The car crept forward. Its front wheels disappeared into the submerged section, and Clare bit back a scream as the car’s front drifted to the side. But its tyres found purchase again, and a second later, they were back on the dry stones.
“Okay.” Clare backed up, one eye on the uneven ground beneath her feet and one eye on the car. Dorran slowed as he neared the crumbled section. “Okay, okay. We can do this.”
She motioned for him, adjusting the car’s trajectory to move over the thicker pieces of wood. They creaked as weight compressed them. Little flecks of spray splashed up from where the river hit the stones, grazed Clare’s cheeks. The water’s angry rumble, the creak of trees behind her, and the whistle of the cold wind—she pushed it all to the back of her mind and zeroed in on the vehicle, and the man, she couldn’t afford to lose.
One of the branches snapped. The car lurched down, and Clare yelped. It didn’t fall far, though. Dorran, eyebrows low and lips pressed together, froze in his seat. The car hung there, its front right-hand corner dipped down towards the water, then Dorran tried creeping it forward again. Slowly, the car rose out of its hole.
He’s almost there. Almost…
Clare continued to beckon, her heart in her throat, barely noticing as her slow paces back put her feet into the water submerging the end of the bridge. The car’s front wheels were almost onto solid stones.
The car horn blared, deafening. Clare locked eyes with Dorran. He pitched forward in his seat, teeth bared, eyes wild with fear. He pressed on the horn again, staring at something over her shoulder.
Reflexes took hold. Clare ducked and felt claws snag on the back of her knit top. She pivoted and swung her crowbar at the same time. The metal connected with something fleshy, and angry chattering exploded around her.
“Clare!” Dorran had his door open, but he was trapped in the car. One end hung precariously over the collapsing branches. The other was butted up against the opposite side of the bridge, with no room for him to escape.
Clare stepped back a fraction of a second too late. Teeth bit into her shoulder. She screamed and tried to pull out of the hollow’s grip, but the jaws only tightened. Long, spindly arms slid around her chest and her abdomen, its spider-like fingers tapping over her as it locked her into an embrace.
Pain ran through her shoulder, arcing down her arm. She did the only thing she could think of: she threw herself backwards and used her weight to crush the creature between herself and the stone bridge.
She felt the teeth break. Two of them stayed in her flesh, the impact embedding them. The monster’s jaw fractured, but it seemed impervious to the pain, and its scrabbling hands continued to tighten around her.
Clare lifted her crowbar. She couldn’t see the creature pinned under her, but she could feel it. She clenched her teeth as she stabbed the metal down at her side.
The crowbar pierced through the creature’s flesh, finding a gap just below its ribs, and hit the stones below. Dorran leaned on the horn. The blast was deafening, but it worked. The hollow flinched at the noise, and its arms lost some of their tightness.
Clare rolled, breaking free of the creature’s embrace. She hit the edge of the bridge. The splintered edges of the broken railing scraped her hip as she passed over it.
“Ah!” Clare clutched at the stones to stop her momentum. She felt her legs go over first. The water grabbed at them, pulling with more force than she’d thought was possible. Her good arm latched around the remaining wooden railing. The structure cracked. She hung, one arm holding on to the support, the other scrabbling at the stone wall, trying to find a purchase to pull herself back up. Her shoulder burned, sending pain streaking up her neck and into her arm.
The hollow chattered. From Clare’s position, nearly off the bridge, she couldn’t see it—but she could hear the thick sluicing noise of a body being lifted off the metal pole. Then the tapping, the noise that had haunted her dreams, crept closer. A sunken face appeared, leering down at her. Bony fingers landed on top of Clare’s hand.
The car’s engine roared. She heard the crack of breaking branches, then the car slammed into the hollow. The monster tumbled away, and in its place was Dorran, leaning out of the open car door to reach for Clare.
He grabbed her arm and pulled. Clare screamed as damaged skin was strained. Then she was back in the car, her legs hanging out of the door and her torso across Dorran’s legs.
“Hold on.”
On hand rested over her back, holding her in place. She gasped as the car lurched forward. A loud smacking noise told her the bumper had connected with the hollow again, then they bounced as the wheels jolted over its body.
Clare scrambled to get herself fully into the car. The open door knocked against her legs as the hatchback careened. Another screeching, wailing noise split the air, then they were back on steady ground, shadows from the trees flowing over them.
Dorran kept his eyes on the path ahead, his face grim as he swerved. Clare used her good arm to drag herself into the passenger seat and pulled her wet legs close to herself as Dorran slammed the door. She braced one hand on the dashboard, shaking, and stared at flashes of illuminated trees through the windshield. There was no road leading through the forest. The trees were thin enough to drive between, but Dorran had to weave. Grey bony shapes flitted in the side mirror, chasing after them, then the mirror disappeared as a too-close trunk clipped it off. Dorran kept the pressure on the gas pedal for
