Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy: The Templar Chronicles: Book 2 (17 page)

“Not a chance, Smith,” Daniel said. He meant the name to be a slur, but I actually didn’t mind it. After all, I had gone by Jack Smith for the first fourteen years of my life, so it felt pretty normal. But the fact that he thought it bothered me was enough for it to bug me.

I watched him pull a small shovel from his backpack and snap a second beam in place to lengthen the handle. I dug through my pack and found the same tool and put mine together as well. By the time I was done, Daniel was digging a long shallow hole in the dirt, about as long as he was tall. These were to be our beds for the night.

I cleared a larger area of snow and dug in. The top layers were frozen solid so it was hard going at first, but it became easier a bit further down. As we worked on our sleeping holes, Daniel and I inevitably eyed each other’s progress, judging who was doing better. We worked faster and faster, trying to be the first to finish. Soon, we were both grunting from the exertion, sweat pouring off of us, clods of dirt flying through the air. Seconds before I judged my hole was large enough, Daniel, huffing for breath, threw down his shovel.

“Done,” he said.

I put my shovel down. “Done. And you had a head start.”

“Whatever,” Daniel said. He set about gathering handfuls of pine needles from under the snow. Having no idea how to survive in the wild, I did the same. Soon there were two huge piles of needles stacked in front of us.

“Let’s eat and then get some rest,” Daniel said. ”I’ll take first watch.”

“I can do first watch if you want,” I offered.

“I said I’ll do it,” Daniel grumbled.

I shrugged and pulled out a sandwich with thick slices of cheese and ham. I remembered what Eva had said about making the food stretch out over five days and decided to only eat half of it even though I was famished. Daniel ate quietly, standing at the edge of our little camp, lost in his own thoughts as he looked down at the forest below us.

“So, are you going to tell me why this wolf is so important to you?” I asked.

“No,” Daniel said softly, his voice sounding hollow, like he was miles way. “I’m not going to tell you that.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Because it no longer matters,” Daniel replied, an edge coming back to his tone. “All that matters is that he dies.”

The night passed without incident. Following Daniel’s lead, I lay in my shallow hole in the ground and covered myself with pine needles. At first I was freezing, but as the needles trapped my body heat and because I was below any breeze, over time I warmed up somewhat. It wasn’t exactly like staying at a five-star hotel with room service, but it wasn’t bad. The only time I was cold during the night was when it was my turn to keep watch over the dark forest. It didn’t matter whether I sat curled up in my cloak, or if I paced back and forth across the camp—I just couldn’t get warm. When the eastern sky finally lightened, I was more than ready for the meager warmth the winter’s sun provided.

We ate breakfast without conversation and broke camp just as the sun broke the horizon.

“We have a long journey today to make it to our next camp,” Daniel said. “It’s in a cave so we can have a fire tonight.”

As great as that news was, I didn’t want Daniel to think I was overly cold, so I tried to play it cool. “If you say so,” I said. But deep inside I was shouting for joy. The idea of rubbing my frozen hands together next to a fire was almost too much to bear. Turns out that disaster would strike us well before that ever happened.

The attack didn’t come until nearly dusk on that second day. And it had nothing to do with wolves.

The screaming came first. Daniel had just turned to me and pointed to a rocky outcrop ahead of us. The cave. That meant a campfire and a chance to eat something hot. Just as Daniel turned, a black shadow streaked out of the treetops, emitting a deafening shriek that only stopped once it smashed right into Daniel’s face.

In what seemed like slow motion, a splatter of blood arced through the air and landed in a pattern on the fresh snow.

Daniel spun around on his horse, and Saladin reared on his hind legs, nearly knocking me off his back. I looked over at Daniel and saw something attached to his face—a creature with pale grey flesh and wiry hair. About the size of a large rat, it was so emaciated that its skin looked like only a thin casing stretched tight against its skeleton. Adding to this bony appearance were thin, papery wings that were wrapped around either side of Daniel’s head, holding on while the creature’s mouth gnawed on his face.

