Against The Darkness (Cimmerian Moon) Read Online Free Page A

it to the trees but he passes some. I don’t say
anything as he continues on, into the thick of them, until finally he stops. He
lifts his arm from my shoulder and leans back against one. His face is redder and
I can tell he’s holding his breath.
    I drop to the
ground to view his ankle again. He doesn’t complain this time. I’m not happy
with what I see. It’s still red and more swollen than before. There’s no use in
getting angry or worked up about our time or progress. We won’t be going
anywhere anytime soon.
    “We’ll have to
rest here.” I glance at my watch. One-thirty p.m. “We can take a breather for
an hour to let the swelling go down and start again.”
    “No, you know
the rules. I’ll stay here while you go for help.”
    I know the
rules but leaving him alone out here doesn’t seem right. But I can’t help but think
I would have easily done it three hours ago, when my irritation with him was at
its peak.
    “Not hap’n cap’n.”
I say the words my mother says when she doesn’t agree with a choice I was
making.
    “Sinta, go on.
You’re a fast runner. I’ve seen you in track. You can get help and be back here
within the hour.”
    He’s right. I
run the one hundred meter dash in ten-point-five seconds. It’ll take me no time
at all to cover the five miles, and getting someone to come back with me won’t
be a problem. There are a couple of guys that can easily hold Wade’s weight.
    “Alright.” I rise
and look around for something to cover him with. “We’ll need leaves.”
    He pushes off
the tree to try and help me, but I stop him with a hand. “Stay there. I can
find some.”
    Thump!
Thump! Thump!
    The rapid
succession of noise penetrates the quietness.
    I drop low to
the ground. “What the hell is that?”
    Wade eases
slowly down the trunk of the tree “I don’t kno—”
    Thump!
Thump! Thump!
    My heart seems
to crash against my ribs in time with each thump. It sounds so close.
    I scramble
closer to the tree, almost hugging it.
    I glance at Wade,
wondering what we should do. He’s just as scared as I am, but his fear is more
controlled. I’m poised to bolt away, but he isn’t. It takes me a second to
remember.
    “Your ankle.
How will we run?”
    “It’s not near
us,” he says calmly.
    Thump!
Thump! Thump!
    “See?”
    He’s right. It’s
loud, but it isn’t close.
    I still don’t
let up my grip on the tree. “Jesus. I almost peed on myself.”
    “Well, I for
one am happy that you didn’t. There’s nothing like the scent of scared piss to
make the predators all excited.”
    “I’m not
scared,” I say, defending myself, although I swear he can see my body shaking.
    “It’s okay to
admit when you’re afraid. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
    I pretend to
rise. “If I was scared I wouldn’t be going to see what that noise is, now would
I?”
    He reaches
out, grabbing onto my arm tightly. “The hell you are.”
    I give him a
sideways glance. “It was a joke.”
    He rolls his
eyes, releasing me. “Hardy-har-har. Not very funny.” He blows out a breath. “It
sounds like its coming from the direction of camp.”
    “You don’t
think…” I stop right there. I don’t even want to form the words.
     

Chapter Two
     
    After hearing
the ominous noises, the plan for me to run back to get help is nixed. We don’t
know what is out there and where the noise is coming from. For all we know it
could be gunfire, but whether from humans or aliens is what we don’t know.
    I help Wade
move deeper into the trees. The canopy of branches and leaves provide cover
from the assault of the rain and, most importantly, we won’t be easily spotted
from the sky. The new plan is to stay where we are for a couple of hours, let
some of the swelling in his ankle go down and the pain to subside, and for the
noises to stop, and then head back to camp together.
    Two hours
turned into three. The loud noises continued on. Just when we thought they
would stop, we would hear another