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Chapter Twenty-One

The red swamped my vision. Dark shadows against the bright red hue. Sudden glimpses of the utter blackness of trees and roots replaced it. Blurry and disorienting. In and out of my dream state, coming to. The scenes melded into one another, confusing me as large inky creatures stood against the backdrop of crimson, waiting, watching, and salivating their inky syrup.

I blinked as glimpses of the dark moonlit sky and puffy leaves passed by. I was lying back, moving through the black forest, staring up. Was this a dream? Was I floating? No, I was being dragged.

I lifted my head to see the hunter pulling me over the slick roots and vines by my legs. In the blink of an eye the scene changed to the bright red place where instead of hunters, the Scorchers looked on with their slopping, scowling, dripping faces. Hollow eye sockets fixed on me. Their stench too pronounced to believe it was only a dream.

I looked to my side, managing to use my neck muscles. The scenery was back to normal but there was Lilac unconscious, arms over his head as they pulled us both over the slippery roots.

When red flickered in my vision again, I set my sights on the waiting creatures, mentally demanding them to strike, to attack as they were so accustomed to. They only oscillated in the same position and dripped their inky syrup.

"Food." I remembered.

"What's she yapping about?" the captor pulling Lilac asked the third hunter who walked next to us, rifle in hand.

"She's asking for food." My captor tightened his grip on my ankles and continued forward.

"They're gonna say a lot of things to make you feel sorry for them," the rifle wielding man said. "Just ignore them and keep moving."

"Hermit?" I struggled to look to my other side, but my head bobbed on the uneven terrain. "Stop," I managed through uncooperative lips. "Let me go." Even I was aware of how unconvincing I came off.

"We're almost out of here," the man told the other. "We'll call who we need to call as soon as we get the hell out of this place. Cell phone reception here is utter crap."

The heaviest parts of my body continued to be beaten and battered by the thick twisted roots as I wondered where they were taking me and why. I squirmed to loosen my captor's grip, but he held onto my ankles tighter.

He expertly pulled me over the ground like freshly slaughtered game. Unfazed by the action as if he were bringing home a prized kill, dragging the carcass, wounded and bloodied toward whatever fate awaited it.

I stared off into the distance, as far as my eyes would adjust in the dark, and behind the trees were three massive figures, waiting and watching. My heart skipped a beat seeing them so tame in the wild of reality.

I had always believed that once the Scorchers roamed the Scalded, they would be free to do what they please and only the red place kept them confined or somewhat contained. Now, if my eyes weren't deceiving me, the creatures were behaving in a way that concerned me.

Unexpectedly, the ground beneath me began to shift and change from large, thick roots to the sparse soft supple variety.

We were close to the edge.

A panic surged through my veins. If they managed to drag me over the threshold, I was done for and so was the city.

"No. Stop." I attempted to roll onto my stomach and loosen my ankles from his grip. "You'll kill me. You'll kill everyone."

One of the men let out a deep guttural laugh and the other joined in with a nervous chuckle. "We ain't gon' kill you. We'll leave that up to the authorities."

"I can't leave this place." I looked to my left to see three large pairs of hollow eye sockets peering at me within the shadows. "What Hermit said is true. If I leave, I die."

"That's not a me problem. Now, is it?" the man scoffed, unwilling to show any compassion. "That's sounds like a you problem."

I glanced around at my surroundings, trying to piece together what was happening. What was I witnessing? The Scorchers, they were waiting in the distance, observing, and anticipating the moment the hunters would rip me from the radius. The creatures were hoping I'd be dragged beyond the point of no return and wither away. There was no doubt that as soon as I took my last breath they would emerge from the dark and finally, once and for all, exit their prison.

Feeling helpless, as if the Scalded and the place I've grown to love was turning its back on me and allowing me to be taken to my death, I gave in.

Was this how it all would end?

The roots at my back were soft and supple like new growth. I could pick up the scent of the nectar as my body crushed the patch beneath me. Suddenly, hunger overpowered me. The urge to fill myself with nourishment came over me, rushing me with an uncontrollable need and stomach pangs to match. My bowels twisted as if I had forgotten to eat for weeks.