I put my hands to my ears as the forest erupted with the same maddening shriek, but now in a chorus. Judging from the ear-shattering volume, there had to be dozens of them. I knew exactly what these things were, remembering them from one of my classes. These were shriekers, members of the Lower Creach. Not overly dangerous by themselves, but deadly when they hunted as a group.   

I caught movement out of the corner of my eye and looked up into the trees. At first I thought I was seeing things. The low light and the wind rocking the trees had created a bizarre dance of shadows, confusing my senses. But as I watched, I could discern dozens of dark forms gliding through the shadows.

Shriekers.

Everywhere.

Screeching and spitting.

Picking their way toward us with their stubby feet and their bat-like wings.

I could see their faces now. They were small, with pointed noses that reminded me of a ferret or a weasel. Only these guys had mouthfuls of pointy teeth that protruded out from elongated jaws.

The shriekers nearest me saw that I’d spotted them and they opened their mouths wide and hissed at me. They launched themselves off the trees, falling in an ungainly, barely controlled descent.

Saladin reared again and this time I couldn’t keep my grip tight enough. I fell off the saddle and hit the ground hard. Instinctively, I rolled to one side. 

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The creatures landed in the snow where I had been seconds before.

I climbed to my feet and drew my sword, struggling to block the shrieking from my ears as Saladin ran into the forest.

Daniel’s horse reared, and seven or eight shriekers latched onto her back and sides. Daniel tumbled to the ground, still wrestling with the shrieker on his face. His screams became more urgent. As if attracted to the blood, the shriekers on the ground that had missed me clawed in the snow toward Daniel. Two of them reached the blood-covered snow near him and hungrily gulped it down.

I looked back up and saw three more of the creatures flying through the air toward me. I braced myself and swung my sword as they approached. I sliced through two of them, unleashing a spray of putrid black blood all over me. The rotten stench almost made me gag.

I looked down and saw a shrieker attached to my thigh. It burrowed through my armor trying to get to my skin.

I sliced downward and cut it in half. But the front half of the creature kept gnawing on my leg. With a yell, I hacked at it and peeled it off of me.

Without looking up, I lurched forward into a shoulder roll. Just as I did I heard more shriekers hit the ground.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Even in the panic of the moment, I realized that if the creatures were able to fly, then both Daniel and I would likely be dead already.

But flyers or not, there were too many of them. It was only a matter of time before they overwhelmed us.

I looked to the outcropping Daniel had pointed out right before the attack. The way was clear. For now. I figured that if we were able to get to the cave, we would at least stand a chance.

But first, I had to help Daniel.

I rushed toward him, slicing through three shriekers on the way. I grabbed the creature on his face and pulled. His screams were terrible.

“Hold still!” I shouted. “I don’t want to stab you by accident!”

But Daniel was in too much pain to listen. He continued to flail around, pawing at the creature eating his face.

The other creatures closed in around us. Hissing like snakes at the smell of blood in the air.

“If you want to live, then hold still!” I shouted.

This finally registered with him. Daniel froze in place for a few seconds, and it was all I needed. With one plunge of my sword, I skewered the creature and used the leverage of my sword to peel him off and throw him through the air.

Daniel held one hand to his bleeding face and used the other to pull his sword.

“I can’t see!” he shouted.

I grabbed his hand and put it on my shoulder. “We have to make it to the cave. Hold on to me.”

Swinging my sword wildly at the shriekers in our path, I led Daniel on a stumbling run toward the cave. I looked anxiously for any sign of Saladin and Daniel’s horse, but they were gone. My gut twisted knowing that I was leaving them to fend for themselves against the shriekers, but there was nothing I could do. I focused all my effort on getting Daniel to the cave.

The creatures on the ground weren’t so much my worry. It was the dozens in the trees above us. These moved quickly and threw themselves at us as we ran. Several landed on us and tried to latch onto our flesh, but they became quick work for our swords.

