Page 89 of The Wild Zone

Zuri raised an eyebrow. “You just crawled out there on your own to retrieve a stick and a strap.”

“Yeah, but…” He swallowed. “No tunnels. Sorry.”

“Extreme claustrophobia,” I guessed. “Like what happened during the obstacle course?”

He hesitated. “Something like that.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “Maybe if…”

I was about to suggest doing something really brave, like heading into that tunnel myself with the invisibility ring. It was the only thing that made sense.

Before I could, a skin-peeling shriek filled the air. It hadn’t come from the tunnel. It had come from above—the same shriek Grant and I had heard right before he was taken.

Zuri gasped. “I know that sound….”

“Change of plans,” I said. “We need to leave.”

In my gut, I knew we were not ready for what was coming. As much as I wanted to save Grant and Silas, I wasn’t going to lose any more friends trying to do it. We could legit come back tomorrow. And if the Ares cabin actually did have large siege weapons, I would commandeer all of them.

But Benny, Harper, and Zuri didn’t move. They were all studying the trees, weapons at the ready.

“Do you see it?” Harper whispered.

The branches of a nearby tree rustled. About forty feet above our heads, a dark shape darted among the leaves, coming closer. Zuri nocked an arrow.

“Don’t!” I hissed.

But she fired into the treetops. Her arrow disappeared into the canopy and the creature shrieked in rage.

“Katie’s right,” Benny said. “Time to go!”

“No.” Zuri gritted her teeth as she nocked another arrow. “I think I wounded it. We’ve got it outnumbered. Let’s get it out in the open and take it down!”

Harper grabbed her arm and pulled. “You know the people of Tokyo outnumbered Godzilla, right?”

Zuri shook him off. “Come on!” Her eyes pleaded with me. “If we turn back now—”

“We’ll live long enough to come up with a plan,” Benny said. “If we stay, we might be the next victims. And then more people could get hurt looking for us.”

“You guys!” There was a desperate tone in Zuri’s voice I’d never heard before. “You don’t under—”

Crash! A branch the size of a helicopter blade spiraled out of the sky and smashed into the boulder where we were sheltering, showering us with leaves and twigs. I got the distinct impression it hadn’t just fallen. It had been thrown.

“Let’s go!” I yelled, tugging at Zuri’s arm.

She snarled in frustration, fired one more shot into the trees, and then raced after me.

The four of us sprinted east, the monster giving chase.

It was not subtle about it.

Shrieks filled the air. Tree limbs snapped and cracked. Leaves rained down—at first far behind us and then close enough for me to hear the monster’s other sounds—angry hisses, barks, and rapid-fire clicks like a malfunctioning machine gun. Whatever this thing was, Zuri had been right—it was way more than just a bird.

It moved through the tree canopy too easily. I still couldn’t see it, but I could hear it. In a matter of seconds, it would be on top of us.

I spotted a massive pine tree up ahead—its branches so thick and canopy so dense even the moonlight couldn’t pass through.

Maybe a monster couldn’t either.