In the Land of Giants - Book 2 of the Acropolis series

Chapter 11

  Everett was frozen to the ground for an instant. He couldn't move. His eyes were riveted to the hellish storm of rock and fire that was descending toward him. He was vaguely aware that people were pushing past him, that the army was on the move, but he couldn't take his eyes off the apocalyptic scene before him.

There was a high whistling sound from above, and his head went up, jaw dropping. An immense chunk of flaming rock was arcing through the air, falling directly toward the truck. He gritted his teeth and looked into the flatbed, where someone was already pulling Bear's stretcher out, trying to get him away. The horrible sound of the dropping stone grew louder as a pair of people took off with the stretcher, and Everett's mind raced as he reached into the cab of the truck, searching for a weapon. He looked up, and panic flooded his veins as he dove, hitting the ground hard, his teeth clicking together over his tongue. He ignored the feeling of warm blood filling his mouth as he scrambled forward on his stomach, trying to get away from what was coming.

The explosion deafened him, and his head hit the ground, hands trying to cover himself as he heard pieces of the truck smashing into the ground all around him. Something hit his back, and it was hot, searing his skin. He shrugged it off of him frantically, and didn't dare look up until he could hear nothing except the high ringing filling his ears.

The truck had been turned into a pile of twisted, burning metal, chunks of it littering the ground everywhere. There was no significant piece of it left. Sam had run, and nobody had been killed within it, but that was the last vehicle. They were on foot from here on in.

Somewhere, coming from the forests in the distance, Everett could hear a new sound, rising high into the sky. He blinked as he realized he was listening to animals, dozens of them, roaring out in terror. Some of them were bursting through the trees into the valley now, and Everett saw that they were stampeding toward the woods on the other side – straight past the outcropping the army was headed for.

His feet lurched into motion, and he began to sprint along with the rest of the army. Being as panicked as he already was, his heart was flooded with adrenaline and his body began to ache after only a few moments. However, he quickly found a way to ignore it as all around him, crashing booms sounded, with explosions of fire and sparks that struck the trees and the ground everywhere. His mind went blank and he could focus only on running and not dying.

Someone ahead of him was holding up the group, and he skipped from side to side, trying to find a way past. He slipped over a boot and fell to the ground, managing to tuck his head and roll, coming to his feet to figure out what the holdup was.

The man was holding up half of the stretcher that held Bear, and his face was twisted with exertion. Everett looked ahead to see that the man at the front could barely stand, continuously stumbling to his knees as his arms shook in an effort to hold up the stretcher.

Very suddenly, there was a roaring sound beside Everett, and he looked to see a series of enormous creatures charging toward him. They moved fast on four thick legs, with large square heads that were lowered more or less in the stretcher's direction. They didn't seem to be looking where they were going – like everything else, they were just running. Several passed by him and he stumbled from side to side, trying to remain clear as he was surrounded in a blurring stampede of confusing limbs and muscle-covered bodies.

At this sight, the man at the front of the stretcher let his hands go, Bear's head striking the ground hard and the other man grinding to a halt. The man who let go turned around, looking apologetically at the stretcher on the ground before he took off, still stumbling somewhat as he made a beeline for the rock outcropping.

Everett dashed forward, grasping the front of the stretcher and starting to jog forward. The man at the back kept up with him completely, and Everett chanced a glance to the side as people and animals passed them by everywhere. He gasped and held his breath as something large and scaly sprinted past him, close enough that its thudding footsteps were easily heard, as well as a hissing sound. He swallowed a lump in his throat and looked out at the valley. There was no end to the herd of creatures, and one of them was guaranteed to crash into them at some point. The creatures were all so horribly panicked, and as he watched, one of them went up in an explosion of sparks and rocks as it was struck down from above. Or, that could happen, Everett thought with cold realization.