I reached a hand up through the hatch and felt Coal's warm grasp enfold it within his strong, calloused hand. He hoisted me out and set me on my feet. I felt my cheeks flush scarlet and quickly looked away. He didn't release my hand.
Eventually he let go and used his knife to cut the vines from my waist.
"Are you okay?" Laurie asked as she pulled her pistols out.
"Yes," I nodded.
"Good. We need to run," Alicia said. She had her machete back in hand.
We were standing on the summit of a large hill, the top of which was covered in concrete. There was a winding road leading away down the hill and into the distance, the valley that we had arrived through dropped away to our left.
"How will we get back?" I asked, looking at the steep drop and climb to our left. "We can't get back up that hill."
"There's an old bridge behind those trees." Laurie pointed with her gun. "We found it when we were getting the vines."
A shriek echoed up from the hatch and we looked down to see a Creeper woman pointing up at us from the top floor and howling. Coal kicked the hatch shut and cut off her noise.
"They know this area better than we could ever hope to, they'll be after us in minutes," Alicia breathed. "We have to move."
Chapter Thirty Five
We ran so fast that it felt like my feet were off the ground more than they were on it. We tore through the damp undergrowth heading for the bridge, Laurie taking the lead. Our boots slipped and stuck in the thick mud but we ploughed on, heedless.
A flash of lightning threw the forest into sudden and brilliant definition, followed immediately by thunder that rumbled loudly above our heads.
Enormous drops of rain began to hit us and within moments we found ourselves in the middle of a torrential downpour. I was drenched instantly. My hair was saturated and the cold, which had seemed harsh before, took on a penetrating chill that pierced me to the core.
The forest floor became a torrent of water and mud that flowed up and over my boots. Little rivers formed on the huge leaves and tumbled their way to the ground in mini waterfalls.
"I can see it," Laurie called from the front of the group and we put on a burst of speed.
There was no sound from the surrounding forest beyond the splashing and splattering caused by the tide of water. It thundered off of every surface and made it impossible to hear anything else.
The water fell so heavily that it obscured my vision too. Shadows loomed and threatened to become any kind of terrifying thing. I had no idea how Laurie could know where she was going.
We burst through the trees and skidded to a halt in front of the bridge. It was huge and reached out over the abyss like a pointing finger. Vines had snaked their way up and around the supporting struts. The metal floor of the bridge itself was pocketed with holes and rust, the crumbling mess of what remained in place looked ready to fall apart. We paused and stood staring at it while the heavy rain pounded against the bridge so hard that it vibrated.
"There's not another, better maintained bridge around the corner is there?" I asked, pushing my drenched hair back over my shoulders.
I was shivering and my fingers were trembling. Water ran over me in a never ending cascade and I couldn't imagine feeling warm again.
"Let's just take it slowly, there's no sign of the Creepers yet." Coal stepped forward and placed a foot tentatively onto the bridge. It held. He took another step and then another. "Come on, it feels fine," he called back to us as he continued cautiously forward.
Alicia went next taking a different route on the other side of the bridge, using the metal barrier as a support. Laurie clapped me bracingly on the arm before setting her own route. I bit my lip to try and stop my teeth from chattering.
I stood with my feet in the mud, looking back at the menacing forest for signs of the Creepers. The rain blew aside, momentarily giving me a clear view of the trees.
A flock of birds suddenly took flight from the forest to my right and I watched their quick ascent until my lashes filled with drops of rainwater.
I looked back at the bridge. The others were just fuzzy shapes in the mist. I pulled my boots from the sticky mud which sucked and pulled at them in resistance and started to follow.
The metal felt flaky and insubstantial under my boots but it didn't seem to be about to give way any time soon. Each step I took made the bridge vibrate and the gravelly texture under my feet made me slip.
I was more than used to heights after living in the city and was almost pleased to have a familiar danger to face. I picked up the pace and jogged to catch up with the others. The vibrations thunked through the metal structure beneath my feet but the bridge held firm.
Coal had stopped ahead of me and was waiting half way across the bridge.
"What's the holdup?" he called, the rain tried its hardest to stop the sound of his voice from reaching me.