Page 97 of Unnatural
“Head toward the town limit,” she said. “Sheriff Monroe will help us.”God, she didn’t even have her phone.But she had her life. They both did. At least for now.
He glanced at her and gave a short nod before turning onto the road that curved around the water, a steep drop on one side, a wall of rock on the other.
She looked over her shoulder at the winding road behind them, spotting a black truck, advancing quickly. “It’s them,” she breathed.
Sam’s eyes went quickly to the rearview mirror and then back to the road. His knuckles were bloodless where he gripped the wheel, bruises standing out in sharp contrast.
The roar of the truck grew louder, and Autumn held back a scream, grabbing the handle above the door and holding on for dear life. She wanted to cry with terror, but she didn’t dare distract or startle Sam.
The truck hit their car with a screeching jolt and then fell immediately back. Sam lost momentary control of the car, and it skidded precariously close to the edge of the cliff. Adrenaline poured through Autumn’s system, her breath coming in pants. She gripped the handle, crying silently as Sam got control of the car, punching on the gas and speeding around a bend.
They turned onto a straighter portion of road, and the truck advanced on them again, jolting their car, a sickening crunch of metal as the steering wheel shook and Sam worked to keep the car on the road.
Again, Autumn looked over her shoulder to see the truck advancing on them.Not again. Please not again.It was so much bigger and more powerful. There was no way to outrun it, and they still had miles to go.OhGodohGodohGod.
One of these hits was going to drive them over the edge of the road to the river below. A moan burst from Autumn’s lips. She braced for another impact as the truck came right up to their bumper, but instead of hitting them, it made a sudden swerve, coming up next to Sam’s window.
“Duck!” he yelled, and she did as he said, putting her head on her knees, more tears tracking down her face asshe quaked with fear. Sam took his foot off the accelerator, immediately dropping back, and Autumn sat up, her eyes wild as she looked for the truck.
The truck slammed on its brakes, and Sam swerved by them, punching the accelerator again as they came to another bend in the road. Again, Autumn gripped the handle and squeezed her eyes shut, just waiting for their car to tip. But it didn’t. It raced around the curve just as the truck did too.
“Fuck,” Sam hissed, and when she looked up, she saw why. There was another black truck, stopped, blocking both lanes just up ahead. The truck behind was slowing down. She and Sam were trapped. There was nowhere to go unless they went over the edge.
Two men stepped from the truck ahead, and Sam slowed to a crawl. “There are too many of them. I can’t fight them all off, not for long anyway. We’re going to have to run. When I come to a stop, jump out and follow me down the bluff.”
“Okay, okay, okay,” she sobbed. She was trembling violently with terror, but she knew as well as he did that they had no other choice.
The truck behind them was coming toward them slowly. They knew they had them boxed in. Sam slammed the brakes, the car coming to an abrupt stop, and pulled the emergency brake. “Now,” he said, and they both jumped from the car.
Autumn ran around the front to where Sam was holding out his hand for her. Another shot of adrenaline gave her the strength she needed to race beside him, hand in hand, as they heard shouts from either direction.
“Here!” Sam yelled as he ducked into the foliage at the edge of the road, Autumn directly in his wake.
The slope here was steep, but there was plenty of brush to hide behind, and Sam led her, more quickly than carefully. She heard shouts from above over her staggered breath and the blood whooshing in her ears.
Sam stopped, crouched, and pulled her with him. She went to her knees in the dirt, holding on to the trunk of a skinny tree. Their eyes met and held, chests rising and falling as they took a moment to catch their breath.
They’d been here before, hadn’t they? Hiding behind trees from monsters. Only then, she’d thought him one of them. Now, she knew he was anything but.
She brought his abraded knuckles to her lips and kissed them, murmuring his name. “I love you,” she said. “I love you, Sam.”
“Autumn,” he said, his voice filled with gravel. He brought his hand to the back of her neck and laid his forehead against hers. “I love you too. I’ve loved you all my life. I’m sorry—”
Before he could finish that sentence, the sound of sliding gravel met their ears, the brush shaking at the very top of the incline directly above where they hid.Oh God.They’d found them. Sam yanked her to her feet as she let out a tiny gasp. He craned his neck, looking up, and she followed his gaze, seeing that foliage shook in each direction. They’d spread out and were moving downward simultaneously.
They jumped to the rock-covered ground, now fully exposed, Sam’s head whipping in both directions. “Fuck,” he swore under his breath. The slope where the monsters descended was behind them, the choppy river in front. There was one outlet that appeared to have access to another bluff, but it was far away, across the slippery rocks.
“You have to run,” Sam said.
“Run? Without you? No!”
“Yes. Go while you still can. I’ll hold them off as long as possible. Run. Get help.”
“Sam, no, I—”
“Run!” he hissed, baring his teeth and startling her.
On a small, choked sob, she backed up, their eyes holding. A goodbye. His were fierce, but within the fierceness, she saw the love. And the grief. She reached out, and he reached back, their fingers brushing, just as the first man broke through the brush and began heading toward them.Oh God. Oh no. Sam, Sam, Sam.
