SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW
Chapter Forty Six After leaving the library, they headed east, traveling towards route 9. Both Alan and Rose kept their pace slow at first in deference to Awinita but they soon learned that she had just as much stamina as they did and they resumed their normal speed. The three of them chatted with one another as they walked. Alan, for obvious reasons, kept his Time Lord identity a secret, at least for the moment and using his brilliant mind quickly came up with a plausible back-story of his life in London. They were pleased to learn that Awinita was carrying a small cooking pot since that meant they were able to eat a hot meal without trying to locate the next restaurant. While they walked through the woods, Awinita also found a few edible mushrooms and gathered some for later, pointing out as she did to Alan and Rose what they were so they would be able to also identify them. They alternated between walking and resting and managed to make good time. Once they got away from the interstate, the air around them became quieter and they were able to hear the birdsong more easily, which pleased Alan immensely. They stopped to eat some of their snack foods after about twelve miles and took a nap. When they awoke, it was almost dark and all of them pulled out their torches from their rucksacks and turned them on, following each other through the deep woods as the sun slowly sank in the sky. “How much longer do you wanna go?” Rose asked. “Probably a couple more miles, then we can rest, at least for awhile,” Alan said. “I still think we should do the majority of our walking after dark when it’s nice and cool.” “You aren’t afraid of walking through the woods after dark?” Awinita asked. Alan looked back at her. “No, should I be?” “It’s just that the woods are kinda creepy at night.” “Yes, but I’d rather deal with the creepy woods than sunstroke. We’ll be alright, trust me. If Jason jumps out with his machete, we’ll throw Rose at him.” “Ha ha,” she said. “No, we’ll throw you, you’re the one with the hunting knife, remember.” “Yes, that reminds me, you better change rucksacks, threat to the universe, remember?” “Huh?” Alan winced when he heard Awinita. He said that without thinking of her being behind him. “I’m…just kidding,” he said to her. “She thinks I’m a great big loon and I should be locked up somewhere for my own safety.” “Too right you are,” Rose said. “Completely off your trolley. Most of the time he acts like a huge idiot.” “Ah, but who’s the bigger idiot? The idiot or the idiot who follows him?” he said. “The idiot,” Awinita said. He raised his eyebrow and glanced at her while she and Rose giggled. “I’ll pretend you didn’t say that,” he said, “especially since…” “What was that?” Rose said, cutting him off. “Me running my gob,” Alan replied. “No, I heard something. Like something moving,” Rose said, flashing her torchlight through the trees. “Um, Rose, we’re all moving, all three of us,” Alan said. “Well, we were until you stopped us, but…” “Shhh…” Rose said, holding up her hand. Alan glanced at Awinita. “Did you hear anything other than us?” “No.” “Rose, I think you’re mind is playing tricks…” “Just shut up a minute,” Rose said. Alan sighed. He put his hands in his pockets and listened along with everyone else. The only sound they heard were crickets chirping around them. Rose relaxed. “I’m…sorry, I thought I heard something,” she said. “I think you’re imagining things,” Alan said. “Yeah, no thanks to you and that Jersey Devil nonsense,” she said. “I was kidding about that, Rose. I didn’t mean for you to freak out and think it was out there lying in wait for us.” “Jersey Devil?” Awinita said. “Yeah, a mythical creature that lives in southern New Jersey. Supposedly it’s a demon that’s been sighted since the 1700’s. It’s supposed to look like a horse that walks upright with big bat wings on its back.” “Okay, that’s a new one. I never heard of a bat horse before,” she said. “Yes, well, I was kidding Rose about it earlier and apparently she’s gotten spooked.” “I never said it was the Jersey Devil, I said I heard something. For all I know, someone could have seen us come in here and is following us,” Rose said to him. Alan sighed. “Alright then, let’s head out of the woods and into the open. That way if there is something following us, we’ll be able to see it, alright?” The two women nodded. They turned to their left and made their way though the trees. Alan slowed his pace and fell behind so he could keep an eye on his friends. As he walked, he kept his hearing tuned to any abnormal sounds, but so far all he heard were crickets and the occasional hooting of an owl in the distance. The further they walked, the more Rose relaxed. “Maybe it was just my imagination,” she said to them. “Rose, I think you’re tired. We’ve walked a lot of miles today and you’re just worn out and your mind isn’t fully awake. I think we really should stop and camp for the night, so we can get a good night’s sleep. And…I will stay up and keep watch for awhile, just in case this “something” appears. Alright?” They nodded. They found a clearing after a couple of minutes and shrugged off their rucksacks. Alan lent Awinita his bedroll and she and Rose unrolled them and snuggled inside while Alan slid down the trunk of a tree and sat nearby. “Just go to sleep and I’ll keep watch,” he said. “What about you? You need rest too,” Rose said to him. “Okay, how about this. I’ll wake you in three hours time and we can all take turns keeping watch. Fair enough?” They nodded. “Wake me then,” Rose said, “I’ll