Starhoppers

22 - The Bridge

The trek back to the beach was agonizingly long. The ocean breeze felt cool against my damp skin, my heart thumping wildly as we sprinted down the rocky mountainside.

Ralph gasped loudly as his foot slipped. I halted, bending down to lend the man a hand as he pushed himself to his feet. "You alright?"

"Thanks, Zach. I'm fine," Ralph huffed, wiping at the fresh blood on his knee. "I'm just not built for this kinda thing, that's all."

"I don't think any of us are," Ellie sighed.

"Don't fall behind," Ezra called back to us. "We need to regroup with the others and get the hell away from here. That tower out there is drawing too much attention."

I nodded. "If the Ceythodians were close enough to hear it..."

Ralph sighed. "The parasite might not be far behind."

"Do you guys really think the parasite might come back?" Faith asked, fear slipping into her words.

"We'll be fine," Ezra shook his head. "We just need to-"

Ezra stopped as a loud groaning echoed from out at sea. As one, we turned, an eerie silence falling over us as a black walkway rose in segments between the structure and the coastline.

"Is that a bridge?" Ralph frowned.

"Come on, guys," Ezra said. "We can't stop now."

"This shit is getting too weird for me," Faith sighed. "I'm surprised you guys are just rolling with this."

Ralph shrugged. "You and me both..."

The five of us raced down the mountain, our heavy breathing drowned out by the groaning of the walkway out in the water.

The alien tower sank behind the trees as we reached the foot of the mountain. Ezra huffed loudly, darting quickly through the forest as he approached the beach.

Ellie moaned. "Slow down, Ezra. I feel like my heart's about to pop."

Ezra did not listen, the man seeming to speed up as he raced towards his friends.

Several minutes of sprinting down the coastline passed before Lily spoke through the radio, her voice no more than a whisper. "Ezra... we're in the forest directly across from whatever just landed on the beach. Don't respond... the deer are nearby. Please hurry."

"Oh, shit," Ralph scoffed, his words catching in his throat as he stepped past Ezra. "Yeah, I can see the bastards from here."

I followed Ralph's gaze, ducking instinctively behind a nearby tree. Out on the beach about a half mile ahead stood over a dozen Ceythodians, their weapons raised high above their heads as they stared out at the alien structure. One of the aliens hopped rhythmically from hoof to hoof as it stared out across the water.

I spotted Caesar quickly, the alien standing close to the black metal bridge as he peered up at the tower.

"Keep moving," Ezra murmured, slipping back into the forest. "Let's go find the others."

Ralph sighed. "What the hell is the plan here, Ez? We can't take 'em all with two flamethrowers, can we?"

"Hopefully we won't have to try. We'll worry about that if it comes to it, okay? Please."

Faith groaned quietly. "Those things give me the creeps. Why couldn't they have been just a little bit cuter?"

The five of us marched cautiously through the trees as we approached the alien bridge. The hooting and howling of the Ceythodians grew louder as we moved, my heart rate increasing steadily in tandem.