Not A Small-Town Girl

David paused just three steps away from the spot where Aran had been pulled underground by the creature. He took an apple from his pocket, cracked it in half with a sharp "crunch," and tossed one half about 15 feet ahead of him. Then, he stood still, eyes fixed on the spot.

The bodyguards, trailing behind, suddenly understood the reason their boss had wanted food. He was a genius.

Less than two minutes passed when a slimy tentacle snaked up from the ground and wrapped itself around the apple, dragging it back underground. The team watched in awe. From David’s position to where the apple had landed was clearly a dangerous area.

Without missing a beat, David threw the other half of the apple, this time 30 feet farther.

Predictably, the tentacle grabbed it and pulled it underground.

David then pulled a pear from his pocket and cracked it with the same sharp "crunch." He tossed half of it 60 feet away. A full minute passed—nothing. Two minutes—still nothing. He then threw the other half of the pear to 45 feet, but once again, no tentacle emerged.

The group exhaled in relief. They’d figured it out. The creatures were active within a 30-foot radius, so as long as they could cross that distance, they could avoid them. But just as they were about to relax, David’s voice broke the silence.

"Do we have more apples? Bring me a few more."

"Yes, Mr. Charrington," one of the bodyguards said, opening his pack and offering three large, red apples with a proud grin.

David took one, cracked it, and threw it exactly 45 feet.

Barely a minute passed before the tentacle emerged and snatched the apple.

One of the bodyguards, watching in disbelief, gaped, "Boss... it’s picky! It doesn’t eat pears..."

David didn’t respond to him. Instead, he kept throwing apples, testing the creature’s limits. When he threw one 160 feet, the tentacle didn’t appear.

"Looks like the tentacle’s range is up to 160 feet," Nathan said, handing David a wet wipe. "How do we cross this?"

David slowly wiped his hands clean and responded, "We’ll go along the wall."

"What? The wall?" Nathan was stunned. He glanced at the bare, smooth walls. Was the boss suggesting they climb?

David shot him a glance, discarded the wipe, and simply said, "Move out."

The team followed, scaling the wall with knives, crawling forward like geckos. Even those with injured arms gritted their teeth and kept pace, determined not to fall behind.noveldrama

In under five minutes, David reached the far side, jumped down effortlessly, and turned to see the others still halfway up the wall.

"David, you’re fast," Jaden commented, landing beside him.

David glanced ahead, "You guys are too slow."

The bodyguards followed one by one, landing with varying degrees of grace.

*****

Danielle and her group moved forward with ease, encountering no further traps or obstacles. The path ahead seemed brighter and brighter, almost too safe. But Danielle couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to happen.

"The light’s getting brighter up ahead," Xavier said with a worried frown. "Are we almost out of the cave? But we still haven’t found Matthew."