Monsters and Maidens

The roar hung in the air with a heaviness that turned the fear into a simmering panic just about ready to explode. It shook their bones, and the silence that hung around them made the air thick, hard to breathe. Everyone had turned to the side of the woods from which the thunderous sound had come before looking at one another with wide eyes.

Rick could see it in their eyes, the people sharing glances, peering at the darkness of the woods and back. He knew he should be more afraid, more nervous about the roar and its source. But his mind wasn’t registering it. Within his mind, the single image of importance was that of the begging look on Charlie’s face as the spider-monster had captured and held him aloft in her arms like a rag-doll.

The young teacher couldn’t avoid it, couldn’t stop himself. Like a broken record, the conversation he’d held with the sophomore played again. And again. The gut feeling of the wrongness of these woods, its looming threat, the oppressive understanding this place was not home, it was not safe.

He should have told Charlie to stay.

Instead, he’d sent his student to his death.

“We’re gonna die.”

It was no louder than a whisper.

It might as well have been a gunshot, it broke the loop with a shudder.

No, he couldn’t let it happen again.

Pushing down the storm of brewing emotions, Rick’s brain kicked in with blaring alarms, concerned with immediate survival. He knew without a doubt what awaited them if panic bloomed. The young teacher lunged forward, his voice exploding all around as loudly as he could make it. “YOU!” The word came out with a heavy growl, his finger stopped at the nearest student he could see. In a flash, all the attention was on him. “Help Ms. Smith gather the wounded into the safety of the bus.”

The command came out like a bark. It was loud, clear, and made the growing fear hesitate. It gave all of them something to focus on, and Rick would not let that go to waste. He took the chance. The commanding finger turned at three more students and at Daniel. “You, you, you, and you, help him with that.” He turned to the strongest looking parents and students in the crowd, not allowing a second of silence to pass. “You lot over here, you’re going to work with me to move the corpses away from here.”

“But-”

Rick stepped towards the one who’d spoken up. The teacher’s hand gestured at the trees from where the roar had come. “Whatever it is, it’s coming, and the last thing any of us wants is to-,” the word caught in his throat. He grimaced and pushed on. “-to end up like… Charlie.”

His words made several people nod with apprehension, but it grew in enthusiasm as they shared looks amongst themselves. Rick turned to the parents. His gaze searched for the ones that looked only partially panicked, the ones at the brink. “You.” His finger aimed at the next person. “Pick whoever you can to assist you with gathering and organizing supplies, and you.” Looking around, his finger moved towards the person that looked the most composed in the crowd. There was a split second of hesitation as he realized the one he’d found had been the oldest. “Can you help?”

“I know a thing or two about defenses.” The old man nodded calmly. There was a quiet sense of control that surrounded him. His aged features betrayed little emotion other than determination.

“Good, pick whoever you might need,” Rick said.

With the orders given, panic changed into a half-stumbling, bumbling action. Just like that, the fear turned into scared determination. It wasn’t ideal, there were still people that were clearly barely hanging on to their wits. But it would have to do for now. The chemistry teacher moved and pointed at the others to work with him, approaching one of the parents to help him move the nearest body away from the torn-up vehicle.

Both faltered in front of the lifeless blond he’d checked on earlier. “Fuck.” The man he’d brought spoke under his breath. He was the sort of parent Rick would’ve expected to see, beer gut, slight roundness to his face, but a stern jaw.

“You knew her?”

“No, mine’s… Felix, Felix Garcia. He hasn’t woken up yet. I’m his father.”

“I’m Rick, chemistry teacher.” He could remember the name, average grades, higher engagement in class, always some joke to share afterwards.

“Smith.” They shook hands, glancing back at the body of the young woman. “This is fucked up.”

“Agreed.” Rick had only half-nodded. He shoved down the emotions. There was no time for them right now. It was as if a part of him was submerged in a wave of surrealism, a feeling that he could just snap awake from the nightmare at any moment and find himself in his bedroom. He leaned down and grasped one of the shoulders. “Help me.”

Smith was queasy, nodding, and taking a second to mirror the gesture, taking the other shoulder.

