Page 49 of A Very Monstrous Desire

Chapter

Twenty-Two

Theo remembered about a decade ago when the running club had decided to add in an evening trail run. He hadn’t been keen on the idea but the guy he’d been dating at the time was all for it, and so Theo had allowed himself to be talked into going. The trail had been in what seemed like a never-ending woodland and Theo had known the moment they set off that it was absolutely not for him.

It wasn’t that Theo didn’t enjoy nature. He did. His basement flat was filled with all sorts of plants, which might well be dead now as Theo’s upstairs neighbour was unreliable and was likely forgetting to water them. He also enjoyed doing a bit of gardening now and then in the pots outside his flat, and he’d visited the botanical gardens more than once. So, yes, Theo enjoyed the greenery, likely always would, but what he did not enjoy was a multitude of branches overhead, enclosing him in. Inches of mud underfoot, which was always slippery when wet. And also, the hidden stuff, like rocks and boulders that he could so easily twist an ankle on.

No, woodlands were not for Theo.

Of course, looking back now and considering that woodland where he’d run the trail—and come first it should be added!—Theo realised it had been a god damn gift compared to what was about to face.

The home of the giant spiders.

Something called the creepers, which would leave them alone Baku had insisted so long as they did not enter any of the clouded areas where the creepers lived.

And the rages.

The harrowing rages.

“They’ll be asleep?” he asked for about the millionth time as they stood on the very edge of the forest.

“They are mostly nocturnal,” Baku said.

“It wasn’t night when I was in there yesterday,” Theo said quickly.

“It was very close,” Baku replied.

The forest rose up in front of them. It covered a vast distance and this close to the coast it ran entirely down to the sea, where a particular tree that did not exist in Theo’s world had taken hold and thrived there in the salty water. Its roots had removed the beach entirely so that the sea became part of the forest. Its sap also held a cure for a type of heart disease that Baku’s people had once suffered from and would soon make its way to Theo’s world.

The forest being so close to the sea had removed the sand and scrubby fields that still existed in the OG Earth and along which Theo’s squadron would be travelling. On this side they would need to go through the forest and get as close as possible to the rip where the munchers were protecting their queen. It was that or swim around it and Theo knew that would be just as, if not more dangerous. In his world the beach that the monsters had settled on was surrounded by rocky coves that were horribly hazardous to swim in and even for approaching by boat. The army had already tried it. Besides, the munchers were quite good swimmers and had already eaten the sea clean of any life around the beach. Once they made it to the rip, they could either go through that or Baku could open an artificial rip for them, and they could go that way instead—whichever was easiest. But they had no choice except to go through the forest.

“Are you okay, Theo?” Baku asked as they readied themselves to enter.

“A bit nervous,” Theo said honestly.

“You have your knife, and you have your serum,” the monster said.

“Yes.”

“And you have me.”

“Yes,” Theo said again, for that was quite true. For some reason, though it really was not clear, Theo did have the monster. The monster cared for him, wanted to protect him, and Theo would be a fool if he didn’t take advantage of that.

“If the rages come?—”

“I will protect you,” the monster said. “But listen to me, Theo, this is very important.”

Theo was reminded irresistibly of instructor Becky back in the classroom in Somerset. It felt odd now to know that the monster had been close by, prowling around the place, shimmering away…watching Theo…becoming fascinated by him…

“No matter what happens you must stay close to me,” Baku continued. “We are going to be quiet, and we are going to be very careful and very deliberate in how we move. If we do that, we should make it to the rip in about five hours, long before it gets dark.”

“And if there are hundreds of munchers?”

“There won’t be. The rages wouldn’t allow it.”

“Dozens then?”

“Perhaps less than that. But once we take the serum, they will assume we are like them. We must be as fast as we can be to get to the queen. Nothing else matters but that.”

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