With my arms outstretched at my sides I allowed my fingers to find the mosslike tendrils. I gathered the vines in my palms and quickly brought them to my lips. Only after I had chewed and swallowed a considerable amount of the bittersweet nectar, I noticed the crowd of young men and women lining the edge of the radius.

"What are you kids doing here?" The man scowled, placing his rifle on his back with the leather strap. His voice rumbled with bass. "Get back home to your mamas."

"You're not taking Kyla or Lilac anywhere." The voice emerged from the crowd.

"Kyla and Lilac?" The hunter scoffed. "You don't know what you're talking about. Like I said, go home. This place is crawling with evil. It's dangerous."

"Yeah," a voice said. "Because of you."

A stone went flying from the crowd to land smack in the center of the hunter's forehead. He flinched and pressed his fingers to the spot, testing for blood. Before he could bring his hand down to examine it, another stone was thrown, and another, pelting the men mercilessly.

"Screw it," the man yelled and reached behind him for his gun. "If you don't leave—" was all that came from his lips before I screamed in rage.

"Stop!" My scream pierced the space like a roar that seemed to put a brief pause on everything including the wind beyond the radius.

From the shadows of the tall, dark forest emerged a Scorcher, gurgling a mouthful of hot inkiness it readied to spew. Screams came from all directions as everyone scattered. The man with the rifle was the creature's primary target. Was it because I had wanted to see the man reduced to a puddle of Scorcher vomit? I wasn't sure, but I also knew I wasn't safe in the open and neither was Lilac.

Lilac's lay on the ground as still as a stone, and as I ran to his side the hunter's screams emerged from beneath the splattered scorching puddle, even if it was brief.

The creature stood on the rim of the radius observant as the other hunter ran alongside the young men and women to get far away as quickly as possible. And weirdly, the creature seemed to regret allowing its prey to survive by the way it stood, swaying slightly as the goo oozed from its every orifice. I was fascinated with its demeanor and wondered if its personality ran deeper than just the emotion that conjured them.

As my mind deliberated, I shook Lilac to wake him. His chest rose and fell giving me hope, but he wouldn't wake no matter what I did. "Lilac?" I called. "Wake up. We have to go." My mind and vision became clearer, and I realized I had no clue where Hermit was or if he was alive.

I looked back toward the creature and recognized a new characteristic in its movements. Its entire body twisted in an ungodly manner to face me and Lilac, I knew it would lunge at any second.

So much for taming the beast.

Just as the creature jerked forward to towered over us, Noel called out, "Hey, you. You monster." His voice was loud and robust.

"You want us? Come get us." Valerie waved her arms in the air to get the Scorcher's attention. Before I could protest, she and Noel ran along the edge of the radius back in the opposite direction, luring the creature away.

I couldn't be more grateful for their bravery and quick thinking. I tapped Lilac's pale white cheek with my contrasting brown fingertips. He stirred and my heart raced with excitement and relief.

"Lilac?" My voice made him fix his gaze on me. It was then I saw the swelling in his right eye as the lid seemed fused shut.

"Oh, god." I touched the swollen parts gently with my fingers, testing the damage. "What did they do to you?"

He sat up, leaning against his elbow for support. "What happened? How did we get here?"

"It's a long story." I stood and extended my hand. "We have to go."

He grabbed my hand and I assisted him to stand, realizing all my strength hadn't fully returned or may even be fading again due to summoning the creature. I immediately rushed to the edge of the radius to gather up vines and slurp as much of them down as I could.

Lilac slowly and gently kneeled beside me to do the same. This time he chewed deliberately and slowly. I took note of his injuries and how slow he moved.

"What happened?" he asked again with a full mouth.

"The hunters," I said between chewing. "And we have to get moving, because a Scorcher is now on the hunt."

We choked down the last bit of roots in our mouths and made our way back toward the apparent safety of the forest.

~~~

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