Chapter 22

Twenty-Two

Theo remembered about a decade ago when the running club had decided to add in an evening trail run. He hadn't been keen on the idea but the guy he'd been dating at the time was all for it, and so Theo had allowed himself to be talked into going. The trail had been in what seemed like a never-ending woodland and Theo had known the moment they set off that it was absolutely not for him.

It wasn't that Theo didn't enjoy nature. He did. His basement flat was filled with all sorts of plants, which might well be dead now as Theo's upstairs neighbour was unreliable and was likely forgetting to water them. He also enjoyed doing a bit of gardening now and then in the pots outside his flat, and he'd visited the botanical gardens more than once. So, yes, Theo enjoyed the greenery, likely always would, but what he did not enjoy was a multitude of branches overhead, enclosing him in. Inches of mud underfoot, which was always slippery when wet. And also, the hidden stuff, like rocks and boulders that he could so easily twist an ankle on.

No, woodlands were not for Theo.

Of course, looking back now and considering that woodland where he'd run the trail—and come first it should be added!—Theo realised it had been a god damn gift compared to what was about to face.

The home of the giant spiders.

Something called the creepers, which would leave them alone Baku had insisted so long as they did not enter any of the clouded areas where the creepers lived.

And the rages.

The harrowing rages.

"They'll be asleep?" he asked for about the millionth time as they stood on the very edge of the forest.

"They are mostly nocturnal," Baku said.

"It wasn't night when I was in there yesterday," Theo said quickly.

"It was very close," Baku replied.

The forest rose up in front of them. It covered a vast distance and this close to the coast it ran entirely down to the sea, where a particular tree that did not exist in Theo's world had taken hold and thrived there in the salty water. Its roots had removed the beach entirely so that the sea became part of the forest. Its sap also held a cure for a type of heart disease that Baku's people had once suffered from and would soon make its way to Theo's world.

The forest being so close to the sea had removed the sand and scrubby fields that still existed in the OG Earth and along which Theo's squadron would be travelling. On this side they would need to go through the forest and get as close as possible to the rip where the munchers were protecting their queen. It was that or swim around it and Theo knew that would be just as, if not more dangerous. In his world the beach that the monsters had settled on was surrounded by rocky coves that were horribly hazardous to swim in and even for approaching by boat. The army had already tried it. Besides, the munchers were quite good swimmers and had already eaten the sea clean of any life around the beach. Once they made it to the rip, they could either go through that or Baku could open an artificial rip for them, and they could go that way instead—whichever was easiest. But they had no choice except to go through the forest.

"Are you okay, Theo?" Baku asked as they readied themselves to enter.

"A bit nervous," Theo said honestly.

"You have your knife, and you have your serum," the monster said.

"Yes."

"And you have me."

"Yes," Theo said again, for that was quite true. For some reason, though it really was not clear, Theo did have the monster. The monster cared for him, wanted to protect him, and Theo would be a fool if he didn't take advantage of that.

"If the rages come?—"

"I will protect you," the monster said. "But listen to me, Theo, this is very important."

Theo was reminded irresistibly of instructor Becky back in the classroom in Somerset. It felt odd now to know that the monster had been close by, prowling around the place, shimmering away…watching Theo…becoming fascinated by him…

"No matter what happens you must stay close to me," Baku continued. "We are going to be quiet, and we are going to be very careful and very deliberate in how we move. If we do that, we should make it to the rip in about five hours, long before it gets dark."

"And if there are hundreds of munchers?"

"There won't be. The rages wouldn't allow it."

"Dozens then?"

"Perhaps less than that. But once we take the serum, they will assume we are like them. We must be as fast as we can be to get to the queen. Nothing else matters but that."

"I know," Theo said.

"If we don't, and the serum wears off…" He shook his head, his chest rumbling, an action that Theo was beginning to find oddly attractive. "They will consume us."

"They'll eat me alive."

"Yes."

"And that will be that."

"Yes." He paused. "We will be consumed together though and that is something to be pleased about at least."

Theo took a deep breath. How easily they could talk about being consumed by monsters! But then, hadn't this been their life for many years now? Only, it was entirely possible Theo and Baku could put a stop to that. It seemed mad to consider it but if this did work then they would be able to replicate it.

Theo imagined how his world might be with the munching monsters removed and the rips they had created closed up once and for all. The MDF could regroup and focus on understanding what other monsters were wandering around their countries and what the hell they were up to. They could probably even put a stop to the conscription as surely there would be enough soldiers to deal with the screechers and the spitting monsters and all the others. Theo could change thousands of lives with his actions in the next twenty-four hours. It didn't quite seem real, as he still wasn't really sure he was the man for the job, and yet fate had made it so.

The monster has made it so.

Theo exhaled carefully. That was true but it was honestly too late to do a thing about it now and Theo was in this until the very end…and making their way through the forest was the first obstacle. Pragmatic, he had always been so.

"I guess we should get started then," he eventually said.

"Stay close to me," Baku said replied.

"I will."

It was the monster that hesitated for a moment then. "Still no kisses?"

Theo smiled. He couldn't help himself. "Not until this is done."

"It will strengthen our resolve."

"My resolve is already strong," Theo said. "I want this done."

The monster nodded at that, and together they entered the forest.

The grass on the very edge of the forest was wriggling again and Theo looked down, unsurprised to see the weird, maggot creatures there. Some of them were crawling up the trees. Every time they got to a certain height a scuttling green beetle scampered down and ate them. Where were their survival instincts?

Where are yours?

Theo gripped his knife, struck by that, but then decided to ignore it. Instead, he concentrated on following carefully next to Baku. The trees in the forest were numerous, the species varied, and every so often they saw another monster of some kind, though Theo was starting to realise they were just animals, different to real Earth animals, but animals all the same.

Something that looked like a squirrel jumped from tree to tree. It was small, furry, and looked like an Earth squirrel…until it spotted a bug and an eight foot long, fuzzy tongue shot out.

Flying beetles buzzed from tree to tree. They were the size of Theo's hand, and every so often one ate another one and then immediately vomited it back out where it fell to the forest floor and then split into two.

A skulking cat-like creature followed them for a little while, its eyes on Theo's ankles, and he was ready to stab it before Baku explained that the cat creature was following them because other little creatures were, and the cat was picking them off one by one.

Most disturbing of all was a huge, flying butterfly that rested on a bush covered in pink flowers, and carefully ate flower after flower, each of which screamed in response.

Theo measured his reaction to each of the monsters and each of the passes through the trees—which were beyond crowded—by the way Baku responded to them. If he suddenly became alert, Theo did so as well. If he paused, Theo copied him. And if he sped up slightly, Theo did the same.

The hours passed in that way, one after the other, and they passed in a more tiring way than if they had run them. The slowness, the deliberateness, it was draining. Theo had to work really hard to keep his concentration up but even so it was starting to wander a little as midday passed, the afternoon proper began, and the sun began to throw shadows across the forest floor…

How much longer he wondered?

How close were they to the rip?

How many munching monsters awaited them?

The questions ran through Theo's mind and ceased only when something, and something big, something familiar, swooped above them.