The Island

Chapter 5- Cusses In French

Daytime

Hailey ran through the thick forest, the temperature seemed to drop as she ran in deeper, and the monster seemed to be picking up the pace urgently.

Hailey kept going.

She thought about the argument she'd had with Todd, which made her want to follow the monster even more, though she did get a lingering doubt. What if it was a trap? What if Ben and Bianca had been in the direction the blood trail was leading to? What if-

Stop it, Hailey, she chided herself. You can't go nuts with 10 million 'what-ifs'. Besides, if it was a trap, then why would the answer be so simple? Why would there even be a blood trail to begin with?

Hailey sighed to herself, jumping over a pair of bushes that the monster had trampled. Thank goodness she had aced the long jump back in Edmonton. She'd had a lot of practice jumping over ice patches. Edmonton's cold.

The monster stopped a while later right next to a cave. Hailey ran over. "This is the place?" she asked.

The monster's lip curled in a horrible smile. "Yes," he said with that horrible voice. "Just step inside, and you'll see your friends."

Hailey took a tentative step forward. Nothing happened.

Before she could take another step, though, two people burst out of the woods. "Hailey no!" Bianca screamed.

"Don't go in there!" yelled Todd.

Hailey turned, not daring to believe her friends had actually come, when the beast gave a loud roar and leapt at them, claws out and ready to kill the pair.

"No!" Hailey cied, running toward the fray. Her friends had both scattered, forcing the monster to choose which one to kill first. Before it could make up its mind, though, Hailey had already leapt on top of the creature and straddled it.

Luckily, she'd landed in between the huge spikes, so no harm done.

At least that's what she thought until she saw the beast start shooting those spikes out of its back at the pair, who'd regrouped. A spike grazed Todd's side, and another impaled itself in a tree just a millimetre next to where Bianca's face was.

Todd staggered, clutching his side. He'd faltered for only a moment before grabbing the spike, which was covered in his own blood and hurling it like a javelin at the beast.

The beast didn't even seem to feel that, he just turned around and sent another brigade of spikes in his direction, which Todd managed to dodge.

Hailey clung to the creature as tight as she could, dodging the spikes. She looked around, trying to spot Bianca. She was nowhere to be seen.

Hailey didn't have much time to think about it, though, because the beast started bucking like an angry horse. Hailey clung on for dear life, but she knew it wasn't enough.

She looked around and saw three figures come out of the cave. Two people supporting a third between them, who seemed to be unconscious. She held on, looking to see if any spikes were loose.

"Tabarnak..." She muttered, seeing that none were. The monster lost them in the intention to shoot at the other people, whom Hailey couldn't define. As they loosened, she took one out forcefully, causing the monster to rear.

"Prend cela, pile de merde!" she cried out, her French coming out as it always does when she's under heavy stress, and stabbed the creature as hard as she could. It yowled in pain. It reared her off.

"Help!" She cried out instinctively. One of the figures waved their hand at the other standing one, before running to Hailey.

"B-Bianca?" Hailey asked, bewildered. "B-but the tree-" She was cut off by another screech. This one didn't come from the monster she had just injured. Bianca looked up, and Hailey saw her eyes widen. She looked up to see a giant bird with shiny, sharp talons and a very sharp looking beak. It was flying in circles, as a vulture does.