Sidewinder - Chapter Nine

The fog seemed to thicken between one blink and the next, so fast that Livia looked away for one moment and looked back to find everyone else had been swallowed up in the greyness. She paused a moment then called out, grimacing at the way the fog muffled her voice. A shadow flashed by on her right and she decided to follow it, hoping it would quickly lead her out. Something—some sense of self-preservation, maybe—warned her to stay as quiet as she could, alone out here in the dampening fog. She just concentrated on skating, making sure she didn’t veer off the road onto terrain that would trip her up.

It was sunset before she came out of the fog, and she was chilled to the bone from the cold damp. The last dying rays of the sun offered little warmth and as soon as she stopped skating, she started to shiver. Muttering a curse, she moved to the side of the road and stripped off, casting quick nervous glances around to make sure no one was watching her. Changing into dry clothes made her feel much better, despite the oncoming night, and she set off determined to find out where the rest of the group had gone.

She stopped again towards midnight, with the moon riding high in the sky and no group, though once or twice she’d heard things moving in the long grass and nearby woods. After a moment she pulled off her skates and stowed them in her pack, changed into sneakers, and went into the woods herself, searching until she found a massive old tree with low branches. It took some maneuvering with her heavy pack dragging on her shoulders, but she managed to heave herself up onto the lowest branch and from there climbed up until she found a twisted ledge of branches big enough to hold her for the night. She hung her pack from another branch after taking a blanket and some food out of it, and snuggled up against the trunk with the blanket around her shoulders to eat.

After a while she closed her eyes and dozed without dreaming, only to wake after a few hours to the sound of branches snapping. She glanced down automatically but her relief at seeing nothing climbing the tree towards her was short-lived. Shadows moved on the ground below, one tall and thin, the other heavily muscled. In her sleepiness she thought they were people at first, until the moon slid out from behind the clouds to illuminate them.

She bit her lip against a scream when the lizard-faced monster suddenly looked up, craning its heavy head back and snorting audibly. The tall shadow with it gave a yank on the chain it was holding, pulling the creature forward a step by its collar. Livia watched wide-eyed as they passed beneath her tree and faded away into the darkness beyond, only realizing she’d been holding her breath when she gasped for air.

She spent the rest of the night wide awake, clinging to the trees and jumping at every small noise. Dawn found her stiff and tired, with a pounding headache and a numb butt. She climbed gingerly down from the tree and stretched before making her way back to the road and sitting down to put her skates back on. She nibbled on a handful of licorice as she skated, gradually cheering up under the warmth of the sun. For a while she enjoyed the skate, the feel of moving easily forward and the wind against her face, the fresh air and sun overhead.

She was just beginning to think about stopping for lunch when she heard a sudden barking grunt from somewhere behind her, followed by a low snarl. She whirled and looked around but saw nothing; she’d come down over a rise a minute before and it blocked her view of the road beyond. For a long moment she hesitated, warring with herself, then cautiously skated back towards the rise.

A branch broke nearby and she stopped again, poised on the edge of flight. The sudden appearance of someone rushing over the rise froze her in place like a deer in the headlights, until they crashed head-on into her, slamming them both into the asphalt. She yelped as it scraped up her back and crossed her arms over her face to try and protect herself.

“Livia?” The way he said her name was almost a yelp itself, but it made her peek between her crossed arms to see who it was. Skye didn’t give her a chance to even relax, scrambling awkwardly to his feet and pulling her up with him. “Come on, we have to move, before they come back.”

“Who?” Livia asked, trying not to trip as he yanked her down the road. “You’re going to take my arm right out of the socket, knock it off!”

“Sorry.” He slid his hand down from her forearm to her hand, squeezing her fingers tight, and casting a nervous look back behind them. “There was this thing, like a lizard but it had no eyes, and some sort of I dunno, an alien? Really tall and thin and ugly.” He let out a shuddery breath. “It tried to eat me. The lizard.”

“Just breathe for a minute.” She winced as he squeezed her hand again. “Come on, man, don’t go into hysterics on me.”

“I’m not, I’m good.” He took another deep breath and let it out slowly. “I swear I saw them. Monsters.”

“I believe you. I saw them last night.”

