Chapter 4: The Battle with the Unseen Beasts

Grace's overly sweet act was wearing thin on us. Her so-called "concern" for Tom was as phony as a counterfeit bill. Her hand on his shoulder, meant to seem soothing, felt more like a viper coiling tightly around his throat. I glared at her, the heat of my simmering anger burning through the churning fear in my gut.The unseen beasts closing in were undoubtedly terrifying, but at that moment, Grace posed a greater threat. "Now, now, boys," she purred once again, her voice oozing with insincere sweetness. "There's no need for all this. We're all in this together, aren't we?" Yeah, right. Together like a pack of wolves fighting over the last scrap of meat. Her eyes, though, betrayed the real story. A flicker of triumph, a smug satisfaction at the tension she had deliberately stirred up. This wasn't by chance; it was all meticulously planned.But there was no time to linger on Grace's schemes. The air hummed with a low, guttural growl, and the ground trembled beneath our feet. Shadows danced at the edge of our vision, swift and indistinct. These weren't your run-of-the-mill wasteland scavengers. They were something far more sinister.Fear threatened to paralyze me, to anchor me to the spot like a petrified tree. But Jack, always composed, snapped me out of my trance. "Tom, Luna, find something solid to hide behind! Now!" His voice, sharp and commanding, sliced through the rising panic.The first attack came with lightning speed and brute force. A blur of movement, a sickening thud, and Tom was on the ground, clutching his arm, a crimson stain blossoming through the tattered fabric of his shirt. "Damn it!" he hissed, his face contorted in pain. My heart lurched in my chest. We couldn't afford to have any casualties, not at this critical juncture.I started to rush towards him, adrenaline pumping through my veins, but Luna grabbed my arm, her fingers digging into my skin. "Wait! We need to observe how they attack." Her voice was calm, almost detached, in stark contrast to the chaos unfolding around us. She was right, of course. Rushing in blindly would be suicidal. We needed a plan, a well-thought-out strategy.Thankfully, Jack seemed to already have one taking shape. He grabbed a length of rusted pipe and a discarded sheet of corrugated metal, his movements swift and efficient. He wedged the pipe against a crumbling wall, creating a makeshift tripwire. Then, using rocks and debris, he fashioned a crude but effective pitfall. His ingenuity never failed to astonish me. Even in the face of impending doom, the guy could always find a way out of the trickiest situations.The first creature to fall victim to his trap was a grotesque, spider-like entity, all spindly limbs and razor-sharp claws. It shrieked as it tumbled into the pit, a sound that sent icy shivers down my spine. Two more followed suit, their movements surprisingly clumsy despite their speed. A glimmer of hope flickered in the darkness.But just as quickly, it was snuffed out. Grace, the ever "helpful" one, "accidentally" kicked a rock, dislodging a crucial support for one of the traps. The spider-like thing scurried free, its multiple eyes gleaming with malevolent intent. I saw red. That witch! She was deliberately sabotaging us!Tom, despite his injury, rejoined the fray, his movements hindered but his determination unwavering. He and Jack fought back-to-back, a whirlwind of fists and feet, their coordination almost intuitive. They were a force to be reckoned with, a defiant beacon in the encroaching darkness.And then, I noticed something. As one of the creatures lunged at Jack, it flinched, recoiling from the beam of his flashlight. It hissed, shielding its eyes with its claws. Another creature reacted the same way when Luna's flickering lighter briefly flared. They were... afraid of the light?"Guys!" I shouted, my voice booming over the din of the battle. "They don't like light!"Jack, ever quick to grasp the situation, immediately switched his flashlight to its brightest setting, aiming the blinding beam directly at the nearest creature. It shrieked, a piercing, ear-splitting sound, and recoiled, its multiple eyes squeezed shut. Tom, in spite of his injury, followed suit, grabbing a flaming piece of debris from a nearby fire and brandishing it like a torch. The creatures shrank back from the flames, hissing and spitting, their movements becoming sluggish and disoriented.Luna, bless her sharp mind, had already understood the implications. "They're nocturnal!" she shouted, frantically rummaging through her backpack. "They must hunt in the dark!"But just as a wave of relief swept over me, Grace's lighter flickered to life. Not to fend off the creatures, oh no. She aimed the flame, not at the monsters, but at a pile of dry leaves and debris near the base of a crumbling building. The tinder caught fire instantly, flames greedily devouring the dry wood."Oops," she simpered, with a sickeningly innocent expression on her face. "Butterfingers."The fire spread rapidly, fueled by the dry, parched wasteland vegetation. The flickering light, instead of repelling the creatures, drew them in, their eyes gleaming with a predatory hunger. They swarmed towards the flames, their movements no longer clumsy, but swift and purposeful. My stomach plummeted. This wasn't an accident; it was a calculated move. Grace wasn't just undermining us; she was actively trying to eliminate us."You bitch!" I bellowed, lunging towards her. But Jack grabbed my arm, holding me back. "We have to leave! Now!" he shouted, his voice taut with urgency. "Now!"He pulled me away from the spreading inferno, towards a narrow alleyway. Tom and Luna followed closely behind, their faces ashen with terror. The creatures, now emboldened by the fire, were closing in rapidly. We were trapped, surrounded by flames and monsters, with a deranged traitor among us.As we fled, I glanced back, catching Grace's eye. She stood silhouetted against the flames, her face illuminated by the flickering orange glow. And then, she smiled. A slow, deliberate, bone-chilling smile. It was the smile of a predator who had just cornered its helpless prey.This leaves the group in a perilous situation, heightening the tension and setting the stage for an electrifying escape in the next chapter. It also firmly establishes Grace as a menacing and crafty antagonist.