Flock Horror (3) by Jennifer Killick

Author:Jennifer Killick [Killick, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollinsPublishers

AND THE MUSIC PLAYS

We’re moving as fast as we can, but it’s not fast enough. As well as the birds slowing us down, we’re tripping over people who’ve fallen to the ground, through fear or injury. We try to help people up, but some of them are just curled into balls, refusing to move. I look up to see that the Latchitts are outside the school grounds and getting further away every second. We’re making painfully slow progress.

‘We’ll never make it,’ Colette calls.

‘I’m making it,’ Hallie roars and she starts leaping over everything in her path. When fuelled by anger, she’s an unstoppable force. The rest of us follow as well as we can.

Kids run into us, screaming and shouting. I can’t make out what they’re saying. Teachers point us in the direction of the closest buildings. We ignore them and keep moving. Nobody can see where they’re going properly and everyone is panicking. This isn’t something we’ve ever done practice drills for, so it’s utter chaos.

We were all out here, sitting in the open, with no shelter and no weapons. We couldn’t have been more vulnerable. The Latchitts chose their moment well.

We’re halfway across the field when I see the Latchitts disappear from view down the lane into the main part of the Dread Wood. It’s frustrating, but I know we need to forget about them for now; turning the music off is the priority.

I glance across at Colette. She’s saying nothing, focusing on getting across the field without having her eyeballs pecked out. But while I’m looking at her instead of the ground in front of me, I trip on something lying in the grass, and fall to my knees.

A bird is on me in a second. And I know from the weight of it that it’s not just any bird - it’s a vamp. It drops like a rock, its beak stabbing into my back. It’s on another level to the clawing and pecking. It feels like it’s hammering nails into me. I cry out in pain, lashing out with arms and legs as hard as I can. I know if I don’t get up and get moving, I’m dead.

Then I hear a LOT of swearing, and two pairs of hands grab my arms, pulling me to my feet. The vamp loosens its grip on my clothes and my skin, flapping and carking in anger. It’s an especially gnarly looking one — hunched like a vulture. It spits out a furious shriek, then swoops away towards a new target. Naira is on one side of me, Gus on the other. Hallie is literally punching birds wherever she can connect.

‘Where’s Colette?’ I gasp, terrified that the Latchitts have snuck back and taken her. ‘I can’t see her, where is she?’ I turn my head, panic fully setting in.

‘Look, Angelo,’ Naira says. ‘Behind Hallie.’

I see her, and the relief is so immense I feel like I might cry. But then I see what she’s doing and I’m terrified for her all over again.

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.