Both of them dragged the body a good fifteen meters to the side and right at the edge of the clearing.

“Should we…?” A pause, Smith looked back at the bus. “Did she come with anyone, or…?”

“I don’t know.” Rick shook his head, quickly letting go of the body and looking away as soon as he had the chance. There was a slight shake in his hands, enough so he had to press his palms against his thighs to calm them down.

Quietly, neither dared suggest they move further into the forest. Their eyes kept glancing between the tree-tops and the shadows. They hurried back towards the bus rather than risk staying near the trees for any longer than absolutely necessary.

“What the hell was that monster?” The man spoke in a low whisper.

“I don’t know. It was up above and…” Rick’s voice faltered, dying in his throat.

“Where are we?”

“I don’t know,” he replied, lowering his head.

They glanced at the others that were helping move the bodies. One of the younger students dropped theirs in their rush to vomit near a tree. Others only stood next to the bodies and looked down at them in horror. Some were struggling and begging the bodies not to be moved. Those were pulled into the bus. Rick could hear the sobs that came from inside, they lingered in the air like a heavy fog.

Things were settling in, and as much work as there was being done, not everyone could help. The teacher pushed himself to ignore the sounds, the cries, the smells. With help from Smith, they did their best to help and move everyone who’d passed on away from the bus.

The line-up of bodies was a sight that made Rick’s stomach roil. By the time they’d finished, it was over a dozen in size. They had covered their faces with spare shirts and other pieces of cloth, it was the only way to mitigate their presence.

Smith had left to be next to his son as soon as they’d finished the task. Rick just took the break to catch his breath, standing next to the totaled bus, his back towards the vehicle while his eyes kept glancing at the trees, at the forest, at the place the roar had came from. Emotions kept trying to well up within him, simmering as they pushed up to the surface, and the chemistry teacher kept shoving them down. There was a storm inside of him threatening to escape he couldn’t let himself succumb to.

The thoughts were interrupted when he saw Alice approaching him. Her grey hair and green eyes looked frazzled and worn, her body was a bundle of nerves, tense and coiled. She was rattled, showing a half-hidden look of concern. Her expression was tightened into forced neutrality, but her hands were shaking enough she had to clutch them tightly. To anyone who knew her, it was an easy read. She was as much near the edge of panic as everyone else, even if she was trying to hide it.

“We should cover them completely,” she said with soft words, her tone hushed, and giving a nervous glance over her shoulder to confirm whether the others had heard her. “It’s the least we can do.”

Rick’s focus turned towards the bodies. The image of Charlie’s death made him grimace. The monster had taken the corpse with her even when running from the roar. The teacher didn’t want to think about it, but he knew, they couldn’t make themselves the easier target. Part of the reason he’d proposed to move them there had been to draw attention away from the bus. But he was also aware he couldn’t use that argument with Alice, she’d be sure to refute him and hard. Logic dictated he threw in a change of subject. “I’m more anxious about telling May that had been Charlie.” The words were enough to make the psychology teacher shudder. But it was clear that wasn’t enough, Rick sighed. “But I’m worried whether we’ll survive. We can’t stay here.”

“Are you…!?” Alice’s words cut short the instant she spoke them, recognizing she’d raised her voice. A quick check over her shoulder. She lowered her volume to a whisper. “Are you crazy!?”

A small sigh of relief made its way through Rick’s mind. This was the better option to talk about. Direct, to the point, less to hesitate about. “Got better ideas? Food and water aren’t infinite, cell reception is shot.”

She wavered, almost curling into herself as she bit her thumb. “We… just fell. We only need to bunker down, use the bus as cover. Help will come.”

“How? From where?”

The simple question knocked the words out of her lips. She hesitated, lowering her gaze. “We need to talk with the other parents and teachers, hash out what we’ll do.” She’d changed the subject, redirected the goal.

Rick’s brow furrowed, remaining quiet, not trusting that things were as easy as she was making them out to be. Nor that they could fully trust on a quorum to be able to decide what to do. If they didn’t want to die, they’d have to take things into their own hands.

And soon.