Pete McGee and the Master of Darkness (11 page)

Smithers yelled out for Molloy to come back, to not be stupid, that they had to stick together. As soon as he stopped shouting Pete heard someone running through the forest, and assumed that Smithers had taken off after Molloy. Pete stood still, Tahnee's hand still on his shoulder. He didn't know what to do. He decided he would wait for his two friends to return.

‘Tahnee? Ashlyn?' he said quietly.

There was no response. Pete, unblinking, stared straight ahead as Tahnee's hand started massaging his shoulder, her fingers bonier than Pete had remembered. Slowly, slowly, raising his hand, he shut his eyes. His hand neared Tahnee's, closed over it, and then the realisation hit.

That wasn't Tahnee's hand.

Tahnee wasn't there any more.

Neither was Ashlyn.

Or Molloy.

Or Smithers.

Pete McGee was alone on his journey once more, just as he had come to terms with being part of a group.

Well, alone except for the tree branch that had come alive and was massaging his shoulder. Pete tried to lift the branch away, but the grip tightened. It wasn't massaging any more either. It was gripping hard, and Pete winced, squirming to get away from it. The tree held fast. Pete felt another branch grip his other shoulder. A tree root brushed past his leg, and Pete knew he had to take action or he would be trapped.

He yelled out to the rest of the group for help, but only the trees replied, and they didn't speak, they just sort of creaked and groaned and one of them sneezed, which was really weird.

The tree root closed around Pete's ankle, and he started to lose his balance. He struggled with all his might, but it was no good.

He was trapped, and he was all alone.

More test ‘number two'

M
olloy finally stopped running once he realised he had gone off the path. As soon as he stopped, somebody crashed into him. The two bodies fell to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs before Molloy and his mysterious attacker both stood, swords drawn.

‘What's your morning glory?' Molloy said as bravely as he could, the darkness of the forest concealing all identities.

‘It's me, you idiot,' said a familiar voice.

‘Smithers,' Molloy said, spitting out the name. ‘Of all the people in all the dark forests in all the world, you had to be the one following me. Where's Sweet?'

Smithers shrugged, even though no one could see him do it.

‘No idea. I ran after you to try and stop you getting lost. Lucky too: you're off the path.'

‘I know that, Slick. What about the others?'

Smithers shrugged again.

‘With Pete I guess. We'd better head back and find them.'

Molloy agreed, and the two best of enemies walked back towards the track. Strangely, the path was only revealed thanks to a small light they could see sneaking through the trees. They were so relieved that they never stopped to consider it could be a trap. They never considered that the FOREST OF DEATH was, in fact, alive!

The others
hadn't
remained where Molloy and Smithers had left them. Well, Pete wasn't far from there, as he struggled with the trees that had come alive, but Tahnee and Ashlyn were long gone. They had both heard something, a voice calling them, and it had sounded like Pete, so they had moved towards it. They made sure to stay on the path, even when the voice came from the side.

‘How did he move from under my grip?' Tahnee wondered aloud.

Ashlyn didn't answer. Her presence was reassuring to Tahnee, but in terms of getting any helpful advice she had the wrong partner.

‘So what are you saying?' Tahnee said, pretending she'd had an answer from Ashlyn. ‘The voice we're hearing that sounds like Pete isn't actually Pete at all but a trick to lead us away from him, to separate the group and to attack us one by one?'

Ashlyn stopped in her tracks. Tahnee answered her own question.

‘You're right. Absolutely right. We have to go back and find the real Pete.'

The two turned around and headed back the way they thought they had come.

‘Pete!' Tahnee yelled. ‘PETE!'

There was no reply. Pete hadn't heard the cry, and even if he had, he wouldn't have been able to answer.

The branches tightened around Pete McGee's arm. The tree roots tightened around his legs. Another swirled in and covered his mouth. He struggled as much as he could, but it was no use. He was lifted off the ground and carried towards the trunks. He dreaded to think what would happen then.

He tried to scream, but nothing came out; his mouth was covered by leaves. He thought he heard someone calling his name, but he couldn't be sure. To his left he thought he saw a flash of light, but again, he couldn't be sure.

