The Creature emerged from the trees, and raised it’s head to sniff the air. Everyone outside the cave, friend and foe alike, stood absolutely still and silent, watching it. For those from the other island it was their first sight of the monster, while the others had only half-seen it in the dark and the terror. It was a far more hideous thing by daylight, and no one dared take their eyes off it.
Then Mick whimpered and cowered down behind Nick. The monster’s eyes seemed to gleam. It had caught their scent. Slowly at first, but accelerating quickly to a phenomenal speed it headed up the slope, directly towards them.
“Run!” Kath yelled, but there was no time for anyone to get clear before it was there, amongst them, and chaos reigned. Pat, reverting in terror to his time alone in the forest, jumped up on top of the rocks and hid, beyond anyone’s notice. Others threw stones in an attempt to drive the Creature away, but it was too big to be scared by such puny challengers.
Kath’s group had turned and run, until they were in the cave itself, where they hid. Emma still had hold of the rope and had dragged Ruth with them; she stood in silence, watching her friends being attacked, listening to their cries for help. It was no use begging her captors to help. They would not risk their precious skins on behalf of the others. Yet although Ruth did not see it, being too concerned with her own misery, some of her captors were experiencing misgivings about leaving the others to their fate. But the instincts of fear and self-preservation were too strong. All they did was to watch.
Ruth was still sat helpless on the ground when the Creature arrived. She tried to struggle to her feet but in the confusion and panic she couldn’t move far. She looked round, uncertain what to do. She heard a cry and saw Adam, close by, being knocked to the ground by the creature. It raised it’s head and for a moment that seemed to last for hours it met her eyes. It seemed to recognise her as unfinished business. She was too frightened to run- it seemed that if she stopped looking at it the Creature would pounce. Slowly she saw it raise its head still further and give out a tremendous roar.
Suddenly free of the mesmerising glare, she turned and tried to run in terror. But she had only gone a few steps when she felt the warmth of it’s breath on the back of her neck. It was then that she tripped and fell. A claw reached out towards her, pinning her to the ground. She could not get up. She twisted her head, and saw another claw reaching out towards her.
All this Ruth saw from the cave. She wanted to turn away, but could not. She saw Ruth fall and flinched as the claw reached out towards her. Then she gasped in shock. A figure jumped from the top of a rock and landed on the Creature’s back. Immediately it raised its head and its claws and roared, bucking and jumping and turning in circles trying to throw the weight off it’s back. But the figure clung on determinedly.
“It’s Patrick,” Ruth whispered. She could not tell which one at this distance. “Oh no- it’ll kill him!”
The Creature did indeed seem to be doing its’ best to kill Patrick. Fortunately he was out of reach of the thing’s short fore claws, but it was doing its best to unseat him. It ran too and fro across the open space.
“Please, can’t you shoot it?” Ruth begged Kath. “It’ll kill them all.”
“It’s too far, and I’m not going any closer,” Kath said. “If I didn’t kill it the first time it would just make it madder.”
“Please, let me try,” Ruth begged again. “If I fail, then what is it to you?”
“Give you the gun? Do you think I’m stupid?” Kath asked contemptuously.
“Let me have a go,” Ernest said suddenly. The others all turned to look at him.
“No,” said Kath and Emma simultaneously. “I’m not having you get killed,” Emma said, taking hold of his hand. Ruth, whose hopes had been raised for a moment, looked down again. She could see Kath’s excuses for what they were. Kath was afraid. Well, so was Ruth, but she would have taken a risk to try to kill the Creature. She realised that for all Kath’s posturing, in all the time she was on the island the gun had never been fired. It seemed odd. But there were far more pressing things to worry about, and at that moment a scream called her attention back to the Creature.
Patrick was only just managing to hang on now. The Creature’s gesticulations had meant that he had swung round to a position where the Creature’s claws could now reach him. A trail of red dots was left as the Creature ran here and there among the rocks.
But although there was still panic out there, Ruth thought she could see some order too. Charlotte, Emily and the other Patrick had long sticks and seemed to be herding the Creature towards some high rocks. Looking up, she saw Nick and the Toms standing on the high rocks, next to another smaller rock which Mick was half hiding behind. The Creature was very near them now.
“Patrick! Let go!” Nick called. Patrick let go the Creature’s neck. It lifted it’s head and roared, free at last from its’ unwanted burden, and turned to swipe with all its’ claws at Patrick who was lying where he had fallen in a crumpled heap. The other Patrick yelled and poked it with his stick. Distracted and confused by the similarity, it turned on him and he ran towards the rocks where the others were stood. The Creature followed, and as it passed the rocks Nick and the Toms rolled their rock over the edge and it fell onto the Creature. It roared once more as it realised the trap. Then it was silent, and did not move again.
The story continues...
No comments:
Post a Comment