Flight by Jason Lethcoe

Author:Jason Lethcoe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2016-03-03T11:29:40+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

A NARROW ESCAPE

“Go!” Tabitha shouted to Bridgette.

“Edward, get in the cart!” Bridgette called. Edward rushed over to the waiting wagon. At the mention of Edward’s name, Whiplash Scruggs rose from where he’d been knocked down, his eyes widening in surprise.

“Get the boy!” Lilith screeched, finally recognizing her prey in spite of his disguise. Scruggs and Henry Asmoday rushed toward the wagon, their sharp teeth bared.

They moved so quickly, Bridgette barely had time to react. She slapped the reins down hard on the little pony’s back. But just as the wagon pulled forward, Edward felt a powerful, vise-like grip on his wrist, nearly jerking him from his seat.

“Got you, boy!” Scruggs shouted. The familiar, Kentucky drawl made Edward shiver.

Suddenly a small, prickly body leapt from underneath the tarp and pounced on Scrugg’s meaty back. Then the creature bit deeply into Scruggs’ shoulder with his broken, yellow teeth.

“Aaaaaiiiieeee!” Scruggs cried, releasing his grip on Edward’s arm. The pony shot forward, nearly throwing Edward and Bridgette from the cart. As the wagon raced away, Edward turned back to see Tabitha, Spines, and Kyriel fighting the enemy.

“I-I’ve got to go back!” Edward shouted. He couldn’t let Tabitha or Mr. Spines die after they had just saved his life.

“No! We have to get away. You’re too important!” Bridgette exclaimed.

“Why?” he shouted back.

“Because you’re the Bridge Builder!”

At that moment Edward realized that Bridgette really believed that prophecy. He wasn’t some legendary figure. Even though he wanted to be, he still wasn’t even a Guardian yet.

His heart sank as he glanced back to where Mr. Spines and Tabitha were fighting. Some hero. If he was something special, wouldn’t he have gone back and rescued them in spite of anything Bridgette said? But he couldn’t bring himself to do it. He had no idea what he could do. Edward still couldn’t believe what Mr. Spines had done, risking his life for him.

Bridgette continued to goad the pony forward as far as the little beast could carry them. Her face was pale and resolute, and she looked desperate to get as far away from the Groundlings as possible.

After several hours the pine forest gave way to rolling green hills dotted with twisted oak trees. As the shadows on the ground lengthened, they finally slowed the cart, reasonably sure that they had escaped.

Bridgette eased the wagon off into a thicket by the side of the road. Both she and Edward were quiet as they unhooked the wagon from the pony and led it to a grassy area to be rubbed down.

Several minutes passed in silence as they made camp. Then, as Edward was digging through the supplies in the back of the wagon, Bridgette suddenly spoke, interrupting his morose thoughts.

“It’s been six hours,” she said. “We can change you back to your old appearance now.”

Bridgette handed him the Beezlenut’s Guide to the Afterlife, and Edward immediately turned to the page that dealt with transformations. He didn’t want to wait another second to be himself again.

He reviewed the strange words in the book, just to be safe.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.