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A flock of birds suddenly took flight from the forest to my right and I watched their quick ascent until my lashes filled with drops of rainwater.
I looked back at the bridge but the others were just fuzzy shapes in the mist. I pulled my boots from the sticky mud which sucked and pulled at them in resistance and started to follow them across.
The metal felt flaky and insubstantial under my boots but it didn't seem to be about to give way any time soon. Each step I took made the bridge vibrate and the gravelly texture under my feet made me slip.
I was more than used to heights after living in the city and was almost pleased to have a familiar danger to face. Once I felt sure the whole thing wasn’t about to collapse, I picked up the pace and jogged to catch up with the others. The vibrations of my footsteps thunked through the metal structure beneath my feet but the bridge held firm.
Coal had stopped ahead of me and was waiting half
way across the bridge.
“What's the holdup?" he called as the rain tried its hardest to stop the sound of his voice from reaching me.
“Just making sure we aren't being followed yet!" I yelled back as I closed the distance between us.
Coal started to get something out of his pack. It looked like he was unwinding a coiled wire, but it was hard to make out through the haze of falling water. My teeth chattered harder and I reached out to take hold of the barrier next to me while I waited for him to finish what he was doing. The metal was slick and smooth under my numb fingers and I knew that if I fell there was no way I’d be able to maintain a grip on it.
Strangely, the thought didn't scare me. I would happily take a plunge into that abyss over a lethal encounter with a Creeper.
I glanced over the edge at the huge drop below us. Years of living in the city had made me immune to any fear of heights and I regarded the view with interest. The valley, filled with greenery of every shade, stretched away beneath me. Where the hills rose up again on either side, they kept climbing until they disappeared into the low hanging clouds and were hidden from view.
“What are you doing?" I asked, moving closer to Coal.
I had to raise my voice close to a shout to be heard over the rain that rang noisily against the metal bridge.
“Making sure they can't follow us." He attached the wire to a brown block wrapped in plastic and placed it by the supportive strut, next to the barrier.
I peered back across the bridge to the bank we’d just vacated, looking for signs of movement.
Coal crossed the bridge and placed another identical brown block by the support on the opposite side. He jogged back to join me and we ran to the far side of the bridge together where Laurie and Alicia were already waiting. He uncoiled the rest of the wire behind us as we went.
"What are we waiting for?" I asked through my chattering teeth.
“I have to finish this," Coal said.
A look passed between him and Alicia that screamed of trouble. He was still fiddling with the wire and anticipation coiled in my gut.
A strong wind gusted around us and the rain was driven across the valley in a sheet, increasing our visibility.
A shriek announced the arrival of the Creepers and I watched in horror as around thirty of them poured from the trees. Their greasy hair was flying out behind their filth-smeared bodies as they ran bare foot through the mud, showing no signs of slowing down for the bridge.
Their screams of rage blended together to create a terrifying song of dread which set my nerves on edge. It made me want to run and hide and do anything at all except stand still and watch them come for us.
I took a step back, then another, but Alicia reached out and grabbed my arm to stop me. I glared at her but she wasn't paying any attention, just maintaining an iron grip on my wrist.
“Come and get us!" Coal roared at them and he burst out laughing as they teemed onto the bridge, screaming their rage at us.
I was sure he'd gone mad, or maybe he knew it was no use and we were dead anyway. I tugged at Alicia's grip on my wrist again but I knew I wouldn't be able to outrun that hoard.
"Buh-bye," Alicia laughed, waving at them with her free hand as Coal slammed his fist onto the detonator.
A deafening boom went up from the bridge. A flash of orange light bloomed into a fireball high above our heads and a wave of hot air blew around us, making my hair fly back and warming my face uncomfortably for a moment as I was knocked back a step. It was so hot that the rain sizzled out of existence in a cloud surrounding us for a few seconds.
I stared in a state of disbelief as my brain struggled to process what had just happened. For a moment there I'd known that I was going to die. I'd known it so certainly that I was having trouble admitting that I was still very much alive.
Coal and Alicia were whooping and cheering and I couldn't help but join in. Coal grabbed me and spun me in a circle before setting me back down on my feet and throwing his arm around my shoulders as we watched the devastation unfold. And I had to admit I really liked the way I fit beneath his arm.
A cloud of grey dust billowed up and lumps of metal were thrown into the air only to plummet down into the valley below. I caught a few glimpses of Creepers being flung down too and laughed with relief.
