Free The Swiss Family RobinZOM by Perrin Briar Page B

feet and limped over to Jack’s
outstretched hand. He climbed, careful not to use his injured
foot.
    “ The vine!” Jack said.
“Bite it! Bite!”
    The foliage
shook , and the low groan became louder.
Nip’s hand gripped the folds of Jack’s trousers as he pulled
himself up Jack’s leg.
    “ Yes!” Jack said.
“Bite!”
    Nip hesitated. He pointed at the vine.
    “ Yes!” Jack said. Bite
it!”
    Nip bit Jack on the ankle.
    “ Ow!” Jack
said.
    The groan stopped, and
Jack could sense the creature turning to identify where the exclamation had come from.
    “ Please, Nip,” Jack said.
“Please, understand. Bite the vine. The vine.”
    Nip lowered his mouth to the vine and turned to Jack with a
questioning look. Jack nodded. Nip bit at it. Jack turned to see
the foliage rustle and a torn grey arm begin to emerge.
    “ Hurry Nip!” Jack said.
“Hurry!”
    The vine
snapped . Jack took the knife from his
trapped hand and severed the second vine.
    “ Come on, Nip!” he
said.
    The figure stepped out from the foliage, revealing a face with
a ruined nose, and teeth visible through both cheeks. Behind her
were half a dozen other Lurchers. Jack hugged Nip close to his
chest and hot stepped it across the courtyard, careful where he
placed his feet. There was the whip sound of the snares pulling
tight around one ankle… Two… Three… Four… Jack got to the winch. He
saw another Lurcher step into a trap. The final Lurcher barrelled
down on him. Francis pushed the water canister over the edge and
onto the ground. Jack flew up to Falcon’s Nest, out of the
Lurcher’s reach. Francis took Nip off Jack and set him down on a
cushion. Jack hugged Francis.
    “ What’s happening?”
Francis said. “I heard gunshots.”
    “ That was just Dad,” Jack
said. “How are things here?”
    “ Fine. These are the
first Lurchers I’ve seen all night.”
    “ Good,” Jack said.
“Hopefully they’ll be the last.”

Twenty- Six

    But even as he spoke,
more Lurchers came through the foliage and spilled across the
courtyard. Snares trapped feet, but slipped off those with missing
appendages. The courtyard was alive with hanging writhing bodies. Few of the traps had not been set
off. The Lurchers scratched at the bark of the tree, and then
lowered their faces to it. They bit at it, the sharp fibres
stabbing their mouth and noses, splinters protruding from their
faces like they’d received piercings.
    “ They can’t get up here,”
Francis said.
    “ No,” Jack said, “but
they can take us down there. They’re biting through the bark. They
won’t stop until they bite all the way through.”
    “ But they don’t eat
trees!”
    “ They’re not eating it.
They’re cutting through it. They’re going to take this tree down,
and us with it.”
    “ What’re we going to
do?”
    “ There’s nothing we can
do,” Jack said. “But I suppose we can slow them down.”
    He picked up a ceramic bowl, took careful aim, and dropped it
over the side. It crushed a Lurcher’s skull. Francis grabbed an end
table, and together they dumped it over the side. Another two
Lurchers fell. Jack ransacked the living room, dropping vases and
photo frames. Francis did the same with the kitchen, tossing out
saucepans, knives and baking trays. They ransacked the whole house,
but the Lurchers kept coming and chomping at the tree trunk. The
whole treehouse lurched to one side. Jack and Francis exchanged a
look.
    “ Let’s get out of here,”
Jack said.
    He picked up a backpack
and put Nip in to it. Jack went to the
cable and monkey-barred his way across it. On the other side, he
took off the backpack and put Nip down. He turned back to Francis,
who was looking at the ground. The Lurchers were still munching
away at the tree.
    “ Your turn,” Jack
said.
    “ Are you sure about
this?” Francis said. “Mum said not to leave the house.”
    “ I’m pretty sure this
situation overrides that order. And when she comes later, you can
blame me and say