The Fire Unseen by Andrew C. Jaxson

Author:Andrew C. Jaxson [Jaxson, Andrew C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Amazon: B077BRYFW3
Published: 2017-11-28T00:00:00+00:00

TWENTY-THREE

I dropped to the ground. It was a clear night; if the shadow was looking our direction, it would see us for sure.

This one looked different from the thing in my bedroom or the figure at the park. It was more like the one that had held Skye in the air—an ethereal, swirling darkness, like a fire burning black.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rachel gesture, and I turned my head, but hair got in the way, falling in my eyes and mouth. I desperately brushed it away to see she was signalling for me to stay low and crawl back to the tunnel. There was no space on the platform for us to turn around, so I inched backwards, staying as flat as I could. Raising my head for a moment, I peeked over the edge. I had no rational reason to do so, and it was a pretty dumb idea, but there’s something in humans that really wants to see whatever’s about to kill us. The shadow was still there, motionless.

Ducking my head again I reversed toward the tunnel, my shirt riding up as I slid backwards. The moist rock made my stomach slimy, but there was no time to care about that.

Rachel was already inside waiting for me, having ducked in as soon as we saw the shadow. Now I was on the ground, though, the base of the tunnel was too thin to slide through. It was wider at waist height, and the only way I could get inside was to stand. When I did, I would be exposed again, but there was no way around it. I had no idea if it could even reach us up here, but Rachel was scared and that said a lot.

We needed a distraction. If I could get the shadow to look the other way for a few seconds I might be all right.

I crawled forward, and Rachel figured out my plan. “Ari, no!” she hissed. I didn’t care. If the shadow saw us here, the Unseen would know our location. I wouldn’t be responsible for that.

There was a big, sturdy tree just beyond the shadow. Time to start a bushfire. If I got lucky, the whole place would be burning in a matter of minutes. The shadow would be forced away, and it would seem like a natural event. Focusing on the tree, I took a deep breath and tuned in to it. Flames shot out of the trunk, lighting up the forest.

The shadow didn’t leave, like I’d planned. It moved towards the fire, gliding silently across the ground. A tendril reached out and wrapped itself around the tree. I felt sick—the tendril looked like an oesophagus. I’d seen one at a museum once, taken from a body for an exhibit on the digestive system. This looked like someone had reached inside the shadow and ripped its throat out, attaching the entrails to the outside like limbs. It pulsed, rhythmic striations flowing from the fire to the shadow.

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