Chapter 100

The sound of the Colonel advancing on them struck Steve and Jen dumb with fear. His footsteps crashed in the night, coming down the hill from Flower Gardens. Then, from another direction.

"Thank goodness they're here! Quick, you two, follow me!"

A light shone from the forest to their left. At its appearance, the Colonel's footsteps quickened, sliding a little on the hill but growing louder by the second.

Weighing her options (in a fraction of a second), Jen grabbed Steve's hands and they took off toward the light. Two figures were in front of them, sprinting as well as they could through the tangled overgrowth. The Colonel's steps burst into a run behind them, thundering. Trees shook and dirt geysered from under his feet.

Without warning, the four being pursued came into a clearing. One of the figures tripped and went sprawling through the tall grass. Jen and Steve skidded (like the cartoons, Steve thought) to a stop to help him. The other figure stopped unnaturally quickly and spun around.

It was then that Steve noticed the sound of pursuit had stopped; not because the Colonel had given up, but because he had caught them.

His face looked terrible under the feeble light, with shadows like writhing creatures just below the surface. He laughed - a cold, high, dark laugh, and Steve knew it was over.

"Jen? I just want to say I l-"

And a ray of sun EXPLODED into the clearing, staggering the Colonel. Steam rose from his skin, and his shrieks were unworldly as he fled back in to the darkness of the forest. Steve looked back, blinking to clear his eyes, to see Jen helping the fallen stranger up.

"Hi. I'm Jen, and this is Steve. Thank you so much - I don't know what - who he - what he is..."

"No problem. I'm just glad we got here when we did," the man said, wincing as he put weight on his ankle."

"How did you guys know where we were?" Steve asked.

The man smiled and turned to his companion, still a few yards off. "That's a long story."

"We've got time, man."

"Okay, okay." The man looked Steve up and down, judging him. He stuck out his hand. "My name is Blake Blakesly. I'm here to help."