“Katia said the stories were real but I didn’t believe her. She told me I was full of hot air.” He laughed, a little hysterically. “Guess I should’ve listened.”

“Do they know?” Livia asked uncertainly. “The Commission, I mean. You’d think they would, right? But then why send us up here?”

“Maybe they don’t.” Skye glanced quickly around again then dug out his camera, holding it up so he could talk into the lens. “You guys saw that, right? What happened to protecting us? Where’s the armed guards? Whoever scouted this area did a shitty job.”

“Breathe,” Livia told him again, reaching up to turn the lens towards herself. “Hey, we need help up here. Tell your guards to pay more attention.” She covered the lens with one hand and raised an eyebrow at Skye. “Not giving up, are you?”

“Hell no,” he said after a moment, stowing the camera back in his pack. “I just want a bit more protection. Those things are really creepy.”

“No kidding. So can I have my hand back now or were you planning on keeping my fingers?” She gave him half a grin to show she was teasing.

“Sorry.” He released her and ran both hands back through his hair, making it stick up in spikes. “Gross, I need a shower.”

“I think we’re stuck with ponds and stuff.” She started skating again and he followed, matching his pace to hers so they could skate side by side. “So if you see one, let me know.”

“You’re not bothered by that thought?”

“Water’s water. And I don’t care if you see me naked. Or anyone, really.” She snorted a laugh at his expression. “Is the thought that horrifying?”

“I’m sure anyone would be happy to see you naked,” he said after a moment.

“Very diplomatic,” she said, laughing. “I do still need a bath though. So do you.”

“I didn’t really think about that kind of thing when I signed up.” Skye shook his head. “Didn’t think about a lot, I guess.”

“I know the feeling.” She drew him away from the trees, hoping he hadn’t seen the shadow pacing along beside them. “So hey, tell me why you’re up here. Got something important and special you want to win for?”

“Not really. The fame, I guess. I’ll probably ask for money and give some of it to my parents.” He shrugged. “Nothing exciting. You?”

“To get away from my siblings.” She laughed. “I’m one of ten, and it gets crowded.”

“Man, no kidding. I just have the one brother and he’s a pain in my ass.” Skye shaded his eyes to glance up at the sky, then grinned a bit. “We’re supposed to be racing. Wanna race?”

Livia took off without answering, laughing at his indignant squawk. “You snooze, you lose,” she called back over her shoulder, then settled into the business of racing.

They passed a pond a little while later and doubled back to see if it could be used to wash off. The area around it was filled with gently waving grass and a few twisted trees, but there was enough open space that Livia felt safe stripping down and wading into the water. She grinned at the blush that spread across Skye’s cheeks and the way he turned away from her, studiously looking anywhere else.

“Coming in?” she asked, splashing in the water to warm up.

“When you’re done. I’ll keep watch.”

Livia snorted but didn’t push the issue, taking the opportunity to scrub all the sweat and dust from her skin. She stayed in the water until her fingers had gone all pruny and she was starting to shiver, then reluctantly pushed herself back up onto the bank and shook her clothes out before changing back into them. She turned to tell Skye that it was okay to look now, but a sudden high scream cut her off. Skye met her gaze with wide eyes and flinched at another pained shriek. Shivering from more than the cold, Livia hurriedly strapped her skates on and threw her pack over her shoulder before heading towards the sound.

“Liv!” Skye caught her arm. “You are not going charging in there. The guards—”

“Fuck the guards.” She tugged her arm free and kept going, though the next scream sent a shiver up her spine and made the hairs all over her body stand on end. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Skye catch up to her, and together they skated towards the source.

Snarls and ugly chattering growls filled the air as they approached another hill and Livia reached out without thinking to take Skye’s hand. Clinging to each other, they crept around until they could see past the hill, to a flattened uneven circle of beaten grass soaked in blood. Livia felt her stomach turn over at the stench, and swallowed hard against bile when she saw another of the eyeless lizards—or maybe the same one—tearing at the flesh of some animal. The corpse had been so mangled that she couldn’t tell what it was at first, until the monster sidestepped to dig at another chunk of flesh.

Tangled in the torn grass was a single skate, its bright colours dimmed by streaks of blood and its wheels still gently spinning.