take second watch.” “Alright, get some sleep in the meantime. Good night to both of you.” “Good night,” they said. Both of them closed their eyes while Alan sighed and set his head back on the tree trunk. “Rose?” Rose grunted and opened her eyes when she felt someone shaking her. She jerked her head up. “It’s me, it’s only me, it’s been three hours, your turn if you want it,” he said, kneeling beside her. Rose yawned and nodded. She shimmied out of her sleeping bag. “See anything?” “Not a thing, didn’t see anything, didn’t hear anything. If there was something there earlier, it must have scarpered. So, if you wanna do the watch, that’s fine, but I doubt if you’ll see something now.” “I still wanna do it, just to be on the safe side.” “Okay.” “Take my sleeping bag. I’ll take yours when Awinita wakes up.” He nodded and gave her a kiss on the lips. “Good night, starlight,” he said. “Good night.” He snuggled into the sleeping bag while Rose took his place beside the tree trunk. Two hours passed by without incident. Rose sat by the tree, yawning, while she kept her unlit torch in her hand. Two feet in front of her lay her sleeping friends. Rose stared at Alan’s moonlit face and smiled. He looked so peaceful lying there. She longed to crawl up beside him and go to sleep. She sighed looking around at the trees. She couldn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary. “Must have been my imagination,” she said. “I think we’ll be alright. I really don’t wanna stay up any longer, so I might as well pee and go back to bed.” She rose from the ground and flicked the torch on, careful not to let it shine in Alan’s face. Using it, she grabbed her rucksack and crept away from them looking for a place to pee. She found a secluded spot several feet away and laid her torch on the ground while she opened the rucksack, searching for her toilet paper and hand sanitizer. She got both items out and was about to take off her pants and knickers when she suddenly heard a rustling behind her. Her heart began to race and she grabbed the torch. Swinging it around, she aimed it at the trees searching for the source of the noise. She stepped away from the trees and saw Alan and Awinita still in the sleeping bags fast asleep. “Okay, I think I’ll just skip peeing and head back to them,” she murmured. She grabbed up the rucksack and froze when she heard a twig snap a few feet away. She breathed heavily and her heart raced in her chest as she switched off the torch light. “Alan?” she said in a hoarse voice. It wasn’t loud enough to wake him. Rose swallowed hard. “Alan!” she said, louder. She saw Alan jerk his head up. “Rose?” he said, groggily, as Awinita stirred beside him. “Rose, where are you?” She started to go to him when she suddenly heard something moving through the trees right beside her. Frozen stiff, she watched as Alan rose up on his elbow and looked around in confusion. “What is it?” she heard Awinita say in a sleepy voice. “Is it my turn to keep watch?” “Rose is gone,” he said. “Alan!” His head jerked around and he stared into the darkness. “Rose? Where are you? What’s wrong?” he said, pushing the sleeping bag away from his body. “Sweetheart, where are you?” Rose’s eyes bulged when she heard heavy breathing right beside her. Gathering up her strength, she forced herself to run back to Alan with torch and rucksack in hand. Alan focused on the movement and began to run towards her. Suddenly, Rose felt something grab her from behind and jerk her off her feet. She let out a terrified scream and began to kick and punch blindly as she was pulled backwards into the woods by her jacket collar. “Rose!” Alan screamed. He raced to his open rucksack as Awinita got to her feet. Reaching in, he pulled out the hunting knife and torch and sprinted off into the darkness with Awinita right behind. They paused at her rucksack and torch, now lying ownerless beside the trees. Alan cursed and ran off into the woods, following the terrified screams of his lover while Awinita grabbed Rose’s torch and ran in a diagonal direction trying to see if she could get around to the front of the threat. On the way, she noticed a large rock and quickly bent down to pick it up before hurrying on. Alan gritted his teeth and ran with all his might, following Rose’s screams as she was pulled through the woods. “Rose! I’m coming!” he screamed. “Hold on!” “Alan! Help me!” He pushed himself harder, willing every muscle in his half human body to work at full power so he could reach Rose before she died. He noticed some light through the trees to his left. Glancing over, he saw Awinita was running slightly ahead of him now. “Be careful!” he yelled to her. “No telling what’s got her.” “I’m trying to get around it,” she said. “Don’t worry about me; just get to Rose any way you can!” He nodded and focused his full attention on Rose. Rose grunted and gasped as the creature dragged her along the forest floor. It still had her by her jacket collar and she kept trying to pull herself out, but so far she hadn’t been able to get the leverage to do that or anything else. She heard both Alan and Awinita calling her name and saw their torchlight dancing among the trees as the thing carried her further and further away from them. She turned her head and could vaguely make out hooves stomping through the underbrush. Suddenly through all the insanity, a thought popped into her head. Oh, lovely, she thought. The Jersey Devil does exist after all. And now it’s gonna kill me. She chased that thought from her head. She wasn’t going to die and leave Alan devastated, not after she’d fallen