Midnight Ruling by E.M. MacCallum

Author:E.M. MacCallum [MacCallum, E.M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2015-07-25T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Widening my stance, I prepared myself for the swing.

The monkey charged, shrieking, and I realized I wasn’t ready.

There was no time to think before it was close enough for me to see the grotesque, red clustered scabs in detail.

Panicking, I swung the stick like a golf club.

Twisting my body into the swing, like my gym teacher taught me, I felt the tip of my weapon collide with flesh and bone. Clumps of bloodied fur puffed as the airborne creature flew back.

The collective monkey shrieks deafened, and I had to duck my head to protect my ears.

It’s a miracle that I’d even heard the rustling behind me. Turning, I swung at the grounded monkeys blindly. They’d come dangerously close while my back was turned. Seeing my wild flailing, they leapt out of reach.

I wouldn’t last long at this rate. Each time I turned around, the ones behind me shimmied closer. The idea of their sharp, yellowed teeth sinking into my skin turned my stomach.

Above, I saw that Phoebe had disappeared. She must have jumped down while I was distracted, but she was nowhere in sight. “Phoebe?” I called, feeling the rise of betrayal threatening the back of my mind. Was the girl in the tree not Phoebe at all but a trap?

They surrounded me on the ground, foam dripping as they calculated their next steps. Intelligence glistened in the dozens of eyes staring back at me.

I readjusted the wooden pole in sweaty hands before swinging a warning. But these monkeys were calling my bluff with each step forward. “Phoebe?”

Finally, a brave creature flew at my side, hissing in a way that made my skin crawl. Landing only a few feet away, it jumped at my nearest arm.

Screaming, I swung at it, but to my horror, I missed.

The agile little monkey dodged under my swing and was at my back.

I closed my eyes as the weight hit me from behind.

Claws dug into my shoulder blades, deep enough to force a scream. I could feel my skin tearing through my flimsy shirt, and warmth trickled down my back.

Pain and fear brought tears to my eyes as I turned in a frantic circle. I partly expected it to reach around and bite my face.

A familiar warmth, something I hadn’t felt since the first Challenge, coiled in my stomach. It drew back, ready to spring, when a second monkey shot forward.

In my haste to back away, I tripped, falling backward. My weapon flew from my grip as I tried to catch myself, and I knew, in that instant, that I was done.

I fell onto the moss-covered ground, and the monkey squished at my back, softening the blow. I heard a wheeze from behind, and the claws retracted from my sore wounds.

Rolling, I tried to get to my feet now that I was free of—and forgive me for this—the monkey on my back.

The warmth in my stomach must have burned out. The next thing I knew, it was gone, abandoning me in an instant.

In my roll, my elbow collided with a rock.

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