Ben shook his head.
Anna glanced around at the trees and the darkening sky. “We need to find a safe spot to stop for the night. Can you wait just a little—”
“I can’t hold it.”
Anna pointed to a nearby tree. She motioned to Zeke. “Go with him. But don’t go far.”
Ben frowned, his face dark; he turned on his heel and disappeared between the shadows of two trees. Zeke followed close behind.
Zeke walked several steps behind Ben, crunching noisily on his apple.
“You’re going to burn right along with mother for eating that.”
Zeke studied the apple in his hand, pondered the idea, and took another bite. “Can’t be much worse than the situation we’re in now.” He continued chewing.
They walked several more feet and Zeke tossed his apple core to the side, wiping his fingers on his trousers. “Come on, you’ve gone far enough. Piss already.”
Ben slipped behind a tree and said, “Stay there! I don’t want you right next to me.”
“I’m not going to argue about that.”
Zeke leaned against a tree and folded his arms across his chest. He was still trying to get his head around what had happened; couldn’t quite believe they were outside of Sanctuary and that his mum had killed a God. They were supposed to be immortal. It didn’t make sense.
He looked around, peering through the trees. The sky had grown dark, and much of the forest was bathed in blackness. The only light came from the half moon, illuminating the tree branches and shooting shafts of faint light on the ground.
Strange noises echoed through the trees and Zeke chewed his lip, gaze flitting from tree to tree.
“Hey… uh, Ben? Have you finished yet?”
When he didn’t receive a reply he peered around the tree trunk.
“Ben?”
Zeke’s eyes widened and he rushed through the trees to the spot where Ben disappeared. He spun around, searching the bushes but Ben was nowhere to be seen.
“Oh, shit.”
He turned tail and ran back to his mum. “Ben’s gone!”
“What?”
Zeke pointed in the direction they had gone. “He went behind a tree, but when I checked he wasn’t there.”
“Right, I don’t want us all getting lost, so stay with your sister. I’ll be right back.”
Zeke looked across at Lucy, saw the terrified expression on her face, and nodded as he watched his mum run towards the trees.
Anna ploughed through the undergrowth, crashing noisily through the bushes. Her breath came in ragged gasps.
“Damnit, Ben. Why can’t you trust me?”
She came to a stop, catching her breath as she listened. She looked around, eyes wide.
“Ben! Ben where are you?”
Something crashed through the bushes to Anna’s right, making her heart miss a beat, and she spun around, eyes narrowed to try to penetrate the dark, but couldn’t see anything.
“Ben, is that you?”
Something screeched in the tree above. Anna glanced up, saw something take flight against the backdrop of stars that twinkled in the firmament. More noise originated from in front and she glanced back down in time to spot a figure come crashing out of the ferns. She automatically stepped back, almost tripping over tree roots that protruded from the mulch. Her breath caught in her throat and it took her a moment to realise it was Ben. She grabbed him by the arm, almost toppling over as he tried to keep running.
“Let me go. Let me—”
“Ben. It’s me.”
Ben stopped struggling, and twisted his head to look up.
Anna pulled him close, smothering him in a hug. “Benjamin. Don’t ever scare me like that again.”
Ben tried to wriggle free. He started crying.
“Let me go,” he sobbed.
Anna looked down, surprised and hurt.
“I want to go back to Dad.”
“Ben, you need to understand—”
“No! You don’t understand. You don’t understand anything.”
A scream echoed through the dark from somewhere far away. Anna shivered. Ben hesitated, as if torn between huddling against his mother and running away, and Anna grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him behind her into the woods.
As they reached Zeke and Lucy, another scream pierced the night.
“What’s that?” Lucy asked, her voice trembling.
Anna shook her head. “I don’t know, but we need to get somewhere safe.” She gazed around, and then up, lips skewed. “We’re going to have to climb.”
Lucy scowled. “Up the tree you mean?”
“It’s probably safest to get off the ground.”
Lucy stared down at her dress and raised her arms in exasperation. “In this?”
“How do we know the Gods or whatever they are can’t climb?” Zeke asked.
Anna shook her head. “We don’t. I don’t see many other options.”
To Anna’s surprise, Ben shouldered past and started to climb the tree. Zeke shrugged and followed. When he was part way up, he reached back down and helped Lucy before he extended his hand back down for Anna.
“Are we going to be OK?” he asked as Anna clambered up beside him.
Anna took a deep breath. “I hope so.”
CHAPTER 10
Anna dropped to the ground. Her body ached all over and she was exhausted. Having positioned herself in the crook of a branch all night she had hardly slept and her eyes felt red raw. Her children appeared equally tired and she questioned whether she had done the right thing bringing them out here, but when she looked at Lucy, she was certain she had as her daughter was still alive, and that’s all that mattered.
She took the remaining apple from her bag and offered it to Ben. He glared at the fruit, not lifting his hand. Lucy reached out and grabbed it. She took a bite before passing the apple to Zeke, who then offered it to Ben.
Grudgingly, Ben accepted the apple and took a bite, his expression like he was chewing on glass. Zeke took the apple back and started to take a bite, then he glanced at Anna.
“Is this the last one?”
Anna nodded slightly, then smiled. “Eat it. I’m sure we’ll find something else to eat soon.”
Zeke hesitated, and finally took another bite at Anna’s urging.
After a while they came across a road. Plants sprouted from the cracks and in places green foliage had spread across the surface. Trees lined either side.
“Where do you think the road leads?” Zeke asked.
Ben kicked at a loose bit of concrete. “Nowhere. Everything out here sucks.”
“It must lead somewhere; it had to have been built for a purpose,” Anna said.
Lucy stared down at her dress. Ripped in a few places, the bright yellow colour had dulled under a layer of dirt. She tried to pat the wrinkled front hem down but soon gave up.
“I still don’t know if I believe everything you’re saying, Mum.”
“You don’t need to believe me, Lucy; you need to trust me.”
Ben groaned. “Can we go already?”
Lucy shot Ben an annoyed look and started walking along the potholed road. Zeke shrugged and followed. Anna glanced at Ben who gave her a withering glare before he fell in step.
Anna rubbed her cheeks and sighed before tailing her family.
Grey clouds blanketed the sky and added to the depressive atmosphere. She had heard lots of noise during the night, from nocturnal predators to sounds she couldn’t identify. She had never been outside in the wild before and didn’t know whether the sounds were normal or not, but they certainly hadn’t sounded ‘normal’.
Ben stamped along at the rear. She’d realised he wouldn’t take it well, but she had hoped he would accept the situation. Up ahead Zeke and Lucy stopped. Anna frowned and caught them up.