The forest gave way to a small clearing just before the cave opening. My heart pounded hard in my chest. Without the tree cover, the creatures would not be able to keep up with us. I gave myself a second to feel like we were going to be OK.

Then I saw the wolves on the other side of the clearing.

They stood within the first line of trees, spread out too evenly for it to be coincidental. This was a battle formation.

A trap.

The shriekers had pushed us straight to them.

Getting to the cave suddenly became more important than ever.

“Come on!” I yelled, pulling Daniel along.

As soon as we broke into a sprint, the wolves charged at us. We were far closer to the cave, but their speed gave them the advantage. It was going to be close.

The shrieking and hissing increased behind us as the last of the creatures launched themselves at us. They landed short, but scampered after us on the ground. The forest floor was coated with them like a rat infestation. The shriekers crawled over one another, biting and scratching their way forward.

Ahead of us, the wolves ran hard across the clearing.

“Push it, Daniel. Come on!” I yelled.

We were so close. The nearest wolves snarled and bared their teeth.

Just in time, we reached the cave entrance. It was low and narrow. I pushed Daniel in first, then backed in after him so that I could meet the first wolf who followed us head-on with my blade.

But no wolf came.

I saw shadows streak past the cave opening. The unmistakable growls of the wolves. Then a few seconds of eerie silence.

Suddenly the forest erupted once again with screams. Then I understood. The wolves were attacking the shriekers.

I turned to tell Daniel, but he was gone!

“Daniel!” I shouted in fear.

“Get back here,” Daniel shouted back from deeper in the cave. “Hurry!”

I sprinted toward his voice and quickly came to a metal door. I stepped through it and closed it behind me, effectively sealing us off from the outside world.

Daniel leaned against the cave wall, a flashlight illuminating half of the small cave. He held a cloth to his face. Even though his chest heaved from breathing hard, he was more in control now.

“The wolves saved us,” I said.

Daniel shook his head. “Just because they killed the shriekers first, doesn’t mean we aren’t next on the menu.”

I unslung my backpack and took out my own flashlight. I approached Daniel. “How bad is it?”

Daniel turned to me and I felt my stomach drop. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t help but look away.

There were scrape marks around his face, but they were all superficial.

But his nose.

His nose was completely gone.

Chewed off by the shrieker.

Daniel put the cloth back on his face. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s what I thought.”

Outside the cave, a new sound arose. The howling of dozens of wolves in unison. They were right outside. We were trapped.

Daniel straightened at the sound, panic in his eyes. “See? They’re back to finish the job.” He shouted at the door, completely out of control. “Well, you won’t get me, you mongrels! I can promise you that. You won’t get me!”

Daniel slid to the ground as if he were suddenly exhausted, his back against the wall. His entire body trembled and tears welled in his eyes. Soon they had become long, flowing streams down his cheeks. He turned off his flashlight and I heard him sobbing in the cave. “You won’t get me,” he whispered.

I turned off my flashlight and the cave plunged into total darkness. From across the way I heard Daniel, his voice barely audible, mumble over and over, “You won’t get me. You won’t get me. You won’t get me.”

As another chorus of howls filtered in from the outside world, I seriously doubted that Daniel was correct.

After a few hours, it was clear the wolves weren’t going anywhere, which meant that we weren’t either. I found a bundle of wood in the back of the cave and started a small fire. Someone had ingeniously bored a flue through the rock roof that drew the smoke out. The wolves already knew where we were so there was no reason to worry about the smoke giving away our location.

Daniel had smeared a healing ointment on the scratches of his face. I had seen Eva use the same type of thing before; it could clear up cuts, gouges, even broken bones in a fraction of the time the human body could on its own. But given Eva’s missing hand, I was pretty certain the ointment would not regenerate Daniel’s missing nose. At least the bleeding had stopped and he had been able to wrap a bandana around his head to keep pressure on the area.

“Does it hurt?” I asked.

Daniel shrugged. “I’ve been through worse.”

With the injury to his nose, Daniel’s voice came out stuffy and muted. Still, even with everything that had happened, Daniel was as cocky as ever.