Teddy by Matt Duchossoy

Author:Matt Duchossoy [Duchossoy, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-12T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seventeen

After checking their best to ensure there was not another hidden exit from whatever dimensional hell they’d slipped into, the trio headed away from the direction the creature had appeared. They’d been walking for at least thirty minutes and the landscape hadn’t changed at all. Dirt. Dust. Metal. The occasional scream would halt progress for a moment, and in other instances cause a slight change of course.

Francie didn’t trust Harry. She didn’t trust how he’d appeared so soon after them, despite insisting he’d not tailed them. She didn’t trust his (almost) indifference to the alien landscape, and she certainly didn’t trust anything he had to say about her brother. Daniel, on the other hand, didn’t seem to have time to listen to her doubts.

“We have bigger things to worry about,” he’d said, once she’d finally been able to pull him aside for a moment, “like finding Teddy and getting you out of here alive.”

“Us,” Francie said. “Getting us out of here alive. You might think you’re ready to die, but don’t put yourself in danger if it’s avoidable.”

“Little late for that.”

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity—though the blood moon didn’t appear to have moved an inch in the sky—a squat, obsidian structure came into view on the horizon, glistening against the red heavens. There was brief discussion as to whether or not they should investigate, but the lure of hydration and shelter had eventually tipped the argument in Francie’s favour, and they’d wound through the heaps of scrap metal and spikes until they were near enough to investigate. Though the place had no windows, a large doorless opening sat several feet off the ground. Dull, navy light melted through the maw in steady waves, like a rising tide over a rock pool.

“Still think this is a good idea?” Daniel asked the others. He too, was desperately in need of something to drink. Though it wasn’t particularly warm, the dusty landscape belched dry and acrid air, which had quickly become irritable to every exposed orifice.

“Unless you’ve got a better idea…” Francie left it hanging, knowing he wouldn’t.

“Chill. I’ll go first if that’s what you’re worried about,” Harry said, already walking ahead without bothering to check his surroundings. “But I’m calling first dibs on whatever is inside.”

“He’s going to get us all killed,” Francie said under her breath. “If we were to ditch him, this would be the ideal opportunity.”

Daniel shrugged. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We’d practically be killing the man. Besides, I thought you were desperate to get in there?”

Francie looked around before responding. Nothing but metal-studded hills in every direction. She sighed. “I don’t mean we should. All I said was if we were to. Whatever is in there has to be better than what we’ve seen out here so far, surely.”

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