The branches tightened. Pete saw the flash again, this time he was certain of it. Suddenly, the flash moved at speed towards him. Behind it, lit up by the small light, was a scarred, familiar face from Pete's past.

‘Smnnhtora?' Pete said in a muffled voice, before the leaves over his mouth covered his entire face, causing him to pass out.

Molloy and Smithers kept walking. Their eyes had adjusted somewhat to the darkness, and now they could see a little better.

‘I've seen that before,' Smithers said. ‘That tree; I know I've seen it before.'

‘Of course you have,' Molloy said. ‘Of course you can tell the difference between it and the billion other pitch-black trees!'

‘Molloy, if you had any skills as a tracker, you would know that we have seen that tree there too. And that one. We're walking in circles.'

Molloy didn't answer. He was certain they were walking in a straight line, and yet they didn't seem to be getting anywhere. At the same time though, he didn't want Smithers to be right. He felt strange, acting towards Smithers like he had been, because he knew it was childish and stupid. Once he started though, he couldn't stop. He felt like he was stuck in his own loop, but he had to keep it up.

Smithers, although he didn't know it, felt the same as Molloy. The two had more in common than either of them would have liked to admit. But, like Molloy, Smithers couldn't let up now; he had to keep up with the arguing and the name-calling, for no other reason than it had begun, and regardless of whether he was actually starting to like Molloy.

So they kept walking, in silence now, and they kept passing the same tree, over and over.

They were stuck in a loop of a different kind, and it didn't seem like there would be any way out.

Ashlyn and Tahnee were also stuck in a loop, but they knew exactly what it was and how they might get out of it. The loop
they
were stuck in was just off the path; it was a circular patch of grass, surrounded by cobweb-covered trees. In the trees were giant, human-sized spiders with multiple gleaming eyes.

Neither Tahnee nor Ashlyn were usually afraid of spiders, but at the same time, these weren't your average, everyday spiders. They were hideous; they would scare anyone.

Ashlyn and Tahnee stood side-by-side, hearts pounding. Each had a sword drawn.

‘Are you good at using a sword?' Tahnee asked Ashlyn.

Ashlyn didn't reply; ever since her wedding had been destroyed she had become like a machine. She simply ran forward and sliced a leg off one of the spiders as it emerged from its web.

Tahnee almost laughed.

‘That would be a yes then.'

She went to say more, but the spiders began scuttling down from their webs. Well, most of them scuttled—one sort of scuttle-limped, seeing as it was missing a leg and had gooey, green blood oozing out of it. Even in the darkness the spiders stood out, their eyes glowing red in anger. The girls moved closer to each other.

‘Our advantage,' Tahnee said, ‘is that we have a reason to get out of this. You have Marloynne to rescue. And I have Molloy … and Pete McGee.'

Tahnee flinched a little after speaking. Yes, she had said that out loud. Ashlyn looked at her, and it even seemed as though she was going to speak. She didn't though. She smiled, and then her eyes went hard and she turned so they now stood back to back. The spiders roared and attacked.
(Yes, they roared. What? They are massive human-sized spiders in a forest where there are paths playing on a continuous loop and trees that kidnap one-armed wannabe knights. And you think it's strange the spiders are roaring? Come on, people! Get with the program!)

Meanwhile, back at the ranch … well, back at the trees that were trying to squeeze the life out of Pete McGee, the trees were trying to squeeze the life out of Pete McGee. If those trees had magical future-seeing minds, which I don't know if they did or not, but if they did, even then they would not have been prepared for the whirl of action that was about to strike them.

Santora, friend of Pete McGee, and helper of those who need help, attacked the trees without a thought. The long plait that went halfway down his back twirled. His massive forearms flexed, the veins almost popping as he swung his sword. He fought the branches with glee: slicing here, cutting there. Within a minute, Pete had dropped to the ground, and the branches turned their attention to Santora. Suddenly able to breathe again, Pete woke up as he hit the ground. He shook his head, and when it cleared he saw a small man taking on the might of the trees. It
WAS
Santora! Pete almost laughed, despite everything. He unsheathed his dagger and held it high.