Page 9 of The Wild Zone

Something shadowy and swift darted from tree to tree, disappearing in the foliage before I could get a good look.

“Grant?” My voice sounded small. “It’s above us.”

Grant’s jaw worked overtime on his gum. I could tell from his expression that his mind was working overtime too. He ducked out from under my arm, steadying himself against the tree trunk. “Katie, I want you to run. I’ll catch up.”

I gave him a baffled look. “What? No way!”

“It’s fine!” Grant picked up a dead branch—this one just about the right size for a spear. He went to work with his jackknife, whittling one end into a crude point at incredible speed. “I’ll be no good running, but I can fight. I can’t do that if I’m trying to protect both of us. You don’t have a weapon. Run!”

I realized he was right about the weapon. At some point, I’d dropped my broken arrow/mini-golf pencil. “But…”

The branches rustled overhead. Something snarled—a sound that made my hair stand on end.

“Go on!” Grant shooed me away and hefted his makeshift spear. “Once I deal with this thing, I’ll follow. I’ll see you at the edge of the woods.”

I wavered. I wanted to believe Grant knew what he was doing. He always seemed so confident. But my instincts told me he was being foolish, putting himself at risk to save me.

Then the trees rustled again. Grant yelled, “Go!” And I ran.

I tore through the woods, my footfalls punctuated by noises behind me—shrieking (the monster) and shouting (Grant).

I made it a hundred yards before I realized the shouts and shrieks had stopped. I stumbled to a halt, breathing hard, trying to hear over the pounding of my heartbeat.

Maybe Grant had driven the monster away. Or maybe…

I cursed myself for leaving him.

I gritted my teeth, preparing to double back, when an unfamiliar voice called to me from a nearby copse of trees:

“Is everything all right, child?”

Ice crystals formed in my heart. I turned to see an old woman in a ragged gray dress. Her face was a patchwork of peeling white snakeskin, as if she were molting. She smiled…and her mouth just kept widening.

“No—oh, my gods!” I shrieked.

Her cheeks seemed to unzip all the way to her ears. Her mouth opened wide enough to swallow my head, revealing jagged pointy teeth I’m betting weren’t covered by her dental plan.

She charged straight toward me. I had a split second to decide which way to run—back toward Grant, or onward toward camp. Glancing east, I saw something glinting in the trees just at the edge of my vision—pieces of blue glass hanging from branches, more of those eye medallions, marking the other end of the Wild Zone. I was almost through.

Hating myself for leaving Grant, I sprinted east just as the Mouth Lady rushed forward.

“Running?” She cackled as she gave chase. “Excellent! I love a good child hunt!”

Why were old ladies who ate children so fast? I tore through the forest at top speed, but I couldn’t lose her. I heard her bare feet crunching through the leaves just behind me. Her taloned fingers sliced the back of my shirt.

I was so close to the border of the Wild Zone, but I wasn’t going to make it.

“Seriously?!” I shouted to the sky. I’d never had any luck communicating with my godly dad. In my limited experience, he wasn’t the kind of deity who answered prayers. But I was angry and scared, and I figured if I was about to die, I might as well yell at Ares. “You expect me to do impossible things, and I don’t even get an assist? You want me to die here?”

Something whizzed past my right ear. I screamed, thinking the Mouth Lady was chucking missiles now. But then, about thirty feet ahead, a dagger planted itself in the trunk of a tree.

I knew immediately what it was: the dagger Dad had given me.

“Thanks,” I muttered breathlessly.

Maybe I should have felt more grateful, but I was too surprised that Ares had actually heard my plea. Also, it didn’t seem like he was saying Oh, no! My poor daughter! Let me help you! It was more like he was sending the message Make it another thirty feet. Then we’ll see if you can defend yourself with a teeny blade. If not, this should be really funny to watch.

That thought made me angrier, which gave me speed I didn’t know I had. I closed the distance to the tree, yanked the dagger out, and spun around.