(BL) Hunting The Field Guide novel Chapter 490

Chapter 490: A faulty plan

Kellen had tied everyone to Bree. It had taken some time for him to do it, and had probably cost them time that they didn’t have, but Kellen didn’t care. There was no way he was going to be able to move the way that he needed to with anyone on him. It wouldn’t even be that long. Just 10 minutes, maybe 15 minutes at most. Bree had admitted that she wouldn’t last long like this, knowing even in her current state that she had hard limits and Kellen knew that he had a limited window to do what he needed to do.

Kellen had taken his backpack back, a weight that wouldn’t be okay for Bree to take. Kellen felt like he was tons lighter without the two bodies he’d been carrying. The bag felt like nothing. He had his bag back, his items, his weapons available, while Bree had all of their injured friends, and a gun.

A just in case measure.

Kellen’s plan was simple. He planned to distract the creature, get it some distance away from the exit so that Bree could get out first. After he had made sure that she was gone, he had to somehow convince it that Kellen had jumped the stream. This was to make sure that Kellen had more than enough time to run back and leave through the exit after Bree had.

It was going to be a long shot, and if he even got it half of the way through that plan it would be enough distance between the creature and the gate that Kellen felt he would probably be safe. Probably.

He just didn’t know how far those damn vines went, he just knew that it had a lot of control over them. And that they could crush things with its vines.

Bree was waiting in a safe spot that would only take her a few steps to get to the exit. It should have been easy for them to sneak past the creature, but while they had been waiting, and Kellen had been humming and hawing over his decision, the creature had walked backwards towards the gate. It had bumped against it, the exit had rippled causing it to draw attention to the gate and since it was unable to exit, it had lashed out.

The lash out had lasted 5 full minutes, full of screeches, whipping vines, powerful smacks that had shaken the ground around them. Bree had been even more pale after witnessing that kind of violence, and it had made Kellen’s decision for him. Kellen knew that he had no choice but to distract it.

So, Kellen made sure that he had everything that he needed. Guns, weapons, and large stones. Kellen also had a flare. He was going to light it if he had to, not because he wanted to. They were great distractions, but it would reveal where he was for a split second. He really didn’t want to do that.

The lash out at the gate exit had reminded him how fast their limbs were even if the main body walked slowly and like it was stumbling everywhere. Kellen was working at probably a quarter of his normal reaction time and speed. It was a guess, and his senses were dulled so he couldn’t even be sure about that. He just knew that this was a very dangerous gamble, but one he had no choice but to take.

What he was sure of was that as soon as Bree came out alive, with three people strapped to her, there was a high probability that others would rush the gate. That could also cause problems. He didn’t want anyone to get killed immediately upon trying to save him and anyone else on the other side of the gate. Kellen came up with a solution for that.

Kellen made sure to have Bree repeat back to him what he wanted her to say as soon as she left the gate.

"There is a vine monster on the other side of the gate. Guide Woods is distracting it. Be careful." He had her repeat it over and over until he knew that they didn’t have much more time. Daytime was coming, the forest would wake up more, and this option would become more dangerous.

So, Kellen stepped away from Bree, set himself up for success by making sure his pockets were loaded with stones and other things to throw, gave her a nod of encouragement, and turned his back on her, heading away from them.

It started small. He threw a few rocks, a few rustling noises, things that were slowly drawing the attention of the creature. It was slow moving, as if hesitant. Kellen wondered if someone else had used this method to distract it. It was too weary otherwise.

He prayed that someone else had done this to escape. That would make his heart soar to hear that the other members had escaped without his help.

Then, he threw a bigger stone further away and waited. This was all hinging on the fact that the creature had low intelligence. If it was smart, there was a chance it wouldn’t follow the sounds.

Kellen watched with his breath held, his heart racing in his chest, sure that Bree was also in the same state that he was as the creature slowly, ever so slowly, moved away from the gate exit. Bree was instructed not to leave immediately, since that would only make her a target. She needed to wait till it left the little clearing and then book it.

The creature was slow, slamming its vine arms down on the ground. Warning taps. Threats. Kellen didn’t care.

He tossed another rock, turning its attention in the direction of the stream. It was slow work, too damn slow. The sun was rising, the sky changing shades and Kellen could hear other vines awakening around them. It wasn’t going as planned, but it wasn’t completely out of control yet.

Kellen kept drawing it away, throwing rocks in time with his own steps, masking them as the creature kept following him. They were swinging in the direction of the stones, growing frustrated as it slammed its vines down and wasn’t hitting anything like it expected. The trees around them were collateral. Swept out by their roots, trunks crushed. Another sign that while they worked together in this gate, they were not friends.

The vine monster was a colleague of sorts to this gate, not a friend.

Kellen kept it going, watching as Bree began to move, dragging her careful cargo towards the gate. Kellen held his breath, throwing a larger stone as Bree got closer to the gate.

And then, she was through. Safe.

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