in love with him. Thinking quickly, she scanned her surroundings trying to find something, anything she could use to escape. She glanced over and her heart sank when she noticed that both her friend’s torchlight was growing fainter and fainter and she knew that they must be tiring by now. It was all up to her if she wanted to live to see the dawn. She looked around trying to find something to stop the creature. Then…she saw something. A huge tree limb was lying on the ground and the creature was about to run by it. She reached her hand out and let out a yell of triumph when she grabbed it. She glanced up at the beast, wondering if she could hit it on the head and then wondering if that would even affect it since she could now see it was quite large. Then she looked at its legs and got an idea. Twisting her body as much as she could, she readied the long limb and then thrust it in between his legs at an angle. The creature howled as it stumbled over the limb and fell towards the ground. It let go of Rose and she quickly leapt up and ran away from it towards her friends. Her heart raced when she heard the creature snarl and howl in frustration and she increased her speed, willing her aching and injured body to reach Alan before it was too late. She gasped and panted and kept her eyes on Alan’s torchlight as it got closer and closer to her. She was so occupied with reaching him that she didn’t realize the creature had caught up with her until it was too late. She felt a sharp, searing pain in her left arm and then let out a grunt as she was shoved to the ground. The impact knocked the wind out of her and she lay there gasping while the creature stood above her, ready to strike. Then, suddenly, like a knight coming to her rescue, Alan burst from the trees and with a yell of rage lobbed the hunting knife at the beast. Rose twisted her head around and saw the blade embed in its chest. Alan’s torchlight shown on it and Rose got a good look for the first time. It did resemble a horse, but there were no bat wings and it had enormous hands rather than the hooves it had down below. The fingers had razor sharp claws and Rose saw blood dripping off his left ones. It was a truly terrifying sight to behold. For a moment, time seemed to stop and the creature stood over her staring at Alan with shock before it finally turned and ran away into the darkness. Alan dropped the torch, fell towards Rose and gathered her into his arms, panting as sweat poured from his brow. “Amo’tiri, oh God, are you alright?” he panted. By this time, Awinita had caught up with them and she dropped the rock as she stumbled towards them. Rose breathed heavily, trying to catch her breath along with everyone else. She looked up at Alan and saw his face held a mixture of anguish and relief and concern. He reached out and brushed away strands of her dirt and sweat stained hair. Awinita shined her torchlight on them both and Rose saw his face turn ashen. “Oh God,” he whispered. She looked over and gasped when she saw her arm. She suddenly realized why blood was dripping from the beast’s claws when she saw the slash marks that had ripped through her jacket into her skin. Alan looked at Awinita. “Help me get this jacket off her,” he said to her. She nodded and Rose groaned as they gently pulled the jacket off. Once it was off, she looked at her arm and saw that three of the claws had raked the side of her arm and the wounds were about an inch deep. Alan laid her on the ground, briefly brushing her soaked hair away from her face before he wrapped the jacket around her arm. Once it was covered and tied off with the sleeves. He gathered her into his arms and carried her while Awinita used both torches to light the way. “Hold on, Rose, we’ll get you out of the woods, find the road and call an ambulance. Just stay with me,” Alan pleaded. “My mobile’s in my pocket,” Rose murmured. He nodded. “I’ll get it in a minute; right now I just want to get you away from that thing before it comes back.” Rose saw the worry on his face and managed a smile for him. “I guess you were right about the Jersey Devil,” she quipped. Alan laughed in spite of himself. “Yeah, you won’t be mocking me again any time soon, will ya?” he said. He kissed her sweaty forehead. “Oh God, I almost lost you,” he said. “I don’t know what I would have done if I found you dead.” Rose’s heart ached. “Just…don’t think about that,” she said. “I’m not dead, I’m right here and I’ll be alright.” He nodded and gave her another kiss on the forehead as he and Awinita made it back to their camp. After they got back to camp, Alan lay Rose on her sleeping bag and made her comfortable. “We have to move away from here and find the road,” Alan said to her. “I think you’ll be alright, but those wounds need stitches.” “Listen, Alan, why don’t we do this so Rose doesn’t have to be moved. I’ll take my cell phone, go and find the road and when the paramedics come, I’ll lead them back here to you guys, alright?” “Are you sure? That thing might still be out there.” “No, I think after you threw the knife in its chest, it gave up. I’ll be fine, just stay here and get your breath back and look after Rose. I’ll hurry back as fast as I can.” “Okay, be careful. Damn, we don’t have a hunting knife now.” “I have pepper spray. I know it probably won’t do much against that thing, but at least it’s something.” She handed the torches to Alan and grabbed her own and her pepper spray from her rucksack. She took one last look at them before she ran off through the woods in search of the road.
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