Silent Heroes: Wildcat

Chapter 13: The Village

The landscape grew more and more remote as we drove.  The road narrowed from two lanes to one.  The plant-life became thick and wild.  The few remaining indications of civilization—telephone poles, mail boxes and the occasional wooden cottage—became increasingly scarce and eventually disappeared all together. 

Smooth, flat pavement became cracked and uneven before it transformed into gravel, then tightly packed earth.  We jostled along the uneven surface, climbing up and down hills, following every twist and turn in the road.  Even Deanna couldn't speed much in these conditions.

With time, I noticed an increasing amount of signs posted all over the side of the road.  They were covered in big, bold lettering that said things like: WARNING, NO TRESSPASING and RESTRICTED: US MILITARY ZONE.

I could sense that we were getting close.  My stomach squirmed with a mixture of nerves and excitement.  I kept switching my view from the side mirrors to the front, looking for some hint of civilization.

"How much longer?"

"Not long," Shane said.  "Ten minutes, maybe?"

"What's this place like?  How many people live there?"

"About ten-thousand.  Give or take."

"Are there a lot of kids my age?"

"Oh yes, plenty."

I paused for a moment.  I felt a little silly for asking this, but I couldn't resist.  "Are they nice?  Are they friendly?  Will I get along with them?"

"I don't see why not.  They're just like normal high-school kids.  Except for the obvious fact that they can turn into animals."

"What kind of animals can they turn into?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions," Shane observed.

"Can you blame me?"

 He laughed.  "Not really, no."

 "Okay, guys," Deanna said.  "We're getting close.  Better brace yourselves."

I angled my body sideways, looking out the front windshield. But all I saw was a huge sign that said DEAD END and then the road stopped abruptly in a tangle of vines and leaves. 

"Hold on, what...?"

Before I could finish my question, Deanna hit the gas.  The engine roared.  The car lurched, wheels spinning madly in the dirt, then it gained some traction and shot forward.

I yelped and grabbed onto my armrest.  We were barreling straight towards a solid wall of green.  There was a sharp jolt every time the car hit a pot-hole or an uneven section of ground.  I gripped the side door harder as we approached the end of the road, preparing for a colossal impact...

But, it never came.  The car hit slight incline and shot upwards, passing harmlessly through a screen of shrubs and leaves.  We were airborne for a moment, then landed with a crash back on the ground.  I flew up and crashed down along with it, now clinging to the armrest for dear life.

Not even fazed by this, Deanna changed gears and accelerated again.  We were on another stretch of road, this one only a few yards long.  Like the first one, it appeared to end abruptly right on the edge of the forest.  I could feel the car picking up momentum, see the woods coming closer with each second.  We shot up another hill and ploughed right through the shrubbery as if it were no more substantial then tissue paper.

We repeated the same pattern three more times by my count.  Accelerate.  Jump.  Land.  Accelerate.  Jump.  Land.  My arms shook from gripping the armrest.  My head ached from slamming it repeatedly against the roof of the car.