I
gritted my teeth. Pinch twisted my shirt
and lifted me to my toes, giving me a hard shake. “Where’ve you been, you little piss ant?”
“Looking
for bait. Like you told me.”
“Didn’t
see you with the others.”
And he
never would. I wasn’t like the
others. Plus, I had my own mission which
didn’t include finding the few living people to use as bait for the Draghoul,
to bring them close enough to allow hunters to lop off their heads in the light
of the moon. Not my priority, but I
couldn’t let Pinch know that. The plan
was to play it cool right now. “Don’t
get along with them.”
“Of
course you don’t, Snap. This ain’t no
summer camp. It’s business.” No one here knew my real name was Gabriel,
and that’s how I liked it. I earned the
name Snap because of a knack for finding things people wanted and needed, like in a snap of the fingers. But that wasn’t really my job.
He sneered at the unoccupied trail
behind me. “Looks like you came up
empty-handed again, boy. Losing your
touch.” He clicked his tongue and shook
his head. “Better start producing again
or that little brother of yours might have to be used instead.”
Anger crawled over me like a giant
spider, gnashing its fangs, ready to strike.
What I wouldn’t give to be able to put Pinch on the ground, in the dirt
where he belonged. But he was older, twice
as big, and had Doc on his side. They
knew I’d do anything for my brother.
After all, I’d made promises to my mother that had to be kept, and though
I was only twelve, I was the only protector my brother had left.
Pinch loosened his hold on my
shirtfront and with a look up at the fading light of the sun, took a step
backward. “Still time. Get back out there and bring a piece of bait
to us for tomorrow night’s hunt.”
“Go back out? Now?”
Pinch rested his hands on his hips
and shifted his feet before smirking in my face. “Or we could send your brother out in your
place.”
His breath smelled like rotting
remains, and I wanted so badly just to lay my hands on him and push him out of my
personal space. Soon…very soon.
Instead, I shrugged as if his words
didn’t affect me in the least. “I’ll go,
but then by the time I get back, you’ll be too busy to enjoy what I found when
I was out earlier.” I turned to walk
away, back into The Dead Forest.
“Wait. What do you have?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. You’ve made a lot of threats.” He swiped at me, but I ducked and shifted out
of his reach.
“Tell me what you found.”
With a slow nod, I pulled off my backpack
and lowered it to the ground. Just as I
knew he would, Pinch grabbed at the pack, lifting it, yanking it open, and gazing
inside. I knew what he’d find. A couple comic books, a can of beans, an old
handheld game system that no longer worked, and the thing I knew he couldn’t
resist. I’d found a large amount of cash,
which I’d grabbed with Pinch in mind.
Pretty much meaningless here, but he didn’t plan to be here
forever. Bragged all the time that he
knew someone that would take him to Mercy for the right price. Wouldn’t hurt my feelings to see him go. And I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist the
sight in the bottom of my bag.
By his humorless laugh, I knew he’d
discovered it in the deep side pocket.
It wasn’t until I heard the pop of the metal trap closing over his hand
that I grabbed the bag, the keys from his belt, and shoved him into the bushes
behind him. He held up his right hand in
disbelief. A mousetrap held his fingers
in a vice-grip. As he stumbled backward,
he dropped completely out of sight, falling with a high-pitched scream.
Carefully, I picked my way through
the overgrown brush of the forest and looked down into the deep hole usually
reserved for the humans we used as bait.
Charlie Little, the girl who looked like a boy and helped me achieve one
of my goals, had shown me that treating people like that was wrong. She was long gone now, but against her own
need for protection, she’d pulled my Draghoul mother from the depths of a pond
and helped me put her out of her misery.
Her courage had given me my own courage to find a way to get my brother
and escape the Factory and all its horrible acts against the last living
humans.
“You little…I’ll feed your brother
to the monsters myself!” He cursed me a
few more times, and even though he deserved what was sure to happen to him, I
hated to leave anyone in such a vulnerable position. He wouldn’t last the night and would soon
leave this place. Just not in the way he’d
planned.
“As I see it, you’ll never have power
over my brother or me again.” He quieted.
An evil grin slid onto his
face. “Don’t worry about me. I know how to take care of myself.” He pulled a knife from one of his boots and
another from his belt. They would help
him survive the first few Draghoul, but he’d never overcome a whole hoard, even
with weapons.
Then he surprised me completely by
shoving one of the knives deep in the side of the hole, high above his
head. When he slammed the other knife in
and used his feet to brace himself as he climbed up the hole, I scrambled
backward. It was time to go. Now!
Without another look behind me, I
ran toward the Factory. I knew exactly
where they kept my brother, and I had a hiding place prepared for us, but I had
to reach him before Pinch got free. A
look at the sky reminded me the sun wouldn’t stay above the horizon much longer
either, and then things were going to be all teeth and claws and no guarantees.
Happy Reading!
C. C. Marks
