Free The Swiss Family RobinZOM (Book 3) by Perrin Briar Page B

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 into 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 it’s all my fault.”
    “Okay,” Francis said. “Here I come.”
    Francis held onto the cable with his hands and wrapped his feet around the end. He fed his hands along the cable and dragged his legs behind.
    “That’s it,” Jack said. “You’re doing good. Keep coming.”
    The treehouse juddered. The vibrations travelled along the cable. Francis squealed and hugged the cable tight. A handful of Lurchers turned to look up at Francis crawling along the cable. Lightning struck,