looked entertained, tilting her head to the side and watching Laurie and I as we tried to recover our composure.
"What?" I demanded.
Alicia bit her lip but didn't reply right away.
Feeling very embarrassed but not sure why, I straightened up again and pulled Laurie with me. She was looking at the trees suspiciously as if they had made the noise and light appear.