Rise of the Erifs (The Fire Song Chronicles Book 1)

Chapter 11

Earth

"LOOK OUT!" ALEX CRIED, IN ALARM.

"I can see it!" Aurora slammed on the brakes.

They all gave a small sigh of relief. They had barely missed the fox that had dashed across their path at the last possible second. Aurora silently cursed the damn animal that could have very nearly been the cause of the end of all their lives. 

"Why don't you try and put me through the windscreen next time?" Alex mumbled.

"What?" Aurora snapped. 

"Nothing."

Aurora took her foot off the brake and accelerated. She drove to a clearing and parked the Jeep.

Daye stepped out and leaned against the car, breathing hard. 

"What's wrong?" Alex said, eyeing Daye in concern. 

Daye's face was pale. "I never thought I'd get out alive."

"Hey! I'm not that bad a driver!" Aurora said, offended.

"No, it was the car. You know it just rolled over that fox on its own," Alex said, sarcastically.

"I didn't hit the fox!" Aurora said. "So that proves that I'm actually a good driver."

"Sure. Whatever you say," Alex said.

Aurora ignored him. She reached into the back of the Jeep and pulled out their packs. She took the lead as they made their way into the forest. Aurora pulled her coat tighter around her as they walked through the shade of the trees. Without the warm sunshine the temperature dropped considerably. And Aurora hated the cold.

"How far until we get there?" Alex said.

"I couldn't tell the exact distance from up there but it has to be around here somewhere," Aurora said.

"I was hoping for something a little more specific," Alex said.

"A radius of about a kilometre."

Alex hoisted his backpack further up onto his back. "So we just comb the forest?" 

"That's the idea."

"But that will take ages!" Alex protested. 

"You got any better ideas?" Aurora turned around. 

"No," Alex said.

"All right then, let's continue." Aurora kept walking but added as an afterthought, "Or we could always leave you here."

Alex didn't reply but just glared at Aurora who shrugged. Alex grudgingly followed Aurora but stopped when he heard a snort of laughter. He glared at Daye over his shoulder.

"Something funny?" he said.

Daye was unsuccessfully trying to hide a smile. "No, nothing funny at all."

"Didn't think so." Alex turned back and followed Aurora.

Aurora shook her head and smiled to herself as she heard the exchange. 

Alex followed behind grumpily. They walked through the trees, their feet crushing the fallen dead leaves below as they went.

Aurora was turning around to comment to Alex when something caught her eye. She spun back around but there was nothing. She stopped and stared into the woods.

"What?" Alex said, noticing Aurora's concentration. 

"Nothing." Aurora shook her head and kept walking. She was so sure that she had seen something.