Witch of the Wild Woods

Chapter 20 - Kicking Television

Chapter 20 - Kicking Television

Lane scrambled to his feet and faced the door as a large mass flung itself against the other side. Wood chips splintered from the door upon impact. He lunged forward, throwing his own body weight against the only barrier between them and death.

BANG!

The room shook. The Entire shack shook. Gracie, Jordan, Julia, Franki, and Nina were stunned as the beast outside kept trying to force its way in. His mind raced, survival instincts kicked in, Lane surveyed the room in the blink of an eye. He pointed to the faded leather couch, the windows, and commanded; "Franki, Julia, shut and bar the windows. Jordan, Luna, move the couch in front of the door!"

Shaken from their terror, the councilors trapped within the shack rapidly barricaded themselves while the door continued to pound inward. The rusted metal latches trembled.

BANG!

Dust and loose ceiling tiles fell down upon their heads.

BANG!

Cabinets, chairs, and whatever else they could get their hands on were thrown against the windows and door.

BANG!

Collectively, the councilors moved to the center of the room huddled around Gracie, still an immobile, sobbing, mess. They waited for the next impact. They waited for another heart-stopping roar from the spectral panther. They waited, but for the first time in what felt like hours, there was only silence.

The only sound within the room was the councilors near hyperventilating breaths and Gracie's muffled cries.

"S-she, she left," Gracie mumbled between heaving breaths, "Zoe. She just left me."

Luna knelt down beside Gracie, "You're okay, we're not leaving you."

Gracie's bloodshot and tear-filled eyes gazed up at Luna but said nothing else.

Lane glanced around the interior of the tiny shack once again; narrow staircase on the eastern wall, windows on the south and western walls that opened outward. Most of the space was dedicated to being used as a kitchen and coffee bar. Most of the machines, refrigerators, and equipment were still powered off and covered in tarps or canvas sheets.

"Where's the phone?" Lane asked the room.

Jordan answered, but her eyes were fixed on the wall ahead with a million-yard stare, "Upstairs, office lounge."

Without another word, Lane climbed the steps two at a time till he reached the lounge.

Nina paced the kitchen, nervously fiddling with the espresso machines. The one single-use coffee machine Franki, Luna, Lane, and Aiden had used earlier still had half a pot of coffee sitting in the glass carafe. Nina's trembling hands touched the glass. It was cold. Unlike Aiden's callused, warm hands, this coffee had been neglected since earlier that afternoon. Before the animals. Before the ropes course. Before Brad and the others barged in on them...

"I'll never see him again," Nina whispered as the carafe fell onto the floor. Glass shattered. Nina instinctively jumped back toward the center of the small room.

"DAMN IT, NINA!" Jordan snapped, "You want that thing to come back?!"

Still shaking, the Pixie shook her head, "I'll never see him again."

"Snap out of it," Jordan commanded again, "We need to keep our heads on straight if we want to get out of this--" She stopped herself. What even was this? This didn't feel real. Nothing in Jordan's mental filing cabinet could have prepared her for being chased by giant jungle animals. She'd had a dog growing up, a couple of cats. She loved animals. Now? She was terrified, humiliated, and furious that this situation had spiraled so far out of her control. How would she have known that she'd need to pack a hunting rifle on her yearly trip to prove herself worthy of leading a handful of stupid twenty-year-olds?